Why I chose Kronos as my first internship and not a billion dollar corporation?

By Charlene Lin, Community Intern

Courage is key to interning at a startup.

As a current National Taiwan University student, I noticed that being a part of NTU — one of the best universities in Taiwan — usually meant coming from the best high schools, junior highs, and even kindergartens. In college, especially in the college of management, people are always chasing after something prestigious, be it titles, achievements, or internships. I was no exception.

I spent the first half of my college life flying all over Asia to learn from talented students; I joined clubs that brought me to New York for conferences, visited the United Nations Headquarters, went to Harvard to network and partnered with top US teams to organize the biggest human rights forum in Taiwan. In 2019, I was ready to take on my next challenge: an internship.

When it came to that, everyone I knew was interning at well known corporations, such as Google, JP Morgan, Microsoft, Uber…etc. In exchange for a good resume, they often had to do trivial tasks assigned to interns. It would be practical to follow their steps in getting a perfect resume, but I wasn’t sold on doing those 2nd-year-student type of tasks; I wanted to take on more important responsibilities and make a difference.

Then it hit me, Startups! Many startups may just be getting on their feet, but they tend to offer a new perspective to an old problem, and more opportunity to grow. I found Kronos online and it quickly became clear that it would be my one and only choice. Kronos, in the heart of Taipei’s financial center, is deeply invested in the crypto world and has an ambitious goal to empower people to take control of their own financial freedom. That was the kind of “making a difference” I wanted to be a part of.

After a series of interviews, in-depth questions and assigned tasks, I stood out from 10+ candidates and was hired as the community intern at Kronos.

Conquering a High Volatility workplace

Kronos was expanding rapidly when I first got in. In just 3 months, the company grew from less than 20 employees to almost 40. New employees joined weekly, new duties popped up endlessly, and even our affiliated brand was renamed after a midnight discussion. My initial role as a community intern evolved to become so much more. I was originally in charge of managing and creating daily content for the Kronos Telegram community. However, I ended up supporting a private business party, negotiating with vendors, brainstorming marketing content, writing marketing reports and becoming the leader of the Ambassador program. Unlike working at an established corporation, working at a volatile and constantly changing startup meant that everyday was met with a new challenge to tackle.

Marketing Team: An intern’s POV into work culture

The marketing team is composed of colleagues from Taiwan, China, Korea and Canada. People are from all over the globe, and we usually have to communicate online. While we may just seem like a typical, small team in a startup, the experiences I have gained here have redefined my personal and professional values:

• Overcoming Ignorance: Passion matters

Being in a competitive environment filled with only “top students” from the “best schools” working in “billion dollar corporations” made me ignorant to the crucial factor of a successful business — passion, which big companies often forget. When you ask the Co-CEO Mark what he values most in a candidate, he says “passion and creativity”. At Kronos, I feel that passion in my colleagues, and the diligence, proactiveness and professionalism that comes with it.

• Work on your time: Be your own keeper

I’ve always been an independent employee/daughter/student. Too much supervision from others seem like a violation of trust to me. The boss isn’t breathing down my neck here, instead there is full trust from the get-go. I have since developed a sense of ownership for all of my duties at Kronos. I make it my goal to deliver results on time, be honest about the difficulties I am facing, and how I plan to make up for them.

• Forget about JD: From community intern to project leader

Just last month, I began leading the Campus Ambassador Program, a program the company has never done before. The goal was to find influential students across campuses to share what Kronos does and recruit more talent. It was an incredible opportunity to build something from scratch: from figuring out how to structure the program, which type of students best fit and how to reach out to potential candidates. I haven’t heard of another company that gives its interns the power to design a whole new program.

• Not just here to learn: a 19-year-old intern can make an impact

I’m the only one in the marketing team that is actually a marketing major. People always say what you study in college is not necessarily the career you’ll be good at, and I got to see that first hand. However, given my background, I stepped in when the team encountered decisions related to marketing principles. I was able to affect the decision of a campaign by posing questions such as “Who is our target audience?” and “Will this content work and why?” Just think about it, a group of talented people in their mid 20s–30s, willing to take advice from a 19 year old college student.

• Flat Organization: A C-level Sits Right Beside You

Jennifer, the CMO, literally sits 30 cm away from me. She’s always on the go, but nonetheless, I see how much she takes care of the company and her team even when she’s overseas. I remember the first time I handed my marketing strategy report to her, she took the time outside her busy schedule to read it deliberately, give me feedback, and forward it to the company group chat to show off. I even had the opportunity to personally give Jack, the Co-CEO, my feedback on the company during our 1 on 1 quarterly review.

Note for all intern-to-bes: Find a Company that matches who you aspire to be

If anyone asked me what’s the biggest take-away from my first internship, I would say: Forget the title, look for a place that motivates you to change and create change. The learning opportunities will be abundant at both a large established corporation and a fast, cutting edge startup. What’s important is to take your personality, habits and values into consideration, choose a company that pushes you to become better, and always surround yourself with people you aspire to be.