Seep Vidhani joined Startup Greece looking for a new challenge beyond her previous marketing experience. While completing her master’s degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Milan, she was initially interested in a different internship role. However, she accepted the opportunity to become the first intern to lead Startup Universe Pakistan, a decision that pushed her far beyond her comfort zone.
Launching Startup Universe Pakistan for early-stage tech founders
Startup Universe connects early-stage tech founders with experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem partners. Seep was responsible for launching the programme in Pakistan from the ground up. Working remotely and without a local project team, she managed everything from founder outreach and social media to university and incubator communication, stakeholder queries, live-session coordination, and weekly platform updates.
Startup Universe Pakistan: 54 startups registered in under three months
In approximately two to two and a half months, Seep registered 54 startups for the programme. She also secured experienced founders and venture-capital professionals for the initiative, delivering three live sessions and facilitating additional one-to-one conversations between early-stage founders and more experienced members of the ecosystem. Her speaker selection intentionally represented different parts of the startup world, including retail tech, food tech, transport, e-commerce, and venture capital.
Building confidence through project leadership and outreach
The experience was not without challenges. Seep had no previous programme-management experience, limited access to an established startup network, and only a short timeframe to earn the trust of founders, universities, incubators, and potential speakers. She also had to handle rejections, unanswered messages, shifting expectations, and the uncertainty that comes with building a programme in a new market.
However, those challenges became a major part of her professional development. Seep describes the internship as a turning point in her confidence: learning to lead independently, to handle professional rejection without taking it personally, and to put herself forward even when she felt anxious about being visible.
“I was scared of putting my name and picture out there. But I did not let that fear stop me. Now, if a new project comes up, I am not as scared. I know I can handle it.”
What Startup Greece learned about meaningful internships
For Startup Greece, Seep’s story demonstrates the value of trusting interns with meaningful ownership. Her work added Pakistan to the Startup Universe ecosystem and gave early-stage founders access to experienced voices, practical insights, and new connections. It also reinforced an important lesson for future internship programmes: ambitious projects require clear expectations, centralized resources, and consistent support, but when emerging talent is trusted with real responsibility, the results can be meaningful for both the organization and the individual.
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