What can a seasoned, 30+ year healthcare executive learn from a bright, young, energetic MBA? The answer is a lot when that former executive heads a small-and-growing company that’s working hard to scale a new SaaS platform that improves adoption of leadership best practices.

As the founder of Stamp & Chase (and an alumnus of Olin Business School), I’ve had a great experience in the Skandalaris Internship Program (SkIP) this summer. Our intern, Adarsh Tandi, made me aware of SkIP this spring and strongly recommended that I apply as a founder. He also made it clear that he was very interested in applying.

For us, the 10-week program was mutually beneficial because we were both very clear about what we hoped to gain from the experience. For Adarsh, direct exposure to client consulting work has been a priority, and we were able to deliver that through a major physician leadership project at our client Bon Secours Mercy Health in Virginia. Adarsh was both an observer and contributor, researching specific strategies to improve multi-specialty medical group leadership structure and best practices.

For Stamp & Chase, our goals have been focused on advancing and integrating our marketing and sales strategies to improve lead generation. Adarsh’s extensive experience in sales prior to coming to Washington University has been invaluable. He has helped us improve and streamline our lead prioritization and management in HubSpot, increase our reach to new health system executive prospects via LinkedIn, and update our website homepage to focus on hotter, higher-value messages that will appeal to our health system executive target audience.

Beyond the tactical work, I’ve appreciated the opportunity to get to know Adarsh and learn from his experience. We’ve developed a mutual respect that has resulted in candid, spirited conversations around lead generation strategies. I’ve learned from Adarsh that we sometimes need to think further outside the box than we have in the past; he’s learned that getting the attention of health system executives is tougher than he expected.

For Stamp & Chase, SkIP was valuable because it was mutually beneficial for founder and student. Our team has enjoyed the opportunity to participate in this summer’s program.

The Skandalaris Internship Program (SkIP) is an immersive 10-week experience that provides access and insight to the dynamic environment and needs of a startup. This program is designed to enhance entrepreneurial skills, provide tools and resources for professional development, and immerse students in the greater St. Louis ecosystem.