---
title: 'Business Development & Strategy Intern (MBA) - Nearby.ai at NewsBreak'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/business-development-strategy-intern-mba-nearby-ai-newsbreak-remote-c4t98hgbrd8j'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Business Development & Strategy Intern (MBA) - Nearby.ai at NewsBreak

- **Company:** NewsBreak
- **Location:** Remote
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-09-03
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/newsbreak/jobs/4711146006

## Job description

## About NewsBreak

Founded in 2015, NewsBreak is the Content Intelligence platform shaping the future content economy. With over 40 million monthly active users, our flagship platform delivers highly personalized local news and information powered by advanced AI, recommendation systems, and adtech.

Recognized by Fast Company as #32 on the Top Workplaces for Innovators, we're proud to be Great Place to Work® certified and home to a dynamic team of technologists, product innovators, and business leaders who are passionate about solving meaningful challenges at scale.

Together, we reached unicorn status in 2021, and we remain committed to continuing this high-growth trajectory with the right team to fulfill our mission: building the infrastructure layer for content intelligence.

If you’re inspired to dream big, innovate fast, and make a difference, we’d love to hear from you! For more information, visit [www.newsbreak.com/about](http://www.newsbreak.com/about)

## About Nearby.ai

Nearby.ai is a home services platform that connects homeowners with trusted local service providers — plumbers, electricians, cleaners, landscapers, HVAC technicians, and more. We're building the merchant network that makes that matching possible, and looking for a motivated intern to help drive that growth through local business outreach and partnership development.

## About the Role

We're looking for an MBA-level Business Development & Strategy Intern to own a merchant-acquisition initiative end-to-end — from market research and territory selection, through self-sourced outreach and negotiation, to data-driven analysis and a final recommendation to leadership.

This is not a support role: you'll be measured on real business outcomes — partners signed, pipeline built, and insight generated — not just activity.

## What You'll Own, End to End

Market and Territory Research

- Independently map the local service-provider landscape in an assigned category or geography (for example, HVAC in a specific metro): merchant density, typical acquisition channels, and competitive platforms (Angi, Thumbtack, Yelp, etc.)
- Size the opportunity and prioritize which merchant categories or neighborhoods to target first, using your own scoring framework

Self-Sourced Outreach and Pipeline Development

- Build your own target list and reach out directly via phone, email, in-person visits, and social media — no inherited leads
- Introduce Nearby.ai and pitch the value proposition to local business owners, handling objections yourself
- Build and maintain a pipeline in a CRM or spreadsheet with real discipline: stage, next step, and expected close
- Adjust your outreach approach based on the response-rate data you track yourself

Analysis and Business Case Development

- Analyze outreach and conversion data to identify what's working and quantify results (contacts made, response rates, conversion rates)
- Turn merchant feedback into structured insight that could inform Nearby.ai's value proposition or onboarding process
- Build a simple business case (expected partners signed, revenue impact) to justify where to focus next

Solutioning and Partnership Development

- Independently draft outreach scripts, pitch decks, and partnership proposals tailored to each merchant type
- Lead onboarding conversations through to close
- Recommend improvements to the onboarding process based on what you hear from merchants

Reporting and Recommendations

- Report weekly on outreach metrics and pipeline, framed as insights and next steps, not just raw counts
- Deliver a final presentation to the team: your market analysis, results, and a recommended go-forward strategy for merchant acquisition

## Who You Are

- Currently pursuing an MBA (or equivalent graduate business program), ideally with prior experience in consulting, sales, BD, or a startup
- Comfortable being fully self-directed — you build the plan, not just execute someone else's
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills; genuinely comfortable working in spreadsheets and data
- Excellent written and verbal communication, with the confidence to cold-call and negotiate with small-business owners
- High tolerance for ambiguity and rejection — energized by 0-to-1, hands-on work

Details

- Type: Internship, 20–40 hrs/week
- Duration: 3–6 months
- Location: Remote
- Compensation: Paid, $40-60 hourly

## Why Join Nearby.ai

- Own a real merchant-acquisition initiative from research through close — a rare level of end-to-end ownership for an internship
- Learn the full cycle of partnership development at an early-stage company where your work directly impacts growth
- Build a portfolio of quantified business impact (partners signed, pipeline built, market analysis delivered) — highly relevant for post-MBA BD, strategy, or general management roles
- Potential to convert to a full-time role based on performance

[CPRA Privacy Notice for California Candidates](https://docs.google.com/document/d/15apsJLgHq1p5NJR3fzFmdctKX4QIzzf2/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110601223912453011659&rtpof=true&sd=true)

## About NewsBreak

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: NewsBreak is a Content Intelligence platform that delivers hyper-local news and information to over 40 million monthly active users across the U.S. using advanced AI, recommendation systems, and adtech.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series C, reached unicorn status in 2021)
- **Headquarters**: Mountain View, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2015
- **Founders**: Jeff Zheng (CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Content Intelligence, Local News & Information, AI-Powered Recommendation Systems, Advertising Technology (Adtech)
- **Target customers**: B2C (consumers seeking local news), B2B (publishers, content creators, local businesses), and Enterprise (advertisers and agencies)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: Building the infrastructure layer for content intelligence, helping people live safer, more vibrant, and more truly connected lives by connecting and empowering local users, local content creators, and local businesses at scale.

