Business Development & Strategy Intern (MBA) - Nearby.ai
About NewsBreak
Founded in 2015, NewsBreak is the Content Intelligence platform shaping the future content economy. With over 40 million monthly active users, our flagship platform delivers highly personalized local news and information powered by advanced AI, recommendation systems, and adtech.
Recognized by Fast Company as #32 on the Top Workplaces for Innovators, we're proud to be Great Place to Work® certified and home to a dynamic team of technologists, product innovators, and business leaders who are passionate about solving meaningful challenges at scale.
Together, we reached unicorn status in 2021, and we remain committed to continuing this high-growth trajectory with the right team to fulfill our mission: building the infrastructure layer for content intelligence.
If you’re inspired to dream big, innovate fast, and make a difference, we’d love to hear from you! For more information, visit www.newsbreak.com/about
About Nearby.ai
Nearby.ai is a home services platform that connects homeowners with trusted local service providers - plumbers, electricians, cleaners, landscapers, HVAC technicians, and more. We're building the merchant network that makes that matching possible, and looking for a motivated intern to help drive that growth through local business outreach and partnership development.
About the Role
We're looking for an MBA-level Business Development & Strategy Intern to own a merchant-acquisition initiative end-to-end - from market research and territory selection, through self-sourced outreach and negotiation, to data-driven analysis and a final recommendation to leadership.
This is not a support role: you'll be measured on real business outcomes - partners signed, pipeline built, and insight generated - not just activity.
What You'll Own, End to End
Market and Territory Research
- Independently map the local service-provider landscape in an assigned category or geography (for example, HVAC in a specific metro): merchant density, typical acquisition channels, and competitive platforms (Angi, Thumbtack, Yelp, etc.)
- Size the opportunity and prioritize which merchant categories or neighborhoods to target first, using your own scoring framework
Self-Sourced Outreach and Pipeline Development
- Build your own target list and reach out directly via phone, email, in-person visits, and social media - no inherited leads
- Introduce Nearby.ai and pitch the value proposition to local business owners, handling objections yourself
- Build and maintain a pipeline in a CRM or spreadsheet with real discipline: stage, next step, and expected close
- Adjust your outreach approach based on the response-rate data you track yourself
Analysis and Business Case Development
- Analyze outreach and conversion data to identify what's working and quantify results (contacts made, response rates, conversion rates)
- Turn merchant feedback into structured insight that could inform Nearby.ai's value proposition or onboarding process
- Build a simple business case (expected partners signed, revenue impact) to justify where to focus next
Solutioning and Partnership Development
- Independently draft outreach scripts, pitch decks, and partnership proposals tailored to each merchant type
- Lead onboarding conversations through to close
- Recommend improvements to the onboarding process based on what you hear from merchants
Reporting and Recommendations
- Report weekly on outreach metrics and pipeline, framed as insights and next steps, not just raw counts
- Deliver a final presentation to the team: your market analysis, results, and a recommended go-forward strategy for merchant acquisition
Who You Are
- Currently pursuing an MBA (or equivalent graduate business program), ideally with prior experience in consulting, sales, BD, or a startup
- Comfortable being fully self-directed - you build the plan, not just execute someone else's
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills; genuinely comfortable working in spreadsheets and data
- Excellent written and verbal communication, with the confidence to cold-call and negotiate with small-business owners
- High tolerance for ambiguity and rejection - energized by 0-to-1, hands-on work
Details
- Type: Internship, 20-40 hrs/week
- Duration: 3-6 months
- Location: Remote
- Compensation: Paid, $40-60 hourly
Why Join Nearby.ai
- Own a real merchant-acquisition initiative from research through close - a rare level of end-to-end ownership for an internship
- Learn the full cycle of partnership development at an early-stage company where your work directly impacts growth
- Build a portfolio of quantified business impact (partners signed, pipeline built, market analysis delivered) - highly relevant for post-MBA BD, strategy, or general management roles
- Potential to convert to a full-time role based on performance