For summer 2021, Augury initiated a new intern program. Together with her fellow interns, Michaela Jeffery looks back at their experience and biggest takeaways. “You have to be unafraid in asking questions and wanting to learn more.
Back in June, Augury’s new intern program was jump-started by a ‘Lunch & Learn’ session with the company’s two Co-Founders, CTO Gal Shaul and CEO Saar Yoskovitz. They shared stories about the evolution of Augury’s solution, the company and its values.
The open nature of Augury was apparent from the beginning when Saar talked about first meeting Gar at technical university years ago. “It was a lot like Stanford where everyone is at least thinking about starting a startup – if not doing it. Actually, a lot of friends left school early to do just that. But I was definitely going to finish school first… Because my mom told me to,” recalled Saar with a smile.
Follow Your Passion
Saar also put the ball very much in the interns’ court: “This program is about letting you inside the company to look around and see all the options. Maybe there’s something that fits your future. The intern program really depends on where and how you yourself want to take it.”
As Saar and Gal outlined the company’s history, from its bootstrap beginnings to its current state of rapid scaling, it was very apparent they were driven by a strong shared vision on not only the technical side of their business but also the cultural side. They obviously love what they do and really care about their employees.
It’s A Cultural Thing
“My biggest ‘wow moment’ came when I joined the Pride-focused culture meeting in the first week of my time with Augury,” recalls product marketing intern Jeremy Boss. “I expected to see a bland corporate attempt at ‘connecting with employees’. Instead, I saw a group of people that were utterly genuine.”
“Not only did I hear authentic, raw stories of struggle and inspiration, but I also realized at that moment that the company I was now a part of wasn’t doing what it was doing for some bottom-line initiative, but because its people actually cared for one another,” says Jeremy.
Product Strategy Intern Adrian Kwan also praises the work culture: “It’s a very productive company but one that very much stresses employee health, both physical and mental. Everyone is very relaxed and friendly.”
Real-World Skills
“At the same, I was heavily challenged,” adds Adrian. “For instance, I learned the required skill sets and methods for not only performing a competitive analysis but also how to present in front of a group.”
Sales Development Representative Intern Ethan Waldman appreciated getting a sense of the bigger picture. “While I got amazing advice and skills from the sales and marketing team, I was also able to be involved with a lot more parts of the company than I expected. So, by broadening my horizons I was able to learn even more.”
Events Marketing Intern Olivia Fitzgerald agrees. “It’s true. I always knew that marketing and sales are linked. But now I have a real understanding of how they work together to move potential customers through the sales funnel.”
Finding Inspiration From Each Other
Sales/Marketing Intern Soren Rasmussen was especially inspired by the level on which his fellow interns were operating. “They are all so forward-looking and ambitious!” says Soren.
“One has started a business and is only twenty. Another LOVES sales and is not afraid of anything, while another works weekends and still has the energy to reinvigorate Augury’s social media presence. One helped Augury plan many successful events and has gained new skills (like video editing) during the internship to make great content. And another is fresh out of high school and is already thinking about how blockchain and edge computing can play a role in Augury’s tech going forward. They’ve been an awesome crew to get to work with!”
Olivia agrees: “I got a better sense of the company by talking to the other interns about the different projects they were working on. It was especially great when projects overlapped and interns were able to work together on these.”
Stronger Together
“My biggest takeaway is that working with others is much more beneficial for me than working alone,” says Jeremy. “Alongside Soren, I was tasked with conducting a comprehensive market analysis of the Oil & Gas Industry. At first, I felt utterly lost. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about this field, and my vague online searches turned up incomprehensible analyst reports.”
“However, after putting our heads together, Soren and I developed a strategy, and after about a week, we had a twenty-five-page report that broke down everything from major players to sub-sectors to long-term trajectories within the industry. We had become genuine partners through the whole process.”
Yes, two – or more! – brains are always better than one. And it’s certainly true that feedback is crucial when you are an intern. You have to be unafraid in asking questions and wanting to learn more.
And this is what we all learned in the last months: that you should take this curiosity beyond your internship and make it part of your life.
