I buy almost all of my electronics directly from Apple or on Amazon. They have pretty much everything that I ever need, but there’s plenty of stuff that they don’t carry. Whether you’re looking for computer parts, digital cameras, TVs, or a display, Newegg probably has it. They’re a City of Industry, CA based “e-retailer committed to becoming the most loved and trusted marketplace on the web by offering superior shopping experience, rapid delivery, and stellar customer service.” Newegg is way too big to call a niche player, but they certainly cater to the geekier crowd. If you want to build your own computer, they’re the place to buy components. Not only do they have a huge selection of products, but they’ve also built a community of reviewers who can provide in-depth information on their experiences with products they’ve purchased.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
California,
customer service,
e-commerce,
finance,
human resources,
Internships,
marketing,
online marketing,
operations,
paid,
product management,
research,
software development,
technical support,
web development,
writing
Here’s a fun exercise. Step back and think about every gift that you gave or asked for this holiday season. Now think about the marketing messages that affected those decisions. A lot of people seem to think that they’re impervious to most marketing tactics, but the stats say otherwise. That’s good news for companies like Engauge. They’re “a full-service marketing agency” that helps grow their “clients’ businesses by leveraging creativity and technology to connect brands and consumers through the most relevant content and channels.” They’re based in Atlanta, GA with offices in Columbus, OH, Orlando, FL, and Pittsburgh, PA. Engauge launched in 2007 and has already grown to nearly 300 people.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advertising,
Florida,
Georgia,
Internships,
marketing,
media planner,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
social media
Merry Christmas! I’ve already opened my presents, as I’m about to get on a flight to somewhere warm. In past years I’ve tied in the Christmas theme by writing about employers like NORAD (they track Santa), WowWee (toys), JAKKS Pacific (toys), Caribou Coffee (reindeer), Casey Trees (Christmas trees), Elf on the Shelf (Santa’s little helpers), The Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas (not really an employer), Claxton Fruit Cake (the ultimate regfitable gift), National Christmas Tree Association (Christmas trees again), and Toys for Tots (presents). Somehow over the past 5 Christmases I’ve overlooked Christmas Tree Shops. They’re a group of retail stores that are all Christmas, all year, and always at a discount. They say they’re based out of Yarmouth Port, MA, but all of their jobs appear to be in Union, NJ. Christmas Tree Shops is actually owned by Bed Bath and Beyond, but they seem to operate at least somewhat independently. The company’s website is kind of sparse, but you can learn everything you need to know on their Careers page. They even appear to offer internships.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
buyer,
holiday,
human resources,
Internships,
New Jersey,
planner,
retail
If there’s a time of year for candles, this is it. Between Hanukkah, Advent/Christmas Eve, and having the shortest daylight period of the year (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere), we collectively burn through a lot of wax. My family’s Christmas Eve tradition includes a candlelight church service and a lot of candles around the house, though we’re smart enough not to try the candles on the Christmas tree thing (we had a close enough call with a blanket that got too close to the fireplace one year on Christmas Eve). I can’t think of a bigger name in candles than Yankee Candle, so I thought we should take a look at the South Deerfield, MA based candle maker and retailer. The company actually got its start during the Christmas of 1969. Mike Kittredge couldn’t afford to buy his mother a Christmas gift, so he melted down some crayons to make a candle. A neighbor insisted that he sell the candle to her, and Mike used the money to buy enough wax for two candles–one for his mom and one to sell. The business kept growing from there.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
consumer products,
customer service,
holiday,
Internships,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
product development,
public relations,
retail
Christmas is widely known as “the most wonderful time of the year,” but for many that doesn’t ring true. If there’s any group that deserves to have an joyful holiday season, it’s children. Most kids just want to receive a few gifts and know that someone loves and cares about them. Unfortunately, for millions of children that isn’t a given. Luckily, there are a number of non-profit organizations that help make it happen for kids who may not otherwise have a Merry Christmas. We looked at Toys for Tots last year, and this year we’re going to talk about a program called Angel Tree “that connects parents in prison with their children through the delivery of Christmas gifts.” It’s part of a larger non-profit called Prison Fellowship. The Lansdowne, VA based organization that envisions “a future in which countless prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families, are redeemed, restored, and reconciled through the love and truth of Jesus Christ.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
accounting,
administrative,
development,
holiday,
Internships,
non-profit,
outreach,
research,
Virginia
I haven’t had someone read a book to me in years. The last time that I can remember was my Senior year in high school. We had our annual K-12 holiday assembly, and one of the school’s most beloved teachers read us ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. That’s a great story to be read no matter how old you are. In fact, “reading aloud with children is the single most important activity for helping them become successful readers.” That’s why when you read with a child… Everybody Wins!. Everybody Wins! is a Wellesley, MA based non-profit (with affiliates all across the country) that is aiming to “help bridge the literacy gap.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
accounting,
administrative,
California,
Connecticut,
education,
events,
finance,
Georgia,
Internships,
Iowa,
Massachusetts,
Minnesota,
New York,
non-profit,
paid,
Pennsylvania,
photography,
public relations,
recruiting,
tutoring,
unpaid,
Vermont,
video,
Washington DC,
web development,
writing
Give Postmates a try. Use this link to get a free delivery.
