The new Summer Workation

A little history

In 2008, I fell in love with “startups.” I didn’t know what a startup was, but I equated it to the idea of building an internet product that could be distributed instantly to users across the world. The first idea that I ever had was to build a job board that would help teachers find summer internships. As a student, I was able to work in an internship every summer. These experiences were integral to my own personal and professional growth. Despite my own positive summer jobs, I was surprised to learn that many teachers struggle to find the right opportunities over the summer, and with that, Summer Workation was born.

Summer Workation started as a blog where I would post summer opportunities for teachers. I noticed teachers would find their way to the blog, but ultimately a blog is not a great way to match employers with candidates. Excited to do more, I entered the idea for Summer Workation to an online business competition where the most popular idea would win $10,000. I spammed everyone I knew and won some initial funding to turn the Summer Workation blog into a product.

I had no idea how to build a product. I played around with website tools and off the shelf software and cobbled together an MVP (minimum viable product). I knew Summer Workation would be better, so I hired a small development team and turned the MVP into a thin product with user registrations, sponsored listings, integrations, and more features than we would ever need. We forged partnerships with a few education groups like the National Education Association and Teach For America getting tens of thousands of teachers to sign up for the service.

When I started a job as a venture investor in 2010, Summer Workation continued to operate on autopilot. Over the years, the product continued to deteriorate though users would somehow still find their way to us. Distracted continuously by other projects, I never found my way back to SummerWorkation, and my first “startup” became a relic of the internet.

Say hello to the new Summer Workation

I currently run a startup called B12 that I founded in 2015. We automate front office applications for small businesses like website creation, SEO and email marketing. I manage several B12 websites, but always try to stay on top of other tools in the market. Sheltered at place over the weekend, I asked myself could I build a “no code” Summer Workation in <1 day using tools in the market. And with that the new Summer Workation was born.

The new Summer Workation is a no-frills niche job board that stays true to our original mission to help teachers find summer jobs. Unlike the antiquated Summer Workation, it actually works.

If you know a teacher looking for work this summer, send them our way. If you or an employer you know has an opportunity for teachers, post them right here! What was once a “startup” in Summer Workation has turned into what it should have always been a passion project. I hope we can help teachers find enriching summer experiences that allow them to grow both personally and professionally.