Melinda Hu
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Internship at AptDeco

In the summer after my first year at Wharton, I spent 11 weeks as the Business Development Intern at YCombinator Winter Batch ‘14 startup AptDeco.

From cold-calling 20 businesses a day, to organizing a massive 300-person party with Calligaris NY, to getting feedback from strangers over coffee, this internship truly allowed me to do even as a Freshman intern.

(Note: Thanks to Wharton Entrepreneurship for offering me a Startup Internship Award for my work at AptDeco.)

As AptDeco is a peer-to-peer marketplace for pre-owned furniture, I wanted to join this startup given my passion for sustainability. Thankfully, this interest led me to a whirlwind of BD work that allowed me to experience the excitement of growing a

As AptDeco is a peer-to-peer marketplace for pre-owned furniture, I wanted to join this startup given my passion for sustainability. Thankfully, this interest led me to a whirlwind of BD work that allowed me to experience the excitement of growing a startup.

1. As BD intern, I cold-called 20 businesses a day to convince them to become sellers on our site. I kept a large spreadsheet tracking call dates, notes, and touch points with each furniture business (that we knew of) in NYC. As most furniture businesses aren’t integrated well with the online selling world, it was challenging to convince them. I was nervous at first, but gradually I refined my pitch and became more confident.

As a result of my cold calls, I was able to convert 2 businesses within the first week (Ethnika Home Decor in New Rochelle and Studio D in Brooklyn). I visited these stores to further introduce our service, helped them post their first pieces on the site, and served as their point of contact for any further questions. I sort of felt like a salesperson!

2. One of my biggest projects was researching whether and how Airbnb Hosts could become customers of AptDeco. AptDeco always wanted to look into it, but never had the time. This project was two-fold: First, to reach out to current Airbnb hosts. I j

2. One of my biggest projects was researching whether and how Airbnb Hosts could become customers of AptDeco. AptDeco always wanted to look into it, but never had the time. This project was two-fold:

First, to reach out to current Airbnb hosts. I joined a 150-person MeetUp group of NYC Airbnb hosts. Once I became a member, I wrote emails to fellow members, soliciting a chat or a call about their Airbnb experience. The response rate was 19% - not bad!

I later chatted with 5 Airbnb hosts (4 over coffee, 1 via phone). Again, it was nerve-wracking to talk to strangers, but I honed my question-asking abilities and gained insight into how useful AptDeco could be to them.

Second, I reached out to Airbnb management companies about their role in furnishing Airbnb homes. After researching 25 such companies, I emailed 10, simply asking them to chat about how they worked with hosts. Three companies responded with interest; one had already used our site, and two others wanted to purchase.

I presented my findings and recommended next steps to the team, who were excited about pursuing this potential customer segment. Note: the photo above is a mockup I created with Photoshop of a potential Airbnb Host landing page on our site.

3. One of my biggest accomplishments for this internship was jumpstarting the AptDeco community in NYC. Since AptDeco was founded in NYC, the founders had always wanted to hold an event for their longest and most loyal customers. No one had the band

3. One of my biggest accomplishments for this internship was jumpstarting the AptDeco community in NYC. Since AptDeco was founded in NYC, the founders had always wanted to hold an event for their longest and most loyal customers. No one had the bandwidth to plan this event, so I volunteered to.

I worked with one of our best partners, Calligaris NY, to host an event for our own “top customers.” It would be an opportunity for both companies to promote their brand and increase customer loyalty.

Through numerous phone calls, visits, and emails to Calligaris, contacting dozens of food/drinks providers, designing invitations, preparing promotional materials, and running the email campaign, I was able to throw a 300-person “wine-and-design” event. It was the best way to end my internship.

During my 11 weeks at AptDeco, I took on many other tasks, from handling customer service for a week, to writing a blog post, to cold-emailing interior designers. I also wrote down my observations and ideas for improvements, posting some of these i

During my 11 weeks at AptDeco, I took on many other tasks, from handling customer service for a week, to writing a blog post, to cold-emailing interior designers.

I also wrote down my observations and ideas for improvements, posting some of these ideas on our Asana task list. Though they usually had other more pressing tasks, they noted my ideas and implemented one for our newsletter, which resulted in 46 new furniture postings. I’m grateful that the AptDeco team saw me as a valuable contributor.

Though furniture is not my top passion, I was so happy and proud that I could accomplish so much in such a dynamic environment at my first internship.

Fun fact: a year after the internship, I was able to meet with the founder, Reham Fagiri, once again at the 2018 YC Female Founders Conference in NYC.