Business Development Intern — Founder’s Office

Columns is building AI for the future of financial services. We're looking for a Business Development Intern to work directly with the founders on sales, partnerships, growth, and whatever else is most important to moving the company forward. This isn't a traditional internship where you're handed a narrow list of tasks. You'll operate more like a Chief of Staff to the founders , with significant ownership and exposure to how an early-stage startup is built. What you'll do Your responsibilities will be wide-ranging, but will include: Help drive our sales pipeline, from identifying prospects to outreach, meetings, follow-ups, and closing Join founders in meetings with financial institutions, financial advisory firms, and other potential customers Keep the founders and sales process organized and moving forward Research potential customers, partners, industries, and new market opportunities Help prepare sales materials, demos, proposals, and follow-ups Build relationships with prospects and help turn conversations into opportunities Experiment with new business development strategies and channels Use AI extensively to research, automate workflows, personalize outreach, and move faster Take ownership of high-priority projects across the company when needed Why Columns Work directly with the founders. You'll be close to the decisions that matter: who we sell to, what we build, how we position the company, and where we go next. Learn directly from people who have operated in high-performance environments. One of our founders, Rei, started his career in Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank , before moving into Strategic Finance at SoFi and Prelim, a Y Combinator-backed fintech company . You'll work closely with him on sales, business development, strategy, and execution, and get direct exposure to how someone with experience across investment banking, high-growth fintech, and startups approaches problems and gets things done. Get real responsibility. You'll be speaking with real prospects and helping drive actual revenue. Strong performers will be given considerably more responsibility over time. Learn at the intersection of AI, startups, sales, and finance. We're using AI to rethink how people across financial services work, sell, document conversations, and make decisions. Potential opportunity to work with us in San Francisco. Columns intends to expand further into the US, and there may be opportunities for exceptional team members to spend time working with us in San Francisco as the company grows. This is not a guaranteed relocation or travel benefit. Who we're looking for We're much more interested in whether you are: Extremely proactive and comfortable taking initiative Hungry to learn and willing to figure things out without being given perfect instructions Excited by startups and environments where your work has a very visible impact You should be willing to attend in-person customer meetings in Singapore when required. Outside of meetings, the working schedule is relatively flexible. Compensation This internship includes performance-based variable compensation tied to qualified leads and business opportunities generated . What success looks like We want you to leave this internship having done substantially more than "helped with sales." You should have learned how an early-stage company finds customers, sells to organizations, navigates complex B2B deals, uses AI to operate more efficiently, and turns an idea into a growing business. And if you're exceptional, we want this to be the beginning of a much bigger role at Columns.