Skip to main content

Swarthmore Future Entrepreneurship Program (SFEP)

About SFEP: 

Swarthmore College Career Services has a gathered listing of summer experiences at local start up companies through a partnership with Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Students (seniors and alumni are ineligible) can apply to posted opportunities and interview directly with participating start-up companies. Student will not receive any funding from the start up companies. In order to support the exposure to educational and entrepreneurial opportunities, the College will provide selected students with $4800 in summer funding support for 10 weeks. All SFEP opportunities will be conducted remotely.

SFEP Student Info sessions: powerpoint presentation

LIST OF EMPLOYERS & POSITIONS

Student Application Period: TBD

Student Application Instructions:

Please follow these directions to make sure that you're able to view all SFEP opportunities and apply to the ones you're interested in.   

1. Log into Handshake.

2. In the search bar, type in "SFEP" and hit enter for a list of all experiences that are a part of this program. All SFEP experiences will have the title labeled "SFEP: ________"  A full list of opportunities is also available; you can also type in the employer name and search for the opportunity that way.

3. Apply to as many opportunities that are of interest to you. You will need a resume to apply.  If you haven't had your application materials reviewed, please attend Career Peer Advisor Zoom Drop-Ins  (M-F 1-3pm) OR email cpa@swarthmore.edu to get your resume reviewed.

4. Please note that Career Services does not participate in the start up companies’ selection processes in any way. The decisions of the start up companies are completely independent of Swarthmore College and do not create an employment relationship between you and the College.

5. All SFEPs will be remote.

Note about funding:

$4800 is the maximum amount that a student may be awarded for summer funding. Should you accept an SFEP opportunity, you are not allowed to apply for additional funding for this program through the College. 

Note to International Students:

Students are required to contact the International Student Center (Jennifer Marks-Gold) about summer funding. 

Questions:

Career Services (pkim1@swarthmore.edu)

Hear from some of your Swarthmore peers about their SFEP experiences below!

 

Alaina Chen ‘21 - Roundtrip

"Joining the company at a time of extreme health-related global distress, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have worked with a group dedicated to driving and ensuring better health outcomes...My internship has helped me realize that I would like to pursue a career related to healthcare, and I credit this decision to the vast passion and knowledge everyone at Roundtrip has shared with me...The uncertainty I felt around my future has now been tempered by the direction this internship has provided me."

- Alaina Chen ‘21 | Roundtrip

Alaina Chen '21

Drew McMahan ‘22 - NeuroFlow

"At NeuroFlow, I was a Marketing Strategy Intern where I primarily conducted competitor research of 10 requested companies weekly...Overall, this work was both interesting and challenging as I learned how to use limited public information (press, funding, marketing, hiring, etc) to assess companies and their trajectories in a digestible way for senior leadership...Going forward, I plan on pursuing management consulting where I will be asked to solve business problems for a variety of companies and industries. My experience in competitive analysis has given me a framework to understand industries holistically and conduct market research."

- Drew McMahan ‘22 | NeuroFlow

Drew McMahan ‘22

Kennedy Hill ‘23 - EnviroKure

"Coming into this internship, I was very excited to learn more about agri-tech and the importance of soil health but knew absolutely nothing about marketing strategy. In fact, I rarely post on my own social media. Needless to say, I’m proud of my accomplishments. My final marketing strategy presentation was well received by EnviroKure’s co-founders and the rest of the team...I learned how to better organize my research, as well as how to transform my findings into well-supported proposals that will possibly help to guide a company’s next big steps. Working in an environment like EnviroKure, I also became more confident in becoming “the expert,” while also being reminded that I should be comfortable with the possibility of failure."

- Kennedy Hill ‘23 | EnviroKure

Kennedy Hill '23

Ethan Zhao ‘21 - SETVI

"Over the course of the ten weeks, I learned a lot about the intricacies of development and developed better habits with my coding. On top of that, I learned a lot about what it’s like working in a startup environment. One really important thing I learned about during this internship was how to be self-sufficient and problem-solve on my own...Especially in terms of development, I was able to greatly increase my ability to search for an answer independently and search through documentation. At the end of the internship, I was really happy with the work I was able to accomplish on the app. I think that development was pretty enjoyable to do, and I’m very open to doing more in the future."

- Ethan Zhao ‘21 | SETVI

Ethan Zhao '21

Elvis Adorkor ‘22 - NeuroFlow

"I was introduced to standard industry practices in developing software and I got the chance to apply most of the theoretical knowledge I have gained from my coursework. My team members were super supportive and always took the time to help me when I was struggling to accomplish a task they assigned to me. I learned so much from them...Since the end of my internship, I have devoted more time to learning more about backend engineering, with the hopes of becoming more skilled at it and placing myself in a position to have great impact in industry one day."

- Elvis Adorkor ‘22 | NeuroFlow

Elvis Adorkor ‘22