Interns Talk: Journey of an Intern at Kimola

Intern at Kimola

My name is Elnur and I am studying Information Systems at Bilkent University. When I started to write this post, my last week started to count down at Kimola.

I think it would be good to write my feelings about this place and Fantastic Four after spending almost 4 months with them. My internship began in early February and this was the second one in my university years. Previously, I have done an internship at a relatively big IT firm. Now, when I look back, I do not even consider it as an internship. Frankly, interning at Kimola was one of the best learning experiences in my life.

This is just how I feel after working almost four months here.

People are key to learning in any firm. If you are lucky to be at Kimola, you will see a friendly, kind, and very supportive team. This could sound like a cliche, but Kimola really has these qualities, even more than that. I was at lunch with Beybin and Mustafa and one of my friends from the department joined us. He was interning at one of the Cyberpark firms. Later he called me and said, “dude, your bosses were so cool and friendly, I haven’t seen my boss’s face for a month. You are so lucky to have those people.”

Kimola has a fast-paced environment which requires active communication. There are constant meetings and I am encouraged to attend and share my opinions. Actually, you are obliged to express your thoughts in meetings, you cannot sit back and just listen. If you have any suggestions, don’t hold back. They will listen to you. It’s the quality of people and culture they created here which you rarely find in big firms. I don’t know what to call that, but it’s more than democracy.

At Kimola, you are treated as a regular employee. The best thing I liked here is that they trust and give you a lot of responsibility. You have the responsibility to finish something and the result depends on you. After doing it, you are able to see the result, either it’s good or bad, but you reach for something. I think that is the main difference between big firms and startup environments, you see the impact you make. I was thrown into the mixed learning environment which was wonderful for me. The exposure to a variety of tasks created a steep learning curve.

You have to be creative and add value. Resources at startups are valuable. Unlike big firms, startups don’t have an extensive budget to spend on marketing campaigns. That’s why it’s important to use every inch of the resources efficiently. You are required to do so at Kimola. At big firms, you can get the result with traditional methods with no efficiency. Also if you don’t add value, you may fly under the radar in such firms. However, in startups, you need to add real value, solve problems and get the results. Otherwise, you are not needed in the team.

At Kimola, I had a chance to learn what it takes to get the company up and running. Any student with entrepreneurial interest should seriously consider working here. You really gain an insight into entrepreneurship. You have a chance to see what is going on behind curtains. You have a constant dialogue with the founder and CEO and other top-level employees. Man, these people have built something from the ground! It’s your best chance to absorb knowledge as much as possible in such a firm with a flexible culture and great people.

Feel free to apply for the related open position or general application on their careers page!