Small Business, Big Impact

Written by Jack Schofield, Summer Intern, Class of 2019

My name is Jack Schofield and I’m currently a rising senior at Wake Forest University. I’m originally from Greenville, SC, I absolutely love animals, and I have two younger sisters. I am a Psychology Major with a Minor in Entrepreneurship, and I am hoping to get a concentration in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. I’m currently interning as a Business Development Intern in Winston-Salem at Give2Gain with Cory Parr and Paul Yamane. Give2Gain is a technology platform that raises funds and awareness for charities by connecting athletes and celebrities with their fans and followers around the world.

What excites me most about interning for Give2Gain is the ability to work closely with two creative minds and the opportunity to feel heard due to the small company culture. It has been such a cool experience having a hands on impact with a startup, including balancing creativity and innovation with a welcoming and laid back environment to assure the best from its employees. I feel completely welcomed in the atmosphere, which allows me to fully express my ideas and concerns without being worried about disappointing my coworkers.

I chose to intern for an entrepreneurial startup as opposed to a bigger corporate company because I wanted to have a hands on experience. I’m valued at the smaller startup company and I’m learning a lot more than I would in a corporate office. This is due to the personal investment that both Paul and Cory have in the company and in me as well. All three of us want the startup to succeed and be impactful and that is not possible without the full commitment of all of us. The smaller the business, the more personally invested its employees are.

Prior to this internship, I was a right-handed pitcher for the Wake Forest Baseball team for two and a half years before my body could not take the physical toll that collegiate athletics require. While playing baseball, I was the Head of Fundraising for the 2017-2018 Wake Forest Baseball team for the JDRF walk, raising over 100% of our goal. The experiences and skills that I accumulated while playing college baseball are irreplaceable and extremely valuable in my entrepreneurial endeavors. Skills like teamwork, resiliency, adaptability, problem solving, and communication are important not only in athletics, but also as an entrepreneur. These skills will allow me to be the best intern I am capable of being, and will allow me to take Give2Gain to the next level.

Currently, we are working on a campaign for John Isner, where we are flying one winner and a guest to Wimbledon to not only meet the legend John Isner, but to also sit courtside and experience the best tennis has to offer both on and off the court. While this is currently our main campaign, we are also collaborating with other athletes and celebrities to try and create new and exciting campaigns with them as well.

I look forward to bringing extreme value to Give2Gain due to my extensive background in working with and on a team, fundraising, and my creative mindset. I believe that my creative mindset and personal connections in the athletic and greater celebrity worlds, will allow me to be a valuable team member at Give2Gain. Through this internship, I’m excited to learn the ins and outs of a startup and seeing what clicks and doesn’t work in addition to learning the communication skills that are needed to work on campaigns, marketing, and fundraising with celebrities and athletes. I’m excited to be on the ground floor of a potentially very positively impactful company. This internship will not only present me with extremely valuable skills, but also an altruistic happiness while helping great causes.