sidequest co.
A 30-day paid mini-internship for design and marketing students. One real project, one mentor who actually shows up, and a deliverable you own when it's done. No busywork. No three-month commitment. No unpaid labor dressed up as "exposure."
The Wall.
You're studying design or marketing and you want experience that actually counts — the kind where you run something from start to finish and have something real to show when it's over. Not "helped the team with social posts." Not "observed the creative process." Something you can point to and say I built that.
The problem is the math doesn't work. The internships worth having don't pay. The companies worth working for can't afford a three-month commitment at fair wages. So students take whatever they can get, and small teams miss out on the energy they actually need.
A sidequest doesn't go through the wall. It goes where the walls aren't.
What's a Sidequest?
Pick an experiment — a campaign, a rebrand, an AI build, a content play — and go deep on it for 30 days. Scope is defined before you start. Pay is set before you start. You show up ready to work, not ready to be assigned busywork.
When the sprint ends, you've got something finished and something to talk about. That's the whole model.
This is for students who are already a little impatient with the normal path — the ones who'd rather figure something out than wait to be told how. Future freelancers, founders, and creative leads who know the best way to learn something is to actually do it in a context where it matters.
Your mentor's not here to give you the answers. They're here to make sure you're asking the right questions.
Three Sprints. One Summer.
Every student admitted runs at least one sprint. Scope gets locked before day one, and you get paid when it's done. This is the one that's guaranteed.
If the first sprint went well and there's more worth building, you keep going. New scope, new experiment, same structure. Entirely optional for both sides.
The full summer. Three experiments, three finished deliverables. By August you've got a portfolio that shows what you actually did — not just where you were.
Part-time. Project-based. Paid per deliverable. Shared incentives are built in — if the experiment wins, you share in it. Goals are locked before day one, not improvised along the way.
What You Get.
Not hourly. Not "we'll figure it out." The scope is defined before day one and so is the check. No surprises.
One mentor, the whole sprint. Someone who's done the actual thing — not a TA, not HR, not a Slack bot that replies in 48 hours.
Real campaigns. Real assets. Yours to keep. Not a mock project. We'll help you write the case study when it's done.
If the experiment wins, you win too. Unique incentives are structured into every sprint. We're on the same side of the table.
Probably.
This isn't for students who want a safe internship to coast through. It's for students who want to find out what they're actually capable of.
- ✦ Studying design or marketing — finishing high school or in your first three years of college
- ✦ Thinking about going independent someday — freelancing, founding, building your own thing
- ✦ Want to work at a startup or innovation team, not spend your summer in a corporate onboarding maze
- ✦ Genuinely curious about AI and what it's doing to creative and marketing work right now
- ✦ Would rather ship something small and real than pad a résumé with something hollow
Your Mentor.
I run Unicorn Flames — a recruiting firm, an AI training company, and a 350-member marketing community in West Michigan. Before that I spent 15 years as a marketing director and creative lead. I've hired a lot of interns and watched too many of them leave with nothing to show for it. That's why this exists.
The projects we work on together will be real things I actually need done. You'll get context, direct feedback, and an honest read on how you're doing. Not cheerleading.
Start Your Sidequest.
Spots are limited. First sprint starts in June. Drop your info — we'll reach out to talk through whether this is the right fit. No elevator pitch required.