Interns are always looking to learn new skills and mature into the professional world and kickstart their career with a solid job. However, small businesses and solopreneurs often find it hard to help interns along the learning process and to nurture them.

We spoke with Isabella Johnston, founder at InternPursuit.tech to understand how they automate employer’s intern compliance from recruitment to exit and how the Startup League has helped them at Web Summit 2018. Read on!

What inspired you to start Internpursuit.tech? Tell us the story.

When I spoke with solopreneurs, small & medium size employers I was able to understand their pain points about working with interns. I began training employers on how to navigate the academic system and create job descriptions for interns. I helped to create intern programs that helped businesses get their work and projects done efficiently and ensure that the students left with tangible job skills. It was a win-win for everyone.

I spoke with one of my entrepreneur friends and he asked me two key questions. “If you had a 1,000 students ask for internships could I help them?” I answered, “No.” The second question was, “If you had 1,000 employers ask for interns could I help them? I answered, “No.” I wanted to solve the problem for both the employers and students. The key was to protect the student, this would also protect the employer regardless if it was a paid or unpaid internship.

How does InternPursuit.tech automate employer’s intern compliance from recruitment to exit?

We’ve created a standardized process that aligns with the U.S. Department of Labor’s 7 criteria for unpaid internships, the National Association of Colleges and Employers, and academic guidelines for unpaid and paid internships.

We connect to 9,000 schools in the United States and will partner with online recruiting platforms like Handshake, WayUp, Internships.com, Gradleaders.

What are your future plans for InternPursuit.tech?

Our future plans include using AI to identify skills gaps between entry-level jobs and provide the data to higher education students and high school graduation students to better prepare them for the future of work.

What are you looking forward to the most at Web Summit?

So many things! I wanted to validate my assumptions to expand the program globally and identify if schools and employers want this product. Second, the opportunity to meet like-minded thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and experience Lisbon. Third, the opportunity to meet the people that make the magic of Web Summit happen.

How is Startup League helping you with preparing for our exhibit at the event?

I was thrilled to be one of their portfolio startup companies with marketing assistance, like PR announcements, videos, branded marketing goodies to hand out at the event and a partial reimbursement of my registration fee. This is a BIG deal to startups. I look forward to attending other events with the support of the Startup League.

Why did you choose a .TECH domain name? How is it helping you develop a unique online brand?

I thought .tech made perfect sense given that the product is a tech scalable solution. I believe the .TECH extension a great way to stand out from the other tech companies.