By Lindsay Schandelmayer
Technology and biopharma are both fast-paced, rapidly growing industries. That makes a biopharma tech startup an exciting career opportunity for a young professional ready to learn fast and make an impact.
Corval has prioritized hiring and onboarding individuals who have an extensive range of talents, experiences, and perspectives. Possessing a team with a diversity of vision and capabilities has broadened and strengthened the company’s ways of working—ultimately resulting in a robust company and a better, healthier work environment.
Last October, Corval interns Michelle Xie and Mairelisa Alcantara Vasquez joined the company full-time as business analysts after having worked as interns during their college years. Michelle provides analytical support to the sales and marketing teams, while Mairelisa works with the product and customer teams building the software that customers use.
It is well known that internships are an opportunity for students to gain exposure to different types of companies and roles to begin to learn and grow in a profession and ultimately understand what “work” is. These women seized that opportunity and ran with it, earning their permanent job offers through their insights, initiative, and willingness to identify and tackle projects.
“We are grateful Mairelisa and Michelle have decided to share their many talents with Corval. Since we are a disruptive technology all of us are learning as we go and their intellect, drive, and willingness to learn are essential to our success,” said Sue Nemetz, founder and CEO.
Michelle began her internship in 2022, after completing a bachelor’s degree in business administration and before beginning her master’s program. Mairelisa’s internship began in 2021 and was extended through 2023, when she completed her bachelor’s degree in economics.
The tech industry has a reputation for being difficult for women to break into, but that has not been Michelle and Mairelisa’s experience.
“I’ve heard tech is super competitive, and I haven’t had that experience here,” Mairelisa said. “There’s a very supportive, collaborative environment here. As a woman in tech, I feel very lucky to have ended up in an environment where I can be openly curious and surrounded by people I can count on and learn from.”
One of the things that drew Mairelisa to Corval was the leadership of CEO Sue Nemetz. While she was a student, Mairelisa worked and interned at other companies in addition to Corval. She noticed that women in the leadership ranks were few, and access to them was rare.
But at Corval, the first person she spoke with after her interview was the CEO.
“She’s inspiring, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with her,” Mairelisa said.
Sue started her tech company, Corval, after decades in the biopharma industry, both in corporate roles and growing her consulting firm. She saw an opportunity for technology to transform the arduous, multi-year commercialization process.
For Michelle and Mairelisa, the journey was flipped – their initial interest was technology, and they discovered biopharma along the way.
“I didn’t know much about biotech or biopharma at first. I wanted to work in a tech startup,” Michelle said. “Once I began my internship, it sparked an interest in biopharma. It’s similar to technology in the sense that it’s always evolving, always changing.”
As a highly regulated field, the biopharma industry is still in the early stages of digital transformation, and that intrigued the analysts as well. Michelle began her internship focused on market trends and segmentation and realized the Corval platform is unique in both the biopharma and business software markets.
“Corval is at the intersection of biopharma and tech. Both of those industries are super innovative, and both are going to be even more important in the future,” Mairelisa said. “Being at that junction is exciting.”
Both analysts are enjoying the pace and the variety of the startup environment. Change is constant, and it’s essential they’re able to think on their feet, prioritize, and adapt quickly. They also recognize that in a small company, everyone makes a difference and is valued. This is gratifying and motivates Michelle and Mairelisa to bring their best selves every day!
A quick response is not the same as a knee-jerk reaction, Michelle cautioned – analysts need to recognize changes as they occur, understand what they mean, and know how to apply the new information.
“One of the exciting things about working in a startup is that there are times you step outside what you normally work in, work with, or work on,” Michelle shared. “Those moments allow you to expand professionally. You add what you learn to what you already know, and bring that new understanding back to your primary role.”
Like many startups, Corval employs a fully remote team. There is a school of thought in business circles that remote environments make it harder for young professionals to establish themselves, but Michelle and Mairelisa believe it’s all about the execution.
Today’s young professionals were in the midst of their college studies when COVID-19 sent the whole world online, Michelle pointed out. They’re already adapted to working in a remote environment and know they need to take the initiative to build relationships and get the support they need.
And while collaboration can be challenging when teammates are distributed in various locations, Mairelisa said, a team with the right combination of tools and processes can overcome the challenge and produce stellar work.
Neither biopharma nor tech is showing any indication of slowing down. The tech industry is the number two driver of the U.S. economy – and the only industry outpacing it is healthcare. As they look to the future, both Michelle and Mairelisa are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.
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