Work with the world’s best start-ups

A world-class internship program for ambitious high school students

Founded by Harvard entrepreneurs, Ladder Internships helps students work with top startups to build
real-world projects.

Our Impact

6200+

Applications

1200

Interns selected

50+

Host
Companies

$204,000+

In financial aid

Hear from some of our interns!

  • Lan Nguyen

    Interned at Vietcetera

    “The program catalyzed both my intellectual and personal growth. If you are looking for a challenging and rewarding internship that matches your interests and skills, don’t hesitate to apply!”

    Project: Creating machine learning models to boost the company’s subscriber base.

  • Khalid Hajj

    Interned at Billion Dollar Startup Ideas

    ”This was my first real working experience, and I took away a lot of value from it. I also valued my direct interaction with Michael, the founder of my host company, who I found inspiring.”

    Project: Building a business plan for a subscription-based AI start-up idea generator.

  • Sriya Bandyopadhyay

    Interned at Divercity.io

    “Ladder was essential in creating the foundation of the relationship between me and my the host company, Divercity.io. Each task was tailored to fit my interests and strengths while also pushing me to learn new things.”

    Project:     Creating a go-to-market strategy for a personal finance app.



  • Hannah Bang

    Interned at Certintell Telehealth

    “Through my host company’s mentoring and being allowed to work independently, I gained work experience that I normally wouldn't be able to receive until after college!”

    Project:     Coding SMS & email processing systems connected to medical devices enabling broader testing.


  • Christopher Tilley

    Interned at Certinell Telehealth

    “This program allowed me to get to know myself, my workflow, and how to work with and around other people. Ladder is a great experience!”

    Project:     Creating strategy documents for a new patient monitoring system.

Our Hosts & Your Managers

  • Dr. Samantha Scott

    Founder & CEO,
    JuneBrain
    Stanford, USC & NIH alum

  • Luke Heine

    Founder & CEO,
    Fair Opportunity Project
    Harvard, YCombinator & Microsoft alum

  • Michael Bervell

    Founder & CEO,
    Billion Dollar Startup Ideas
    Harvard Business School & Microsoft alum

  • Hanh Ha

    Co-founder & CEO, Softenmind
    University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alum

  • Kevin Junker

    Founder & CEO,
    Fintech Launch (Stealth Mode)
    Cambridge University, Google & Mckinsey alum

  • Min Lee

    Founder, CEO & President,
    IPMD
    UC Berkeley alum

Meet a few of our Host Companies

  • JuneBrain

    Industry: Healthcare, Tech

    JuneBrain is focused on improving remote monitoring in ophthalmology & neurology with a patented wearable eye-scanning device and SaaS platform.

    Know More

  • Softenmind

    Industry: Mental Health, Tech

    Funded by glocal VC, Antler, SoftenMind aims to bring affordable and professional mental health services to Vietnamese people through using proprietary digital and AI tools.

    Know More

  • IPMD

    Industry: Healthcare, Tech

    IPMD is on a mission to revolutionize patient experiences using AI solutions, and has been a part of many prestigious start-up programs including those by GCP, Nvidia, AWS and IBM.

    Know More

  • Fair Opportunity Project

    Industry: Tech, Non-profit

    Recognized in Forbes, NYT, and the Harvard Education Review, Fair Opportunity Project sends free college application advice to 63,000 public educators and provides free 1:1 mentorship to hundreds of students.

    Know More

  • Billion Dollar Startup Ideas

    Industry: Tech, Media

    Billion Dollar Startup Ideas is one of the world’s largest generators and aggregators of unicorn-level start-up ideas, with a reach of over 850,000 people.

    Know More

Our Companies & Your Managers

Funded by

Studied at

Worked at

Available Fields

Machine Learning & AI

Software Engineering

Finance

Health Tech & Mental Health

Enviromental Science

Tech & Deep Tech

Non-Profit

Consulting

Media & Journalism

Program By The Numbers

Startup Internship Program

Number of sessions with the host company

8

Hours of work per week

5-10

Duration

8 weeks

CEO Internship Program

Number of sessions with the host company

8

Hours of work per week

5-10

Internship with high-growth start-up

Duration

8 weeks

Work directly with a startup CEO

The CEO/founder from FAANG-level company and/or top 20 university

(E.g., Facebook, Google, McKinsey, etc.)

University Internship Program

Our 8-week internship program offers university students the chance to work with startup companies on projects aligned with their interests! With a weekly commitment of 5–10 hours, it’s a flexible way to gain valuable experience.

Combination Program: CEO Internship Program + Mentored Research Program

This 8+15 week program combines a CEO Internship with a mentored research component, offering both professional work experience and the opportunity to complete a college-level research paper.

Program Timeline

Week 1

Meet with the company coach and define the project

Week 2

Work on the project with the company coach

Week 3

Finalize the first draft of the project, meet with the company coach

Week 4

Present the first deliverable to the company

Week 5

Meet with the company coach, define the second deliverable

Week 6

Work with the company coach on the second deliverable

Week 7

Finalize the project

Week 8

Present the final project to the company

What you will get out of this internship

  • A real-world project

  • Work experience at a top start-up

  • A letter of completion by the company

The Application Process

Internships with real-world companies are challenging. That’s why we implement a selection process that helps us select only the best interns.

Submit application form

Interview

Receive application decision

Start the program!

FAQs

  • Absolutely! Our team suggests company projects based on an applicant’s interests and notes from their interview. Details of the best fit projects are shared with students who have the final say in whether they wish to move ahead with the suggested match!

  • Internships with real-world companies are challenging. That’s why we implement a selection process that helps us select only the best interns. For example, our summer 2023 cohort had over 700 applicants for just 70 spots.

  • The program is fully online! Our team itself operates remotely across multiple countries.

  • The internship will be fully virtual and will run for a period of 8 weeks. Interns usually require 10-15 hours a week to work on assigned tasks and to meet company management.

    The program is designed to deliver tangible results without demanding day-to-day work!

  • Yes, we offer full financial aid to those in need. Our sister programs, Lumiere Research Program and Veritas AI, have provided aid to over 150 students.

ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?

Upcoming Application Deadlines

Spring Cohort Admission Deadline: Feb 9th, 2025
Cohort timing: March 3rd, 2025