Urban Interns

(Post: English)
"While Craigslist is many things, it's not a well-filtered place to find workers without weeding through unfit applicants. Lauren Porat and Cari Sommer think their new Web site, Urban Interns, will fill that niche."

Launched in beta in New York in February, Urban Interns aims to link small businesses with students and grads looking for part-time work in their fields.

The duo recruited applicants through campus career centers and reached out to small business groups to line up employers.

The site makes matches based on the hours available, the tasks involved, and whether the spot is paid or not.

Porat and Sommer expect the idea to catch on in the downturn, when companies need inexpensive labor and students or grads want gigs that will get them connections and experience.

Urban Interns is free for now, but it plans to charge employers in the coming months.

Porat, 34, a veteran of Internet conglomerate IAC, and Sommer, 32, an attorney formerly with law firm Bryan Cave in New York, are bootstrapping the venture.

They began working on it from their homes last fall. (Contract developers built the site). They hope to expand Urban Interns to other cities this year.

Source: BusinessWeek
Photo: Urban Interns