Episode #602 - Solving the Experience Paradox with Micro-Internships - with Priyanka Rao — ScaleUp Radio Episode #602

Episode #602 - Solving the Experience Paradox with Micro-Internships - with Priyanka Rao

Episode #602 6 May 2026

Show notes

Hi there and welcome back to another edition of ScaleUp Radio, the podcast brought to you by Smart90, inspired by the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System and designed to make navigating our ScaleUp journeys that little bit easier by learning from others' experiences.

I’m Kevin Brent and in today's episode I’m joined by Priyanka Rao, founder of MicroInterns.

Now if you’ve ever struggled with hiring or wondered whether CVs really tell the full story anymore, this one’s for you. With AI now writing CVs and even running interviews, there’s a growing question around trust in the hiring process.

Priyanka is tackling that head on by connecting students with startups through short micro-internships, and creating something called a Micro-Skill Passport – a way to actually prove skills, not just claim them.

What I really liked in this conversation was her mindset. From hitting a low point with just £5.45 in the bank, to building a platform that’s already led to multiple full-time hires, all guided by her SAFE framework – Start, Ask, Fail Fast and Experiment.

If you're tired of ending the week busy but no further forward, I run a quarterly planning session called the G90 Summit, a structured half-day where founders and the leadership teams get clear on the three to five things that must happen in the next 90 days, and commit to them. I run them quarterly. Find out more and reserve your place at Smart90.co.uk/summit.

Make sure you don’t miss any future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts - and why not give us a follow.

For now, continue listening for the full discussion with Priyanka.

 

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kevin@biz-smart.co.uk

 

 

Kevin's Book Is Here!

Drawing on BizSmart’s own research and experiences of working with hundreds of owner-managers, Kevin Brent explores the key reasons why most organisations do not scale and how the challenges change as they reach different milestones on the ScaleUp Journey. He then details a practical step by step guide to successfully navigate between the milestones in the form of ESUS - a proven system for entrepreneurs to scale up.

More on the Book HERE - https://www.esusgroup.co.uk/

 

Priyanka can be found here:

https://microinterns.co.uk/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyankaraor/

 

Resources:

Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/steal-like-an-artist-10-things-nobody-told-you-about-being-creative-austin-kleon/566510?ean=9780761169253&next=t

Mel Robbins Podcast - https://www.melrobbins.com/podcast/