Internships.com Founder Robin Richards - Born Entrepreneur

“I don't remember ever having a job that I didn't create.” Robin Richards, the founder of Internships.com has been an entrepreneur since he was a kid. He is one of those types of people who simply have a knack for building and growing companies. He says, “Some people are builders, some people are growers, some people are steerers. The ability to build a successful company requires a different skill set than to manage a mature company.” Judging by his record with MP3.com, Internships.com and other ventures, he's got the first two locked down. Robin was a creator even at the early age of 12, when he began selling T-shirts to summer camps. During college, he pursued a venture in which he bought a large spray painter, hired a bunch of students and presented a low-cost alternative for painting warehouses. He then started selling and installing video games after school. Robin says, “We were the first I believe to start installing in Seven Eleven when the only games out were Asteroids and Pac-Man. That was when my official entrepreneurial career began.” One of the keys that Robin and his partner look for is a market that is underserved. Unemployment among college student and the recently graduated is running between 20% and has been as high as 35% when underemployment is taken into account. Many employers are concerned about return on investment when hiring employees right out of college as they may lack experience. Robin hopes that Internships.com is able to aid that problem. He says, “There is no better way to do this [prepare for a job], than for a student to work in an internship multiple times during their undergraduate career.” But economic times can dictate whether a business will prosper or go under. However, “No matter what times there are,” Robin says, “there are certain solution requirements in the market. When you see that unemployment is the macro problem facing the economy then you need to find out what the solution to that problem is and then determine what market within that problem you want to serve.” Robin and his partner did exactly that. He had a target market that was hurting the most. He had a great point when he said, “if college students are spending so much to earn their degrees, the certainly expect to pay that debt off with a job.” While college grads may not be in school anymore, they are still racking up the debt from interest because they have not been able to afford to make payments. Students are more eager than ever to not only land a job, but also look for a return on their investment. When asking Robin if raising capital in the troubled economy was an issue, he said. “We've been fortunate in that raising capital is not an issue for us.” This has been compounded with another plentiful: bountiful labor. “Labor is more plentiful than it has been in the past. We are getting a tremendous number of great engineers which used to be scarce. I'm not sure that I've noticed any real big differences between now and the past. Companies may be worth a little bit less but we found a market that needed to be served and we addressed that need.” Despite the poor economy, Robin said, “Capitalism is a very honest approach to weeding out what should and shouldn't occur. I don't think it's the business of government to stimulate start ups. There are lots and lots of great ideas but not always the best execution of these ideas. You need a good idea, but you also need to know how to execute that idea.” Robin also shed some light on his experience and advice for fellow entrepreneurs. “We say this about the CEO, ‘Take the blame and give the credit.' You certainly don't deserve all the credit when things are good but you always have to accept the results. Bill Parcells the great football coach once said, ‘I only think one thing: you are what your record says you are.' I think that's a really wise quote.” When asked what “type” of entrepreneur he is, he rejected categorization, “You have to have a plan - you can't out the ship in the harbor and pray it goes where it wants to - but you have to understand that there's going to be alternating courses.” Another tip Robin gives to all the aspiring entrepreneurs out there is that you can't do it alone. He says to get experience to go along with your vision and to operate to the best of your ability. Robin has been a partner in 100% of his jobs, which most people cannot say of themselves. It takes a lot to start a profitable business, especially today. People have higher standards, the economy poses a challenge, and there is a need to keep innovating and improving your product line, which can be quite costly. Robin was able to master the process early on and has not let up since. Get free trades at tradeMONSTER!