The world’s deadliest animal is defined by the number of people killed by that animal per year. Most people would guess that this animal would be other humans, but in fact mosquitoes kill almost twice as many people as humans do annually. This semester, I became an intern for Mosquitoes Be Gone, a start-up company developed by one of my fellow students. She invented an all-natural mosquito repellent in high school, and now she is looking to obtain some investors and market the product. Part of the profits of the company will actually be donated by giving these repellents to developing countries that truly face the dangers of the diseases passed on by mosquitoes, but can’t afford the repellents in the current market.

The idea of an “Intellectual Entrepreneurship” is what pushed me to become part of this internship. The underlying idea of the program is that education should be a vehicle to a bigger goal, not the destination. The whole point of the program (a graduate program, but it applies to the undergraduate level also) is to take control of one’s education. After they get their degrees, most Ph.Ds are on top of the world and ready to get out there and get jobs immediately. But then they realize that there is very minimal job opportunity in their field and they have no idea how to translate their academic education into the workplace. In response, a university in Texas began this program to teach people how to translate those skills. Synergy groups were promoted, getting people from different disciplines and pooling their knowledge to solve a community problem. Internships and workshops were given to help people with the transition into the workplace and turning theory into practice.

This startup company is essentially a synergy group, as many of us have different majors and qualifications that allow us to be as creative and dynamic as possible. As the web design/social media intern, I helped make the website (mosquitoesbegonellc.com) and I currently manage the Facebook page. It has been incredible to get this inside perspective about how a business works, and I am quite amazed by the complexity of the whole process. Some of the challenges we have faced this semester have been finding a bottle/packaging that is inexpensive and environmentally safe, learning about the patent process, finding laboratory space, and coming up with a motto and logo that isn’t too childish or generic.

It feels amazing to be at the head of a transformative, real-world movement. Having traveled a lot, especially in places like India and South America, I have witnessed firsthand the struggles with unavailable medicare and lack of resources in these countries. I want to make this world healthier and stronger; that is why I invested so much time into my club, where we fund surgeries in developing countries, and that is why I joined Mosquitoes Be Gone. However, my selfish reason for joining this company involves the idea of Intellectual Entrepreneurship. This experience is my first step into the door of the medical workplace, and will provide me with the expertise on how to combine business, medicine, technology, and research to make a tangible difference.