Energizing the Future: Energy Innovation Capital’s Externship Cohort
At Energy Innovation Capital (EIC), we believe the future of energy will be fueled by an educated, inspired cohort of entrepreneurs and doers. That is why, for the last year, we’ve partnered with Paragon One to offer more than 400 externships to early-career individuals looking to learn and contribute to the energy and climate tech venture ecosystem. These individuals come from all over the world and from various backgrounds, particularly those who are underrepresented in the venture capital industry.
EIC’s externship program provides an opportunity that goes beyond traditional internships. It’s an eight-week work-based project that allows students to collaborate with our team, facilitated by Paragon One program coordinators, to solve real business problems. The program serves a dual purpose. Firstly, it allows EIC to engage with the broader community, something we’re passionate about. We see this as an opportunity to give back and provide mentorship to the next generation of leaders. Secondly, the program provides EIC with an opportunity to hear from bright, young individuals and diverse perspectives on market trends and potential investment opportunities.
The selection process for the externship program is comprehensive and competitive, ensuring that we select the most promising candidates and enable them to develop transferable skills that prepare them for future career opportunities. It begins with a robust talent filtering system administered by Paragon One. Paragon One then conducts detailed application reviews and rigorous interviews. The stringent selection process ensures that we choose the most promising candidates who not only exhibit the potential to contribute to our mission but also stand to gain the most from this experience.
Each extern admitted to the program is assigned a market segment and conducts research into the market, identifying the key drivers, opportunities, and risks for emerging technologies. Externs are then tasked with identifying three to five companies within that segment that align with EIC’s investment focus. This involves a deep dive into each company, understanding its business model, vision, stakeholders, and the specific problems or challenges they aim to solve. Externs compile this research into detailed presentations that provide a comprehensive overview of each company.
But the work doesn’t stop there. Externs are also expected to provide an executive summary of their insights, recommendations based on their findings, and a report on the key dimensions of the market. This could include a landscape map, a summary of landscape trends, and other relevant information. These deliverables are designed to be actionable and concise, distilling large amounts of information into key insights that can inform EIC’s investment decisions.
EIC evaluates the final work produced by the externs based on their ability to concisely distill these large amounts of information, the actionability of their suggestions, and their analytical ability to convey key insights. Understanding key criteria that define a good investment, such as technical advantages, team, market, product and associated value prop, and return potential, is also a crucial part of the evaluation process.
In essence, the externship program at EIC is designed to provide externs with an understanding of the venture capital process, from market research to deal sourcing, while also contributing to EIC’s investment strategy.
“We at Energy Innovation Capital (EIC) cherish our partnership with Paragon One’s externship program,” says Yucen Xie, Principal at EIC. “This collaboration provides us with an opportunity to give back to the community, particularly to underrepresented populations, by offering mentorship and exposure to the venture capital industry. Simultaneously, we benefit from the fresh insights of these bright minds into various market segments and potential investment opportunities. It’s a mutually beneficial program, and I enjoy engaging with students on a weekly basis.”
The externship program is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion in the energy and climate tech industry. By partnering with Paragon One, we are able to interact with a global pool of talent, enabling us to engage with externs from diverse geographical, cultural, and academic backgrounds. Moreover, the externship program is designed to break down barriers to career entry for students.
“The tasks are really good and provide an actual business experience to the extern,” said one past extern. “The externship has helped me in the job interview as well. This externship has helped me enter the energy domain even though I had no prior experience in the sector. I am more confident about my presentation and research skills after this externship.”
Another said: “The exposure to energy and venture capital provided me with an exciting opportunity to understand the emerging trends in the power analytics sector.”
The EIC externship program, in partnership with Paragon One, is an ongoing initiative and we warmly welcome aspiring individuals to become a part of this exciting journey. Applications can be submitted through the Paragon One platform.
We believe in the power of externships to fill the gaps in traditional corporate internships, and we’re committed to providing an enriching and rewarding experience for our students.
