What:
Friendfactor
Where:
NY
What did you do this summer?
I worked this summer at Friendfactor, a social media start-up focused on gay rights. It was founded this year by a HBS/HKS grad, and the organization now has four full-time employees. Their product (launching this fall) is an online platform that enables friends – gay and straight – to help their LGBT friends get basic legal freedoms by taking small actions. My personal responsibilities were to create a marketing launch plan and manage the beta testing community.
What was your background prior to HBS?
Before HBS, I worked at Bain & Co with mostly big, corporate clients.
Why did you choose to spend your internship at Friendfactor?
First, the cause is personally important to me, and I viewed this summer as a rare opportunity to commit my time and talents to it full-time. Second, Friendfactor was a total 180 from consulting – very entrepreneurial and creative – and required much more doing and much less PPT.
What advice do you have for RCs looking for summer internships?
Re-read your HBS essay and then don’t be afraid to part from the industry week herds. If you want to be a banker or consultant, by all means, do. But if you’ve always wondered about gay, tech, non-profit marketing (and who hasn’t?), the summer is one of your last low-risk opportunities to try something new, learn a lot, and make for a more interesting dinner guest.
