About

An independent home for a two-sided program.

Venture Interns Lab exists because early-stage ventures need hands they can't yet afford to hire, and students need experience that's more than a line about "a club." We built a structure that gives both sides something real.

Founder

Meet the founder

Abby Keith

Founder, Venture Interns Lab

Abby has worked venture capital from every angle: as Deal Flow Manager at Eagle Venture Seed Fund, reviewing pre-seed startups and helping deploy fund capital; as President of Girls into Venture Capital, building a curriculum on fund structures, deal sourcing, and portfolio strategy; and as an independent consultant helping founding teams sharpen their pitch decks and financing plans.

She's also spent years building things from scratch. At 15, she founded Idaho Homelessness Impact, a nonprofit that brought together more than 200 local and national resources for Boise's unhoused community and grew to a 10-person board with 80 volunteers. That same instinct, seeing a gap and building the structure to close it, is what led her to start Venture Interns Lab: giving early-stage founders real operational help while giving students something better than another club to put on a resume.

She's currently studying International Economics with a minor in Finance, alongside a dual Master's in Finance, at American University.

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Why we exist

Two problems, one program

For founders

Early on, you need a diverse set of skills (marketing, project management, finance, web development and AI, administrative support, consulting) but can't justify full-time hires yet. A structured intern team gives you that labor for a flat term-based due, with a real project manager keeping it organized.

For students

Generic clubs and unpaid "shadowing" don't build a resume. Being placed on a named venture's team, shipping real deliverables, and briefing a cohort every week does. Interns can keep returning across terms to build skills in different focus areas.

Structure

Why we operate as an independent LLC

Venture Interns Lab is a standalone entity that owns the program's brand, contracts, and processes, and enters into written agreements directly with the ventures and interns it works with. That keeps expectations clear on both sides and lets the program operate the same way regardless of where its interns are coming from.

Program Leadership

Oversees the cohort, sets program-wide expectations, and runs each term's showcase.

Project Managers

One per venture team: the operational link between founders, interns, and program leadership.

Interns

Cross-functional specialists doing the hands-on work of each venture's team.

Calendar

Two terms a year

Fall Term

12 weeks, with a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. Closes with a December showcase.

Spring Term

12 weeks, with a break in the middle of the term. Closes with a spring showcase.

Looking ahead

Moving to a year-round model in 2027

This cohort runs on the term structure above. Starting January 2027, the program shifts to a monthly model: ventures keep the same intern team on an ongoing, month-to-month basis instead of re-committing term by term, and Abby stays on as each team's dedicated supervisor and point of contact year-round.

Year-round supervision

Interns are managed and supervised continuously, not re-onboarded every term.

Monthly program fee

Ventures pay a monthly due per intern, starting at $100/month, instead of one flat due per 12-week term.

Individually negotiated terms

Contract terms are set directly with each venture, and separately with each intern team.