Kristoffer Parup writes about his experience interning at Seedcamp. He shares some valuable insights what it’s like to be a part of the Seedcamp Team and shares where others before him have gone.
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Growth is the essential part of advancing from A to B. Be it linear growth, exponential growth or even unpredicted explosive growth, the positive forward-moving momentum set about by successfully encountering new challenges (or opportunities) is critical for advancement. After all, it is what drives companies, sectors, economies – and people.
Seedcamp creates opportunity for growth. The startups that join the Seedcamp Family will be presented with a wide set of opportunities that, if seized, will result in growth – as underlined in the recent infographic displaying the results of 6 years dedication to growing companies.
What only a smaller group of people know is that Seedcamp also presents opportunities for growing as an individual by offering two internship positions. The Seedcamp Team consists of five people, and the two additional intern seats are therefore not only an integral part the team but also a factor for how Seedcamp operates. As an intern at Seedcamp you will – much like the startups in the portfolio – mature during your time at Seedcamp.
The maturation process The maturation process starts with a trial by fire first few days, where you are introduced to all the activities going on at Seedcamp. Being a global organization with strong ties across Europe and in the US, there are several logistical conundrums that need to be managed from day 1. Out of personal experience, it is never good to wear white gloves (in any situation), and getting your hands as dirty as possible is essential for getting up to speed.
Spending time as an Intern at Seedcamp will teach you to think on your feet. There is not much holding hands, some nudging, and generally an expectation of a self-driven work ethic to get the job done. In short: an entrepreneurial approach: figure out what works. This approach allows you as an intern to get involved in the various different aspects of working in a globally connected seed investment and mentoring program. Events: Mini Seedcamps, Seedcamp Weeks, Seedhacks, mentoring, deal flow, reviewing applications, tech trends and market research etc. are all things you can choose to get involved in. You can get your hands as dirty as you like – it is great!
Where are Seedcamp’s past interns now? The talented young individuals who have interned at Seedcamp, have all moved on in various different directions.
Everything from product management and development, Michael Orland at Songkick, Sander Saar at AOL, and David Fauchier at JustYoyo, the VC and startup industry Ricardo Sequerra at Seedrs and Vincent Jacobs at Kima Ventures, to founding their own companies: Azmat Yusuf founded the super useful Citymapper and Fred Stevens-Smith CEO of Rainforest. Ahmad Bakhiet is currently part of Startup Chile and Naza Metghalchi recently joined one of London’s most exciting companies Onefinestay.
As I depart from my position as Intern at Seedcamp, I will move on to developing projects with Monocle.
Why you should intern at Seedcamp Apart from more obvious reasons such as a general interest in the startup/VC world, the greatest thing about interning at Seedcamp is the massive exposure to new and disruptive ideas and businesses that comes through the door at Google Campus. The environment, the people you meet and the sheer number of intelligent minds that surrounds you on a daily basis is incredible.
Interning at Seedcamp gives you an opportunity to help companies grow – moreover, the chance for you to grow and explore how and where you want to grow. It is the place where you can start something new – whether it is a business or your direction.
How to Apply? Apply here before the 1st December: http://seedcamp.workable.com/jobs/3224
Previous Seedcamp Interns Azmat Yusuf: Founder Citymapper Ahmad Bakhiet: Managed several academic entrepreneurial societies and events. David Fauchier: Product Designer JustYoyo Fred Stevens-Smith: Founder of Rainforest Jakob Marovt: Various freelance projects in the startup community Kristoffer Parup: Business Development for Monocle Michael Orland: Business Operations Director Songkick Naza Metghalchi: Planner at Onefinestay Ricardo Sequerra: Business Development and Startup Community Manager at Seedrs Sander Saar: Product Manager at AOL Vincent Jacobs: Associate at Kima Ventures
Current Seedcamp Interns
Felix Meissner, Student at University College Dublin/ CEMS MiM
Are you a founder? Do you have early traction? Are you ready to meet over 300 of our best mentors? If yes make sure to apply to our first Seedcamp Week London of 2014.
