I was burning out as a founder. My summer interns changed everything about the way I work.

Bryan Reed (right) created a close bond with his marketing interns this summer.

Bryan Reed Bryan Reed is a Gen Z startup founder who hired three Gen Z summer interns to help with marketing.

They worked long hours and figured out ways to boost their productivity and support one another.

Reed says their close bond made him happier, and he's since changed his approach to work.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bryan Reed, a 24-year-old startup founder based in New York City.

It's been edited for length and clarity.

I was burning out this spring.

In July of 2025, my cofounder and I created Freeport Markets, a trading app that lets people trade international stocks 24/7.

As a cofounder, I spent my days grinding, eating, staying up late, and doing it all again the next day.

I was unhappy with my routine and working mostly alone, because my cofounder and I handle separate tasks and I only work with our engineer occasionally.

This summer flipped everything, when we brought in three college-aged summer interns to work on marketing.

What started out as dinners together turned into gym trips, movie nights, and late-night reading sessions.

They made me excited to go to work again, and our bond made us better problem solvers and more productive.

Now that the interns are gone, I've changed how I approach work.