I didn’t make any progress on gift buying yesterday, which means that my online shopping options are getting pretty slim. I’m either going to have to pay for expedited shipping or step foot in a retail store. If I lived in San Francisco, CA, I’d have a hybrid option. Postmates is a company that offers “a revolutionary same day urban logistics & delivery platform.” Yesterday we talked about how Quiet Logistics has enabled e-commerce upstarts to compete with Amazon in terms of fulfillment. Postmates is doing that for local retailers. If it can be purchased in your city (legally of course), you can probably have Postmates deliver it to your door for a price starting at $6.99.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
customer service,
design,
engineering,
Internships,
Logistics,
marketing,
mobile,
operations,
product development,
shipping,
software development,
user experience,
web development
Today is the last day to order something with “regular shipping” and get it in time for Christmas. It took a while, but we’re finally at a point where logistics can keep up with the speed of the Internet. Free shipping from most sites often used to take more than a week. Now I swear I’ve had things delivered the same day from Amazon. Amazon is on a completely different level from most other e-commerce companies, but more and more companies are able to offer Amazon-like delivery because of a not-so-well-known partner. Quiet Logistics is an Andover, MA based “pick-pack-ship operation (fulfillment) that uses an elegant mix of technology and branded packaging to complete the eCommerce experience.” If you’ve ever ordered from Bonobos, Gilt, or Nasty Gal, your package probably originated at Quiet Logistics’ distribution center.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
customer service,
Internships,
Logistics,
Massachusetts,
shipping
If you’re like me, you’re probably scraping for gift ideas right now. One trend that has been really big over the past few years is the subscription gift box, and it’s a great gift idea for someone who is hard to buy for. Companies like Birchbox, BeachMint, and Quarterly have each adopted this model, and I’m betting that we see it applied across even more markets over the next year. The baby/child market is proven winner, so it should be no surprise that a Mountain View, CA based company called Citrus Lane offers monthly “care packages for parents.” They ask parents a few questions about their kids (age and stage), and then send a curated selection of parent vetted toys, snacks, activities, and other products that usually align with the month’s theme.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
business development,
California,
e-commerce,
Internships,
marketing,
product management,
software development,
web development
Most of the time when we’re browsing the web, we’re really just looking for pictures to click on. There’s a reason that single frame memes and Instagram are two of the hottest online trends right now. Brands are catching on and realizing that a few stock photographs aren’t going to cut it. Some are investing in expensive, high quality photo shoots to show off their products, but others are taking a different approach. They’re crowdsourcing images from customers and fans. Olapic is a New York, NY based company that provides the technology that allows brands to “collect, curate and display high quality photos of” products that their “customers are already posting on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more.” User generated content is not only free, but it also tells a story in a way that the brand itself can’t.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
business development,
customer service,
Internships,
marketing,
New York,
online marketing,
paid,
photography,
quality assurance,
quality engineer,
sales,
social media,
software development,
technical support,
user experience,
web development
We often think of technology as a bunch of ones and zeros, but it’s really “the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function” (at least according to Wikipedia). Technology is really the story of human advancement, and that’s why The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, CA must be a fascinating place to visit. It’s a place that aims to create “experiences that invite people to learn through play, evoke emotions of wonder and joy, contain solid and accessible science, show how technology can improve lives, provoke thought and inspire action, and represent [their] local Silicon Valley community.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
education,
Internships,
marketing,
member services,
movies,
museum,
non-profit,
program development,
science,
unpaid
I went to the same college as both of my parents. There’s no doubt that this made my transition to college easier–I knew what I was getting into, and they knew what I was getting into. The statistics back this up. Students whose parents went to college are far more likely to graduate than first-generation college students. So how do we give these students the advantages and support that typically come with a parent or parents who went to college? New York Needs You is a non-profit that is taking a crack at it. They are aiming to enable “first-generation college students to realize their college and career ambitions” through an intensive fellowship program.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
business development,
development,
education,
fellowship programs,
information technology,
Internships,
New York,
non-profit,
outreach,
paid,
program development,
unpaid
I’ve learned firsthand that running a very small business in a single country in a single language can get extremely complicated. Trying to operate across many countries, cultures, and languages must be insane. But for many companies the allure of growth through international expansion is impossible to pass up. It’s often impractical or impossible to build a team that can do everything required to operate internationally, which is why TransPerfect exists. They’re a New York, NY based company with 70 offices across 5 continents that provides “a full range of language and business services including translation, interpretation, website globalization, subtitling/voiceovers, multicultural marketing, diversity and inclusion consulting, deposition services, and litigation support to multinational companies.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
bilingual,
engineering,
information technology,
international,
Internships,
language,
Nevada,
New York,
project management,
software development,
translation,
web development
Bonobos is one of my favorite companies that I’ve written up. Right now they’re offering a free $50 gift card to new customers. Their awesome men’s clothing makes a great holiday gift, and it’s the kind of stuff that guys can wear to a new job.
