Stephen Guerguy just began his internship at WePay to fulfill a requirement for the Entrepreneurship Lab (E-LAB) at San Jose State University.  The course explores all facets of managing and growing a young, entrepreneurial organization, including building the team, sales, marketing, operations, and finance. It provides the opportunity to learn with practical internship and roundtables with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and others, in the new venture ecosystem.

I just read WePay’s latest blog post about interning for a startup when you’re young, inexperienced, and non-technical. The post said that you should “be persistent, network your way in and demand a job….[and] demonstrate a deep knowledge of and passion for the product.”  I think my experiences may add a little color to this advice.

I’m the president of the Entrepreneurial Society (ES) at San Jose State University. I’m also a junior majoring in finance, and will graduate in Spring 2011, hopefully with high honors. I joined the Entrepreneurial Society at SJSU because it introduces business students to non-traditional career opportunities.

Instead of helping students land stale accounting or finance jobs, ES works with entrepreneurs and angels in the Valley to help students formulate their ideas, build business plans, and compete in events like The Neat Ideas Fair & The Business Plan Competition.

My goal as president has been to build previously non-existent ties between the College of Engineering and the College of Business at SJSU, so students can build relationships and leverage complimentary skill sets. Business students need to understand and appreciate the value of engineers, especially at early-stage startups. WePay has a 5:1 ratio of engineers to non-engineers.  My goal is to establish at least a 1:1 ratio in the Entrepreneurial Society. In addition, I am in the process of planning ES Tech Trek, which will include an in-depth visit to 5 startups and VC firms next fall.  I think it’s important for students to learn about entrepreneurship in the field, in addition to in the classroom.

About a month ago, Rich started reaching out to local student clubs and organizations to better understand how they manage group finances.  Since I was one of the people he contacted, I asked if he wanted to grab lunch; I wanted to better understand how WePay could help ES, but I also wanted to start building relationships with startup founders in the area.

Around the same time, one of my entrepreneurship courses at SJSU had begun bringing in startups to pitch their ideas to students. The class also required students to intern for a funded startup to get the kind of immersive experience that one can’t get from a classroom. I connected Rich with my professor because I wanted WePay to participate in the program.  Now a few weeks later, I’m writing this post from within a sunny office in downtown Palo Alto.  There’s a big WePay sign on the wall across from where I am sitting, and I’m two weeks into one of the most exciting internships I have had. I plan to write a future post about my roles and responsibilities here, and what I hope to accomplish during my time at WePay.

Give WePay a try, it’s free to sign-up!