Pelle Larsson pursued an entrepreneurial internship experience to launch a sports podcast.
Why did you choose to pursue an entrepreneurial internship experience?
I had previously produced a podcast with my friends for about a year with my friends called “A Nameless Podcast”. We were trying to decide a name for the podcast for a long time, but the audience seemed to like it so we just left it as-is. Since we were going to continue the podcast, me and my friend Grant Weitman decided we wanted to do it for our internship experience. It was also something we enjoyed and could see ourselves doing in the future.
What kind of work did you do throughout your entrepreneurship experience?
At first, our experience involved a lot of communication with our colleagues since they lived in West Virginia. Another big part of our experience at the start was scheduling time to meet to discuss ideas and coordinate times for recording and also for scheduling guests. After a while we fell out of touch with our colleagues which forced us to do a lot of problem solving. They were technically half of the podcast team and the show. At first I thought most of the work was going to be the actual production and post-production of a podcast. It turned out there was a lot more work in problem-solving and planning before even recording the first episode.
What is unique about your situation that influenced your experience?
What was unique about my experience was being able to work on my own schedule as well as collaborating with some of my closest friends. Working on our own schedule made it easy to fit in our internship activities around the already busy schedule of being a student-athlete. Having my friends as my colleagues was a really fun experience, but also a stressful one. We spend a lot of nights just having fun while working. However, there were a few times where we could have benefitted from some more structure and professionalism with each other, or to be more clear about our ambitions so we could all be on the same page about our goals for the podcast. I learned that there can be benefits and drawbacks to working closely with your friends.
What was your favorite part of the experience?
My favorite part of my entrepreneurial internship was finally being able to record an episode. What made it meaningful was that we went through a lot to get there. At the beginning of this experience we started with a clear concept and a great set-up. However, as soon as we thought we had it all figured out and were ready to get going, we had a major setback. So getting the first episode recorded felt very rewarding.
What did you find challenging about entrepreneurship?
The biggest challenge about my experience was all the problem-solving we had to go through. Like I previously mentioned, we started with a clear concept and a great set-up. We had multiple guest appearances fall through at first. We tried to fill in those spots with new guests but could not make anything happen on such a short notice. After struggling to coordinate and communicate with our colleagues on the east coast, we then decided to move forward with the project with just the two of us. It was then up to me and my colleague in Tucson to come up with a new concept for the podcast.
How has your entrepreneurship experience influenced your plans for your future?
I think I learned a lot from the experience that I will have in the future. A lot about planning, communication, and even some about video and sound production. I started this entrepreneurship journey because I really enjoyed podcasting, and I still do. I can still see myself doing something similar in the future. It would be interesting for me to pursue this type of work in sports since I have so much experience in that industry already and enjoy sharing stories and my insight. Podcasting would be a great way for me to continue do that.
What advice do you have for other students as they begin an entrepreneurship experience?
Some advice I would give to other students as they begin their entrepreneurship journey is to make sure you and the people you plan to work with have the same ambitions and hold each other accountable. Make a plan with your colleagues at the start and list measurable goals and clear dreams with your project. It might be hard before you even have started but it will make the journey easier. The other thing I would say is pick something for your entrepreneurship that you already enjoy. Try to work with something you already enjoy and it will feel natural instead of forcing yourself to enjoy what you do for work.