Level Up Ventures Intern

About Level Up Ventures

We back exceptional founders building impactful companies. Our mission is to uncover visionary entrepreneurs who have historically faced barriers to accessing capital. We’re not just investing; we’re using technology to identify great startups that don't fit the typical Silicon Valley archetype.

The Project

This summer, you will build a functional AI tool to help our team find and evaluate founders more efficiently. This is a "builder" role; you’ll be responsible for taking a concept from a messy data problem to a working internal tool.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Scrape & Structure: Build simple, effective scripts to pull and organize data from public sources (LinkedIn, Twitter/X, news, niche databases).
• Prompt Engineering: Use large language models (LLMs) to analyze that data and extract signals of "entrepreneurial drive" and unique founder perspectives.
• Ship a Tool: Create a simple internal dashboard (using something like Streamlit or Retool) that helps our team prioritize our deal flow.

Who We’re Looking For

• A Scrappy Coder: You’re comfortable in Python and enjoy developing prototypes that deliver practical results.
• AI Curious: You’ve experimented with OpenAI/Anthropic APIs and understand how to write a good prompt to get structured data out of unstructured text.
• Independent: You can take an open-ended goal ("find me founders in the Midwest doing X") and figure out how to get the data.

What You’ll Gain

• A Shipped Product: You’ll leave with a tool that is actively being used by a venture capital fund.
• VC 101: You’ll work alongside the Level Up Ventures team to learn how seed-stage investing actually works.
• The Network: Exposure to our community of founders and investors.

The internship will run from June 1, 2026-August 14, 2026, up to 35 hours per week.

In accordance with applicable law, Hearst is required to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role if hired in New York City. The reasonable estimate, if hired in New York City, is $20.00 per hour. Please note this information is specific to those hired in New York City. If this role is open to candidates outside of New York City, the salary range would be aligned to that specific location. A final decision on the successful candidate’s starting salary will be based on a number of permissible, non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to skills and experience, training, certifications, and education. Hearst provides a competitive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance, 401(k), paid holidays and paid time off, employee assistance programs, and more.