Founding Growth Intern (Strategy & Ops)

PolyNews • Internship • Remote (Chicago, IL, US) • 1d ago

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗚𝗲𝘁 (𝗨𝗽 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁)
  • Real ownership of growth: you’ll run actual distribution + experiments, not busywork
  • Weekly training with the Founder (30–45 min): growth, positioning, distribution, writing, analytics, and “how to think like a builder”
  • Direct access to the founder + fast feedback loops
  • Portfolio-ready output: growth memos, experiment results, distribution assets, community playbooks
  • Letter of recommendation + LinkedIn recommendation for strong performers
  • (criteria: 4+ weeks active, on-time deliverables, measurable contribution, professional conduct)
  • Founder advisory for your own startup/career (positioning, strategy, GTM)
  • Templates & playbooks: business strategy frameworks, consulting tools, growth experiment tracker
  • Potential book opportunity: research-assistant pathway for high performers
  • Potential pathway to paid contract work as PolyNews scales

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 / 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁
𝗣𝗼𝗹𝘆𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 (𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴 + 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁)

𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲
𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 (𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲) — 𝟴–𝟭𝟮 𝗵𝗿𝘀/𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 (𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲)
𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝟰–𝟴 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 (𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲)

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝘆𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀
PolyNews turns publicly reported political news into structured, nonpartisan “what matters + why” briefings that update on a regular cadence. The goal is simple: less noise, more signal, delivered in a format people actually use.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗗𝗼 (𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀)
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 + 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 + 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

1) Distribution (daily)
  • Publish short daily highlights and “brief cards” across 1–3 channels (e.g., LinkedIn, X, Reddit, Discord)
  • Engage in relevant communities thoughtfully (no spam)
  • Build a repeatable posting cadence and improve it weekly

2) Growth Experiments (weekly)
  • Run 1 experiment/week → measure results → iterate
  • Examples: onboarding copy tests, referral hooks, post format A/B, channel tests, engagement CTA tests
  • Write a 1-page weekly memo: what we tried → what happened → what we learned → what’s next

3) User Feedback Loop (weekly)
  • Gather and synthesize 10+ user feedback items/week (DMs, replies, quick surveys)
  • Categorize insights (format, trust, confusion, pricing, missing features)
  • Recommend product + messaging improvements based on evidence

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲
  • Consistent weekly output: posts shipped, experiments run, memos delivered
  • Tangible traction: increased views/visits/joins and clearer activation signals
  • Clear learning loop: you can explain what works, what doesn’t, and why

𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀
  • Strong writing/editing (short-form clarity > long essays)
  • Comfortable posting publicly and iterating quickly
  • Basic data instincts (you don’t need to code; you do need to measure)
  • High integrity: accuracy matters; no misleading claims, no spam tactics

𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗲-𝘁𝗼-𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀
  • Familiarity with political/news ecosystems
  • Experience growing accounts/newsletters/communities
  • Comfort using simple analytics + spreadsheets

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆
Send a DM or apply with:
  • A short note: why this + what channels you’d use first
  • One example of something you’ve grown or shipped (post, project, account, newsletter, community, etc.)