Last weekend, I was able to spend more time exploring Berlin. On Friday night, I went to a club in Berlin with the other students doing internships here. I was skeptical about being out late, but when even my supervisor encouraged me to go along, I decided to join. It was a really fun experience, although I was definitely tired the next day. The club we went to had multiple floors with different types of music. The basement floor was some form of deep techno music, while the second floor was more of an EDM vibe. I liked the second floor music a lot more than the music in the basement, because it had more of a beat to go with my questionable dance moves. On Sunday, I checked out some of the many flea markets in Berlin. I was really shocked at the number of tables and merchants even in one of the flea markets alone. I was able to walk for 10 minutes through rows of tables, each with many different vendors. My favorite part, however, was when I got to say hi to one of the merchant’s dogs. I miss my dogs and cats a lot.

This week, I was working on a lot of similar tasks that carried over from the past week. I’ve also had the opportunity to actively participate in meetings with founders of startups, which has been a really great experience. From that, I learned a lot more about how to evaluate potential investments and what traits might be positive or negative in a founder. I’ve even been able to schedule meetings with the founders of companies I sourced, and lead those meetings myself. I have had two of those meetings so far. The first was with a company making autonomous underwater vehicles that are zero-emission and used for marine surveys and inspections of off-shore energy infrastructure, and the other was with a company that designs hybrid analogue-digital computers which are far more energy efficient than conventional ones. It’s been a busy week, but I think that working long days is good practice for any real job I might get in the future, and it will also make school semesters feel comparatively easy. In my internship, I’ve been navigating uncertainty in my tasks by making sure to ask clarifying questions. I’ve also been asking for feedback after turning in my deliverables so that I can ensure I did things properly, and if not, that I can fix them and do better the next time around. It has certainly been a steep learning curve, but having reviewed all the portfolio companies we’ve already invested in prior to joining the team, I’ve been able to focus on the work at hand and dive right in, making it really rewarding. 

After the week ended, I got ready to travel all the way home to New Jersey. My younger sister graduated high school on Sunday, and I was able to take Monday off work and travel home for the weekend to support her. My flight left at about 9:00 am (Berlin time) on Saturday, and then Sunday night, at about 8:30 pm (New Jersey time), I got on my flight back to Berlin. That may have been the longest travel weekend I’ve ever had, and also the quickest turnaround time. I was in New Jersey for maybe 30 hours at the point I got on my flight back out here. I’m writing from Berlin now, quite tired, but it was nice to see a lot of my family in one place for this graduation. It was also great to see my dogs and cats back home as well. I’m happy to be back in Berlin, but I definitely miss being home as well. It makes me quite grateful to have a great opportunity out here, but also to have great things and people back home that I miss. 

Now, I’m preparing to get back into another week of work. In the coming week, there are a lot of conferences and events in Berlin for founders and investors. I’m going to join a few events with the Vireo team, but also going to attend a few events by myself and represent the fund. I’m both nervous and excited for this experience. Thankfully, the people attending these events are (I believe) somewhat international, so I will not have to worry too much about my German language skills (or more accurately, lack thereof) affecting my ability to connect and network. Stay tuned for another blog post next week – Ciao!