At Xtellus Partners, the summer program is built around the simple idea that the fastest way to learn the business is to work alongside senior leadership on real projects.
This summer, four members of our 2026 intern class did exactly that, contributing to live strategic and marketing initiatives across our commodities, venture capital, and private credit divisions.
Strategic Work on Live Portfolio Companies
Two of our interns spent the summer partnering with our experts on strategic planning for companies in the Xtellus portfolio.
Nikolai Maier, who attends Georgetown University, worked on a strategic plan for Milo. Milo is known for its hands-free communication technology used across outdoor, industrial, and public safety settings. Nikolai’s summer project focused on how Milo differentiates its product across its different customer segments, from the consumer brand that built its early reputation to the enterprise and licensing opportunities the company is now developing.
Nikolai describes his summer with Xtellus as a great learning experience: “I got to contribute to projects across different geographies and sectors, which pushed me to think more globally.”
Benjamin Tang, currently studying at University of Pennsylvania, took on similar work for Teslasuit, a full-body haptic wearable company in the Xtellus portfolio. He helped build a forward-looking financial model used to stress test the company’s strategic priorities, and worked alongside the teams responsible for guiding the investment forward.
“I was given real ownership over my projects,” says Benjamin, “and because of that, I was able to learn so much. Being part of the Xtellus team made me feel excited to go into the office every day.”
These assignments reflect how we think about internships more broadly. Rather than working on hypothetical case studies, our interns engage with the same strategic questions our teams are actively working through. The ability to move fluidly between operational detail and strategic thinking is exactly what makes Xtellus different and sets our intern program apart.
Shaping How We Talk About Growth Areas
Nicholas Wright, a senior at Wake Forest, spent his summer working on a series of live deals. As part of that, he helped evaluate Xtellus’ marketing on the website to highlight some of the fastest growing areas of our business, including private credit in emerging markets and commodities storage.
Both of these areas demand nuance. The marketing, for example, must balance technical accuracy with a bigger picture narrative to engage investors and stakeholders less familiar with the opportunity. Nicholas’s work gave him a front row seat to how Xtellus builds its business from the ground up.
“I had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects, which made the experience especially valuable,” says Nicholas. “More than anything, I really enjoyed being surrounded by people who were always willing to teach me.”
A Culture Built Around Cross-Divisional Exposure
Xtellus interns are not siloed into a single team or a single type of task. Sarah Rossbach, a Binghamton University graduate, supported the Xtellus back-office with operations across the company. She is now transitioning into a permanent role at Xtellus.
“I could not have asked for a more welcoming environment,” says Sarah. “What stood out most was the collaborative culture, and the way the team valued both the work we did and the people doing it.”
That structure is intentional. We have found that the interns who get the most out of a summer at Xtellus are the ones who are given the room to ask questions and dig into problems that do not have a single right answer, supported by mentors who are genuinely invested in their growth.
Building the Next Generation of Finance Professionals
The work Nikolai, Benjamin, Nicholas, and Sarah took on this summer is a good representation of what the Xtellus internship experience is designed to be: hands on, cross-functional, and directly connected to the outcomes our firm is working toward.
We believe that is the kind of experience that shapes strong finance professionals, and it is a big part of why our internship program continues to be one of the most rewarding parts of our year.