Luke Kock recently graduated from Warwick University in the UK. He spent one month on Start Me Up’s Startup Internship Program in Bali.
What have you been doing over the past month?
“I’ve been combining traveling throughout Asia with a Start Me Up internship in Bali.”
Why did you decide to do a Start Me Up internship?
“I was looking for opportunities to work while I was traveling because I didn’t want to spend the whole time just traveling around, I also wanted to do something interesting.”
What projects have you been working on?
“For the past four weeks I’ve been working for a fintech start-up based in The Netherlands. I’ve been doing everything from data analysis and front end web development which was really cool because I’ve been learning to code this year so I got to practice and develop that further. I’ve also learned a bit of UX design which I’d never done before and always wanted to do which was really great.”
Has your Start Me Up experience changed your outlook on work?
“You just learn a lot about yourself and what kind of work you might like doing. For example,whether you’re able to work alone, or whether you like working with people.
You also realize that there are a lot of other options out beyond just going back to a traditional workplace. This really helped me as well because I was at a stage in my life where I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to be career-wise and this has really helped me by sort of saying there are lots of other doors.”
What did you find to be the most challenging?
“Working with people you’ve never really met, you’re always in a different time zone. In the Netherlands for example, the majority of your colleagues are asleep while you’re working. So if you have a problem or an issue sometimes it can’t be resolved until about 5pm or 6pm or way into the evening. So it means you just got to be flexible with your hours and your approach at times which is a bit of a challenge.”
Did you take part in any workshops?
“Start Me Up has been running these really cool workshops on how to launch your own startup or how to have ideas and how to carry those ideas through. First it started off with how to have ideas in the first place. Then we had a workshop on how to work out if these ideas are good ones or bad ones and turn them into minimal viable products. Then we presented those ideas and our future business ideas which was really fun.”
What do you think about having your own business one day?
“I’ve definitely been a lot more inspired by than I thought I was going to be and I now realize that I don’t have to wait to get a job before I start adding value to my career.
I’ve realized there’s so much I can still do. We’ve learnt how easy it is to validate a business idea and how you can actually test products for very little cost.
You don’t need someone to push you into it, you don’t need lots of funding, you can test ideas and potentially start things on your own which has really excited me because beforehand I was just kind of like “Ok I’ll get a job and I’ll work my way up from there,” but now I think, “do I need to get a job? Can I just see what I can do on my own first?” Which is great!”
What did you enjoy the most about living in Bali?
“There are great people, the culture is amazing, the food is unbelievable and the scenery is absolutely beautiful.”
Do you have any advice for people who are thinking of coming to Bali?
“If you’re not sure about what you want to do or if you’re scared of going straight to work or just a bit confused. Don’t be afraid to take some time to just pause and think “Do I want to explore a bit? Do I want to see what’s out there?”
Don’t feel the need that you have to rush into anything and I mean take the time to explore and learn a bit more about yourself and come abroad and come to like Bali and just see all the people here and see all the different kinds of work you can get. See how the world works and get exposed to different things – otherwise you might just rush into something.”