The Reach Capital Intern Starter Pack

Dear Future Intern,

In an era where grunt work is delegated to AI, the easy outs for the job of an intern are gone: data entry, research summaries, and deck cleanup can be done with a prompt, no onboarding or I-9 required. 

Reach remains confident that there’s still value in interns. Partners Wayee Chu and Jennifer Carolan wrote the very articles that helped me prepare for my summer with the firm. Part of their enthusiasm likely echoes the Silicon Valley ecosystem. It’s hard to ignore young talent amidst headlines of 19-year-old founders being handed millions of dollars before they’ve ever heard of renters insurance. Why not see how they fare as summer analysts helping portfolio companies, building internal tools, and supporting thesis research?

Over the past month, I’ve dived deep into healthcare subverticals, made product and investment recommendations, engaged in pitches, met with founders and advisors, conducted customer interviews, and project managed company support for my fellow interns. Now, all-hands presentation presented and deliverables delivered, I’m about to pack up for my next destination: Brown University. 

Inspired by the back-to-school season, and in the spirit of paying it forward, here’s everything I packed with me to Reach and what I learned along the way. 

What I brought

A lined notebook: for the ideas that pop up in mid-meeting. Granola can summarize the discussion, but on paper is where I capture diagrams, questions, and musings that run alongside conversations. 

A dot grid notebook: to sketch within on the train ride up to the office.  

A sense of why you’re here: know the team, read their thought leadership, and understand how you fit into the story of the firm. Reach has been thesis-driven from day one, and yet there is no singular archetype for any member of the team in terms of prior experience. From former teachers to designers to Big Tech PMs and journalists, they’ve found their way to Reach by way of their own purpose-driven pursuits. 

Focus playlist: headlined by La Femme, The Smiths, Saint Etienne, and The Cardigans.

File management discipline: through trial and error, I’ve learned the prerequisite for efficient and coordinated work is organization. When project managing, I used nested Google Drive folders of scaffolded deliverables each intern edited as they completed their research. 

The fraying organizer I made as a first sewing project in a second-semester-senior rush of excitement about the richness of life and the glory of free-er time: for keeping track of AirPods, my supercharger brick, and cables.

Chapstick.

A love for critique: I approached check-ins as an opportunity to refine my craft. Asking for feedback isn’t about refusing praise and proving toughness. Figuring out what good work to continue doing is just as important as unearthing areas for growth. 

Tall water bottle: which I didn’t really need, because there’s more than enough coconut water, kombucha, and flavored sparkling water in the office fridge.

My networks: I tapped into the experiences I’d been collecting as a student and made relevant warm introductions when the time was right, without waiting for my start date. And by network, I mean everybody, not just founders or executives. When working with Reach’s portfolio companies, every intern surveyed friends, family, and classmates to provide insights on student-facing apps and services. 

What I also needed

Lucky ping pong paddles: to stand a better chance against Tony and Harry at the annual summer intern celebration at SPIN SF.

A deck with 26 fewer slides than I’d planned: Deciding what content to keep or cut is making an argument about what matters. Prepping for partner meetings taught me that concision is more than a communication skill; it’s where you establish a point of view, a recommendation. That’s the cognitive value add. My advice: save your reviewer from having to leave an extra round of feedback and slim down your draft before shipping it off. If you’ve done the deep research, it’s easy to add details back in. 

Puffy jacket: for San Francisco July.

A lesson in finance: Josh opened our young eyes and exposed our wrinkle-free foreheads to the snarl of data and acronyms that is portfolio management. 

To send one pagers ahead of meetings: Midway through my first week at Reach, I realized that slingshotting introductory meetings out of “so tell me about yourself” limbo created conversations that were much more interesting than simply resume rehashing. I started doing a little extra homework and writing out one pagers detailing the overlaps and opportunities for collaboration between me and the person I was about to talk to. Sending these ahead of time forced me to identify my blind spots and questions to raise. Not everything needs a one pager, but they’re a useful tool I wish I’d deployed earlier. 

A yoga mat: to test out the studio a 15 minute walk from the office.

Best of luck!

Talia Buckhouse
Class of Summer 2026