What happens at Seedcamp Week London? Seedcamp Week London will take place at our home in the heart of Shoreditch at Campus during the first week of February. This is where we bring together 20 of Europe’s absolute best startups for a week long of intense mentoring. You’ll be able to glean knowledge from experienced founders, discuss product, design and scaling issues with our product mentors. Test your ‘go to market’ and pricing strategy with our marketing mentors as well as meet our corporate partners, who are working with us and our companies to bring their solutions to a wider audience.
We always end the week with a bang – on Friday 7th February we host over 80 of Europe’s top angels and investors for our Investor Day. If you’re in doubt read about the experience from Anirvan – who attended the same event during September.
What does joining the Seedcamp Family mean? Make sure to read about our deal structure here. Besides financial investment you can expect a strong peer-2-peer network – from the Seedcamp Family. You’ll benefit from some great offers in our Founders Pack, like sponsored Amazon hosting to the tune of 25.000, automatic enrollment in Bizspark Plus, and countless offers from legal support to discounts and free services from SaaS and infrastructure companies. We are also one of the first partners’ of the PayPay’s Startup Blueprint initiative.
Take a look at our resources covering many issues startups face – this will give you a glimpse of the type of topics covered as part of Seedcamp Academy, our monthly program we run at Campus in London. Finally, make sure to see our key results, showing the progress of the teams we’ve invested in. We want to find new startups from across Europe to be a part of Seedcamp, and are keen to find the best of the best.
How to apply? We’ve been working hard at HQ to create a new application form. After iterating on our previous app system, we’ve decided to build a new one from scratch – like any good startup we’re keen to learn, iterate and improve the product for our users, so please let us know what you think by emailing us here bugs@seedcamp.com
Applications will be open until 12th January 2014. Make sure to take the time to give detailed answers to our questions. We want to know why you’re the right team. Tell us about the market, how big is it, and what part of it you aim to disrupt. Show us the product you’re building, and tell us how you built it. Most importantly, we like to see entrepreneurs who think big. Are you building a multi million dollar company? Tell us why your company matters and convince us you should be part of Seedcamp.
Be sure to apply now!
After our massive Seedcamp Week in London in September (11 new teams joined Seedcamp back then), we’re gearing up for the last big Seedcamp event in 2013. Not just for us, also for our teams and mentors it was an incredible year. We’ve seen many of the Seedcamp companies blossom and grow, with new rounds being raised, products launched, and people hired.
Seedcamp Berlin is taking place in Berlin this week, with some great support from the Microsoft Ventures team. Not only are we housing our investment interviews and prep day at Microsoft Berlin, we’re also holding the big Seedcamp Product Mentoring Day at the new Microsoft Berlin office in the middle of the city.
We have 19 exciting teams from all over Europe – literally from Lisbon to Moscow, and from Riga to Trento, in attendance. Also on the product and industry side we see exciting new things to talk about, from Bitcoin to charity payments, new email services and ways to understand web analytics.
We’d like to thank all the mentors and investors joining us over the next couple of days, sharing their knowledge and expertise with the startups. We’re also grateful to European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for sponsoring this event and of course not to forget our yearly sponsors who have provided us with endless support throughout the entire year; Google, Microsoft BizSpark, Qualcomm Ventures, Paypal, Barclays and Nokia.
Be sure to follow our blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts to follow the event on the day!
2013 has been an exciting year so far, we’ve hosted Mini Seedcamps in 15 cities across Europe, alongside 3 Seedcamp Weeks and 2 USA roadtrips. Besides this huge schedule, we launched Seedcamp Academy and published our results from recent years. We still have a lot of exciting things planned before the end of the year and are already planning for an action packed 2014. The Seedcamp Family is over 100 startups strong and we look forward to welcoming new teams to the family in Berlin next month. If you want to be a part of the dynamic Seedcamp team make sure to read on!
We are now looking for two interns to join us as soon as possible. Interns have always played a crucial role to support our day to day activities, help organise our events, and make life easier for our companies. In the past, our interns have run the Seedhack events, were a major part in the organisation and operations of Seedcamp weeks, helped us build our new application and CRM systems, redesigned our website, set a content strategy, forged partnerships for our Founders Pack, and worked on exciting initiatives like Seedsummit, our AngelList cooperation, and much more.
