(Left: Intern Rohit Bagda. Right: Co-Founder Darrin Edelman)
Token of Trust is a software service provider that helps verify that people online are who they say they are. It can be added to websites and apps to reduce fraud, account abuse, identity theft and online scams.
For four years now, Co-founder Darrin Edelman and his team have been developing the Token of Trust platform to effectively improve data accuracy, and automate steps in the consumer and employee screening processes for businesses and marketplaces.
When it comes to research and development, however, their small staff of about five doesn’t always have the time to test new projects on their own. That’s where SciTech intern Rohit Bagda comes in.
With international clients, Edelman and his team wanted to find new ways of stretching their cloud capabilities. By conducting serverless technology experiments for them during his internship, Bagda “proved that it was possible,” Edelman said. “This showed us another route where we could take our technology that’s both larger in scale and more affordable. And that has huge potential for us as a company.”
Industry Bound
Rohit Bagda is pursuing his degree in computer science and mathematics at Macalester College. His internship took place at the same time as his fall semester and, though he enjoyed the classes he took, going to work at Token of Trust, he said, was the highlight of his week.
As a Front-End Web Development Intern, Bagda’s responsibilities primarily included supporting:
- product development initiatives
- user experience and front-end design/development
- and research oriented development initiatives
But the greatest takeaway from his internship experience was how it cemented his interest in the industry. “While working at Token of Trust, I did a lot of test automation and I really enjoyed it,” Bagda said. “So next semester I’m taking software testing so I can pursue that more and see if I can make a career out of it.”
Words of Advice
To fellow employers looking to replicate similar, successful results, Edelman had this advice:
“You have to be smart about how you leverage your intern’s time,” he said, “by giving them something they want to achieve through experiences that are going to inform what they want to do with the rest of their life. Ask yourself, ‘What tasks can we give them that they love to do, that also moves us forward?’ If you can find that right match, you’ll have a great internship.”
Get Involved
Learn more about the SciTech Internship Program, apply online and create your own meaningful internships that support your company and Minnesota’s growing STEM workforce.
Small Minnesota companies receive up to $2,500 to help pay a STEM intern. At least 350 wage matches are available through August 2019.