Joining the Joes – my two-week internship at GoJoe

Hi, I’m Bella and I’m going into my second year of studying Geography at Cambridge University and over the summer I deep dived(/ran/swam/cycled/danced?!) into a 2-week internship at GoJoe filled with marketing, development, product testing, getting to know the jobs that the ordinary Joes at GoJoe do, and how they got there!

I was drawn to GoJoe by the versatile nature of the company. It is a new tech and sports startup and were doing some really cool things. Being an enthusiastic runner, I felt massively inspired by what the company are doing to get everyone into being active. And it’s this diversity of thinking and get up and go (get up and Joe?) mindset which I definitely wanted to learn from and take with me into the future.  

I started the week off with the daily ops stand-up call where everyone gave an update on what they are working on, and I sat there nervously waiting to be introduced. But my anxiety was soon dispelled with such a warm welcome from the team as everyone gave me a wave on zoom.

I dove straight into work with Ed, Head of Marketing, who introduced me to the inner workings of PR & Media lists, surveys and ad campaigns. I had great fun researching some quotes which aligned with the humour and quippiness of GoJoe, and somehow managed to find a quote from Homer Simpson himself about enjoying working out. If he can do it, then I think we all can, no?

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Game of Joes

I joined the Game of Joes, the GoJoe internal team challenge. I initially started with a pretty chill. I don’t see myself as particularly competitive (except maybe an extreme game of catch with my twin sister) but boy was I surprised how much I cared about those games. In my second week, I woke up BEFORE work every day to run, walk or cycle, which, for a 19-year-old, is practically unprecedented (source: myself. Maybe ignoring all the hardworking teenagers currently in the Olympics too pls). After my first day of work, and keen for my first activity logged to be paint me as a ‘Legendary Joe’, I set off on a bike ride to Richmond Park and jumped in the Thames!

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Meeting the Ordinary GoJoes

For the next two weeks, I was also had some really insightful calls with members of the GoJoe team. My first was with Phil, the co-founder of GoJoe and I was just really interested to learn about the process of setting up a start-up and how he and Will got the company to where it is now - having the growth and stability to take on an intern (me!). One piece of advice particularly stuck with me which was that things are easier than you make out to be in your head. You can spend so long thinking about how impossible something is, but if you just do it, it becomes possible. I talked about how I hope to start a climate tech startup and he was so supportive and enthusiastic! Advising not to be afraid of cold calling anyone, the worst rejection you can get is a no. Building a resilience to this will be essential!

“If it doesn’t exist, create it!”

Phil Steele, the Original Ordinary Joe

I was lucky to join during the most exciting sporting time of the global calendar, the Olympics. And Ed reassured me that it was perfectly ok to be watching the diving on a second monitor at the same time as my call with him (in fact, I’m pretty sure that’s what he was doing too. Maybe I shouldn’t be putting that in a public blog, sorry Ed). This also involved some cool opportunities to research some Olympian quotes and trying to get them to appeal to us Ordinary Joes (not all of us want to or can run 136 miles a week Kipchoge, cough cough).

I talked all things climate with Mark, the New Business Consultant, from fossil fuels to electric cars. Was it a rant session about the severity of the global situation? Probably yes. Was it very enjoyable? Absolutely yes. Jess, head of content, inspired me to have the freedom to be able to move abroad, having lived in Stockholm for two years (very jealous of that!). In fact, she had reached out to GoJoe with her CV when they weren’t hiring, which I thought was very cool. Find a company that you like the sound of and go for it!

Ana headed up the product management and I really loved the diversity of her role, bridging both the technical and communication sides of the business. I saw the same analytical mind in her that I aspire to have! David Roast took me into the unreleased part of the app (aha I have seen more of GoJoe than you have dear reader!) and how development roles are assigned.

I was impressed to learn how sincerely GoJoe takes feedback, in fact it was me who went through 700 survey responses and helped implement those suggestions into the product roadmap!

Trip to LONDON

I also embarked on an adventure away from my desk where I met the co-founders (in person this time), Phil and Will, (LOVE the rhyme) where they had a Q&A with employees at NatWest about the importance of mindset and the personal struggles that we all have with imposter syndrome and perfectionism. Will’s big piece of advice was to take risks; all the good stuff happens when you’re prepared to fail. Phil said to not stay in your lane; having the curiosity to learn from others and not being pigeon-holed into a certain role is really important.

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Coming to my tenth and final day, I reflect back and am genuinely shocked by how much I have learnt here. Yes, the practical stuff of how a business works and all that jolly jargon. But I think more importantly, the importance of proactivity and enthusiasm. I started off in marketing, but then got curious of different aspects of the business, and soon found that I got to dip my toes in all areas!

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Words of wisdom

I will depart with some advice that I’d like to give to anyone else doing an internship:

- Work out what you want to get from the internship and don’t be afraid to ask for it!

- Be proactive and think about what can be helpful to the team

- Pick up the phone, send that email. I know us Gen Zs are terrified of the dreaded phone call, but it is by far a very productive way of speaking. And, trust me, you get used to it!

- Take everything in! Sitting in on meetings and chatting with the members of the team are such valuable ways to learn. It helps you to form how you want the future of your career to look like.

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Bye for now!

I’m signing off now! As an Ordinary Joe myself, I don’t think that the team do themselves enough credit - they are pretty extraordinary. Thank you for allowing me to join you for two weeks. I know that I will return to university with a renewed passion for following my own dreams. I’ve established a climate society at my college and am looking forward to running a climate hackathon. The advice that I have been given will make me feel less afraid of getting a ‘no’. I want to keep these going, and learning how to delegate roles, as Will and Phil have had to learnt to do, will be invaluable. Additionally, as Phil advised, finding a partner in crime who is just as passionate about starting a climate start-up as I am, to make connections and brainstorm crazy and wacky ideas to begin with!

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