We interviewed Anthony Ayala, senior Economics major at Wake Forest University. Anthony spent his summer interning with Loadin.com in Sydney. He is a Schuler Scholar and he was awarded a full ride scholarship through them to participate in the program this summer.
You interned with Loadin.com in Sydney this summer. How would you explain what the startup does?
They solve a major issue in the music industry, which is communication. Music festivals consists of two important teams music artists and the production house, and the problem that arises day to day in the festival preparation process is that there is a lot of conversations taking place in different platforms, locations, methods, and both teams are not aware of what the other team’s communication. What Loadin.com has done is created a innovative communication tool for music festivals where their platform allows all communication from either team to be on the platform and from there both teams are can view uploaded documents such as an artist’s rider, what the stage will look like, assigning accreditation tickets, itineraries, and etc. They have had quite a lot of success in the Australia with the festivals they have worked with and are ready to and soon will be working in the United States and the U.K.
What is your role and what are your major projects and/or responsibilities this summer?
My role as an intern for Loadin.com was to do research and help the company target the festivals and promoters in the U.S. My main project was to generate the best dataset I could of music festivals, and find all the festivals in the U.S. of all sizes and popularity such as Rolling Loud, Coachella, and to even smaller and local music festivals. I did research on the U.S. music conferences. Another important task I worked on was another table where I essentially connect the dots in regards to music promoters where promoters are either independent or part of an even bigger promoter company. This is huge for the company as the big promoters like AEG Live and Live Nation are great, but would be quite difficult to work with compared to independent promoter companies.
I also started to learn Hubspot and Xero. Hubspot is a marketing software that is perfect for start-ups that offers a complete suite of marketing, sales, and customer services. I have never used the software before and now consider myself very proficient in Hubspot where I have learned how to make the processes for the company much easier by finding app integrations (linking apps to another one) that make running the business an even smoother process and teaching the company what they have been missing out on. For example, I found ways to link the company website to Hubspot, how to track emails on Outlook with the Hubspot integration, how to create kanban views for customer service tickets, how create templates, and much more. I carried out this work in a similar fashion with Xero, an accounting software that I learned how to use. I too claim proficiency in this software where I understand reconciling bills, setting up expenses for the company, viewing performance of the company, how to create invoices and bills, along with how to the company to become more efficient with Xero.
Can you tell us about the startup space where your company was based?
The office space where I worked is called Fishburners and is located at the New South Wales Start Up Hub. It’s a great community filled with experienced and kind people who are always willing to talk to other members of different start-ups in events like happy hours, pitch nights, and group lunches and tea, and more events. Many of the start-ups has founders who typically work corporate for some time and gain all the skills they can acquire, and choose to branch out of corporate to take on their own passion. Fishburners always welcomes new start-ups and helps the start-ups grow and flourish.
What have you observed about the work culture in Australia?
Immediately, I noticed that everyone works extremely hard but also understands the importance of wellness. In regards to my work, quality is much better than quantity. What I mean is that I do have a lot on my plate to do in terms of research, and it does seem that the best way to show my work ethic is just to work to finish as fast as possible. That is not completely true as my boss mentioned to me as what he cares is that I am enjoying what I am doing, my work is not a race, and learn from each and every day. Quality will always produce the best kind of work. Honestly, I loved it there along with the happy hours and Fishburners.
What do you like about Sydney and what have been some highlights of living there?
It’s still unreal to me that I was in Australia this summer. It’s a country that is on many people’s bucket lists, but is hard to travel to because of the distance and the expensive flights. However, I will say that is completely worth it as Sydney is even better than what I expected and in my honest opinion better than some the places I have visited while I was abroad in Spain in this spring semester that just passed. I have been blessed to be able to finally explore outside the States and Mexico and live and explore in Europe and Australia for the first time all in the same year. Where Sydney stands out than Europe and the States that I love is how diverse it is, how large the city is, each and everyday is filled with adventure and more exploring to do where ferries can take you to do different beaches and bays, the neighborhoods are so unique and filled with many beautiful views of downtown, and traveling is so accessible. Some of my highlights were visiting the Blue Mountains, frequent Bondi Beach trips, eating amazing and fresh seafood at the Sydney Fish Market, going on walks, going star gazing in Watson’s Bay, swimming at Bondi Icebergs and then going to the sauna, eating with friends, and much more. Each and everyday abroad was a highlight.
How did you pick this program?
I ended up at Sage Corps is mostly thanks to the Schuler Scholar Program, but also why I believe that everything happens for a reason and that my story has already been written. While I was abroad in Spain for an immersion program this spring semester, I had no internship nor a job lined up for the summer of 2022 but my goal was to land an internship in the Chicago. I believed I was a solid candidate despite not having any certifications or strong proficiency in softwares like excel, Stata, Postgresql, Draw.IO, etc., as I have never learned how to use these softwares at Wake Forest but thought I would be taught how to use them down the line by a corporate job or internship. While I applied for over 100 internships, I got roughly 10 interviews, and ended with all rejections. I became so frustrated with the rejections and couldn’t understand why no company would give me a chance. I was so unaware and ignorant of how the job application goes for business jobs and internships and how to land them.
All that changed when I attended a virtual career fair provided by Schuler where I met Sage Corps. Later when I was completing the Schuler application, a voice inside my head told to me select the Sydney program. There was no hesitation there as for one my eyes opened since the program wasn’t full yet and my love for traveling told me to do explore the world once more, even if my goal was to stay home and make money for the summer. I was literally making a huge gamble, but one that completely paid off. When everything worked out with Schuler and the acceptance for the Sydney Program, I was able to receive a full ride scholarship to Sydney, earn a stip-end for my start-up, and the best part is live and work in Sydney!
What advice would you give to someone considering the Sydney summer internship for next year?
Be prepared to have your mind blown as Sydney is a city you don’t ever want to leave and might actually consider wanting to live out here. I did not feel homesick, at all. You’ll want to bring your friends and family out here so please explore as much as you can learn, learn as much Aussie-lingo, meet locals as they are so nice and always welcome conversation, and take and advantage of each and everyday. Learn and try new things, and as always be yourself. You will open many doors for yourself in Australia and sooner than you know it you will be thinking about coming back to visit or live back in Australia.
What are your plans or goals after graduation?
My plans for post-graduation are to either pursue my masters degree or land a great corporate job or a job that will be pay well as my goal is to create generational wealth for my family and to give back to my grandpa and parents for all the sacrifices they have made for me to become a first-generational college student and to be first in the family to travel outside the North America. I plan to work corporate for some time and to reach a critical point in my life where I can be financially stable and be able to live very comfortably while giving back to my family. I do have the door open to work back at Loadin.com whether it is remotely or the better option, which is in-person. I just have this feeling in life that everything will work out for me and that my dream will come true, but I must believe in every moment and understand that everything happens for a reason.
Interested in interning in Sydney this summer? Start your application.
