Venture-backed startups continue to hire UMass Boston students as paid interns. Tervela recently tapped Cuong Pham, UMass Boston College of Science, as a software development intern. Tervela designs and delivers next-generation, enterprise-class messaging platforms used by financial services firms and other data-intensive organizations.

Ektron is a web solutions company, providing a platform for web content management, social software, and marketing optimization. Its software transforms a web site into an application and makes it more engaging, interactive, findable and stickier. The firm hired Sandeep Thomas, UMass Boston College of Management, as a financial analyst intern.

OutStart hired Hacer Demiroers, UMass Boston College of Management, as its new marketing intern. OutStart social business and learning solutions act like a lifeline – connecting people to the know-how, creativity and learning they require, making everyone far more efficient and effective and ultimately helping both the top and bottom line.

William Pullen, UMass Boston College of Management, is the new web design intern at MassChallenge, an organization helping to ignite startup revolution by conducting a global startup competition offering $1 million in prizes.

These firms are taking advantage of work being done by the VDC’s entrepreneur in residence, Dan Phillips, a business mentor with strong ties to the local tech community, and Edel Freitas who helps Phillips reach entrepreneurial students. Phillips has helped run four VC-backed software companies in the Boston area over the past two decades, including Concord Communications Inc., which reached a $800 million market cap, and most recently SilverBack Technologies, where he was CEO until it was acquired by Dell Inc.

The benefit to startups, according to Maria Cirino, managing director of .406 Ventures: “You have an incredibly seasoned, successful entrepreneur doing all the legwork, matching our companies’ needs with the students."

Jeff McCarthy, Partner at North Bridge Venture Partners, says: “Many of our portfolio companies have hired UMass Boston interns, and they really hit the mark.“

The Venture Development Center is Boston’s leading startup incubator for technology and life science companies.