Ask HN: How do students find startups to intern at?

email a few you like (showing a few projects is a good idea), if there is a good fit after a few emails I'd try and have lunch with the team. boom

I found a killer internship last year. Here is what did and didn't work:

Didn't work: reading techcrunch and HN waiting for a great startup to drift by. I reached out to a few of the companies that were big on HN and TC, but at that time (because they were on TC and HN) they were swamped with emails and usually at a critical stage in the companies growth. Thus, wasn't a great time to try and chat.

Beyond that, I couldn't get a great feel for the companies (the people)from their sites alone. And this is just as important as the idea, if not more.

Worked: Talking to people who you know in SF and in the startup world. I spoke with a friend of mine at a startup - he introduced me to other friends. who introduced me to other friends. and before you know it I had a dozen phone calls lined up. I think I was able to get passed along for a few reasons: -I had a good short blurb on myself that folks could forward along. It showed that I was hungry. -I had a personal website so that people could read about what I was up to. -I knew what size company I wanted and was flexible with pay.

Also worked: talking to recruiters at VC firms and incubators. They have tons of contacts and know great places to look.

If you have ones in mind, then sure. reach out. I found that people are surprisingly friendly to young folks who want to learn.

where are you located? tap into the school ecosystem (e,g MIT, Harvard - I am east coast based) and build a network, be curious, ask questions.

there are some online resources but they are not well curated.

You can intern with me if you like :)

For those living in the UK wanting to move to the Bay Area, this worked for me (and was one of the best career decisions I've made): http://siliconvalleyinternship.com