Have you wondered what challenges a circular fashion startup faces and how it is working on overcoming them?
My name is Marlene, I am a second-year communication science student and I have just finished my five-month internship at the circular fashion startup: CIRCLE CLOSET. Let me give you an insightful perspective on the obstacles I have faced during my internship and what learnings I have concluded from them.
FIRST IMPRESSION
In February I entered the office for the first time, excited about all the new experiences I was about to gain. The office had a swing in the middle of the room, dresses were hanging on racks, and a backdrop was standing in the corner for content production. In my position as a digital marketing intern, I soon got to learn a lot about e-commerce, CRM marketing, and the operations of the business.
INSIGHTS
What was most interesting to learn early on was how hard a startup is working to be recognized and valued, not only by its customers but also by the public. Most outstanding for me was the aim for fast growth, which in the case of Circle Closet was to gain more lenders and thereby more items for rent on the website. We worked hard on guerrilla campaigns to gain more attention, but also the learn more from the lenders about their experience with the company, and anything that can be improved to improve the customer experience.
LEARNINGS
I have experienced agile working during my previous employment in advertising, however during my internship agile working became a whole new way of working for me. Everything is constantly changing in a young company, which means that during my internship I constantly adapted my ways of working. It requires flexibility and precision, which I was able to improve throughout the internship.
Moreover, working in a small agile team taught me to communicate openly and frequently about my work and deadlines. It also showed me that the level of communication indicated the quality of the output.
DAY-TO-DAY WORK
No day is the same in a startup. Every day there were new challenges and new tasks which can be motivating and overwhelming at the same time. Whether it is a customer that did not receive their rented item in time, the launch of a new lender, collaborations, or a photoshoot, every day I was able to learn something new. It taught me to manage my time well and to keep a clear head when things get chaotic.
FUTURE REFERENCE
I consciously chose an internship at a small startup company, seeking agile ways of working, the startup mentality, lots of work, and lots of learning. However, at times I was very overwhelmed with working on so many different things at the same time, even though I have two years of work experience in marketing communications. Concluding, I can say that my expectations of the internship were exceeded, and I have learned more than I expected about e-commerce, CRM marketing, and most of all about myself.