Internships

Internships at Access Ventures

We value internships at Access Ventures because the problems we are trying to solve are too big for us to solve on our own, and the change we desire to see will require a movement of like-minded entrepreneurs, creators and investors sharing in an active and vibrant vision for their communities. We love sharing our vision with interns, and we love seeing them take this vision back to their universities, neighborhoods, and future workplaces.

The internship program at Access Ventures is designed to give college students or recent college graduates real work experience by helping us solve real problems. Our goal is to ensure interns get the full experience of what it is like to work in impact investing at a private operating foundation.

“We love sharing our vision with interns, and we love seeing them take this vision back to their universities, neighborhoods, and future workplaces.”

Upcoming Cohorts

We have three internship cohorts every year, each lasting 2-3 months. We are currently accepting applications for the Spring 2020 Cohort. Here is the full schedule of upcoming internship cohorts:

Spring 2020 –  Jan. 21st – Apr. 24th, 2020 (now accepting applications)
Summer 2020 –  Jun. 1st – Jul. 31st, 2020 (applications open Dec. 1st, 2019)

Available Internship Opportunities

Lenderfit – As a Lenderfit intern you will gain Fintech startup experience as we continue to build and refine our SaaS product called Lenderfit. While plenty of technology exists to help Lenders with record keeping and reporting, Lenderfit is the first to provide a modern solution for the most time consuming portion of the application process. During your internship you’ll assist with marketing, customer support, customer discovery, and on-boarding. Candidates for the Lenderfit internship are flexible and excel at adjusting their workflow to the priorities of the day/week as well as delivering imperfect solutions due to tight time constraints.

Investments – As an investment intern, you will support our direct investment process and portfolio companies. The position will provide exposure to investments in a range of asset classes as well as the daily operations of venture-backed startups. We are looking for someone that enjoys research and is skilled in written communication. The ideal candidate is a quick learner, self-starter, and a fun team member.

Creative Team – As a creative intern, you will learn our creative approach to communication, design, and marketing to help cultivate the Access Ventures brand and grow our community. Ideal candidates are doers and makers more so than thinkers and strategists. Candidates for the creative internship are (or claim to be): Storytellers, Graphic Designers, Writers, Photographers, Social Media Experts, Videographers. Candidates should live and breathe the present media trends but aren’t afraid to take a risk on what might be next.

Supportive Employment and Affordable Housing –  As a program intern at Access Ventures you will be focused on our supportive employment and affordable housing initiatives. In 2019 we’re focused on deploying capital through the Reconstruct Challenge, and helping organizations implement supportive employment practices. This position includes working directly with supportive employment enterprises in our community to help their businesses grow and providing support to the recipients of the Reconstruct Challenge grant while gaining a deeper understanding of both supportive employment and affordable housing through research efforts.

Access to Capital – As a program intern at Access Ventures, you will be helping to develop and implement a new initiative providing regional entrepreneurs with capital opportunities. We will be launching this program as you join in early 2020, so the best candidates will be flexible and ready to contribute in all areas as we begin implementation – research, marketing, entrepreneur support, and much more. We are looking for a self-starter with a positive attitude and great communication skills. This position will provide meaningful experience if you are interested in learning about how innovative startups raise capital.

Compensation and Logistics

We offer both paid and unpaid internships, although our paid opportunities are limited and vary from cohort to cohort. In any case we will gladly work with your institution to pursue academic credit for your experience.

Most of the time our interns already live or go to school in the Louisville/Lexington metro areas. Candidates from outside these areas can still apply, but all interns (local and non-local) must provide for their own living expenses for the duration of the program.

Requirements

You Have a Team Ethos: We are first and foremost a community that works as a team. Every position is important and our strength is in unity. You thrive in a creative, innovative, fast-paced start-up environment, with people who are passionate about their work and mission.

You’re Flexible and a Quick Responder: The problems we are trying to solve as an organization are dynamic and each day brings fresh and exciting challenges. You like special projects and learning new things. You can react quickly and efficiently when called upon to change or pivot.

You’re Independent and Self-Motivated: You can handle a wide variety of tasks without constant supervision. You relish the chance to own your projects you’re confident and capable.

You’re Available 20hrs a Week: We’ll need you for approximately 20 hours a week and in the office at least three to four days a week. Everyone goes through cohort orientation (1-2 days at the beginning of the cohort) and everyone will get a personalized intern development/work plan.