Sadly, my time working with Yena has come to an end and I’m now on my final day in the (remote) office.
As I mentioned in my first blog, I’m currently studying at the University of Bristol and will be entering my final year of my Innovation with Psychology masters in September. Although I’m not quite sure of my specific path after uni, I have a keen interest in entrepreneurship, sustainability and startups so I will hopefully weave some sort of route around these three areas.
What I’ve been up to
Over the past few months, I’ve been reaching out to Yena members who have provided me with great content on their startup journeys for the Yena blog. These chats have offered me a unique insight into the fantastic diversity of people and startups that are part of the Yena community, with businesses ranging from sustainable sanitary products to an AI-driven platform for market research and involving people from Birmingham to Mexico City.
Yena is a truly special community that connects members from across the world and places people at the core of the business. I now feel a part of this community, and I’m sure that if I face obstacles with future enterprises or want to bounce ideas off people, the Yena Rebels are the perfect crew to reach out to.
Finding my place in a company of two
As with any job, finding your feet in a company comes with time. However, Abby and Ash sped the process up by catching me up on all things Yena early on and by scheduling review lunches for regular check-ins. Despite being a small company, the culture of Yena is based on openness and communication, meaning I was actively encouraged to contribute feedback and ideas to different areas of the company.
Over one of our review lunches I requested that my title change from Intern to something a little more specific. From my perspective, working for two co-founders, under the title of Intern created a hierarchical gap within the team and had the potential of making me feel concerned about contributing openly. Abby and Ash couldn’t have taken this recommendation better and immediately set to changing my name. Another example of how wonderful Yena was to work for.
Working remotely
Although Covid19 has meant that the end of my internship wasn’t quite as planned, the team ensured that I still felt a part of the company and continued to offer remote support. Despite the current situation, being a member of a small team as they enter a new, turbulent working environment has provided me with great insights into how to adapt and thrive under new conditions. Whilst lockdown has continued, Yena has adapted the best that it can by offering its fantastic community to everyone for free during the pandemic and have been planning ahead for an unknown future.
Even though my time working directly for Yena is now at an end, I am very grateful to both Abby and Ash for their friendship, support and advice throughout my experience. I hope to stay in touch with them both and with the Yena community and, of course, I will continue to attend the Yena Rebel Meetups.
