Brand Partnerships & Growth Intern Clap (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

 

About Clap

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.

The Role:

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.

What You’ll Do:

Brand Pipeline (~50%)

• 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

Growth Experiments (~30%)

• 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 TikTok, 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

AI-Augmented Ops (~20%)

• 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

Who You Are:

• 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/TikTok Ads Manager, Webflow, or influencer marketing platforms

What You’ll Get:

• 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)