Hoja: From Metrics to Meaning to Storytelling

Hoja is a young startup that has already attracted over 40,000 students to its platform. With a mission to make learning more engaging, the company is building the foundations needed to scale sustainably. Joining at this early stage gave me the chance to contribute to the fundraising efforts, measuring Hoja’s success and translating it into clear communications for new investors.

During my internship at Hoja, I moved from asking “What can we measure?” to asking “What will VCs want to see, and how should we present it?” Hoja’s approach to metrics taught me not only how to connect data work to real product outcomes, but also how to translate those outcomes into compelling stories for pitch decks aimed at investors across different regions of the world. The experience was intense, full of lessons, and delivered tangible impact: we built tools that made Hoja’s fundraising efforts clearer, sharper, and better aligned with investor expectations.

This internship gave me the opportunity to work across every aspect of the company, from data and product to finance and beyond. On the metrics side, I focused on making sense of how we define success. Together with CEO Pavan, we aligned KPIs, transformed messy data into reproducible pipelines, and built dashboards that didn’t just display numbers but told a story of progress.

 I learned that metrics are not about being perfect; they are about being clear, trustworthy, and actionable.  

With the core metrics established, we moved on to competitive analysis: positioning Hoja against peers, identifying differentiators, and quantifying market opportunities. From there, we worked on the narrative, structuring a storyline that combined vision with evidence so that investors could see not only where Hoja is today, but also where it can go tomorrow.

On the fundraising side, I supported the preparation of pitch materials and data-driven narratives that tied Hoja’s mission to measurable impact. I came to understand that numbers alone don’t convince investors; what matters is weaving them into a story that balances ambition with credibility and, most importantly, highlights the people and motivation behind the company.

Looking back, my internship was realising how deeply connected these two worlds are: analysis and storytelling. Building rigorous metrics internally gave me the tools to make a stronger case externally. By translating outcomes into investor language, we secured meetings with VCs and strengthened Hoja’s growth trajectory.

I leave Hoja grateful for the mentorship, the lessons, and the results. More importantly, I leave knowing that the work we did contributed to making Hoja’s fundraising efforts clearer, more compelling, and fruitful.

This internship experience was supported by the INSEAD Hoffmann Institute Impact Internship Stipend.