This summer, Bindable launched its first-ever “official” internship program! We are so lucky to have five extremely talented and hardworking interns, all from Northeastern University in Boston, who have joined our team through the end of the year: Pooja, Aamrah, Bhumi, Eric, and Alisha.
We sat down with each of the interns to ask some questions about their backgrounds, interests, and experience with Bindable thus far. Here’s a what they had to say!
What's your background, and what led you to an internship at Bindable?
Pooja, Project Management intern:
I am an engineer turned marketing professional turned project manager. Prior to Bindable, I earned an MBA in Marketing and Operations from AIMS, Bangalore, India, and then worked as an account manager and customer success manager for four years.
In September 2021, I enrolled in the Master of Science in Project Management program at Northeastern University in Boston. I realized an internship outside of the classroom would greatly supplement the methodologies and strategies I was learning from my coursework, and would help me truly learn the practical ways a project is conducted. I found the job description for the Project Manager internship at Bindable through Northeastern’s job portal, and was initially interested because responsibilities included processes from planning to execution, which I thought would provide a great learning experience. Also, the job description mentioned the company’s mantra, “Be Nice” - which they have lived up to!
I started at Bindable this past July, and have been focused on helping manage a project focused on improving the consumer experience throughout our insurance purchasing funnel. Joining Bindable is the best thing that has happened to me in 2022!
What have you found most interesting about working at Bindable?
Aamrah, Engineering intern:
I like how our agency and technical teams work hand-in-hand to create well-informed products and services. Every day is a new learning experience and being an intern at Bindable has given me a good perspective on implementing real-time solutions through research and improvisation.
What’s really interesting about working here is that there's always someone available to help me understand the intricacies of the "what" and "why" of every use case. For instance, our very own agents are also users of our technology, which gives our engineering team a unique opportunity to get immediate feedback and ensure that our work meets the needs of our partners before we release it to them. This experience has helped me realize that it’s important as an engineer to navigate development through the lens of a customer, always keeping the usability of the technology at the forefront of my work.
Everyone at Bindable - from our founders to my fellow team members - have such valuable stories and insights to share. It's amazing getting to learn from the experts! Having had the opportunity to explore many design and engineering practices, I look forward to expanding upon this knowledge and pushing the boundaries to accomplish as much as I can by the end of the year!
Describe Bindable in fewer than five words. What’s been your favorite experience here so far?
Bhumi, User Interface (UI) intern:
Family. Loving. Supportive. Caring. Uplifting. Inclusive. (I know that’s more than five words, but I couldn’t possibly limit my experience to just five!)
Bindable has been the best place I have worked! I feel that not only my work, but also me as a person, are so valued here. All of the team members are so caring, knowledgeable, supportive, and always want the best for each other. My mentor here is Head of Product Design, Mike. He has provided such a great experience for me – I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor! I always feel inspired to do my best, and to contribute in any way I can to help the team grow.
My favorite experience at Bindable has been when the team has gotten together to meet in person. While we’re all currently working remotely, Bindable has ensured we can meet to work together in person at WeWork whenever we want, and the team has hosted various get togethers outside of working hours. It’s been so nice to meet everyone in person and be able to bond with people from across the organization. I know I can speak for all my fellow interns when I say we all feel very much loved by the entire team. This whole internship has been a great experience for me!
Tell us a fun fact about you!
Eric, QA intern (pictured with Bindable's QA Manager, Lisa):
In high school, I worked in a robotics club where we built life-size robots to compete against other teams. I started as a programmer, but eventually worked my way up to be the captain of my club. Over my time with the club, we competed in both China and in the US, and we advanced to the quarter final and semi final matches in two regional competitions, and also won an off-season match.
We built robots to complete everyday tasks. For example, our robots could: pick up a crate and put it in a high position; take a plate from storage and place it down; and lift themselves up to hang from a structure six feet above the ground.
When we competed, six clubs would combine to form teams of two clubs each, and compete against each other using three robots at a time. The goal was to complete as many tasks as possible within two minutes. So even though the tasks seemed easy to complete, the structure and design of the robot needed to be as efficient as possible in order to do things quickly and correctly. To achieve this, we used industrial mechanical components, professional design, control loops, and graphic processing algorithms.
The competitions were always intense, as we competed in six or seven matches a day with sometimes as little as ten minutes to take a break in between. Even with such a short time between matches, we would still need to connect with our new team for the next match to talk strategy, share knowledge, and fix any damaged robots. In order to be successful, you had to be really focused on the task at hand and have good control over your robot; a day of matches would be exhausting! However, seeing the entire team’s effort to work hard together made it well worth it.
In the end, I gained a lot of programming experience and learned how to lead and communicate within a team. My time with my robotics club was truly a rewarding experience that I will always look back on fondly!
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Alisha, Project Management intern:
After having spent time working at Bindable, I've realized that managing and implementing business projects is my favorite thing to do. I intend to pursue project management further, but also hope to learn skills that will make me a stronger PM. I’d love to learn more about product management and business analysis. Then in five years, with more experience and confidence, I hope to become a program or portfolio manager, and lead the entire transition of a project from an idea through to fruition.
Bright futures beyond Bindable
A group of Bindable employees with our interns.
Bindable’s intern program has brought us five talented young individuals who have already had a powerful impact on the company. From project management and design to QA and engineering, Pooja, Aamrah, Bhumi, Eric, and Alisha have immersed themselves in the work they’ve been assigned and have become a key part of our company’s culture. We are so proud of what they all have achieved so far, and we can’t wait to see what they do next!
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
Interested in becoming a part of the Bindable team too?