Who are we looking for? Our ideal match are graduates from interesting programs, individuals who have worked in startups or other projects, but we are also intrigued by people who are experts in their fields and have some prior work experience. Self starters and independently working individuals are most welcome, and you will get a lot of freedom to do the things in your own style. Running on all cylinders as we are, new hires need to be ready to plunge in and get going – we will provide you with all the opportunity for a great time, but ultimately, you make your own success while at Seedcamp.
What can you achieve? Previous interns have gone on to start their own businesses, joined VC firms, enrolled in some of the most prestigious graduate programs in Europe, or are working for some of the best technology companies in Europe and the world. Read their blogs for a snapshot of the experience Ahmad, David, and John had. If you are resourceful and a self-starter, don’t think twice about the unique opportunity to intern at Seedcamp. You will find the freedom in your work and a passionate environment that makes it the most rewarding of experiences. Being at the midst of Europe’s technology scene, and being able to interact with the best startups, investors, and founders will be a great stepping stone to build your own startup, join a technology company, or investment firm.
The Responsibilities include:
SUPPORTING THE SEEDCAMP TEAM • Assisting the Seedcamp team and companies in various tasks • Working closely on new project with individual team members • Help with the setup of new Seedcamp initiatives and respective web properties
OUTREACH – tell and spread the word • Support and contribution to communications and social media • Getting the word out about Seedcamp and our events • Finding and onboarding new Founder Sponsors • Update & maintain content on our website
TECHNOLOGY – maintaining and building • Update & maintain (or even build) the systems we use – our website, application system, blog • Develop services and applications to improve work and communications for team and portfolio
EVENTS ORGANISATION • Help manage prepare Seedcamp Week London in early 2014 • Help prepare more than 10 Mini Seedcamps across all of Europe • Assist in the organization of Seedcamp Academy events at Campus
Requirements: We’re looking for people who are: • Passionate about disruptive start-ups, entrepreneurship, and internet technology • Excellent multi-taskers who can work both independently and with a team • Personable and enthusiastic,great communicators with excellent English language skills • A super smart graduate or student from a top university, ideally with work experience in start-ups • Bonus: Literate in web technologies and able to build and develop websites and simple applications – the more the better (HTML, CSS, PHP, Javascript, Photoshop) Benefits
Application Details: • The position is based at Google Campus in East London. • We are looking for two people to join us full time for 6 months. • The ideal start date for the internship is 6 January • The internship is paid
Apply here before the 1 December 2013.
The year 2013 has been incredible for Seedcamp. Over the last 9 months we’ve grown the Seedcamp Family
The former “Hotel Carlton” in Berlin-Mitte, Unter den Linden 17, corner of Charlottenstraße. It was built in 1902; architect Carl Gause also designed the more famous (old) “Hotel Adlon” at Pariser Platz. The building is landmarked. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
by 27 companies! This takes us to over the 100 milestone and increased our European outreach even further with our first investments in a Turkish team and a Serbian team. We’re excited to continue at this fast pace for the next 3 months to complete a pretty epic year.
Seedcamp Week Berlin – November
At the beginning of the year we introduced a revised format for joining the Seedcamp Program and it’s proven a huge success. Startups can meet the Seedcamp Team and receive early feedback at any of our Mini Seedcamp events hosted around Europe on a monthly basis. If you’re ready to be considered for Seedcamp Investment than you can apply direct to one of our quarterly Seedcamp Week events. We’ve hosted 3 Seedcamp Weeks so far this year. At each of which we were joined by over 300 mentors and met 20 brilliant startups. During the week of 18 November in Berlin we’ll be hosting our fourth and final Seedcamp Week of 2013.
Our partner: Microsoft Ventures Accelerator
We’re very proud to announce a deeper partnership with Microsoft. Microsoft BizSpark has been our yearly sponsor for many years now and we’re taking this to the next level in one of Europe’s key startup hubs: Berlin. To celebrate this partnership with Microsoft Ventures Accelerator we’ll be hosting Seedcamp Week Berlin in the recently opened and brand spanking new coworking site on the beautiful Unter den Linden. Furthermore, the partnership will give free working space in the building to any companies who join Seedcamp. Giving startups a base in two of Europe’s key cities, London and Berlin. This adds tremendous value for our teams.
How to apply
If you’re keen to join us in one of the most vibrant and fastest growing startup ecosystems in Europe, make sure you apply before 20 October. This is your chance to meet and be mentored by some of the most talented people within our network: biz dev experts, serial entrepreneurs, investors, marketing gurus, product connoisseurs and many more brilliant people who can all play a key role in a startup’s journey. To get a full flavour of what to expect, make sure you read our blog covering our last Seedcamp Week Berlin.
As this is the last chance to join the Seedcamp Family this year, make sure to spend time on your application. We’re looking for ambitious founders who want to build global startups. Our focus is on mobile and web and we are looking for founders who will use technology to disrupt interesting industries. Check out our USA Roadtrip Tumblr page, videos, twitter, about us page and investment terms to learn more about what you can expect to become a part of. Make sure to take a look and apply now.
http://venturevillage.eu/microsoft-ventures-htgf-seedcamp
After announcing our results of the last 6 years yesterday, today we’re excited to share details and the selected finalists of Seedcamp Week London with you.
We’ll have over 300 mentors joining us from inspirational founders, product experts, marketing gurus and corporate partners to over 100 investors and angels.
Jan Reichelt Co-Founder of Mendeley, Matt Webb of Berg London and Ash Fontana of AngelList will be joining us for masterclasses and to share their stories. To top it off, there will be an evening event each day for further informal networking.
As you might have read from the data we shared yesterday, our teams are achieving incredible growth and we’re expecting nothing less from the selected companies participating in this Seedcamp Week. Sectors represented range from finance to kids to events to fashion. We’re happy to see such a strong representation from our base in London as well as a number of teams we met at Mini Seedcamps in various cities across Europe. Please meet the teams:
Our gratitude goes to our event partner, Barclays, for their support and sponsoring of Investor Day. We would also like to thank our event sponsors, SoftLayer and Complete Accounting Solutions, who are sponsoring lunch on Wednesday and Thursday. And AWS and Torch Partners for sponsoring the evening events. Not forgetting Silicon Valley Bank for providing everyone with seasoned entrepreneur and mentor, Rob Fitzpatrick’s, new book, The Mom Test. We would also like to thank our yearly sponsors; Google, Microsoft BizSpark, Qualcomm Ventures, Paypal, Barclays and Nokia.
Be sure to follow our blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts to follow the event on the day!
The countdown is on! It’s only a few weeks until Seedcamp Week London commences during the 1st week of September. Applications are flowing in from all over the globe and we’re really looking forward to what will be a great event.
For those unfamiliar with what a Seedcamp Week entails, it’s where entrepreneurs, startups, mentors, founders, investors and tech aficionados come together for five intense days. Masterclasses, mentoring and networking events show startups what Seedcamp has to offer and help us select the newest teams to join Seedcamp.
Only a handful of startups from the hundreds who have applied will be invited to join us in London to compete for a chance to join the Seedcamp family. Besides receiving investment, winning teams will benefit from the full Seedcamp Program including office space at Google Campus, Seedcamp Academy, a USA road trip, Demo Days and the Founder Pack worth €150k.
For more information on Seedcamp events or the process, check out reports from previous events, about & investment terms, and our Seedcamp Week overview.
Seedcamp Week brings together leading entrepreneurs, investors and experts from all over Europe. At Seedcamp Week London you will meet inspiring mentors like: Joe Cohen, Brent Hoberman, Christian Hernandez, and David Noel. Top investors will also be there, including: Index Ventures, Charlotte Street Capital, Balderton Capital, DFJ Esprit, and Torch Partners. And you will meet your peers – fellow founders of the hottest startups out there including the winners of previous Seedcamp Weeks.
What does this mean? Bring plenty of business cards – Seedcamp Week London offers a week full of networking opportunities for startups to meet the far reaching Seedcamp network of individuals and organisations.
Applications close on the 12th of August (at 11.59pm). So, if you are sitting contemplating applying to Seedcamp Week London – remember this: you’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!
If you have a fantastic startup be sure to apply to Seedcamp Week London.
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