Co-Launching My Career as a Startup Takes Flight

What is Fashionpreneur HUB?

My name is Darren Wu. I’m a junior advertising student at Temple University where I was fortunate enough to intern with a brand new organization, Fashionpreneur HUB. Fashionpreneur HUB is a nonprofit organization that is launching an afterschool entrepreneurial program for students to learn financial literacy skills and get hands-on experience. Students will be able to design their own unique school merchandise through the program, learning about starting their own business while helping a circular economy.

My Role and What I Learned

I was a part of the marketing team with a few other interns and two supervisors. Since Fashionpreneur HUB hasn’t launched yet, my team’s work was very research heavy. We conducted competitor analyses, industry benchmarking, and used what we learned about the industry to create our unique strategies. It was very eye opening to get a look at what a organization must go through to get to launch.

The marketing changes depending on what phase your company is in. For instance, we were trying to find ways to raise brand awareness while promoting a solution to a problem our customers may not be aware of. Once Fashionpreneur launches, we shift our focus to customer and donor retention. I learned that research and marketing is always shifting. You must find and predict trends for the future but you must be able to pivot and change if your projections are wrong.

This internship has also taught me valuable soft skills. Since my internship was remote, communication skills were very important. My fellow interns and supervisors were all on different time zones and we had to manage to work together, create Zoom calls, and prepare presentations. I also learned what it was like to work with a team, giving me hands-on experience at full-time job environment. Lastly, I learned to present my findings and strategies in an understandable way, which will translate to my future career.

My Future and Advice

As I start to wrap up my undergraduate studies in the next few years, I hope to have at least one more internship. The valuable skills I’ve gained from this internship have tremendously helped me get a glimpse at what the real-world is like. I’m proud to look back one day and see how high Fashionpreneur HUB has launched and I can say “I was there helping them at their launch.” Little do the people at Fashionpreneur HUB know, that they’ve helped me launch my career in advertising and marketing.

To anyone who is looking for an internship, I suggest that you research the company or organization and talk with employees via LinkedIn prior to having an interview. During the interview, just be yourself because that is the person they will be getting. Your first internship will be different than what you are used to, but cherish the time and never stop learning.