The Employer Relations team is working with employers to highlight different aspects of their organizations, from applications, to culture, to diversity, and more. We plan to showcase employers from across all career industries throughout the semester, so check back soon for more Employer Insights!
Homemade in D.C.
Homemade in D.C. is an online marketplace that offers corporate catering and custom gift boxes, all sourced locally from women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs. They are on a mission to close the racial and gender wealth gap through food entrepreneurship. Homemade in D.C. was founded in 2021 by Mackenzie Loy A13, and she shared some insights for students as an employer and alumna.
What advice do you have for an entry level candidate transitioning from student to professional?
Leverage your summers and at least 1 semester a year to gain work experience in an industry, company, or functional role that you are genuinely interested in. Internships are an amazing time to learn about yourself, what you like, how you work, and what fulfills you (in addition to pays you!). Many early-stage startup founders like myself would love the extra help from a talented and passionate student regardless of whether you can devote 5 hours / week or 20 hours / week. And if you can find a way to make an impact at the organization you work at, there’s a high chance you’ll get a job offer to return. Especially within early stage organizations, the ability to join, learn, and look around and see what else you can contribute is immensely valuable – and if you can do something that saves money or generates revenue, you’ve just created your own job.
How diversity, equity, and inclusion is supported by your company?
DE&I is part of our mission and is infused into every aspect of Homemade in DC. Our mission is to close the racial and gender wealth gap through small business. When we work with interns and contractors, we’re intentional with who we hire, seeking diverse applicants who reflect the food entrepreneur community we work with.
What is one value of your company, and how does that show up in your day-to-day work?
One of our key values is always be improving. As an early stage startup, we work with a lot of interns, and every time you do something, I ask you to document the process (create an SOP) so that it’s now a repeatable process. And every intern who comes in, I ask them to review and follow the SOP and then make it better. Every gifting order we receive, I seek to improve the packaging, improve our communication, enhance our storytelling…make one thing better each time you do it. If we can do that, we don’t need to be the best from the beginning, we just need to be growing and getting better every day. Daily improvements compound for insane growth when you zoom out to reflect on the past year.
What should a student who is interested in your industry know before applying to jobs?
If you’re looking to start your own business or organization, just start. What’s one experiment you can run this week that would test out whether it’s a real problem that someone will pay you to solve (this someone can be the user, the government, a foundation, etc)? What’s one task you can do that moves the business forward? Set up an Instagram account, start a newsletter, set up a landing page with an interest form, interview 10 prospective customers. Do something and you’ll be lightyears ahead of everyone else who wants to become a founder one day.
And if you’re interested in joining an early stage startup or breaking into the startup ecosystem, find a way to plug in by attending a meet-up or coworking space where these founders and their teams are meeting. Attend a pitch competition to hear the variety of businesses and then go up and speak to the founder that resonated. Start following leaders that inspire you on LinkedIn and reply to their posts or send an intro message. We want to talk to you!
How can students engage with your company early on? (internships, recruitment events, etc.)
Reach out via LinkedIn or The Herd and ask for a coffee chat – share your interests and why you’d like to connect to set us up for a great conversation. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter. If there’s a way that you think you can make an impact, send a cold email and outline your thoughts and recommendations. This time, research, and thoughtful analysis would set you apart from your peers.
