MBA Blog: Valuable Internship Experience at a Fintech Startup

In her latest blog published in Financial Times, MBA student Monica Dee shares her internship experience with a financial technology startup in Hong Kong. She wrote that her time at the startup has been extremely valuable and an eye-opening experience for her.

Before traveling to the United States for the exchange program, Dee set a goal for her internship: To work on something that could create significant impact on her career development, as well as gain practical knowledge and professional experience even with the very limited amount of time she had. She feels that working at a startup has satisfied her requirements.

In a small startup, roles and responsibilities are not as compartmentalized and the organizational structure is not as hierarchical as in large corporations. As such, Dee did not simply focus on one particular function, but was given a role that required her to become knowledgeable and experienced in different areas of the business. As a result, she got to learn many different aspects of the business all at once.

During the internship, Dee enjoyed working very closely with all members of the team, and even interacted directly with the chief executive and co-founders on a daily basis. She believes this has given her the opportunity to assert more influence and create an impact on key business strategies and management decisions.

Other significant elements Dee observed during the internship are the flexibility and autonomy that the work environment provides. She eventually eased into this working style, and indicates that she worked well in an environment where she had the freedom to approach matters from different angles and to work toward achieving her objectives with a high level of independence, innovation and initiative…

Media: Financial Times
Section: Business Education
Date published: Aug 4, 2015
Re: Monica Dee (MBA student)