Why We Pay Our Interns $20-25/hr Plus Bonuses (And Why You Should Avoid Companies That Don't)

Let's get something out of the way: most internships are exploitative.

That's not a hot take. It's a math problem. If a company pays an intern $0 (or $15/hour, which is barely above minimum wage in California), and that intern produces real output that contributes to revenue, the company is capturing all the upside while the intern eats ramen. That's not "exposure." That's a wage subsidy your parents are paying for.

We pay our interns $20-25 per hour starting. We pay performance bonuses on top of that. Top performers earn $5,000-$8,000 per month. The full-time offer at the end of the program starts at $50,000 and goes to $70,000.

This article exists to explain why, and to give college students a yardstick for evaluating every other internship they're considering.

The "Exposure Pay" Lie

The phrase "exposure pay" is one of the great con jobs of the 21st-century labor market. The idea is that an internship at a prestigious company is worth more than a paycheck because of the credential and the connections.

This was sort of true in 1995. It is no longer true. Here's why:

1. Internships are not signaling anymore. Every kid has one. The signaling value of having "interned at a big company" on your resume is approximately zero in 2026. Hiring managers have learned that most internships are theater. What they care about now is what you built, what you shipped, what you learned to use. Exposure to the office cafeteria is not a portfolio.

2. The "connections" argument is mostly false. Big-company internships are crowded. You're one of 200 interns. You barely meet a manager, let alone a senior leader. The relationships that matter happen at smaller companies where you actually work with the founders.

3. The economic transfer is real. If you produce $5,000 of value in a week and you're paid $0, you have just funded the company. That is not learning. That is a tax on your future earning power.

The Wage Bar Most Students Don't Know About

California minimum wage is $16-17/hour depending on the city. Federal is lower but most states have moved up. A "paid internship" at $15/hour is, in practice, a minimum wage job with the word "internship" on it. That should set off alarms.

Here's a useful framework. When evaluating any internship offer, ask:

1. Is the hourly rate above minimum wage in your state? Below = automatic no.
2. Is there a clear path to a full-time offer, with a stated salary range? If not, you're a temp.
3. Is there performance-based comp on top of base? No = the company doesn't think your output is worth tracking.
4. Will you have direct access to senior people, regularly? If your manager is also an intern, the connection argument falls apart.
5. What did the last 3 interns do after the program? If the company can't answer this, the program isn't producing graduates worth talking about.

Run that checklist against every internship you're offered. You'll be shocked at how many fail.

Why We Pay Real Wages

We pay interns real money for one reason: the output is real and the company wins from it. Every verified prospect, every cold email, every blog post, every photo PDF, every workflow improvement, contributes to revenue. We are not running a charity. We're running a growth machine, and interns are part of how it grows.

When the work produces revenue, paying for the work is just accounting. It's not generosity. It's not a perk. It's compensation for value delivered.

The opposite arrangement, the "we'll let you intern for free" arrangement, only makes sense if the company isn't getting much value from the intern. In which case... what is the intern getting from the company?

The Bonus Structure

We pay performance bonuses on top of hourly because the upside should compound the harder you work. Specifically:

• Per verified prospect added to the database: a small cash bonus
• Per qualified meeting booked: a larger cash bonus
• Per closed deal you influenced: a percentage of the deal value
• Per shipped workflow improvement: a one-time spot bonus

The math works out so that a top-performing intern can earn $5,000-$8,000 per month, on top of their hourly. That's not a typo. We have had interns out-earn first-year accounting analysts at the Big 4 firms.

This is the model. It works for the company because the bonuses are paid out of revenue the intern helped generate. It works for the intern because the upside is uncapped.

The Full-Time Path

The internship is 12 weeks. Top performers get a full-time offer in the 12th week. The offer:

• Base: $50,000-$70,000 depending on role and performance
• Commission: Continues at internship-level structure
• Benefits: Health, dental, paid time off, retirement matching
• Equity discussion: For the highest-impact converts, an equity grant is on the table

This is the offer at a company on track for double-digit growth this year and next. The equity conversation is real, not symbolic. The full-time hires we make today will participate in the upside of the next 10 years.

A Closing Word to Students

If a company is asking you to work for free, or for nominal pay, while they capture the output of your work, walk away. The math is bad for you and the credential is no longer worth what it was.

If a company is paying you real money to produce real work that you can put on your resume forever, that's an internship worth taking. Whether it's ours or somebody else's, prioritize the structure.

If you'd like the structure to be ours, apply below.