Fixing Internships: A Startup's Solution

Internships provide students with a valuable chance to explore different career options and potentially secure a full-time position before graduating. Simultaneously, these programs enable companies to identify and nurture future job-ready employees.

However, the widespread office closures and economic uncertainties brought about by the coronavirus pandemic led many technology companies to reduce the scope of, or even eliminate, their internship offerings. Similar to the challenges faced by remote education initiatives, organizations that continued their programs encountered a significant obstacle: effectively teaching and training students remotely, across geographical boundaries.

This is the problem that Symba, a graduate of the Techstars program, addresses. The company, comprised of 12 individuals, has developed a customizable software solution designed to help businesses – including well-known names like Robinhood and Genentech – establish a virtual environment for communication and collaboration with their distributed intern teams.

“Organizations frequently find themselves recreating their internship programs annually from the ground up,” explains Ahva Sadeghi, CEO of Symba. “A substantial amount of resources are dedicated to this crucial recruitment effort, yet there’s often a lack of investment in a sustainable infrastructure to support it.”

Symba offers a readily available workspace for both interns and their managers. Interns access Symba through a branded landing page, leading them to a dedicated workspace where they can navigate between sections for feedback, community engagement, profiles, and project management. A comprehensive onboarding section with tutorials and company background information is also included.

Nikita Gupta, co-founder and CTO, joined Sadeghi in building the entire platform from its inception.

A key focus in Symba’s design was the creation of clear channels for feedback exchange between interns and managers. A dedicated feedback section allows managers to consistently evaluate their direct reports’ skills using a five-star rating system, while interns can also proactively request feedback.

Each user is encouraged to create a profile to facilitate connections and learning among fellow interns. While Symba aims to be the central hub for interns during their program, it does not include direct messaging functionality. Instead, the platform integrates with Slack for users who wish to communicate directly.

Managers can log in to assign tasks, monitor progress, and track feedback throughout the internship, aiding in the identification of high-performing interns who may be suitable for future full-time opportunities.

Given the short duration of most internships – typically eight to twelve weeks – Sadeghi argues that the traditional onboarding process, which often involves granting interns access to a company’s full suite of technologies, can be disruptive. Symba provides a streamlined alternative.

Sadeghi notes that customers are particularly drawn to the platform’s alumni features, which enable managers to maintain engagement with interns even after the program concludes, supporting the applicant tracking system and fostering a pipeline of potential hires.

Symba reports encouraging user engagement, with individuals logging into the platform an average of six to nine times daily, and over 15,000 intern projects initiated through the system.

The company has not disclosed specific revenue figures, citing its early stage of development, but states that it charges clients between $30 and $50 per user per month. While the average cohort size is around 80 interns, Symba has also served clients with programs exceeding 2,000 interns, and only partners with companies that provide paid internships.

A potential challenge for Symba lies in the seasonal nature of its revenue, as the majority of internships occur during the summer months. This may lead to concentrated growth periods.

Symba’s initial growth is directly linked to the pandemic and the resulting shift to remote work. The company’s future success will depend on its ability to demonstrate the ongoing value of a dedicated online workspace for interns, even as offices reopen.

Looking beyond the pandemic, Symba aims to expand its services to other organizations such as bootcamps, accelerators, and fellowships. Securing year-round clients would help mitigate the seasonality of its current revenue stream.

The company’s promising start has attracted $750,000 in funding from investors including 1517 Fund, January Ventures, and Hustle Fund.