New Market Launch Intern (MBA), Nearby AI

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.

Responsibilities

• 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: