About NewsBreak
Local life runs on local information. What happened down the street? Who can fix this? Where should we go tonight? NewsBreak started in 2015 to answer these questions, and today more than 40 million people a month rely on us to follow what’s going on in their zip code.
Three platforms with one vision: powering local life. Led by founder and CEO Jeff Zheng, NewsBreak is our local life and news platform; Nearby AI connects people with local businesses; and NDot AI helps publishers and creators grow and earn.
Building for the long term. A $115 million Series C made us a unicorn in 2021, and we keep investing in our people. We’re Great Place to Work® certified and named to Fast Company ’s Best Workplaces for Innovators (2025) and Fortune ’s Best Workplaces in the Bay Area™ (2026).
Everyone makes an impact. Whether you write code, shape products, tell our story, or run the business, we want people who own projects end to end, stay curious, and speak up. Join us.
Learn more at: NewsBreak, Nearby AI, NDot AI
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 we're looking for a scrappy, resourceful intern who's excited to build a piece of that network from scratch.
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 isn't a role where you follow a script someone else wrote. You'll get a market, a goal, and a blank page — and it's on you to figure out the smartest way to win it. You'll be measured on real business outcomes: partners signed, pipeline built, insight generated — not just activity.
What You'll Own, End to End
Market and Territory Strategy
Independently map the local service-provider landscape in an assigned category or geography (e.g., HVAC in a specific metro): merchant density, acquisition channels, and competitive platforms (Angi, Thumbtack, Yelp, etc.)
Build your own scoring framework to size the opportunity and decide which merchant categories or neighborhoods to go after first
Self-Sourced Outreach and Pipeline Development
Build your own target list and figure out the smartest way to reach each one — no inherited leads, no playbook handed to you
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, expected close
Treat outreach as a live experiment — test channels, messaging, and timing, and double down on what the data says is working
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 shape 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,…