Brand Partnerships & Growth Intern; Virtual Playgrounds, Inc.

Brand Partnerships & Growth Intern Clap (Virtual Playgrounds, Inc.) | clap.gg

Ideal

Location:

Austin, TX or San Diego, CA | Mid-April — September 2026

Clap is an AI-powered challenge engine for brands, creators, educators, and communities. Type any idea, and the AI instantly generates a challenge with rules, scoring, and prizes – participants compete via short video clips judged by AI. The platform is white-labeled and embeddable, so challenges live on the partner’s own site while Clap runs the engine. We’re building a new way for people to engage together online, and we move fast.

We’re led by two battle-tested founders (Sean & Dan) who’ve built and sold multiple startups — Pillow was acquired by Expedia, Notehall by Chegg. We’re VC-backed, in private beta with our first brand partner live, and building an AI-native product that wouldn’t have been possible even two years ago. If you want a front-row seat to a startup on the launchpad, this is it.

We’re looking for a Brand Partnerships & Growth Intern to work directly with our CEO on brand outreach, growth experiments, and marketing operations. This is a hands‑on role where you’ll own real work from week one — researching prospects, running campaigns, and helping Clap land its first wave of brand partners.

This is an intern‑to‑hire opportunity. Show us what you can do, and there’s a path to a full‑time role.

• Research and build prospect lists of DTC/CPG brands that fit Clap’s platform (youth-focused, challenge-friendly, socially active)
• Draft personalized outreach emails and help book intro calls with brand prospects
• Prep for brand calls: competitive research, tailored talking points, customized pitch decks
• Join brand and creator calls — first as a shadow, then as a contributor, then leading portions
• Track the pipeline: who we’ve contacted, where conversations stand, what’s next
• Help capture metrics, draft write‑ups, and package our first case study — this is a key deliverable for outbound and fundraising
• Help onboard our first brand partners — manage campaign setup, timelines, and deliverables as we bring brands onto the platform
• Build repeatable processes for brand campaigns (briefs, approvals, launch checklists) that we can eventually productize into the Clap platform
• Coordinate with our marketing agency to ensure influencer activations and brand campaigns launch in sync

• Help design and run 2-3 growth experiments per month: landing pages, ads, tracking, and readouts
• Assist with ad campaigns and creatives — help build, test, and iterate on paid social ads across Meta and Tik Tok, and track what’s driving signups
• Working with social media manager to review & suggest content for our clap social profiles
• Assist with prize fulfillment and winner verification as campaigns launch

• Using Claude Co-work other AI tools daily to accelerate research, drafting, and analysis
• Spot what’s manual that shouldn’t be — flag opportunities to automate or templatize recurring work
• Build lightweight templates: meeting prep docs, outreach drafts, experiment briefs, reporting formats

• Currently pursuing or recently completed a degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or similar
• Strong writer – you can draft a cold email that doesn’t sound like a template
• Naturally curious and resourceful – you Google it before you ask
• Comfortable with ambiguity and fast pace (this is a startup, not a syllabus)
• Interested in creator economy, social platforms, and interactive content
• Bonus: experience with AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, or similar
• Bonus: familiarity with Meta/Tik Tok Ads Manager, Webflow, or influencer marketing platforms

• Direct mentorship from Clap’s CEO – you’ll learn startup operations, fundraising, and go‑to‑market firsthand
• Paid access to Claude Co-work and other AI tools as part of your workflow
• Real ownership of projects that matter (not busy work)
• Intern‑to‑hire path based on performance
• Flexible hours – we’re open to adjusting around class schedules
• Compensation:
  Paid internship (details discussed during interview)