Truth be told, this post was supposed to go out in late December, but the holidays and some travel came in between. My apologies dear readers. As you may have been tracking, we had four wonderful interns at DNX in 2021. You may even have read the stories from some of them before. This is the last one, from Kashish Mewani, a curious young lady who wanted to explore possibilities within marketing. Read her experiences and reflections below. Sometimes the best inspiration comes from a fresh perspective, wouldn’t you agree? Enjoy!
Stepping into the business world can be a little intimidating. As I continued my degree in Business from Arizona State University, I found that entrepreneurship and marketing were fascinating fields that interested me the most. However, I never really knew what path I wanted to take after obtaining my degree, but I knew I wanted to gain more knowledge and experience in marketing.
When looking for an internship, I had no idea what a Venture Capital firm does. Of course, I had heard intelligent and passionate entrepreneurs and peers at school discuss VC. But, I did not have a deep understanding of VCs, technical content, or even a B2B business environment. When the opportunity presented itself at DNX Ventures for a marketing internship, it scared me a little, but it was exactly what I aspired for.
This fall, I had the privilege of working with inspiring individuals at DNX. Over time I saw how each of them contributed to create a very positive, welcoming, and collaborative environment - not only to the team, but also their portfolio companies and corporate network.
When I started my internship, the supportive culture enabled me to push myself and grow. One of my favorite projects was to create blogs about each team member. I was grateful for the amount of independence handed to me from the beginning as I carried out this project. I was able to fly out to San Francisco to safely meet the team during this time, where I started with interviews with each team member. Quickly I learned that this team was down-to-earth and dedicated to the success of both their team and everyone they work with. Not only was I able to get inspiring content to share with entrepreneurs, but I also gained insightful advice from each member as they allowed me to learn about their backgrounds, paths, and experiences. My conversations with each member provided me with a deeper understanding of how a VC firm is run and how the team members support each other. I had an amazing time putting together these blogs where I was able to apply my creativity, writing and even my photography skills!
I also had the opportunity to source new content, create captions for social media posts and design images. It became a fun process, where I kept up with news about our portfolio companies and gained a deeper understanding of the world of technology. I got to dive deep into the fast-paced world of VCs and how marketing actually works in the business world. I enjoyed my time learning and applying myself in all aspects of the internship.
School had taught me what marketing is, but this internship taught me learnings I could never learn in books. In the end, I am grateful for this opportunity. Working with the DNX team has been a remarkable experience. Their supportive culture has enabled me to grow through so much valuable feedback and learnings that I will take with me in my future endeavors. I admire their transparent communication, relentless focus and dedication - values that I will hold moving forward in anything I do.
The truth is, my goal through this internship was to learn anything and everything I could about the business world, VCs, and marketing. DNX let me do just that. I learned how marketing works through real projects and experiences. I learned more about the world of technology. I learned what it means to be customer-focused in a fast-paced industry. I learned about various sectors and the entrepreneurial journey. However, my learning went beyond any technical content. I learned to be fearless in sharing my ideas and what career path I can take moving forward - one that I am actually passionate about! Most importantly, I learned to go for it, whatever it is, even if it scares me a little. :)