From pumping toilets to building spreadsheet models, and everything in between, my time as a Business Development Intern at Wasted* is something I remember for the rest of my life.
I was thrown into the deep end and immediately put on two different projects. I learned about modern sales and marketing techniques from the savvy General Manager of Boston, Shyam Shukla. At the same time, Bill (CFO), took me under his wing and advised me on creating a spreadsheet-based deal calculator model from scratch. The objective of the deal calculator was to enable us to assess the profitability of any kind of deal in the Burlington market. It was so rewarding to build a tool that truly helped out the team.
The capstone to my time at Wasted* was the Porta Perks Program. About halfway through my internship, I was able to lead my own project implementing a referral program in Burlington. In just five weeks I was able to see the project go from concept to reality. The Porta Perks page is now live on the Wasted* website, ready for any referral. Go check it out: https://wasted.earth/porta-perks. Wasted’s fast-paced environment encouraged creativity to the point where even a part-time intern like myself could lead projects and have a real impact on the company.
In addition to learning more about the world of startups, I also got to learn more about the people who made up this startup. I learned that Wasted* is full of brilliant, kind, thoughtful people, like Thor, the CMO, who spent seven hours in a truck with me as we serviced countless frozen porta potties. Or Betsy, Head of Operations, who took an hour out of her day to drive me to and from the Lebanon Wastewater Treatment Facility when I accidentally left my car keys inside of our pump truck. I particularly want to shout out Bill, who traveled to and from Burlington with me every week, letting me sleep, eat, and workout with him (thank you for all of the gym passes by the way).
I had so many highlights at Wasted*, from the fun banter in the break room in Burlington to a free day of skiing at Whaleback. I want to say thank you to the entire team at Wasted* for welcoming me in with open arms and letting me be a part of your amazing group for ten weeks. The balance of work and antics was a blast and helped me have fun while learning so much about how startups work.
That’s what Potties With A Purpose is all about!
Junior at Dartmouth College
