Working at a Ten Person Startup

Given the small size of the organization that I am interning at, the leader/follower dynamics within the workplace are very flexible. As of now there are only five full time employees in addition to the five interns (including myself) working there this summer. The organization that I am working at is Boxcar Transit, which is a tech startup that specializes in commuting technology. Since the company is so small, there are no severe divisions between the senior leadership of the organization and the interns. While there is a difference in terms of responsibilities, the working relationships are very hands on and collaborative, and the senior leadership often asks the interns about their own perspectives and ideas on how to improve the app that the company is improving and developing.

The work structure is very much shared a collaborative. While different full time employees have different responsibilities, the small size of the company makes it so that everyone has the same goals: more user growth, obtain more properties, and find new ways to innovate. Therefore, as an intern, I am working to learn about all facets of the app and make myself useful wherever I can. For instance, at the end of our internships, all of the interns are presenting their own idea or project for Boxcar to the company leadership. These projects follow no exact formula and are designed to give the interns full control over their own thoughts and ideas. Not only are these presentations used to evaluate the progress that we have made this summer, but they could also potentially be developed and implemented by the Boxcar team if they are viable. This demonstrates a high level of trust between the higher and lower members of the totem pole within the company.

This kind of transparency is not common in many companies, and such open dialogue between the leaders and the followers allows for an incredibly relaxed working environment. The CEO, for instance, will give the interns an assignment and then we are left to our own devices to work with one another and ask questions to other members of the team. There is no sense of procedure, despite the fact that we are working at a tech company.