An ant in the colony

Confessions of an intern at a start-up

Already in the first weeks, during a team presentation and company meeting, interns were told not to present themselves simply as such, rather we had to elaborate our role as well as our goals within the company; in fact we were scolded for the mention of the word while presenting ourselves.

It has been a year now since I have started working at URBANTZ. After receiving my bachelor degree, I looked for a job which could help me support myself, gain professional experience and strengthen interpersonal skills. Luckily there was an opening at URBANTZ — and I much liked Brussels from a previous encounter — thus I was thrilled when I got accepted.

At URBANTZ, I work with feet in two separate departments, namely: the Sales and Customer Success departments. Both are very demanding and although on a day-to-day basis they require very different approaches to the job, some skills overlap and are co-dependent. It was a very thorough and enlightening experience as I could follow through the whole process of signing a new customer — from prospection, to cold-calling, to simulations, to assisted testing, to approval. With the Sales department, I’ve learnt to build resilience and strengthen interpersonal skills which are crucial in the Customer Success team. In the latter department, learning to integrate client needs into the software and testing the functionalities of the software proved quintessential to arguments for sales calls. At the end of my internship, I am proud to have signed a couple new clients who are still actively using the URBANTZ solution.

Working in a start-up has proven to be most fulfilling, and heart-warming. Working alongside entrepreneurs who are not risk-averse, and dedicate both their minds and their time to assure the livelihood of the company. In a start-up, everything is less bureaucratic and you learn much by common-sense as well as trial-and-error. Although an ‘intern’, I was trusted with working autonomously and responsibly, which I much appreciated alongside the constructive feedback from the managers.

Since my arrival, it was amazing to see the company grow twofold in terms of workforce. Albeit the fast scale-up, URBANTZ still remains a very personal space though and culture fit remains important. Fortunately, all departments interact and get along incredibly well. Moreover, it was very pleasing to be a part of URBANTZ while it signed major contracts, expanded overseas, closed its first rounds of funding, opened a new department and even redecorated the office.

Although work can get busy, we always try to find time for team drinks. All-in-all URBANTZ was a wonderful and most cherished experience. For all my colleagues who are reading this, and for all you readers out there, I will probably be remembered as San — the first one at the lunch table.