This morning I learned that Audiogalaxy is being acquired by Dropbox. Audiogalaxy was the ultimate way to find and download awesome music back in the day. The experience that it offered back in the early 2000s was pretty remarkable, but they operated in a legal gray area and eventually had to drastically change their service. Today downloading is out and streaming is in. And if you’re streaming music, chances are that you’re using Spotify. The Swedish company launched its product in the US (their US headquarters is in New York, NY) about a year and a half ago and pretty much blew away the competition. While most streaming services offer a “radio” type experience, Spotify allows you to listen to any of their 20 million licensed songs whenever you want.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advertising,
analytics,
California,
design,
international,
Internships,
Italy,
media planner,
Mexico,
mobile,
music,
New York,
paid,
planner,
Poland,
product development,
quality assurance,
software development,
Sweden,
united kingdom,
user experience,
web development
I’ve taken my fair share of web based courses–all with the intent of gaining skills to improve my business. I’ve learned to code, write copy, do SEO, and a lot more online. I even developed my own course on how to land a job. There are a multitude of companies in the online education space, and most are focusing on these kinds of topics. Sympoz is a Denver, CO based company that is taking a different approach. Yes, they have a few courses on entrepreneurship, but their bread and butter is the craft market. They have a section of their site devoted to woodworking and an entire brand called Craftsy that has the tagline “Learn it. Make it.” Sympoz’s goal is to create “an environment where you can watch, interact, and learn from renowned experts on your own schedule,” and so far it seems like they’re doing a pretty awesome job.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
Colorado,
copywriting,
crafts,
customer service,
design,
editing,
education,
Internships,
marketing,
mobile,
online marketing,
production,
social media,
software development,
user experience,
video,
web development,
writing
The Internet is the great equalizer. It’s where upstarts and big brands can go head to head. The big guys still have a massive advantage, but the truth is that transferring a luxury brand online isn’t all that easy. I feel intimidated when I walk into a fancy store, but I don’t even feel anything when I visit the same company’s website. Intimidation may not be what many brands go for, but exclusivity is. How do you maintain that image online while doing SEO, affiliate marketing, media buying, and more? Morpheus Media has the answer. They’re a New York, NY based “full-service provider of interactive marketing solutions to Fortune 500 companies and those aspiring to land on that list.” They seem to work mostly with fashion, luxury, entertainment, and media brands, and I think that makes them even more interesting.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advertising,
analytics,
interactive media,
Internships,
marketing,
media,
New York,
online marketing,
seo,
social media,
strategy
Amy, my fiancée, and I communicate a lot over the course of the day. Beyond talking in person, we typically talk on the phone, we e-mail, we Gchat, and we iMessage. It works for us, but I could see how someone might want all of those communications in one place. Others might want to participate in some online PDA without the P. Either way, Pair is a solution. It’s an app created by a company called TenthBit in San Francisco, CA that is “for just the two of you.” Its features include “texting, sharing, videos, photos, sketching together, thumbkiss and more.” It’s a little overkill for me, but I can see why some couples love it.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
community management,
Internships,
marketing,
mobile,
quality assurance,
social media,
social networking,
software development,
web development
I grew up about an hour outside of New York City. My parents would take me in a few times a year, and from those experiences I developed an idea of what big cities are like. It took a while for me to realize that New York is remarkable as cities go. It’s huge. It has a prime geographical location. Its people are diverse in a multitude of ways. It’s filled with wealth, yet more than 20% of its citizens live in poverty. There is no other city in the world like New York, and that’s why the Museum of the City of New York must be a fascinating place to visit. They are a non-profit that explores “the past of this fascinating and particular place for lessons about our future” while celebrating “New York’s heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
accounting,
curation,
development,
education,
grant writing,
graphic design,
history,
Internships,
marketing,
member services,
museum,
New York,
non-profit,
program development,
retail,
rights management,
unpaid
At some point you’ve probably asked, “How the heck did Ke$ha get famous?” For some of you it was probably more of a sarcastic jab than a genuine question, but for those of you who truly want to know, I found the answer. It comes in the form of a case study for Gupta Media, a Cambridge, MA based online marketing agency that focuses on the entertainment and music industries. The story is that Ke$ha started to get attention with her “uncredited vocal performance on the chorus of Flo Rida’s hit single ‘Right Round.'” Gupta Media worked with her record label, RCA, and put together a plan for launching her debut album Animal. When it came out it was on the charts at #1 with 610,000 digital copies sold. Gupta Media can’t take all of the credit, but read through their case studies to learn more about the role they played.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analytics,
