"Plentify is a startup based in South Africa that builds smart home products that enable the usage of clean, affordable, and reliable electricity. They founded the company in South Africa for many reasons, primarily because of the need for their products given South Africa’s unreliable energy grid that leads to frequent rolling blackouts. Their ambition from the start was to build a global business with its products substantially reducing emissions around the world.

As a member of the growth team, I worked on two projects that will set up Plentify well for its international growth plans. First, I developed a strategy for creating an offshore corporate structure, including the determination of where Plentify should base its international headquarters and how to transfer its intellectual property out of South Africa. This will help Plentify attract necessary venture capital funding and new customers in key target markets such as the United States and the UK. Second, I created an annual B2B marketing plan, since Plentify will need to support its aggressive growth plans with new customers, and it is important that they invest in that growth.

There were several different opportunities for me to use the things I learned from my first year in Business School and apply it throughout my internship at Plentify. The Climate Finance course with Professor Bruce Usher provided a foundational knowledge in the primary solutions to climate change and their respective advantages and obstacles. For example, Professor Usher’s lesson on the challenge of intermittency in widespread solar power adoption was helpful to know, as that is the exact challenge that Plentify is working to address. Another class that proved useful throughout the internship was Strategy Formulation. Since my professional background is in data analytics, I am used to synthesizing and presenting quantitative data, but not qualitative data. Professor Dan Wang’s frameworks helped me organize my muddled thoughts into specific recommendations when I was comparing apples and oranges across multiple dimensions.

In developing a recommendation for Plentify’s international corporate structure, I had to wade into the world of international tax agreements, IP legislation, corporate shareholding practices, and more. These were all things I knew nothing about beforehand, and Plentify did not have any experts on hand. I had to become knowledgeable about all these things quickly, which forced me to learn how to reach out to the right people, ask the right questions, and anticipate which questions my manager would have so I could get ahead of it.

Another challenge I had was working halfway across the world from my colleagues. We only had a few hours of overlap each day, so I had to make sure I got in all my questions in the morning, because otherwise I would have to wait until the next day to speak to them. It also felt a little isolating, especially because I was working on individual projects. However, Plentify did a great job of making me feel like part of the team through frequent happy hours, game nights, and more.

My first takeaway is that working in strategy and/or business development for an early-stage startup means doing whatever it takes to keep the business growing. This could mean cold calling, marketing, creating a corporate structure, lobbying venture capitalists, or showing up at people’s doorsteps. I worked closely with the co-founder and chief growth officer, whose work schedule varied widely from day to day. I learned from him to expect the unexpected, stay flexible, and to be a jack of all trades when working in this environment.

My second takeaway is that mission-driven, for profit companies are going to be a key force in mitigating the worst effects of climate change moving forward. Every time Plentify sells one of its products, the pathway to widespread renewable power usage becomes a tiny bit wider, and its relentless drive for growth sets it up well for future success. As part of one of my projects, I analyzed dozens of other climate-focused startups who are also having a growing impact every single day. As someone who has a professional background in nonprofits, this experience opened my eyes to the immense impact that for-profit social enterprises can have on a massive issue such as climate change."