## Products & Services
- **NewsBreak Platform**: A flagship mobile app and website that delivers personalized local news and information from over 10,000 sources to more than 40 million monthly active users across the U.S.
- **NBot**: An AI-powered agentic assistant that lets users personalize any digital engine (apps, platforms, websites) using natural language.
- **Publishing Platform (mp.newsbreakapp.com)**: B2B tools that help publishers, content creators, and local businesses engage audiences with monetization and audience-reach solutions.
- **Creator Program**: A platform for local content creators to distribute their work and monetize their audience.
- **Adtech & Monetization Solutions**: Targeted advertising solutions for local businesses, helping them connect with local audiences.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Unicorn status (valuation over $1 billion) achieved in 2021. Latest valuation not publicly disclosed.
- **Total Funding**: $115 million in Series C funding led by Francisco Partners (2021). Total funding amount not fully disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: 40+ million monthly active users (MAU)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Francisco Partners (lead investor in Series C)
- **Growth Signals**: Reached unicorn status in 2021; recognized by Fast Company as #32 on the Top Workplaces for Innovators (2025); Great Place to Work® certified; growing workforce with active hiring across engineering, product, and business roles.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Content Intelligence Infrastructure**: A proprietary AI-powered platform that personalizes local news and information at scale, creating a unique data moat.
- **Hyper-Local Focus**: Serves over 10,000 local news sources, filling a critical gap in the declining local news market.
- **Large, Engaged User Base**: 40+ million MAU provides a strong network effect for both content creators and advertisers.
- **Advanced AI & Recommendation Systems**: Deep expertise in NLP, recommendation algorithms, and agentic AI (NBot) differentiates them from traditional news aggregators.
- **B2B & B2C Dual Model**: Generates revenue from both consumers (via engagement) and businesses (via advertising and publishing tools).

## Strategic Focus
- **Content Intelligence Leadership**: Doubling down on AI to build the "infrastructure layer" for content intelligence, enabling smarter connections between people, businesses, and information.
- **AI-Powered Innovation**: Continued development of agentic AI (NBot), LLM post-training, and AI-driven advertising agents to enhance personalization and monetization.
- **Local Market Dominance**: Expanding the network of local publishers, creators, and businesses to strengthen the hyper-local ecosystem.
- **Monetization Growth**: Scaling adtech and B2B tools to increase revenue from both SMBs and enterprise advertisers.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture of Innovation**: Recognized by Fast Company as one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators (2025), with a culture that values curiosity, autonomy, and collaboration. Employees work in decentralized, autonomous teams with real ownership over product areas.
- **High-Growth Environment**: A unicorn company on a high-growth trajectory, offering accelerated professional growth for those who "think big, move fast, and create real-world impact."
- **Great Place to Work® Certified**: 92% of employees are proud to be making a difference, 94% felt welcomed when they joined, and 84% say it's a great place to work (compared to 57% at a typical U.S. company).
- **Benefits**: Competitive healthcare benefits (flexible medical care, premium dental/vision), 401(k) matching, and a focus on mental, physical, and financial well-being.
- **Remote/Hybrid Policy**: HQ is in Mountain View, CA, with a presence in New York and Bellevue, WA. Job postings list specific locations, suggesting a hybrid or on-site model for most roles.
- **Engineering Culture**: Emphasis on ML, AI, recommendation systems, and adtech. Teams work with cutting-edge tech (LLMs, agentic AI, NLP) and are encouraged to pursue applied research, collaborate with academic institutions, and attend industry events.

## Sources
1. [NewsBreak Careers Page](https://careers.newsbreak.com/)
2. [NewsBreak Job Board (Greenhouse)](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/newsbreak)
3. [NewsBreak LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/newsbreak)
4. [PRNewswire - Fast Company Best Workplaces for Innovators 2025](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/newsbreak-recognized-among-the-worlds-best-workplaces-for-innovators-by-fast-company-302552097.html)
5. [Great Place to Work - NewsBreak Profile](https://www.greatplacetowork.com/certified-company/7088585)

## Other roles at NewsBreak

- [Business Development Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/business-development-intern-newsbreak-remote-qc3jgr0s661k)
- [Head of Talent](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-talent-newsbreak-mountain-view-california-ybw4x2jrwq7n) — Mountain View California, United States
- [Advertising BD Manager, E-commerce](https://feeny.ai/job/advertising-bd-manager-e-commerce-newsbreak-mountain-view-california-gypv6nmqwbdb) — Mountain View California, United States
- [Marketing Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/marketing-manager-newsbreak-mountain-view-california-h1q503ma39f6) — Mountain View California, United States
- [Ventures, General Management Rotation Program (AI Growth Architect)](https://feeny.ai/job/ventures-general-management-rotation-program-ai-growth-architect-newsbreak-8thxwzyfs8f7) — Mountain View California, United States
- [Account Executive, E-commerce](https://feeny.ai/job/account-executive-e-commerce-newsbreak-mountain-view-california-5gq0en40qa6p) — Mountain View California, United States
- [Senior Accountant – General Ledger & Revenue Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-accountant-general-ledger-revenue-operations-newsbreak-mountain-view-51ykhpqap58m) — Mountain View California, United States
- [Business Development Manager, Home Services](https://feeny.ai/job/business-development-manager-home-services-newsbreak-mountain-view-california-5pxz3frfqetc) — Mountain View California, United States / New York New York, United States
- [Growth Marketing Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/growth-marketing-manager-newsbreak-mountain-view-california-dvayn7akr4ek) — Mountain View California, United States
- [Senior Recruiter, AI & Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-recruiter-ai-engineering-newsbreak-mountain-view-california-3xpnscnt96mg) — Mountain View California, United States