25 Aug Internship Recap: Tanner Brumbarger
This summer I spent my weekdays working at Launch Fishers as a participant in IWU’s Accelerate Indiana Internship Program, part of the Lilly Endowment’s effort to halt the ‘brain drain’ of talent in Indiana. As a participant in the program, Indiana Wesleyan has provided over a dozen interns to small startup businesses across Indiana in an effort to provide talent to startups in need, as well as develop bridges between college students and startup communities.
As a participant, my work at Launch Fishers included day to day management of the 16,000 square foot coworking facility, while assisting in daily support for Launch Fishers members. Additionally, I developed and executed events designed to foster community both inside and outside of Launch Fishers, editing marketing and educational content for Launch Fishers’ website designed at educating the public on the concept of coworking and collaboration. But what I really enjoyed, is making sure all of the organizational pieces of Launch Fishers is up to date, specifically when it came to managing the 500+ entrepreneurs who call Launch Fishers home. So I researched trends & reports on the concept of coworking, acceleration and incubation among startup coworking spaces, while building a statistical report on Launch Fishers’ member retainment rate, member diversity and member growth since Launch Fishers’ start. After that baseline was developed, I designed a self-sustaining system to keep track of the process after I left at the end of the summer.
Tanner Brumbarger begins his Sophomore year with Indiana Wesleyan University this fall
One of the most underrated parts of working at a place like Launch Fishers is the community that one can experience. In this role, I made strides in maintaining my own professional network, while growing it exponentially through my presence at Launch Fishers. This takeaway is not only paying dividends this summer, but I know it will be tremendously helpful next summer and beyond as I look to develop specialized skills and connections.
My professional goals, at the moment, are still undetermined. I don’t know quite what I want to do … or even where I want to do it. However, I have a growing interest in marketing, a knack for project management and a thirst for learning product development. Ultimately my main goal is to find a team of great people to work with. Working with great people interests me and brings me happiness. Great people make great work, therefore my goal is to work with great people.
Intern Q&A:
Q: How do you see your internship during college preparing you for the workforce?
A: I think the best thing my internship has done for me is put me into a position to succeed, both through flexible work schedules, challenging ideas and a great opportunity it network.
Q: Will you share one or two of your most memorable internship experiences? (i.e. accomplishment, funny story, learning moment, etc.)
A: Probably one of my favorite Launch Fishers memories was an event celebrating entrepreneurship. Nearly 600 people showed up at our new location, eager to learn more from other entrepreneurs, while also seeing the future of Launch Fishers. That was a bonding experience for our staff – even if it was exhausting to put on.
Q: Why should college students participate in internships?
A: College students should participate in their respective communities as much as possible. Interning at a startup during college is a great opportunity to do that. Startups tend to be very involved in their community, usually for survival. Plus, most startups are in a position where they need to be adaptive and forward thinking, lest they fall behind and fail. College students should jump on this opportunity because of the immense benefits that a startup internship has.
Q: What advice do you have for students that want to get the most out of their internship?
A: Get out of bed. That means two things. It’s a figure of speech, but those who put in the most effort will get the most reward. What you put in is what you’ll get out. Perhaps you may not remain at that particular organization, but you will quickly know what you want to do and how you want to get there.
Q: Who are some key influences in your life?
A: There are so many, but the popular figures who stimulate me: C.S. Lewis, Roger Scruton, Peter Thiel and my father. When reading the The Weight of Glory by Lewis over spring break I stumbled across this quote: “If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.”
This has been my summer mantra: work hardest at what you do, one step at a time. But who inspires me on a daily basis? Those who are willing to meet me at some obscure hole in the wall in Broad Ripple at 7AM to talk you through a challenge. Those are the people who I am thankful for and it’s these people who influence me the most.