Name: Connor

Year: Junior

Major: Learning and Organizational Change

CFS Concentration: Field Studies in the Humanities

I’m currently an intern at Charlie, a new service “designed to help you better prep for meetings, and know more about with whom you’re chatting on your next conference call.” Basically our app, Charlie, filters through different online sources to prep users on the people they’re meeting with. Users sync their various calendars to Charlie so that we know who they’re meeting with and when (clients, colleagues, potential new partners, etc.). Then we use our proprietary software to deliver tons of really meaningful information so that our users can go into their meetings and make the best impression. Some of the highlights we’re proud of include alerting users if they have anything in common with those they’re meeting (“You both like the Chicago Cubs”) and what’s going on in the news with those commonalities (“the Cubs actually won today!”). Our users can utilize this information to establish common ground and build rapport with business partners and clients. We also tell our users about where their meeting partners work and check for breaking news on any of their current positions and companies, all so that Charlie users can walk in and be the most prepared person in the room.

My role at Charlie is extremely exciting in my opinion. We’re currently preparing to raise a round of funding, so I’m spending a lot of my time researching the early investment ecosystem here in Chicago. Because of the confidential nature of the industry, I can’t say too much more about the work I do, but it’s been extremely valuable for me personally and I would encourage any Northwestern student interested in entrepreneurship to consider interning at Charlie. Especially as a student interested in business but unable to major in it, having a strong quantitative internship experience like this, with so much opportunity for hands-on learning, is truly invaluable. I’m so glad I chose to do Chicago Field Studies this winter and am really grateful for the program staff and faculty, and for everyone who supports CFS’s work!