Half a year of tech startup: Internship at modility

November 5, 2021

For more than six months, Rosa Boyer accompanied us as an intern at modility. Since the official go-live of the portal in March, she has been looking over our shoulders, gaining experience and actively supporting our sales team. We wanted to know what her everyday working life at modility looked like, how she felt about the time at a young tech startup and what experiences she would like to share with applicants and future interns.

Dear Rosa, six months have gone by so quickly. How would you describe your internship in three words?

"Informative, versatile and, above all, exciting. When I joined modility, the market launch had just taken place. Obviously there was a lot of work to be done at that time, but I'm totally grateful that I was so involved at that time. Because during the transition to operations, new processes had to be developed and introduced in many different areas, for example for new registrations and dealing with initial bookings via the portal. That really helped me to understand what is going on behind the scenes at a startup.

But even afterwards I was never bored or anything. It was exciting for me to see how a young company sets itself up and develops in such a short time. During the six months, the size of the modility team almost tripled - and so did the variety of tasks that had to be dealt with. As an intern for marketing and sales, I had enough opportunities to dive deeper into both areas. In a startup, there is always something to do and new surprises are waiting for you every day. And I mean that in an entirely positive way."

What were your specific tasks at modility?

"I spent most of my time in sales and supported Michelle and Miriam from the sales team in the acquisition and support of new customers. Specifically, this involves checking customer data, preparing mailings, classifying feedback, and helping with the preparation, follow-up, and execution of customer appointments. That took up about two-thirds of my workday. The rest of the time I worked on various tasks across all departments. For example in marketing, in recruiting, in onboarding of new staff, or in product development. So I got to see a bit of everything from all areas."

How did you feel about the work environment?

"The atmosphere within the team was great. We are a predominantly young, but totally versatile team with different characters that complement each other extremely well. What I particularly liked were the flat hierarchies and the kind, but still professional atmosphere in the office. Even as an intern, you are encouraged to contribute your own ideas, so you always feel like you are part of the big picture. After work, we often spent time together playing darts or organizing team events, so that we also got to know each other better beyond business meetings."

Were you able to put your knowledge from your studies into practice here?

"In many cases, my theoretical knowledge from my business studies was a helpful basis for understanding new topics and tasks more quickly and for putting things into a business context. Beyond that, however, there were many other points that you are hardly ever prepared for in university, for example: "How do I structure my working day and how do I prioritize various important tasks?" "How do I prepare my work results in such a way that they can be used to proceed immediately?" "How do I strike the right tone in emails?" These are all questions that I had to deal with properly for the first time here, and thus also precisely the topics where I was able to make the biggest step forward from my point of view. The bottom line: Overall, I felt well prepared for the internship through my studies, but there are still many more challenges waiting for you when it comes to the transfer into practice - especially during the first internship."

Was there a personal highlight during your time at modility?

"In fact, there were even two. First, quite clearly, the market launch. Seeing everything that happens when a company goes to market was simply overwhelming. The presence in the media and all the interested reactions from the industry gave me the feeling right from the start that something really important for the entire industry was going on here. A second highlight for me was the first real booking in the system. The proof that our booking platform is accepted and used by its users was a fantastic acknowledgement of our work."

How do things continue for you now?

"In October, I started my master's degree in business administration here at the University of Hamburg. Fortunately, I will not have to pack my bags at modility, as I will still be supporting the sales team as a part-time working student during my studies which I am super excited about!"

Are there things would you like to share with future applicants?

"What this internship showed me: Even behind industries and companies that you might not have had in mind initially, you can find incredibly exciting projects and attractive employers. So be open to new challenges and try things out. Then you'll be able to learn a lot for your future career, both personally and professionally. Perhaps even a lot more than at one of the popular brands."