It was my first day of work and I was nervous, so much so that my legs were wobbly. I tilted forward, then backward. I finally steadied myself by grabbing onto a cubicle wall and was able to move forward evenly. However, I soon found myself grabbing for the cubicle wall again. “That’s enough”, I said to my coworker, and with that I stepped off the hover board. “Hopefully, you can learn it by the end of the summer” he replied while laughing. I gave him a firm handshake and returned to my desk.

My summer internship is at a medical device startup in a Boston area suburb. I am working to develop a five year strategy for the company and determine where investments should be made. This job was a big departure from my prior role at a multinational strategy consulting firm. However, working at a startup will allow me to answer a few questions about my future career:

1. Would I enjoy working in a smaller and, potentially, leaner organization?

2. Would I enjoy working in an operating company rather than a professional services firm?

All of this takes us back to my first day. After a mere few hours in the office, I was presenting a financial model to a potential investor in the company. The CEO and CFO were pleased with my performance and I soon realized that my first day of work was also a sort of interview.

Over the next few weeks, I hope to find answers to my career-related questions and complete my project. It would also be great to learn how to ride the company’s hover boards.