Great companies have a culture from the beginning — a way of interacting, and their own unique traditions and processes. Moveline’s is special.

When I first walked into the Moveline office, after navigating through the East Village for the second time, I still didn’t know what to expect for my first day as a marketing intern for Moveline. This position was a big deal for me; I moved to New York from Eugene, Oregon for the opportunity to grow and make an impact in an early stage company. In my excitement, I had already changed outfits twice, consulted with my intern friends and done everything possible to prepare myself.

Looking back, I really didn’t need to worry. The moment I stepped out of the elevator I was already in for the best first day ever.

A Different Kind of Orientation.

What could be a better orientation for a company like Moveline than to actually go visit a move? After I got indoctrinated to the team with my very own Moveline T-shirt, Kelly and I met Geoff to drive to Fort Greene, Brooklyn to observe Steve’s move. Meeting with Steve and his family in his beautiful brownstone, I got a glimpse of how Moveline’s products fit into a move. In this case it included performing an inventory, and after checking out the 5 floor brownstone and seeing the custom furniture, I realized it was no easy feat to list everything that had to move. But Steve explained that he didn’t list a thing; Moveline took care of the inventory, so he and his wife could focus on house-hunting in Austin.

Just Do It.

Everything about the day showed me how Moveline functioned as a company. The team had an easy banter with each other, a clear vision that worked together, and of course, matching T-shirts.

First days can be tough; I expected an adjustment period to get my bearings. What do I want to do vs. what do I need to do? How should I spend my time? I already tend to overanalyze everything, but then Kelly and the team encouraged me to think about it another way. What do I want to learn? What do I want to get out of this? What do I want to do with my time? Just do that. Add value where I’m passionate.

As an intern, this experience is a learning opportunity. But I look at my fullt-time teammates and get the feeling that they have as much enthusiasm about what they’re doing and learning as I have about this internship (a lot). It’s easy to feel the culture of growth throughout the company.

Baogette.

Though it was only my first day, I got the sense that a team member rarely eats alone at Moveline. As a group of four, Kelly, Chris, Adam and I went to Baogette, one of the many restaurant options the area has to offer. On our way out the team asked other TechStars if they wanted anything. There is a real camaraderie in the office; talk of other start-ups, coding advice, current events and more can be overheard. You come into the office as part of one team, but in the TechStars office, you’re part of a bigger community too. Oh, and Baogette is delicious.

We’re All in This Together.

Websites are easily broken. One line of code out of place and the whole page shuts down. With that in mind, how many companies would trust an intern with pushing code? On their first day?

Probably not many, but Moveline did. Before I left for the day, Kelly approached me and said there would be a group activity. Within an hour I was tasked with changing an image using Terminal and Sublime 2. I can now git, brew and CD. I never dreamed I would learn such technical skills in a marketing internship, let alone on my first day. But Kelly, Chris and Adam walked me through it one step at a time, and I’m glad they did. I now know to “respect the code, but never fear the code.” Each member of the team encouraged me to continue learning Javascript, simply because I want to and might help in that capacity again.

I remembered when Fred asked me what would make my ideal internship and I told him something where I could do what I do best and learn a variety of new things. After my first day, I knew I’d found that at Moveline.

I left the office more excited than ever, as if that were even possible. And that best first day has turned into an amazing first week. I don’t have to wear my Moveline shirt often, but I think I want to.