Exit Interview: Ajay Prakash, Bonobos summer intern
Marshall Roy — August 21, 2009 @ 9:23 pm
Today, Bonobos is teary-eyed to say goodbye to one of our awesome summer interns, Ajay Prakash of Stanford Business School. In the tradition of Brad Lautenbach, who departed a few weeks ago, we sat down briefly with Ajay as he finishes his time at Bonobos (for now).
How did you hear about Bonobos? What made you want to work here?
The legend of Dunn and Spaly is well known at Stanford. I had heard about the company and had some friends who wore the pants (and LOVED them). Around March a friend of mine put me in touch with Nick Staubach, who was here on externship from Bain. That progressed into some conversations with the others here and turned into an offer.
I got the offer right before leaving for spring break. I was on my way to Israel and had a layover in Atlanta. On the flight from SFO to ATL I thought about the job and e-mailed Brian right when I landed to accept. I didn’t speak with any other company. Bonobos was what I was looking for—a small company, rapidly growing, with an awesome product that I could understand quickly and smart people to work with. Turned out to be a great decision.
What exactly did you do while here, and what did you learn?
Well look, I already told you! I deal with the @#$%& customers so the engineers don’t have to! I have people skills! I am good at dealing with people! Can’t you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?
Seriously, though, it was a great summer. I was able to have an impact on a lot of different parts of the business, which is what I was looking for in an internship. I learned a lot about how a small company works, how to take an awesome product and build a business around it, and a lot of things in between. We have such a solid team here that it’s hard not to learn from everyone.
How will the work you did this summer translate to your second year of business school?
The most obvious impact will be on my wardrobe! I mean, my selection of pants is definitely nicer and fits much better, but I’m most excited about the shorts. I can wear shorts everyday at Stanford, and now I have five pairs of Bonobos shorts that I really like, so I will have them on rotation.
What do you see yourself doing after business school?
Ultimately, I think I would like to run my own company. I love the idea of building a business around a product I’m really excited about and bringing in a team that can help me achieve my vision. At this point, though, I don’t really have a vision so the starting point for me after business school will be to keep learning and working with great people (unless I have some sort of epiphany at school). Who knows…you might see me back here in NYC….
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