Step Four: Turn In Your Badge

I wrapped up my internship last week and the experience was everything I’d hoped for and more. I learned about the high-tech data storage business and helped launch a new product. I contributed strategically, though a customer segmentation model, and tactically, through a white paper on data center energy efficiency.

I started this blog saying that there is something oxy-moronic about an internship in entrepreneurship. Short of starting my own business, the internship was the most entrepreneurial experience of my professional life. Figuring out the implications of a new technology in an emerging market was a challenge I feel fortunate to have worked on. The experience was great and I couldn’t have made it there or through without the network I’ve developed at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.

Thanks for reading my internship blog. For more about me, checkout my bio. If you are a prospective student and want to chat about my internship or the Graduate School of Management in general, you can reach me through the GSM Ambassadors at mbaambassadors@ucdavis.edu.

Step Three: The Green Data Center

When I came to business school I wasn’t interested in energy efficiency. It’s not that I didn’t care about the environment. It’s just that my interest in energy efficiency as a business imperative didn’t start until UC Davis. During my first year I got involved with the Energy Efficiency Center (EEC). The EEC partners UC Davis MBAs with engineering students to evaluate and commercialize promising energy efficient technologies. My experience with the EEC opened my eyes to the commercial potential of energy efficiency technologies.

Fast-forward to my internship. Adaptec had a compelling argument for energy efficiency in the data center. I was tasked with adapting that story to the new product. After reviewing hundreds of pages of reports on IT energy efficiency, I realized two things. First, that the short coming of most energy efficiency research is that it focuses on energy rather than the financial implications of energy. Second, I realized that, once again, I was in way over my head on the technical side. Luckily, I had help.

Working with the Chief Technology Officer (who was interested in energy efficiency), I developed several energy consumption models and a thesis for the paper. After a few late nights and long weekends, we published the paper. It was a challenge to get up to speed on such a technical subject, but the reward of having a concrete product was worth the effort.

Step Two: Making Sense of Cloud Computing

I’ll spare the reader a slew of metaphors (“The Future is Cloudy,” “Cloud Computing: IT's Day in the Sun?,” etc.). Basically cloud computing means that users can access scalable computing resources over the internet. It’s really that simple, but the implications are immense. For companies providing data storage solutions (like Adaptec), cloud computing means that their traditional customer base is shifting towards outsourced cloud data centers. My first task as an intern was to make sense of what cloud computing means for Adaptec and develop a segmentation model of potential customers.

As a career changer without IT experience, I had to leverage the product team to understand the technical aspects of the market. I worked closely with the Product Manager, Marketing Manager and several engineers and salespeople. During weekly meetings we reviewed my evolving conception of the cloud computing market. Eventually we landed on a segmentation model that made sense.

With a little help from my classmate who was interning at Amazon (thank you Myles!), I was able to help arrange a meeting with several key players in Amazon’s data center group. We are in the process of vetting our segmentation model with Amazon. The model has helped Adaptec identify over 350 potential customers worldwide.

So far the internship has exceeded my expectations. I learned about a new industry, applied my previous work experience and used some of the skills I developed at bschool. It has all been possible because of the connections I made at the GSM.

Step One: Get An Internship

There is something oxy-moronic about an internship in entrepreneurship. Nonetheless, I feel I’ve been fortunate to find a Summer gig that allows me to both build my traditional resume and hone my entrepreneurial skills.

My internship journey began in January (ok let’s be honest here, March). I was targeting intellectual property licensing firms, hoping to get some experience on the patent side of product development. One of my professors (Marc Lowe) helped me understand the market and made several introductions. I landed an interview at Sun Microsystems, but the Oracle deal ended that. Getting desperate, I turned back to Professor Lowe. His firm (Adaptec) was launching a new product and needed to assess its potential in the cloud computing marketspace. I knew nothing about cloud computing, but was up for the challenge.

Well to be honest, it was a stretch for me. My background is in consumer packaged goods marketing – not high-tech cloud computing. The first thing I did was to connect up with two engineer classmates – a former Amazon systems architect and a former Sapient consultant. Best two friends I made at business school. Seriously, Myles and Harpreet took the time to point me in the right direction and bring me up to speed on the key issues in networking.

I was able to demonstrate I understood enough of the technical side to be dangerous. I got the internship and am moving to the Bay Area!