Are unpaid interns really free?

As a start-up gains some momentum, it’s natural for the Founders to consider bringing on un-paid interns to help. They are free aren’t they? Free labor, more help, no cost. Correct? Well…. no, not really! Not all un-paid interns are considered equal. One needs to really evaluate what the start-up needs are and what skill sets are necessary in order to to address those needs. Founders do not have time to teach, explain, and show the basics of excel and powerpoint. For example, if number crunching is involved for P&L models, having to explain the formula for a CAGR should raise a serious red flag. Point being, evaluate each intern for their true abilities before hiring them or you will be just trying to put a square peg in a round hole - costing you time and effort that could be re-purposed elsewhere.

#Interns #advice