Summer Internship with Invention Labs – Pallavi Chakravorty from IIT Madras

Daily Winner for: –  24th August 2013

Name of the intern: – Pallavi Chakravorty

Institute: – IIT Madras

Organization interned with: – Invention Labs

My fight for an internship started as early as 18th of August ‘12. As every IITian will know, and especially IIT Madras people will relate to, Internship is a BIG DEAL in our institute. All the top notch and big shot companies fight for the cream amongst the cream. Getting an internship makes you the center of all topics, rich in terms of cash (they pay 50K per month!), and you might even end up getting a girlfriend! But then, we are talking about .1% of the whole batch. The remaining are left dejected, confused and slightly under confident. With all the hype and the peer pressure surrounding me, I was also in the so called dejected 99.9% population. I started off as a confident person with hopes of earning those 50k and the fame associated, and with each reject, I started giving up. I started telling myself, so what, internships are overrated anyway.

It was April 2013 and I still had nothing to do for the summer. It was during this time that my best friend gave me a wake-up call. Rather than making excuses as to why internships are not important, he reminded me of my past internships and encouraged me to start the fight again. ‘Don’t get lured by the big names’ is what he told me. He made me sit down and decide what I want to apply for. I always wanted to explore what marketing is, so I decided I will apply off to every marketing related intern. I also decided that I will apply off majorly to the start-ups as having interned in Internshala (which had just started that time), I knew how enriching the experience could be. It was May and I read that a company called Invention Labs needed an intern for handling international marketing. The description said that it was the best marketing internship as the CEO of the startup Mr Ajit Narayanan, was an extremely intelligent person and had received MIT’s most innovative young inventor’s award. Whoa! I thought to myself. There is no way in this world that I am getting this internship. But then, my best friend asked me to shut up, stop thinking so much and apply.

I made a proper resume, cover letter and applied. In the internship question on the Intenshala portal, they asked why is Poland a potential market for their product Avaz? Okay, so I needed to find out about Avaz. I went to their website and it took me 15 minutes to know that this would be my dream internship. It was not just working under a guy like Ajit Sir in the profile I desired, it was the product in itself which moved me from inside. Avaz is an iPad and android app that helps autistic people to communicate. The beauty of the app, the simplicity and the technological brilliance aside, it was the social relevance that struck the most to me. The review section had some of the most moving comments by helpless parents expressing their gratitude when their autistic children could say ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad’ using the app. It was then that I knew, I had to give my best shot.

Couple of days after uploading my resume, I got a call for an interview and I was jubilant. I reached at the venue and then I came to know that Ajit Narayanan himself will be taking my interview along with another colleague. I entered the room and the moment I saw Ajit Sir, I was awestruck. Since he is an institute alumnus, we all knew about him and to see him in front of me was humbling and scary at the same time. I tried to maintain my calm and sat for the interview and the first few minutes made me realize that how interviews can be.
Ajit : So you are applying for a marketing intern in Invention Labs?
Me : Umm yes sir.
Ajit : So are you prepared for the question about how Poland is a potentially good market?
Me : Yes sir.
Ajit : What is the capital of Poland?
Me : <blank>
By this time, I was sure that I had lost any chance of getting into Invention Labs. While doing research on Poland as potential market, I just researched about autism in Poland. It didn’t quite occur to me to research on Poland itself. Stupid me! The rest of the interview quickly passed by. There were couple of blanks, couple of confident answer and all throughout the interview I developed more respect for Ajit Sir. He knew what he was asking, he was precise and never wandered even a few centimeters from the topic. I dared not beat around the bush even once. The interview was over, I had no idea what the result would be, but I was happy. Couple of days later, I got a call saying that I had an internship at Invention Labs and hell, I could not have been happier!

I would not mention how my intern was in details or what all happened, I will just mention the key lessons which I learnt from this journey of 2 months:
Lesson 1 : Internships at start-ups are the most enriching experience ever !
Yes, I knew this before and it was confirmed again. These internships don’t pay you a lot, make you work hard, but leave you really satisfied and a lot more confident than you ever were. From researching on international markets, to trying to decode the app store optimization to ideating on marketing schemes, I did it all!
Lesson 2 : It’s not where you work, but who you work with that defines your internship!
I cannot emphasize on this point more. Internships are not just about big companies or start-ups, they are not just about what you can write as a star point on your resume (Believe me, I have no idea how to describe my experience with Invention Labs in my resume). It’s about what you learn and whom you learn it from. Working with the Invention Labs team and especially Ajit Sir, I realized that what it takes to be a visionary and make those visions a reality. Everyone in the team was so efficient, so energetic and so clear on what they were doing. Above all, these people involved me into everything. I was not just an intern, but a member of Team Avaz. I remember sitting for hours and trying to ideate on Independence Day marketing strategy and I could not have asked for more.
Lesson 3 : You need to love what you do and what your company does!
Yes you do. My internship made me realize that many people end up taking a high paying finance job or consult job when they have no enthusiasm for the job or no satisfaction in what their company does. I loved what Invention Labs was doing. Apart from the numerous other projects, I fell in love with Avaz, the key flagship product of Invention Labs. I was introduced to the world of autism and I realized that how we are stupid enough to cry over that one breakup, one grade less, one job lost. I loved the fact that our product could bring smiles on the faces of so many and this gave me satisfaction like nothing else could.
Lesson 4 : Mistakes happen. Learn, accept and let go!
Yes I did goof up sometimes. And I was scared and scolded too. But then I learnt that no one is keeping any grudges or scores. Everyone is doing that just to teach me and make me grow. Yes, you are in a corporate world and you definitely can’t repeat the same mistake again and again if you don’t want to get fired. But don’t get scared to try something bold or different just because it did not work the first time.
Lesson 5 : Have awesome best friends!
I know this might sound out of place, but having a good support system matters a great deal in life. I still thank that friend of mine who did not let me give up, cycled me to Invention Labs on the day of my interview and above all made me apply in the first place. Having such friends who can guide you when you lose track, is something absolutely essential in life.

These were the 5 key takeaways that this summer internship taught me. And this is what I will tell everyone. Have a nice journey, have a satisfactory journey, its awesome if you get into some big company but don’t get disheartened if you do not because there is something special in store for you. And always listen to that one friend who will say ‘Abbe rona band kar and apply kar kyuki picture abhi baki hai mere dost!’

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If you wish to participate, send in your entry here: http://www.internshala.com/your-internship-story