Business Development Intern

Linkyn; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 41,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Linkyn is seeking a relentless Business Development Intern to drive growth for our AI-powered outreach platform. This remote, Summer 2026 internship offers hands-on ownership across lead generation, outbound strategy, and partnerships, with a preference for candidates in ET zones.

The role emphasizes clear communication, rapid problem solving, and a willingness to execute real campaigns, not just follow a playbook. Exceptional performers may receive semester employment or a return offer.

Qualifications

• Pursuing or recent graduate in business or related field.
• Experience in customer-facing or sales roles.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Able to work full-time Summer 2026.
• Authorized to work in the United States.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end outbound lead generation and qualification pipelines.
• Identify target accounts and decision-makers, mapping warm signals.
• Draft, test, and optimize personalized email sequences and LinkedIn outreach.
• Utilize CRM and sales tooling to maintain clean data and track metrics.
• Conduct product demos for inbound leads and prospective users.
• Collaborate with the founder on growth strategy and collateral.
• Analyze campaign metrics to iterate on messaging and targeting.
• Identify and pitch strategic university and industry partnerships.
• Synthesize feedback into actionable product requests for teams.
• Execute outreach with professional brand across all touchpoints.

Skills

Lead generation

Outbound strategy

Communication

Organization

Data analysis

Resilience

Strategic thinking

Education

Undergraduate degree in business/marketing

Tools

CRM tools

Sales engagement platforms

Lead enrichment software

Job description

Linkyn is looking for a relentless, strategic Business Development Intern to help drive growth and market adoption for our AI-powered relationship-aware outreach platform. This is a hands-on, founder-led internship for clear communicators and hustlers who want real ownership across lead generation, outbound strategy, funnel optimization, and partnership execution.

Location

Remote - U.S. only, Eastern Time preferred

Type

Internship

Remote

Fully remote, with preference for candidates in New York / New Jersey or Eastern

Compensation

$30–$40/hour

Description

Linkyn is an early-stage startup building an AI-powered relationship-aware outreach platform that helps students, founders, and marketers find relevant people, identify warm connection signals, and generate personalized emails, LinkedIn DMs, and follow-ups. We are looking for a Business Development Intern who is highly organized, data-driven, and ready to execute real outbound campaigns, not just sit on the sidelines. In this role, you will be on the front lines of growth. You will move across the top of the funnel-sourcing prospects, setting up targeted campaigns, analyzing data to find warm connection triggers, running product demos, and building strategic partnerships. You won't just be executing a pre-made playbook; you will help us build it. This is a full-time Summer 2026 internship. The role is remote within the United States, with a preference for candidates based in New York, New Jersey, or Eastern Time. Exceptional performance may lead to semester employment or a return offer. The first week will include onboarding resources, product training, and messaging walkthroughs, but this role is best for someone who already possesses strong communication fundamentals, absolute comfort picking up the phone or sending cold outreach, and rapid problem-solving skills. We care less about corporate buzzwords and more about whether you can reason clearly, handle rejection with resilience, and methodically turn cold data into warm pipeline revenue.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end outbound lead generation, tracking, and qualification pipelines for Linkyn’s core target segments
• Identify, research, and profile target accounts, mapping out decision-makers and finding warm connection signals
• Draft, test, and optimize highly personalized email sequences, LinkedIn outreach, and follow-up strategies
• Utilize modern sales tooling and CRM systems to maintain clean data, track metrics, and manage pipeline health
• Conduct platform walkthroughs and product demonstrations for inbound leads and prospective users
• Collaborate directly with the founder on growth strategy, marketing collateral, and customer feedback loops
• Analyze campaign conversion metrics to iterate on messaging, value propositions, and demographic targeting
• Identify and pitch strategic community partnerships (e.g., university clubs, accelerator groups, sales networks)
• Synthesize qualitative feedback from sales calls into actionable product requests for the engineering and design teams
• Execute outreach with deep attention to detail, maintaining professional brand standards across all touchpoints

Requirements

• Currently pursuing or recently completed an undergraduate degree in business, finance, marketing, communication, or a related field
• Demonstrated experience in a customer-facing or sales-oriented role (recreational, academic, or professional)
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with the ability to articulate complex product values simply
• Strong organizational skills and an analytical approach to tracking and measuring personal performance data
• High emotional intelligence (EQ), active listening skills, and resilience in high-rejection environments
• Ability to think strategically about organizational structures and identify the right decision-makers in a company
• Comfortable working closely with technical product teams and explaining product features clearly
• High ownership, strong work ethic, and a deep interest in early-stage startups and B2B SaaS
• Available full-time during the Summer 2026 window
• Authorized to work in the United States; F-1/CPT/OPT candidates will be considered

Nice-to-haves

• Prior internship experience at a tech startup, venture-backed company, or fast-paced corporate environment
• Familiarity with sales engagement platforms, CRM tools, or lead enrichment software
• Experience with outbound lead generation tactics, automated web scraping, or growth hacking methodologies
• Active involvement in university student leadership, case competitions, consulting clubs, or entrepreneurship networks
• Strong GPA combined with meaningful professional drive and extracurricular execution
• Basic understanding of the AI landscape, LLM capabilities, or marketing automation platforms
• Experience running paid digital advertising campaigns, social media management, or content creation
• Ability to quickly master unfamiliar B2B market verticals and pitch them effectively without heavy supervision

Benefits / other compensation

Paid internship with a fully remote work structure, direct founder mentorship, production-level ownership, real-world revenue-generating projects, and potential consideration for semester employment and/or a return offer based on exceptional performance.

Equal opportunity statement

We are an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

Small team, clear writing, thoughtful pace, and high care for candidates.

remote note

Linkyn is based around Eastern Time, so some collaboration may happen during ET business hours.