Strategic Partnership & Growth (Internship)

About the Internship

We’re looking for a sharp, relationship-driven intern to join the Founder’s Office and own the partnership engine behind Hightable’s growth. You’ll work directly with the VP to build alliances with VCs, accelerators, GCCs, corporates, and service providers, and turn those relationships into members, events, and revenue. This isn’t an observational internship. You’ll own real numbers and be measured on outcomes. Strong performers will be considered for a full-time offer at the end of the term.

Who You Are

• You build relationships. You’re comfortable reaching out to senior people, holding a conversation, and staying in touch long after the first meeting.
• You can pitch. You explain value clearly, handle objections calmly, and follow up like the deal depends on it, because it does.
• You’ve tried growth. LinkedIn outreach, cold email, community building, campus programs, or events where you can show what you drove.
• You take ownership. When the number is yours, it moves, with no follow-ups needed.
• You sweat the details. The follow-up you skip is the partnership you lose.
• You’re comfortable with ambiguity. No playbook, no hand-holding. The role is what you make it.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Partnerships

• Map and prioritize target partners across VCs, accelerators, GCCs, corporates, service providers, and startup communities
• Run outreach through LinkedIn, email, calls, and warm introductions
• Draft partnership decks, proposals, and collaboration structures (co-hosted events, referral agreements, sponsorships, content collabs)
• Coordinate meetings between the VP and prospective partners, and drive follow-ups to closure
• Manage existing partners and ensure deliverables are executed on time
• Represent Hightable at external events, conferences, and ecosystem meetups
• Maintain a partnership CRM/tracker with status, owners, and next steps

Growth

• Convert partnerships into growth: referrals, co-marketing, and access to partner communities
• Drive member acquisition through outreach to founders, investors, and mentors
• Run growth experiments across LinkedIn, email, WhatsApp communities, events, and referrals; double down on what converts
• Maintain a funnel dashboard covering leads, meetings, applications, and conversions
• Support event execution: outreach, on-ground coordination, and post-event follow-up

Client Meetings & Membership Closures

• Schedule and support client/prospect meetings for membership, GTM, and Talent offerings
• Support pitches, proposals, and sales collateral
• Track the pipeline from lead to meeting to closure to renewal
• Support sponsorship outreach for Hightable events

Founder’s Office

• Work directly with the VP on market research, ecosystem mapping, and competitive analysis
• Prepare weekly/monthly MIS reports, dashboards, and decks
• Take on ad hoc tasks as the business requires

Targets

Months 1-2 (Ramp-up)

• Build a partner map of 50+ target organizations, tiered by priority
• Contact 30+ potential partners
• Schedule 5+ partnership meetings/month
• Generate 50+ qualified leads/month for community membership
• Schedule and support 10+ client meetings/month

Months 3-4

• Coordinate 8+ partnership meetings/month
• Convert 5+ prospects into active conversations or MOUs
• Independently coordinate 1 partner-led event or collaboration
• Own outreach for 100+ leads/month with 15-20% conversion to applications
• Drive 15+ client meetings/month; close or assist in closing 3+ memberships
• Present mid-term review deck (targets vs. achievements)

Months 5-6

• Close or finalize 2-3 strategic partnerships (co-hosted events, referral agreements, or sponsorships)
• Generate leads or members through at least 2 active partners
• Drive 150+ leads/month; improve conversion rate by 10% over baseline
• Own 20+ client meetings/month; close or assist in closing 5-8 memberships cumulatively
• Own end-to-end execution of 1 flagship event/mixer
• Present end-of-term review deck and PPO evaluation

Requirements

• Final-year student or recent graduate (any stream); no full-time experience required
• Strong communication, pitching, and relationship-building skills
• Proof of work counts: a partnership or sponsorship you secured, an E-cell or fest role, a sales or BD internship, a community you built, or an outreach campaign you ran
• Comfortable with Excel/Sheets and PowerPoint/Slides; CRM familiarity (HubSpot, Notion, Airtable) is a plus
• Active, well-maintained LinkedIn profile
• Based in Bengaluru or able to relocate before joining
• Available for the full 6 months, in-office at BTM Layout
• Able to start immediately or within 2-3 weeks

What You’ll Gain

• Direct, daily mentorship from the VP and founding team
• Real ownership of partnership, growth, and membership targets
• Access to a network of 1,500+ founders, 250+ VCs, 1,650+ GCCs, and 10,000+ startups
• Hands-on experience negotiating and closing partnerships
• Certificate of internship and potential pre-placement offer (PPO) based on measurable performance