Startups/Social Entrepreneurship/Technology

Jimmy Li ’24


Jimmy Li working.

Pillar49, Toronto, Canada This past summer, I interned at Pillar49 in Toronto, Canada. Pillar49 is an entrepreneurial firm that partners with early-start companies and takes on the role of “active managers,” stepping in and providing operational and financial resources to support and drive long-term growth. They collaborate with the existing… Continue reading »

Jamie Holland ’22.5


Jamie Holland in virtual meeting.

Williams Summer Institute for Entrepreneurship 2022 was the inaugural summer for the Williams Summer Institute for Entrepreneurship (WSIE). Started by Tonio Palmer and assisted by Adriana Roman, WSIE exists to enable Williams students to pursue entrepreneurial projects full time during the summer. WSIE is something of an incubator, offering programming… Continue reading »

Sammy Sasaki ’24


Sammy Sasaki at work.

AKALA, Beverly Hills, CA I spent this summer working with AKALA, an EdTech startup with the goal of making college counseling more affordable and accessible. Many high schools don’t have enough—or any—college counselors to adequately support all their students, and private counselors are too expensive for most families. AKALA targets… Continue reading »

Julia Horne ’24


Julia Horne in virtual meeting.

Connection 101, Norwich, VT Connection 101 provides an invaluable awareness of relationship dynamics within and outside of the workplace, with workshops that enable participants to build a toolkit for healthy communication. Workshop content focuses on character strengths, leadership and conflict-resolution styles, while incorporating concepts such as trust and psychological safety. Continue reading »

Sasha Snyder ’25


Sasha Snyder in a virtual meeting.

Forum Mobility, Half Moon Bay, CA Before this summer I rarely thought twice about the trucks I saw speeding by me on major highways. I probably did not notice the truck stops I passed, and I could not have told you anything about how goods I ordered online arrived at… Continue reading »

Divij Jain ’25


Divij Jain working.

Nomad This summer, I had the great privilege of joining the development team of Nomad for eight weeks. Nomad is a social media app started by two Williams graduates, Dysron Marshall ’20 and Kelvin Tejeda ’20. The goal of Nomad is to connect users with communities and events in their… Continue reading »

Simon Jenkins ’24


Simon Jenkins showing AKALA logo.

AKALA, Beverly Hills, CA I spent this summer working as a virtual intern with the education tech startup AKALA with CEO and co-founder Perry Kalmus ’03. AKALA is a college admissions prep platform that works to even the playing field in college admissions by providing AI-enabled counseling that’s more easily… Continue reading »

Maye McPhail ’22.5


Maye McPhail in a virtual meeting.

Lit, Boston, MA With support from the Case Internships for Entrepreneurship, I spent this summer at Lit Learning Inc., an education technology startup on a mission to make quality instruction available to K-12 students globally. Lit Learning uses innovative digital approaches to deliver educational materials to students in developing countries… Continue reading »

Lauren Kauppila ’24


Lauren Kauppila with laptop.

Mindyra, Darien, CT My summer internship with Mindyra was transformative professionally and personally. Mindyra is a mental health technology startup that was created in 2015 to tackle the growing issue of mental health needs among employees and college students. Mindyra aims to partner with corporations and college campuses to provide… Continue reading »

Lindsey Chu ’23


Lindsey Chu with code.

Lit, Boston, MA This summer, I worked remotely with LIT Learning, an education tech startup specializing in input-based language acquisition for students. I worked as a product associate, tasked with designing the front-end and user interface of their new product, Chatac. It is a WhatsApp text-based platform that aids students… Continue reading »