Aishy Vimal is 20 years old and a recent graduate in filmmaking from Cornell University in the US. She spent one month on Start Me Up’s Startup Internship Program in Bali.
I’d just graduated and am heading to graduate school next year, but I had six months off beforehand and I was looking for a good way to keep myself occupied, so I enrolled on the Start Me Up program.
During my time in Bali, I worked with two startups, a new project connecting social entrepreneurs with business mentors and a stock photography startup.
I’ve always been interested in the startup community. I never wanted to work in a big corporation. And I always wanted to work for smaller startups so I was really interested to see how I’d manage in that kind of environment.
My role has mostly involved video editing because that’s what I am interested in. And my mentors are letting me do what I’m passionate about. Fortunately, video has become an increasingly useful resource for startups that are looking to get their message out in a creative way. As well as doing interviews, I’ve also been working on two mini documentaries about social entrepreneurs and short adverts for Facebook.
I also got involved with some marketing and social media scheduling. The thing that’s most surprised me about my internship in Bali is the amount of work I’ve done. You’re always working on something crucial for the business so you feel like you’re really having an impact.
When I was studying filmmaking I used to make one or two films the whole semester. And here I’ve done three videos a week. I’ve also been filming every other day so my shooting and editing skills have improved.
I work out of Hubud, a co-working space which is unlike any other office I’ve worked out of before. There are a lot of people from all over the globe here working remotely. And there are people who are working in everything from education and coaching, to design, finance and technology, every industry you can think of are working there.
It’s such a great space because everyone is so open and willing to help each other. You don’t get that in typical offices. So I think the collaboration and energy here is amazing.
I would recommend Start Me Up to everyone. It’s been an incredible experience. I don’t think I’ll ever get an internship like this again. Not only have I learned amazing new skills, I’ve met amazing people and gained real confidence in my own work. I don’t think I would have got this anywhere else.
Check out this video Aishy made for Start Me Up!
Learn more about what Aishy has to say about her experiences with Start Me Up