[BEENOS Internship Story] Global E-Commerce Internship at the COO Office — A U.S. University Student Shares What He Learned on the Frontlines of Cross-Border Business.

This summer, Bryce joined BEENOS for a Global E-Commerce Internship — working directly under the COO and stepping into the reality of cross-border business operations.
“It wasn’t just analysis — it was one of the most intense and meaningful experiences I’ve ever had,” he says.

Bryce studies Business Analytics at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Even with familiarity in data and statistics, this internship pushed him into a world far beyond traditional student work.

He initially imagined that his responsibilities would mostly be market research or data analysis. Instead, he was given high-stakes missions: investment research, due diligence, financial forecasting, and direct proposals to the COO.

This story reveals what a real business-building internship looks like at BEENOS.

Why Japan?

Bryce: My mother is Japanese, so I grew up close to the culture — but the economic engine behind Japan was something I had never truly seen.I didn’t want to only know Japan from the outside; I wanted to understand how Japan creates value, how Japanese leaders think, and how that translates into real business outcomes in global markets. That’s something you cannot learn in a classroom, case study, or conference. You have to be inside the machine.

And Why BEENOS?

There were two major reasons why I chose BEENOS.
First: a truly global environment.
BEENOS operates on a cross-border e-commerce axis and scales across international markets. That means the information you work with — and the decisions you contribute to — inherently require global context. That was extremely compelling to me.

Second: real ownership.
Not just ideation. Not just suggesting concepts.
I felt that here, I would have the chance to actually propose and execute initiatives that move business. That level of execution responsibility at student stage is exceptionally rare — and that’s why it mattered to me.

What did you actually do?

What kind of work were you actually trusted with?

Bryce: Before joining, I honestly thought it would be enough if I could get experience mainly in market analysis — but the missions I was given were far beyond what I imagined.

I worked across investment research, due diligence, financial forecasting, and evaluating investment scenarios end-to-end.

For example, I conducted investment research, performed due diligence, forecasted GMV, and used DCF modeling to evaluate scenarios. I even had opportunities to directly propose my assumptions and conclusions to the COO.

Every day, I was watching the backend of corporate-level decision making — learning how to interpret numbers, how to convert them into strategic direction, how to actually describe what the future could look like. It was completely real — more like operating in the field than “learning business” in a classroom sense.

I came to Japan thinking I would simply deepen my analytics skillset.
Somewhere along the way, I found myself becoming deeply fascinated with the world of investment logic and business strategy itself — and that made every day incredibly stimulating.

Key learnings

Bryce: I studied statistics and analytics at university, but I realized that in real business — what matters is what comes after the numbers. I learned that in the real world, the number itself is never the point. The point is what you extract from it.

For example, even if an e-commerce market is growing in a certain country, if the payment infrastructure isn’t ready, it won’t convert into revenue. If you can’t imagine the reality behind the data, you can’t build strategy. I realized how important it is to imagine “the part the numbers don’t show” — and then translate that imagination into an executable strategy.

Reporting to the COO also drastically strengthened my communication skills. I had to take data and compress it — into visual graphs, scenarios, and frames that allowed leadership to make decisions instantly. In that process, I learned to transform data into a story. And that sharpened both my logic and my presentation skills at the same time.

Team culture & leadership

How was the distance with executives, especially since you reported directly to the COO?
Bryce: The environment was extremely flat. If I had a question, I could ask directly — and I would get a straightforward answer. Feedback was constructive, specific, and sharp. Through daily work, I naturally learned how executives structure logic, how they challenge assumptions, and how they think critically.

And there was never a moment where my opinion didn’t matter just because I was an intern. In fact — it was the opposite. I was expected to participate in discussions proactively. As a result, I naturally developed the habit of having a point of view, defending it, and thinking all the way through to a proposal.

Were there any language or cultural barriers?
Bryce: Not at all. I never had trouble communicating inside the company. I talked about music and trends over lunch, joined the internal English circle, and teammates even introduced me to famous local spots in Tokyo — I spent weekends exploring places they recommended. I really appreciated that I could connect with people beyond language — just human to human.

I honestly didn’t expect to find this kind of community. The new relationships, unexpected discoveries, and cultural exchange became one of the most enjoyable parts of this internship at BEENOS.

To future interns: “Enjoy the challenge.”

Looking back, what do you think is the biggest appeal of the BEENOS internship?
Bryce: The fact that you get real, hands-on experience operating a global business.

You're trusted with data tied to actual investment decisions
You get direct access to the CEO and executives
You work with global market signals and build multi-country perspective

Through different projects, you think, propose, and execute how to accelerate business yourself. At this scale, it’s extremely rare for a student to be given this level of ownership.

Lastly — any message to students who are considering applying to the BEENOS internship?
Bryce: In the U.S., interns are often given supportive or low-leverage tasks. At BEENOS, you stand on the frontlines of real business. When I tell my friends in the U.S. what I’m doing here, they’re shocked — because I’ve been trusted to research, propose, and execute on real work that matters.

The more you push yourself here, the more exciting this environment becomes. And you’ll find teammates who support your challenge — across countries, across cultures.

If you want to break your own ceiling in a global environment — BEENOS is the best place to take that first step.

Take the leap, and enjoy the challenge.

📢 If you’re interested in joining the BEENOS internship — apply now from the link below!

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COO Internship: Build the Future

[BEENOS Internship Story] Global E-Commerce Internship at the COO Office — A U.S. University Student Shares What He Learned on the Frontlines of Cross-Border Business.