Business Development Summer Intern

About the role

At AVIAN , our mission is clear: we stop fires before they start. Our infrared camera systems and AI-driven monitoring help industrial companies detect abnormal heat early, prevent fire risk, protect assets, and avoid costly downtime. We have reached product-market fit. We have the product, the proof, and strong customer demand. Now we need to scale the commercial engine. As Business Development Summer Intern, your mission is to help AVIAN identify, research, and open new growth opportunities. You will work directly with the commercial team on market research, account mapping, outbound preparation, event support, partner research, and sales enablement. This is not a passive internship. You will work on real commercial priorities and help us build the systems that support our path to $10M+ ARR. You will: Research target industries, accounts, buying committees, and priority geographies. Build account lists for manufacturers, wood processors, recyclers, paper producers, logistics sites, and other high-risk industrial operators. Identify relevant decision-makers across safety, maintenance, operations, procurement, insurance, and executive teams. Support outbound preparation with account insights, trigger events, personalization, and CRM enrichment. Help prepare materials for customer meetings, trade fairs, partner conversations, and sales campaigns. Analyze competitors, market segments, industry associations, and potential channel partners. Support partner research across insurers, brokers, fire-protection experts, integrators, and industry networks. Turn research into clear briefs, lists, workflows, and recommendations the sales team can act on. Help improve CRM data quality, pipeline visibility, and sales operations. Bring energy, structure, and speed to high-priority commercial projects. This is a hands-on role. You will research, write, analyze, organize, test, and ship useful work every week. You are a sharp, structured, and curious student or recent graduate who wants to learn how a B2B startup grows. You are comfortable with ambiguity, fast feedback, and practical work. Must-haves: Currently studying or recently completed a degree in business, economics, engineering, marketing, or a related field at a Swiss university. Strong analytical ability and structured thinking. Excellent research skills and attention to detail. Clear writing and communication. Ability to turn messy information into useful commercial insights. Comfort working with spreadsheets, CRM systems, databases, and online research tools. Interest in B2B sales, business development, startups, industrial technology, or deep-tech. High ownership, direct communication, and bias for action. Fluent English. Ability to work on-site in Zurich during the internship. Nice-to-haves: German language skills. Experience in sales, business development, consulting, venture capital, startups, or market research. Experience with HubSpot, Clay, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, Notion, Airtable, or similar tools. Experience using AI tools for research, enrichment, writing, or workflow automation. Interest in industrial IoT, fire prevention, predictive maintenance, machine vision, automation, safety tech, or hardware-enabled SaaS. Prior exposure to manufacturing, logistics, insurance, energy, or industrial sectors. AVIAN is building a new category in industrial fire prevention. Our product protects real facilities, real assets, and real people. The impact is immediate, measurable, and operationally critical. You will join at the right stage: product-market fit is proven, customer demand is real, and the commercial organization is ready to scale. This is the opportunity to learn how a high-growth B2B startup builds pipeline, enters new markets, supports sales, and turns customer demand into revenue. What we offer: On-site experience with the AVIAN team in Zurich. Direct exposure to the CEO and commercial team. Real ownership of business development projects. Opportunity to work on market research, outbound, events, partnerships, and sales operations. Practical learning in a fast-moving B2B startup. Competitive internship compensation. High-trust working environment with clear feedback. International team with a clear mission and strong customer focus. Opportunity to contribute to AVIAN's path to $10M+ ARR. The AVIAN Way: Clarity, ownership, speed. Everyone owns outcomes end-to-end. Fail fast, fix faster. We learn quickly and improve continuously. Radical transparency. Shared knowledge, open decisions, constant feedback. Global and focused. International team, customer-obsessed, real-world impact. AVIAN is an equal-opportunity employer. We welcome applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request.