Grovara’s Grappler Weighs in on Heavy Summer Internship
Entering my freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania, I was unsure of the paths I would have to take, what to study, and what resources to take advantage of to pursue my dreams and ambitions for my post-college life.
Even now, I do not quite have everything figured out, but an internship with Grovara has given me a great starting point to further explore my passions and interests.
Roger Reina, the head wrestling coach at Penn, introduced me to Peter Groverman, the CEO and co-founder of Grovara. Grovara is a technology company, and its goal is to connect America’s most promising wellness brands with global retailers to increase U.S. exports. Peter and I started discussing the possibility of an internship at Grovara, discussing the tasks and work that an internship would entail.
I used to fear not being able to balance my athletic life (wrestling) with my academic life. I definitely had my ups and downs academically as well as on the wrestling mat, but the downs were valuable and taught me how to improve in areas I was lacking. As the first semester was winding down, I had to decide on my living situation, summer plans, and schedule for the next semester. I wanted to stay in Philadelphia after completing my first year at Penn because training with my wrestling team was very important for me and I wanted to stay with some of my best friends I made in my first year. But even more of a priority for the summer was finding a real job, where I had to learn and adjust to new situations that were thrown at me.
Grovara was the perfect place to do just that. The office was only a five-minute bike ride away and my teammate Ben Goldin also was starting an internship, so it was really a good fit. As the school days came to an end, I was nervous but excited for my first day at Grovara, I didn’t have a great understanding of the company or how I would be treated as a young intern. I worried that I was not prepared for the job, would not be useful to the team, or would not complete tasks correctly.
On my first day, Grovara held its launch party to celebrate its new office, and I learned about the company’s accomplishments and direction for the future. From there, the days sped by. The Grovara team, Peter Groverman, Blake Engelhard, Abu Kamara, Coral Gonzalez, Juliana Rogenski, and Ravid Butz treated me like one of their own. My tasks were as simple as picking up lunch and as complex as joint a business call. Grovara not only gave me a full understanding of their company but showed me all sides of the way the business operates.
The team members treated Ben and I as one of their own, creating relationships that stretched beyond the workplace. Whether it was a team dinner at Blake’s house, or Peter buying lunch for everyone, the experience was like no other. Before I knew it, it was time to reflect on my experience and prepare for the next school year.
I can say I now have a much better understanding of time management and efficiency. I developed many vital skills in a very short time. Like many modern companies, Grovara is driven by data. Entering contacts, brands and companies into Salesforce or Hubspot may seem like a basic task, but details are important. If our data is entered into the system incorrectly, the next steps of following up with the brand, company, or person will be incorrect. Most of my time at Grovara this summer was spent inputting brand and product data to launch our B2B e-commerce platform with our brands in early September. Also valuable was having the opportunity to listen to calls with Blake talking to natural and organic food brands, showing me that every detail is important and the order of the conversations can make or break a deal. The skills I learned will help me not only with Grovara, but with anything else I intend to pursue.
The most valuable thing I learned at Grovara was understanding the growth of the company. I was able to be a part of a company that is growing rapidly through hard work and focus. Organization was key, with weekly meetings to discuss our goals for the week and the accomplished goals from the previous week. Through Peter, I learned not only how a successful company operates day in and out, but how to maintain important values in a changing and competitive business, and treat everyone involved with kindness. The little things stand out, and Peter highlighted that for me. Even though he was running a business and always occupied with a task, Peter always went out of his way to make sure everything was going smooth for me. Whether it was coming to Ben and I’s wrestling practice (to get beat up by me), or taking us out to lunch, he truly showed interest in our daily lives and cared about us as people, just like everyone else on the Grovara team.
I plan to continue working with Grovara during the school year, taking on my own accounts and expanding the company as much as possible. I hope to inspire more Penn wrestlers to follow this path and maybe I can even mentor them next summer the same way Peter and the gang did with me this year.