Inside a Sydney Tech Accelerator
By: Yi Xin Gwee, Wharton ’25
Gimli the office dog and I
Business in Sydney, Australia
During my environmental leadership class (LGST 2600) at Penn, one of our assignments was writing a proposal for a sustainable business. As I have always been interested in the intersection between sustainability and tech, I proposed creating sustainable procurement software that aims to green supply chains by minimizing supplier emissions. While completing the assignment, I remember thinking how cool it would be to work on such a solution to climate change. Serendipitously, I got to intern this summer at Mantaray Climate, a sustainable procurement software start-up in Sydney. Over the course of 2 months, I got to experience the excitement of working in a start-up and dive into the challenges associated with sustainability.
As a data science intern at Mantaray Climate, I was tasked to code web scrapers that extracted the emissions and eco-certification data of various products ranging from coats to computers. In the process of scraping poorly formatted files and second-guessing dubious emissions figures, I saw the severity of greenwashing as some companies seem to be putting on a green façade instead of making concrete changes. It was discouraging seeing how sparse and messy sustainability data can be since there is little regulation across the globe for there to be more standardized and accurate reporting. However, I believe that start-ups like Mantaray Climate serve as a step in the right direction and I am happy to contribute even in my small ways as an intern. Apart from web scraping, I also developed my qualitative skills by conducting market research. By synthesizing key insights from interviews with potential customers, I witnessed the tension many companies faced between cost-effectiveness and sustainability.
In positioning Mantaray’s procurement software as a simple tool for navigating the haphazard world of sustainability, I also learned to distill complicated reporting standards like the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1 and S2 protocols into bite-size processes for customers to understand. I was glad that I could apply the concepts learned from my marketing and data analytics classes at Penn to tackle real-world issues like climate change.
While working at a start-up, there are always bound to be surprises. A week into my internship, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mantaray Climate was selected to join the Techstars Tech Central Sydney Accelerator. As one of the largest pre-seed investors globally, Techstars has supported over 7,300 founders through mentorship and fundraising opportunities. During the accelerator program in July, I met various interesting characters ranging from start-up founders to Gimli the office dog. While walking along Darling Harbor, I spoke to Janhvi the co-founder of Outread, and got a glimpse into her entrepreneurship journey. Through all my interactions with the start-up founders, I was generally struck by their conviction and resolve in seeing their vision of a better world come to fruition. Whether it is reaching net zero faster by greening supply chains or solving housing shortages by expediting construction projects with AI, I was impressed by the power of business in driving social impact.
If there was one skill I least expected to gain from my internship, it would be caring for a dog. Whenever Gwen the Techstars staff member (and Gimli’s mum) left the office to run some errands, my job was to prevent Gimli from wreaking havoc. While debugging Python code or combing through sustainability standards, Gimli might chew on my shoelaces or nap by my feet depending on his mood. Nevertheless, Gimli brought a smile to everyone’s faces and reminded everyone to take a break amidst the relentless stress of running a start-up.
Working at Mantaray Climate has been nothing short of exhilarating. From attempting to solve social problems like climate change to meeting people from all walks of life at the Techstars accelerator, I have grown immensely over the course of my internship. Not only have I learned web scraping and market research, but I have also been inspired by the creativity and courage of the start-up founders I met. After this internship, I will continue to pursue opportunities in the sustainability space and be the change I want to see.
The Global Research and Internship Program (GRIP) provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern or conduct research abroad for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer. Participants gain career-enhancing experience and global exposure that is essential in a global workforce.