Intern Theory is a platform that helps students find the right internship for themselves, with companies, in turn, getting the kind of interns they are looking for. It was built by four students of DJ Sanghvi College of Engineering namely Vamil Sangoi (Bachelor of Engineering in EXTC), Dhruvi Dharia (Bachelor of Engineering in IT), Anshini Jhaveri (Bachelor of Engineering in IT), Jugal Choksi (Bachelor of Engineering in CS ).
1. What gave you the idea of “Intern Theory”?
I was in my 1st year of Engineering in 2011 when I was looking for an internship. My internship hunt began in December 2011 and I landed an internship in May 2012. I realized there was a need for a platform for students as well as companies to connect in the internship space. Hence, the seed was planted while I was in my first year of engineering. I approached my friends Dhruvi, Anshini and Jugal and we discussed this at length. As a result of this, we started working on this concept and launched our first MVP internup.in in January 2014 while we were still in our 3rd year! As the website gained traffic, all four of us decided to not take up jobs and continue working on this idea! After our MVP gained success and after we graduated, we launched our portal www.interntheory.com in February 2016.
2. What were the initial difficulties you have faced?
A startup will not have a single day without difficulties. Some of the early challenges were managing time as we were in college and had to juggle between academics and Intern Theory. Adding to that was our inexperience as all 4 of us were 20 years old and still in college. Although we have worked hard and overcome hurdles as they come (they haven’t stopped coming yet :P)
3. How has the progress of the startup been so far?
After launching in February 2016, we have helped over 2 Lakh students in their search for internships. More than 6000 companies hire interns from us now. These numbers are increasing month on month. Apart from internships, we have also launched Online Courses, first being our Online Stock Market Course: https://www.interntheory.com/course/stock-market-course. We will be launching our Online Digital Marketing Course soon as well.
4. How did people around you react to your idea of “Intern Theory”?
As far as students were concerned, everyone was happy. It was a happy solution for all their internship woes. We were lucky enough that all 4 of us were supported by our families to give up on secure well-paying jobs and continue with Intern Theory.
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5. Best moment related to this start up you can recall?
A lot of moments actually. Every milestone was one of the best moments. To name one, it would be moving into our own office right after Graduation and see our team grow from just the 4 of us to a team of 12 dedicated individuals.
6. Did you require sponsors? Were there any difficulties in finding?
Yes, we required funding. No, luckily there were no difficulties in funding. We somehow managed to close the first investment pitch we made and landed with a good deal. We raised a little over $100k in our pre-seed funding and are now looking at our next round of investment.
7. What will be your message for the youth?
Invest in yourself in terms of time, effort and money. Start working towards your goals and you will be surprised to see where you end.
