Building Businesses and Marshmallow Towers

While not technically an internship, spending a summer building a business can be a great way to gain tonnes of experience all the while pursuing a dream that may just come through.

Here are some of my answers to common questions about start up programmes... What programme did you take part in?

Last summer I took part in UStart which is a DCU supported start up accelerator programme. The goal of the 2017 programme was to produce a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) which students will refine through a part-time phased model of customer validation, agile development, mentorship and ongoing support from the DCU Ryan Academy. The offering was worth over €10,000 per startup team.

Do you have to have a business going into it?

Nope, although the more developed your idea is the more likely you are to get accepted. Start up programmes are known for being hugely competitive to get into. Some of the companies I competed alongside had five to six figures in funding and were already generating revenue and employing staff, others were just ideas, but they were good ideas with lots of customer validation. My own company called Squeazy Eazy Science is an educational toy company which at the time was stocked in over 40 retailers across Ireland and the UK, now we're licensing internationally but even we were nowhere near the level of the top performers in the class.

Was it hard work?

Yes.

UStart was run as a part time programme last summer, so to keep busy I decided to work as in intern in Rothco full time meaning that any time I took off from Rothco was spent working on Squeazy in UStart. All of my weekends were spent either preparing pitches, carrying out customer research or filling out business canvas models.

The workshops which ran throughout June, July and August were a great way to get expert advice on how you could better your business, although you had to be on your toes and constantly refining and justifying what problem your company is solving.

Was it worth it?

I think so. Depending on what stage your business was at, some of what UStart offers, and other start up programs, can be truly indispensable.

While there are moments where your find yourself questioning the purpose of building a marshmallow tower out of spaghetti, the bigger picture of what you learn throughout the entire process makes it a very worthwhile experience - even if you don't become the next Zuckerburg.

You'll get hit in the face with countless disappointments and rejections but you'll be doing it alongside other aspiring entrepreneurs all the while learning from some great mentors and guest speakers who are there to help you on the way.

If you have a cool idea, a solid team and you're willing to work harder than you thought you could, then maybe a start up accelerator could be the right choice for you.