design,
entertainment,
graphic design,
Internships,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
media planner,
music,
online marketing,
online media,
paid,
sem,
seo,
social media,
software development
Most of you will end up in jobs where what you wear to work is based on looking appropriate. Comfort and style may also be considerations, but in most jobs it’s about looking like you fit in. In most jobs what you wear to work probably won’t affect your performance or safety, but it will if you’re a firefighter, law enforcement officer, first responder, or military service member. Those are jobs where what you wear matters–really matters. LION is a Dayton, OH based company that designs, manufactures, markets, and delivers products “to ensure the health, safety and performance of the first responders who serve our communities and our country.” LION has been owned and operated by the same family since 1898, and I have to imagine that they’ve come a long way over the past 100+ years.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analytics,
apparel,
copywriting,
defense,
Illinois,
Internships,
marketing,
military,
New York,
Ohio,
online marketing,
project management,
sales,
sem,
Washington DC
It’s almost impossible for a brand to stick to a single marketing channel these days. But picking the right channels and staying consistent across them is a tall task. This is why the integrated marketing communications agencies exist. Unfortunately, there are a lot of agencies that describe themselves as such, but don’t really deliver on the “integrated” part of the equation. Phelps does. They’re a Santa Monica, CA based agency that describes what they do as “All Communications. One Voice.” Phelps’ focus is on tying everything that their clients do “into ONE consistent, cohesive message that is much more noticeable and memorable.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
California,
communications,
Internships,
online marketing,
paid,
public relations,
social media,
software development,
web development
It’s hard not to have a closet full of clothes that you don’t wear. No matter how ruthless you are with culling your collection of clothing, you always end up with some things that you wear a lot and some that you don’t. There are two ways to look at this first world problem. You can buy more stuff that you like, or you can get rid of the stuff that you don’t want anymore. Twice is a company that solves this problem (but only for women at this point). They’re a San Francisco, CA based company that buys and sells “high-quality, affordable secondhand clothes online.” It’s an ages old business that should play well online, and it even has a positive social/environmental impact.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
apparel,
California,
e-commerce,
fashion,
Internships,
Logistics,
operations,
paid,
software development,
web development
I’ve you’ve ever played on a team that watches game film, you know that what you think you did, what your coach thinks you did, and what you actually did are often three completely different things. The film can’t lie, but absorbing the facts of the film without letting your biases creep in is extremely difficult. If only there were a way to turn game footage into stats. Krossover does that and a lot more. They’re a New York, NY based company that is aiming to “disrupt the current sports content, analytics and technology landscape.” Their platform allows coaches to upload raw video and “get back searchable film, box scores, visualizations, and more.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
analytics,
Internships,
New York,
paid,
software development,
sports,
statistics,
video,
web development
Growing up I had a really good friend who was a bad kid. We got along great, but he always found a way to get into trouble. When we were about seven, my Mom told me a secret about him. She told me that he went to “children’s jail” where he only got bread and water. I wasn’t all that gullible, but I believed it because it was totally believable. I was scared straight. What I’ve learned since is that kids don’t go to jail for “being bad,” but there is a cycle of incarceration in some of our communities that starts at a very early ages. Recidivism rates tell us that a young person who incarcerated for the first time is highly likely to be incarcerated again. Friends of Island Academy is a New York, NY based non-profit “center for youth development dedicated to breaking cycles of incarceration.” They work with “adolescents who attend school on Rikers Island every year” to “guide their trajectory to becoming economically independent young adults, connected to their communities in positive way.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advocacy,
development,
education,
Internships,
New York,
non-profit,
tutoring,
unpaid
Our society is on an endless quest for growth. From the largest corporations to the smallest non-profits, there’s a shared goal of improving the status quo (though the definition of what that means varies widely). But for every problem that growth solves, it seems to unearth a new challenge. There is a constant tradeoff between the speed of growth and control–the faster something grows, the less control you have over it. Sometimes it’s easier to grow fast and clean up the mess later, but that’s rarely the case when it comes to infrastructure. Smart Growth America is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that believes “smart growth solutions support thriving businesses and jobs, provide more options for how people get around and make it more affordable to live near work and the grocery store.” They’re willing to sacrifice a little speed for more control because they see the long-term benefits of well planned communities.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
