New Market Launch Intern (MBA), Nearby AI

News Break; California; On-site; USD 55,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Nearby.ai is offering a flagship MBA-level internship in Business Development & Strategy, focusing on end-to-end merchant acquisition from market research to leadership-ready recommendations. You’ll own a merchant-acquisition initiative with autonomy akin to a founder, including pipeline-building, outreach optimization, and a final strategic recommendation.

You’ll work remotely for 3–6 months, 20–40 hours per week, with paid compensation.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing an MBA from a top-tier program.
• Experience in SaaS, agentic services, marketing, sales, BD or a startup.
• Strong business acumen and structured problem-solving.
• Self-directed — you build the plan, not just execute someone else.
• Data-driven decision-making; comfortable with spreadsheets.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the confidence to negotiate with business owners.
• High tolerance for ambiguity and rejection; hands-on, can invent your own approach.

Responsibilities

• Map the local service-provider landscape and size the opportunity.
• Score opportunities and decide which merchant categories to target.
• Build your own target list and outreach strategy.
• Introduce Nearby.ai and pitch the value proposition to local business owners.
• Maintain a pipeline in a CRM or spreadsheet with stages and next steps.
• Treat outreach as a live experiment — test channels, messaging, and timing.
• Analyze outreach data to identify what's working and quantify results.
• Turn merchant feedback into structured insights to shape Nearby.ai's value proposition.
• Build a rigorous business case showing partners signed and revenue impact.
• Draft outreach scripts, pitch decks, and partnership proposals.
• Lead onboarding conversations through to close.
• Recommend improvements to onboarding based on merchant feedback.
• Weekly reporting on outreach metrics and pipeline; present insights to leadership.
• Deliver a capstone presentation with market analysis and go-forward strategy.

Skills

MBA candidate

SaaS experience

Business acumen

Structured problem-solving

Self-directed

Data-driven

Communication skills

Ambiguity tolerance

Spreadsheet proficiency

Education

MBA program enrollment

Job description

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 we're looking for a high-potential MBA intern ready to operate at the level of a founder — not shadow one.

About the Role

This is a flagship early-talent initiative at Nearby.ai: an MBA-level Business Development & Strategy internship built for someone who wants the real thing — full ownership of a merchant-acquisition initiative end-to-end, from market research and territory strategy through self-sourced execution to a final strategic recommendation delivered directly to leadership. There is no script, no shadow assignment, and no busywork. You'll operate with the autonomy of a strategy consultant and the accountability of a founder — defining your own market thesis, building your own pipeline, and being judged on business outcomes: partners signed, pipeline built, and insight generated that shapes how Nearby.ai grows.

What You'll Own, End to End

Market and Territory Strategy

• Independently map the local service-provider landscape in an assigned category or geography (e.g., HVAC in a specific metro): merchant density, acquisition channels, and competitive platforms (Angi, Thumbtack, Yelp, etc.)
• Build your own scoring framework to size the opportunity and decide which merchant categories or neighborhoods to go after first

Self-Sourced Outreach and Pipeline Development

• Build your own target list and figure out the smartest way to reach each one
• 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, expected close
• Treat outreach as a live experiment — test channels, messaging, and timing, and double down on what the data says is working

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 shape Nearby.ai's value proposition or onboarding process
• Build a rigorous business case (expected partners signed, revenue impact) to justify where the company should 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 for leadership — not just raw counts
• Deliver a capstone presentation directly to company leadership: your market analysis, results, and a recommended go-forward strategy for merchant acquisition

You're a Strong Fit If You Have

• Currently pursuing an MBA (or equivalent graduate business program) from a top-tier program, ideally with prior experience in SaaS, agentic services, marketing, sales, BD or a startup
• Strong business acumen, critical thinking, and structured problem-solving skills
• Comfortable being fully self-directed — you build the plan, not just execute someone else's
• A passion for data-driven decision-making; genuinely comfortable working in spreadsheets and analysis
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the confidence to pick up the phone, knock on a door, and negotiate directly with business owners
• High tolerance for ambiguity and rejection — energized by 0-to-1, hands‑on work, and comfortable inventing your own approach as you go

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, with direct visibility to leadership — a level of end‑to‑end ownership rarely given to an intern
• Operate with the rigor and stakes of a strategy engagement, at an early‑stage company where your work directly moves the business
• Walk away with a portfolio of quantified business impact (partners signed, pipeline built, a strategy recommendation delivered to leadership) — built for post‑MBA BD, strategy, or general management roles
• Potential to convert to a full‑time role based on performance

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