Portfolio Analyst Intern

Zest Group; Bardi; In loco; EUR 6700 - 10.000; Tempo pieno

Descrizione del lavoro

Zest Group is seeking a 6-month internship in Milan to gain hands-on exposure to venture capital processes, from initial investment to exit. You’ll work closely with portfolio managers, learning how to assess teams, track relevant metrics, and support value creation across a growing portfolio of early-stage startups.

Strong interest in startups and venture capital is essential, with fluency in Italian and English.

Competenze

• Interest in startups and venture capital.
• Based in Milan or the surrounding area, with availability to attend events across the local ecosystem.
• Fluency in Italian and English.

Mansioni

• Work with Zest Investments' Portfolio Managers on the full lifecycle of venture capital transactions (investments to exit).
• Assess founding teams and the metrics that truly matter when evaluating a startup.
• Analyze and monitor a portfolio of early-stage companies, forming actionable insights.

Descrizione del lavoro

Zest is Italy's leading Venture Capital player focused on pre-seed investments and a key player in the Italian open innovation ecosystem.

Zest Investments, the Group's investment arm, manages a portfolio of over 240 active companies, acts as advisor and investor in two of Italy's leading seed Venture Capital funds, manages six investment vehicles and two Corporate Venture Capital vehicles in partnership with major listed companies.

What you'll do

You'll work closely with the Zest Investments' Portfolio Managers, gaining hands-on exposure to the full lifecycle of Venture Capital transactions, from investment to exit.

You'll learn how to assess founding teams, understand which metrics really matter when evaluating a startup, and see first‑hand how investors monitor, support and create value across a portfolio of early‑stage companies.

The goal of the internship is simple: to give you a practical understanding of the skills, activities and decision‑making processes that matter in Venture Capital, starting from pre‑seed investing and extending to portfolio management and value creation.

This is not an internship where you sit on the sidelines. From day one, you'll be expected to execute, analyse and think critically.

Who we're looking for

Your academic background is not the deciding factor. Certified technical or financial skills are a plus, but what matters most is your genuine interest in startups and Venture Capital.

We're looking for people who can demonstrate that interest through real‑world involvement, for example:

• participating in or organising startup and tech events;
• being active in student associations or entrepreneurial communities;
• engaging with founder networks;
• working with startups, innovation programmes or companies in the ecosystem.

As part of the selection process, you'll be asked to complete an analysis of selected startups assigned by our team.

What you'll need

• Based in Milan or the surrounding area, with availability to attend events and activities across the local ecosystem
• Fluency in Italian and English

What's in it for you

You'll join a young, collaborative and flat organisation where, from day one, you'll be expected not only to get things done, but also to form your own point of view.

Every week, you'll meet founders and innovators trying to build something genuinely new. You'll analyse startups reshaping industries, business models that are still being invented and technologies that may not even have existed a couple of years ago. Understanding them isn't a side project. It's part of the job.

If you're passionate about startups and want to understand how Venture Capital really works from the inside, this is a strong place to start.

Duration

6-month internship, with the opportunity to join the team permanently upon successful completion.