Throughout the summer, Skandalaris Center Summer Internship Program participants will be writing guest blog posts about their internship experience. Following is one such post. 

Summer at SafetyFix

By Jack Peterson (BU ’20)

My name is Jack Peterson and I am an undergraduate student at Washington University in St. Louis double majoring in Finance and Entrepreneurship with a minor in Studio Art. Much of my academic focus has been centered around entrepreneurship and the world of start-ups. I spent my last summer in Tel Aviv, Israel learning the ins and outs of venture creation, entrepreneurship, and as part of my program I even created my own venture with an in-depth business plan. I’ve had previous consulting experience working for non-profits and small businesses in the St. Louis area, but I have always wanted the opportunity to work at a start-up to get a taste of what actually goes on day to day.

The start-up that I am working for this summer is called SafetyFix. It is a medical technologies company that has a line of orthopedic medical devices. Already in my first week and a half I have worked on the company’s pro-forma, financial model, investor slide deck, marketing materials, sales aids, and attended multiple meetings with accelerators and private consultants. Even in my first few weeks I have had a full range of valuable experiences. I even had the chance to visit an outpatient clinic and see first hand an operating procedure with a special bone screw that the company created. It was also neat to kind of see first-hand that the founder of a start-up doesn’t have to be an “entrepreneur wizard,” but is often  just a normal person who has an entrepreneurial vision. Having the vision is the easy part though but getting a company off the ground and creating a successful venture is the hard part.

I’m excited to see what projects come my way as I continue my internship. Each day is a new task, and I have been tasked with so many different things that my job has been refreshing. At the moment, SafetyFix is keen on creating material for investors to secure money in order to launch their sales campaign, so it has been an exciting time to be at the company. A lot of things are developing, which I imaging can be said for any early seed stage start-up.

The Skandalaris program has also been a unique experience. I have learned a lot about the start-up scene that we have locally here in St. Louis. It is small, yet is is a vibrant and budding community. I look forward to my continued exposure as I meet people and network with others in the area.