Business Development Intern (High-Ownership)

Location: San Leandro, California (in-person preferred)

Type: Internship (2 months to start; extension based on performance)

Pay: $25/hour

Start: Immediate

About Supercarb

Supercarb is building the next generation of sustainable, high-performance fibers. Our mission is to convert industrial biopolymer waste streams into high-quality fibers for a wide range of applications—starting with apparel. We’re a scrappy, fast-moving startup that loves hard problems and measurable results. We work with some of the world’s leading fashion brands that you own and love.

What You’ll Do

This is not a 9-to-5 internship. You’ll work directly with the founding team on fundraising, customer acquisition, partnerships, and go-to-market strategy. You’ll be expected to move quickly, think independently, and take real ownership of outcomes.

We’re based in the Bay Area—close to San Francisco (under 30 minutes), Muir Woods (about 40 minutes), and Yosemite (about 3 hours), with plenty of hikes, trails, and great food nearby.

Role Summary

As a Business Development Intern, you will help build and execute our growth engine: investor pipeline + customer funnel + strategic partnerships. You’ll also support distribution strategy, revenue model exploration, adjacent market discovery, and business planning.

Ideal background: MBA (preferred) or equivalent experience, with exposure to sales/business development and supply chains—ideally in textiles, materials, climate tech, or manufacturing.

Key Responsibilities

• Fundraising pipeline: Build and maintain a funnel of investors (VCs, angels/HNIs, family offices) focused on materials, climate, deep tech, and hard tech. Qualify targets based on portfolio fit, recent activity, check size, stage, thesis, and the best path to warm intros. Support fundraising materials and outreach.

• Customer acquisition: Build a customer funnel in our primary market. Identify decision-makers, draft cold outreach, track follow-ups, and research relevant industry events. Support 1st/2nd/3rd customer meetings and help develop pitches that convert into purchase orders.

• Segmentation & economics: Analyze and compare economics of large enterprise B2B accounts vs. smaller B2B customers. Build a pipeline of smaller brands in SF/LA/NY that can adopt existing SKUs faster.

• Adjacent markets: Evaluate alternative markets by size, adoption velocity, and fit—where our material could be used temporarily (including lower-spec applications) or permanently.

• Sampling & follow-through: Coordinate sample shipments to current and new prospects; track feedback, next steps, and conversion progress.

• Pilot support: Support active pilots by coordinating yarn development, sample development, and timelines with partners and customer teams.

• Revenue strategy: Explore interim revenue opportunities (fiber/yarn/fabric sales, licensing, partnerships, etc.) and define pathways to the long-term revenue model.

• Partnership development: Build a map of supply chain partners across fiber, yarn, and fabric manufacturing tiers, and support outreach and relationship development.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA preferred (or comparable experience in BD/strategy).
• Experience in sales, business development, and/or supply chain—especially in textiles, materials, or manufacturing.
• Exposure to fundraising, VC, or investment research (associate/analyst experience is a plus).
• High energy, relentless follow-through, data-driven decision-making, and comfort pivoting quickly.
• Comfortable with proactive outbound sales (including “door-to-door” style hustle when needed).
• Strong communication skills and ability to create crisp, visually compelling presentations.
• Clear thinker: resourceful, creative, hands-on, and solutions-oriented.

Mandatory Requirements

• Open only to current students or recent graduates (within the last 6 months) who still have access to a .edu email.
• No relocation support for this role.
• Initial term: 2 months, with potential extension based on performance.
• Available to start immediately.

Equal Opportunity

Supercarb is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and high-performing team. We value team science—diverse perspectives, respectful debate, and rigorous collaboration.