I found out about Flashstarts through the career center at my school. I applied to a variety of internships across the United States, and I chose Flashstarts for the opportunity to gain experience working with startups. I was not sure what to expect of Cleveland, but I have come to love the city after living, working, and exploring here for the past six weeks. My favorite Cleveland activities are going to the zoo and eating at the numerous fantastic restaurants.
My most exciting work at Flashstarts has been my work for the GhostWave team. GhostWave is developing radio frequency noise radar to eliminate the risk of radar interference in crash avoidance systems. GhostWave is also applying this technology to beehive monitoring. I have been working on researching the potential market for radar based hive monitoring systems and on building a financial projection. Last week, I travelled with rest of the GhostWave team to The Ohio State University to gather data on wingspeed and flight patterns of bees exposed to different pesticides. It may seem that one technology being applied to areas as different as bees and collision avoidance is unusual, but it is a good example of how flashstarts teams are developing technology that can be implemented in a variety of ways.
My life has changed dramatically over the last two years since attending college. I have had two internships during this time: one at a Fortune 50 company with over 200,000 employees and another at Flashstarts. One internship where I had one direct supervisor, worked in a cubicle, and interacted with the same few people every day. At Flashstarts I work for multiple teams, my assignments rotate every couple weeks, and I interact with nearly all 25+ interns every day. I enjoyed both work environments despite their dramatic differences so there is really no predicting where I might end up working after college. Wherever I end up, I’m sure it will be a place with good restaurants and a variety of outdoor activities.
On the weekends I enjoy spending my time listening to electronic music and indie rock, taking advantage of the all you can eat sushi lunch special at Kintaro, and biking on the path that starts in Tremont and links up with the Towpath Trail that runs through Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Favorite oatmeal topping: raisins
Favorite office decoration: Sasquatch statue
Favorite workspace: The desks on the west side of the office
Favorite musician to work to: Tycho
Jared Barlow is a rising Junior studying Financial Economics at Denison University. He is currently a business management intern at Flashstarts, inc. where he helps build startup companies. For more information, please visit www.flashstarts.com.
