As the pandemic continues to change the landscape of how work looks like, four up-and-coming young professionals, Gino, Dex, Myk and Gabe have chosen to intern with fintech startup Plentina to boost their career opportunities for the future.
With three months into Plentina’s Winter Internship Program, they’ve touched on various sides of how the business runs from strategy to product and marketing to communicating with customers.
Here they share their reasons backed with experience why you should also choose to work with a startup: It's The Best Place to Learn
Gino Alvarez says:
“One of the best things I’ve experienced was that the desire to learn is always a two-way street. As much as I wanted to come in and learn from the founders and the other members of the team, I quickly realized that they wanted to learn from me as well.”
Gino Alvarez, Ateneo de Manila “When I started on this journey a few months back I honestly didn’t know what to expect. The thought of working in an emerging fintech company was incredibly exciting, but I’d be lying to you if I said it wasn’t quite intimidating as well. Now, I could honestly say that I feel more confident and capable than I've ever felt before.
What I loved about working in a young fintech startup was that I felt as though every project I was given was crucial for the company’s success. I always felt like I was heard and I truly felt like I was making a difference in the company. There’s just something empowering and motivating about having the country manager, the chief business officer as well as chief executive officer sit there and simply ask you for your thoughts, opinions and insights. So if I were to sum it up, it’s an environment that is conducive to learning, and one which is driven by a strong sense of passion, ambition and the will to succeed.”
You Get A Hands On Experience How Companies Work
Myk Aquino says:
“Interning at a startup covers a wide range of work, which means having to wear various hats for a company and this allowed me to develop an array of skills needed for the various roles I took on.”
Myk Aquino, University of the Philippines Diliman Fintech companies are garnering attention as the future of financial services because they allow customers to make transactions fast and easy. At first, interning at a Fintech was especially interesting and exciting to me because I knew it would give me an idea on how the possible future of financial services is built from ground up. By the end, I really appreciated all the learnings and fulfillment I got from interning at Plentina.
This work environment is a relatively small workforce and flat organizational structure that allows collaboration with anyone in the company, which gave me an opportunity to work with, learn from, and get mentorship all the way from senior management down to the last employee. It was also never a boring day at Plentina because there was always something exciting going on, from its official launch to its first press conference I was able to work on projects for operations, strategy, and marketing. Lastly, working with Plentina was especially a great opportunity to help in building the future of financial services and thus the future of possibly millions of people, and I can’t wait to see in a few years the impact of Plentina on emerging markets.
You’re Given Real Responsibilities
Dexciree Vergara says:
“You are not only given random tasks, but these activities hold value and impact on the growth of the company.”
Dexciree Vergara, De La Salle University- Manila
I never once dared to consider working in a start-up, much less interning in one. This quarantine gave me a turning point to overcome those doubts and take risks to absorb experiences as much as I can. Interning in a startup is the epitome of a hands-on experience. You are given projects where you take full responsibility — from the planning, execution, and evaluation. Right of the gate, I was designing Plentina’s social media strategies and taking charge of their online marketing plans. They made sure to nurture and mentor interns, creating a well-rounded experience. More so, you get to work with the most passionate people in the group. From the brainchild to the junior staff, everyone exhibits that burning passion to serve the Filipino market and believes ceaselessly in what Plentina advocates for. Working in a start-up entails growing with the company. Incredibly fast-paced, get ready to be agile and have that steep learning curve that we yearn for. Undeniably, working in a startup is always a route worth taking the risk.
It’s the Culture
Gabe Ticgue says:
“Everyone gets a chance to know each other beyond the roles and tasks we’re assigned to do. This makes the environment a comfortable and easier place to exchange ideas.”
Gabe Ticgue, University of the Philippines Baguio The first two years of my career, I’ve worked with established multinational companies doing one job. I was dealing with established hierarchies, navigating through the complicated web of relationships of the workplace. Most often than not, the bosses are out of sight in production. It can get really exhausting.
The best and most fruitful parts of working with Plentina was the weekly company meetings for socialization and group activities with the whole team. This broke down any barriers that we may have and created a special bond that helps boost company-wide collaboration. A downtime to refresh from the week’s work. Knowing your boss can get really goofy and vibin’ in a game of Among Us makes it easier to relate and touch base where they’re coming from. People are open and passionate about what they do and driven to achieve their goals. As an intern, this was inspiring and helped me find the fuel for my own ambitions about my future career. It’s exciting to see where Plentina is heading soon!
More on Plentina’s Internship Program
Plentina’s internship program provides successful candidates with an intensive yet unique opportunity to experience a challenging 10-week internship. From operations, marketing, to product, you will deliver real, impactful, and result driven tasks to different business units of the company. As part of Plentina’s cohort, you will work on a defined project, network with senior colleagues, and get the chance to participate in career development sessions.