Success story: Tech “startup to watch” hires Alexis Summit for internship
Areas of Study , Entrepreneurship Success Stories | Apr 10, 2012 | Nicole Gesualdo
Taking a seat on the forefront of digital marketing, Alexis Summit (GSB ’14) is spending Wednesdays this semester as an intern at LiveIntent, a downtown-Manhattan-based startup that integrates advertising into e-mail newsletters, notifications and alerts.
The company comes highly recommended, having been featured in The Wall Street Journal as one of “Five Tech Startups to Work for in 2012.” Founded three years ago, the firm is a perfect fit for Alexis, who is majoring in business administration with concentrations in both marketing and entrepreneurship.
“I am extremely excited to learn about the world of marketing and advertising — how you sell a product like LiveIntent, why it’s different than any other company out there, and what terms are used in the business,” she said. “Working at a company like LiveIntent is the future. Less bureaucracy, more innovation.”
What makes LiveIntent’s services future-friendly? The company personalizes e-mail advertisements based on a recipient’s location, the type of device he or she is using to read the message, and the time of day the e-mail gets opened. Alexis said that companies such as The Weather Channel, Newsweek and Maxim already have signed on as LiveIntent clients.
“LiveIntent is changing the face of advertising,” Alexis said. “What it comes down to is going back to an older technology that is still highly utilized.”
Alexis found her internship through the Fordham network, proof that students can make the most of their experiences when they reach out to their professors and Fordham alumni about their career goals. She took a class called Branding & Leadership this year with Charlie O’Donnell, a Gabelli alumnus, adjunct lecturer and venture capitalist who knows LiveIntent executives Dave Hendricks and Audrey Henderson.
Alexis is helping to analyze data to figure out how to keep existing clients and attract new ones. She’ll also create mockups in Photoshop, attend meetings and help to maintain the company’s databases. All of us at Gabelli congratulate Alexis on this great new gig and wish her the best!
