One of the first things Charles told us is that there is a steep learning curve over our 12 weeks as interns here. On my first day, I found the bottom of that curve by getting Flashstarts kicked out of its own bank account.
However, over the past three weeks, I’ve climbed up that curve, lesson by lesson, discussion by discussion.
In a Word
The one word that best describes my time at Flashstarts is growth, both as a person and an aspiring professional. My accounting experience before this summer amounted to a couple of high school electives and 20 hours volunteering at the IRS to help people fill out tax returns. However, during the first week, I set up accounting software for all 12 startups and began financial modeling.
Because I’m working with all of the companies, I had to develop the ability to communicate clearly and concisely. My first few accounting tasks were basic categorization, software setup, and initial financial modeling, but through professionals associated with Flashstarts, I learned payroll, QuickBooks reconciliation, and more realistic, complex financial models. Although my title is “accounting intern”, I have learned a little about every side of the business from sales to development to finance through Flashstarts’ network of incredible mentors.
Driving Forces
Though my internship as a whole can almost be put into one word, the people I work with cannot. Everyone in the office – from Charles and Jen, to the entrepreneurs, to my fellow interns – can be described aptly in so many different ways – intelligent, inspiring, motivated, helpful, friendly – the list goes on.
These entrepreneurs are all tied together by their incredible passion for what they do. Seeing their passion makes me want to know every angle of their businesses, to strive towards perfecting my work, to learn as much as possible so I can help as much as possible. As I work on financial models, business plans, and accounting tasks for the Flashstarts companies, I know my work has a direct impact on each company’s success; that responsibility drives me to improve each day. It has been a privilege and an education to work with so many gifted, driven people over these past three weeks and I cannot wait to see what the next weeks hold.
Position: Accounting and Business Management
School: The Ohio State University, Class of 2017