communications,
community development,
fellowship programs,
Internships,
paid,
policy,
public policy,
research,
sustainability,
transportation,
Washington DC
The only time that I’ve been able to redeem a filled loyalty punchcard has been when I’m buying for a group and I immediately fill the card. There’s no doubt that there’s a better solution, and it’s probably digital. The problem is that nobody wants to have an app for every local business they frequent. They want a single loyalty solution that they can use everywhere. We’re not there yet, but there are a number of companies trying to make that happen. In the past we’ve looked at a few businesses that operate in the space like Belly and Groupon (I love their product because you just have to use your credit card to get rewards from a merchant). FiveStars is a Mountain View, CA company that is keeping the loyalty card, but they’re making it universal. One physical card tied to your phone number (and your Facebook account if you want more points) allows you to get rewards at a variety of participating merchants.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
California,
Colorado,
customer service,
Internships,
local,
marketing,
operations,
paid,
sales,
software development,
Texas,
web development
I hear the word “crowdsourcing” come up a lot, but it’s usually by people who don’t really know exactly what it means or how to do it. They’ll often say things like “Oh, we’ll just crowdsource it.” Ok, you do that! I have things that I’d love to crowdsource, but I can’t figure out how to manage such a project without making it more work than just doing the task myself. Maybe CrowdFlower is the answer. They’re a San Francisco, CA based company that allows you to “instantly hire millions of people to collect, filter, and enhance your data.” We’re at a point where technology can do a lot of heavy lifting, but sometimes a human of average intelligence is far better at solving a problem than even the most powerful computer.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
California,
data,
engineering,
Internships,
operations,
paid,
software development,
web development
While I built this site to help college students internships at interesting companies, I’ve heard from a few people who use it very differently. One of the most surprising uses was from someone in Corporate Development at a pretty big company–she was using the daily e-mails to source potential acquisitions (though I don’t think any have actually happened). I think that’s pretty cool, but there are certainly better places to find deals. AxialMarket is one of them. They’re a New York, NY based company that “is revolutionizing the capital formation process for private companies.” In other words, they’ve built a marketplace where private companies can find partners for “M&A, capital raises, and debt financings.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
finance,
Internships,
investment,
New York,
product development,
product management,
sales,
social networking,
software development,
web development
One of the hardest parts about starting a business is finding product-market fit (in other words developing a product or service that customers will pay for). It’s usually a big mistake to invest in a product without having validated the market. This is true whether you’re a first time entrepreneur or one of the biggest companies in the world. Affinnova typically works with the latter. They’re a Waltham, MA based “high-growth software and services company that enables innovative organizations to drive better ideas to market faster.” Affinnova has developed a technology platform that helps their clients do everything from generate new concepts to testing them with potential customers. This isn’t your typical market research company–Affinnova’s solutions are based on an algorithm that “mimics evolutionary principles to create a survival-of-the-fittest vetting process.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
design,
Internships,
market research,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
paid,
quality assurance,
quality engineer,
software development
Maybe I’m making this up, but when I was in middle school, I’m pretty sure that Sam Goody had a list on one of their walls with all of the new CDs that were coming out soon. That list, recommendations from friends, listening to the radio, and watching MTV were how I discovered new music. It worked, but it was risky. Sometimes you’d end up buying an absolutely terrible CD like Pras’ Ghetto Supastar, the album not the song. Today it’s completely different. You can listen before you buy (or keep listening and never buy), and you can get recommendations based on real data. Whether you’re using Spotify, Vevo, MTV, or iheartradio to find or consume music, you’re actually benefiting from The Echo Nest and their big data approach to music. They’re a Somerville, MA based company, and they “provide the largest repository of dynamic music data in the world – over a trillion data points on over 30 million songs — to help application developers build smarter music apps.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
analytics,
audio engineering,
data,
edit,
engineering,
Internships,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
music,
quality assurance,
research,
software development,
unpaid,
web development
