When I applied to Evli’s Internship program in January 2020, I was convinced that Evli is an excellent fit for me. I had discussed Evli with my fellow students and co-workers, who had worked at Evli either as a trainee or in a permanent position. I got the impression that people at Evli are extremely talented and welcoming – who would not want to work surrounded by striving, brilliant and gentle people? The conversations convinced me that an internship at Evli would ensure an enhanced learning curve and a great experience.  I decided to apply for a position in Evli Growth Partner’s team due to a combination of my genuine interest in the Venture Capital sector and my background as a business developer. In February I got the call that I had dreamed of – I had landed an internship offer! I was extremely excited to step into the world of venture capital with the guidance of professionals at EGP.

“One of the two best things about my internship has been that I have been able to focus on my personal growth”

During my time at EGP, I have gotten a chance to familiarize the Venture Capital world by seeing the investment process from the beginning to working with the portfolio companies. One of the two best things about my internship has been that I have been able to focus on my personal growth. My team made very clear from the beginning that there are no wrong or silly questions and with their encouragement, I have felt confident about asking a question and have learned a lot about growth companies. Adding this to my diverse and challenging tasks, the internship has helped me to distinguish where I am particularly good at and what I still need to improve. In the last three months, I have prepared a comparison between two companies operating in the same industry and participated in a discussion about whether we should invest in those companies or not with the operational team and Growth Partners. I have also conducted few industry analyses from scratch, participated in the due diligence process, attended Artic15 e-event as an investor where I pitched our fund to start-ups as well as listened to their pitch and offers for the investment. On top of that, I followed the discussion of current topics and trends at the Industrial Advisors meeting. Overall, I have gained first-hand experience and have been a trusted colleague from early on.

“I have been impressed by Evli’s goals to improve sustainability in their operations and encourage female students in their careers”

The other great thing, from the many amazing experiences, has been the people and culture at Evli. Other teams have organized short introductions in their functions; therefore, I was able to understand Evli’s operations in the bigger picture and meet the people outside of my team. And when it comes to Evli’s culture, I have been impressed by Evli’s goals to improve sustainability in their operations and encourage female students in their careers. As an active member of Women’s career society, I was thrilled that Evli was one of the companies that participated in the workshop organized by our society. The workshop intended to give support for the recruitment process by giving insights on how to prepare for the interview.

To summarize, Evli’s trainee program has met and gone beyond my expectations. Internship at Evli Growth Partners reveals to a student a variety of challenging and motivating tasks related to the Venture Capital sector, in which young professionals’ learning curve can be as fast and steep as they want it to be – I truly believe this applies to every team at Evli.

-Tiia Sinisalo

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