My first week as a Beauhurst intern

Walking down Brixton Hill towards my new office ready to start my first day as a Marketing Intern, I am gripped with both a sense of excitement and nervousness. A recent History and English graduate, I’m about to be responsible for creating content and managing the social media accounts of Beauhurst, a fast-growing tech company offering a searchable database of the UK’s top startups and scaleups. 

My mind is racing, but upon entering the office, my fears are dissolved like sugar in coffee. The stir of activity and smiling faces are more than enough to settle my concerns. The open-plan room is airy and bright, accompanied by splashes of greenery and flashes of Beauhurst yellow. I confidently introduce myself, feeling ready to embark on the next three months of my life.

Monday

I locate my desk and am extremely delighted to find a Beauhurst welcome pack containing all the necessities; instructions, equipment, and most importantly, copious amounts of chocolate. I have been sat within the marketing team and the layout makes it easy for me to chat across the desk and comfortably ask any questions I may have. My manager, Hannah, is a Marketing Associate and has worked at the company for a few years now. We hit it off straight away. She has a wicked sense of humour and is well connected with the other teams in the office, making her the perfect person to show me the ropes. Within a few hours, I am settled into my new desk, set up online, notebook in hand and ready to take on whatever comes my way.

For lunch, the team invite me out to Eat of Eden, a vegan eatery hidden within Brixton Village where I devour a mixed platter of Caribbean cuisine. The food is delicious and an afternoon food coma ensues. 

The itinerary for the rest of the day consists of meeting all the different teams within Beauhurst. There is a huge mix of skills, interests and backgrounds both in and out of the office. Even the CEO, Toby, takes the time to introduce himself and give me a presentation on the history of the company. 

A particular highlight of the day is meeting the inflatable Marketing team mascot, otherwise known as Markosaur. I think we’re going to be firm friends. His prehistoric origins are rumoured to date back to 2010, when Beauhurst was founded.

Tuesday

First on the agenda is a training session with Hannah, where I get to grips with the marketing software that the company uses. Following that I begin to work through a reading list I have been given relating to Beauhurst and the wider high-growth ecosystem. At first it is challenging to familiarise myself with all the jargon, but I soon become hooked on understanding this fast-paced and continually evolving industry. 

At lunch, I’m treated to a team lunch at Wahaca, where we dine on nachos, homemade guac, and a variety of quesadillas. The food is excellent, and I really value getting to know the team.

Back at the office, I have the first of several meetings with the Data team. From the Origination team, who source new data, to Creation, who add new companies, funds and accelerator profiles to the platform, and the Data Quality team, who continuously review data so that it’s always up-to-date. It is great to be shown how the team digs out hard-to-find information on high-growth companies, as well as the whole ecosystem around them, and channels this vast information into a user-friendly searchable database. 

After work, a few of us celebrate the ‘Workversary’ of Ava, a Research and Consultancy Associate. We go to Mondo Brewery where they are hosting a comedy night. Amid the laughter, it’s great to bond with my colleagues after hours and explore my new neighbourhood. 

Wednesday

I snooze my alarm far too many times. I’m acclimatising to the 9 to 5 schedule. No time for breakfast. 

But thank goodness! Today is a food delivery day. The cupboards look like the Garden of Eden, but the fruit isn’t forbidden. Already I am increasingly reliant on Office Manager Agne to hit my 5 a day. 

After gorging on cashews and cherries (my favourite!) it’s time to sit down and do some actual work. This consists of more training around the job role, including an introduction to WordPress, Hubspot and Google Analytics; these are all tools that the Marketing team uses to promote the Beauhurst platform, track performance and help provide really targeted material to prospects. 

I then spend the rest of the day learning about the different components of the company. First is a meeting with the Head of Sales, Pravish, who illustrates the range of organisations that are becoming subscribers each month. This is consolidated by a meeting with Georgia, an Account Manager, who explains how her team look after and provide tailored support to subscribers.

The day finishes with a meeting with Anthony, a UI/UX designer from the Product team. Along with the Development team, he keeps the Beauhurst platform moving in the right direction with new features and continual improvements. Although this is all completely new to me, I enjoy the challenge of understanding the technicalities and business planning behind roadmapping such changes.

Thursday

Thursdays are a big day for the Marketing team. The company newsletter is delivered to tens-of-thousands of inboxes, with new articles regarding updates to the platform, report launches and analysis on changes in the high-growth market, all using Beauhurst data. This also requires creating engagement through social media and securing press coverage. This week we’re launching a new report about investment into the UK’s university spinout companies, and promoting updates to the Beauhurst platform. 

I have fewer meetings booked in today, which gives me the opportunity to look into some of the work Beauhurst has been producing and really consolidate the vast amounts of information I have consumed (aside from the food).

I also send out my first tweet from the Beauhurst account, a small but mighty achievement in the eyes of an intern!

Friday

The end of week one!

Today is a really good day. I sit in on a sales demo with Sanjiv where I learn about the different stages of a company life-cycle and get to see the power of the platform first-hand. 

I am then given a training session in project management with the rest of the marketing team. This is followed by my weekly review with Hannah, where we set out clear goals and discuss my desired impact for the internship. 

At the end of the day we are joined by guest speakers Miriam Cha and Ed Grant, co-founders of Rahko, a London-based quantum machine learning startup, who talk about their experiences in the high-growth space. It’s great to know that Beauhurst encourages guest speakers to educate, entertain and inspire the workforce. The afternoon is made all the sweeter by the complimentary craft cider, courtesy of the weekly Friday drinks trolley.

Thoughts on week one? Nerves abated, bring on Monday!