Startup Sourcing

Startup Due Diligence

Market Research

Investment Analysis

Climate and Water Tech

Sustainability

Environmental Tech Lab Startup Sourcing Externship

Team up with NYC's Environment Tech Lab to uncover startups that could help the city crack its toughest water and climate problems.

4 weeks

Live Sessions Start

September 7, 2026

Start Onboarding Today

New York City’s water utility moves a billion gallons of water a day to ten million people, and it can’t solve its toughest problems alone. So every year it puts out a call for outside startups, and the Environmental Tech Lab, run with the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, is where they get found.

You’ll do that finding: sourcing real companies working on the water and climate challenges the city has publicly named, screening them against the Lab’s eligibility rules, and rating how well each one fits. Startups sourced this way have gone on to win funded pilots deployed across Queens, the Bronx, and Long Island City.

You’ll walk away with the same thing they built to get there: a ranked shortlist and a recommendation you can defend. Real proof to future hiring managers that you can turn open research into an answer that matters.

Project Output

‍

By the end, you'll have built:

A Challenge POV on your chosen DEP Challenge and the territory you claimed
A vetted company pipeline of roughly 5 fully profiled startups with eligibility results, relevance ratings, and sourced rationale
A ranked top-3 shortlist with evidence for why each company beats the rest
A Top Companies Briefing: a 3 to 4 slide deck with a recorded walkthrough of your top picks and strongest recommendation

Get Started with Onboarding Today Before Live Sessions Begin

Ready to scout startups for New York City's water utility? Start your Environmental Tech Lab Externship today.

Start Project Today

This Externship has passed

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What past Externs have to say

Erik Schalk

Beats by Dre Extern

"Extern played a crucial role in bridging the gap between my formal business education & real-world application. The opportunity to present actionable recommendations to the Head of Customer Insights at Beats by Dre was invaluable, propelling my leadership journey and paving the way for my current role at Rolls-Royce.”

Now a Project Lead
at Rolls-Royce

Tori Nguyen

AT&T Extern

“I credit the Externship as the sole reason I was hired to intern at AT&T. I had never heard of the AT&T internship program and would never have applied to it if I hadn’t gone through the Externship. It allowed me to develop my skills, showcase my work and ultimately stand out so I was awarded the opportunity to interview the CEO of AT&T!”

Became an intern
at AT&T

Richard Wilson

Meta Extern

"The Externship is a great way to introduce students to what it is like to work on a project. I became a lot more data-focused and analytical in my approach. As an industrial engineering major, people questioned how the externship was related to my studies. My journey has shown me that you don’t have to be limited by your major."

Now a Technical
Program Manager at Meta

Maisa Mirza

HP Tech Ventures Externship

“During my venture capital externship, I learned how to use industry-standard metrics and tools like SQL and Tableau to determine startup success potential.This opportunity helped me stand out as a candidate and opened new doors for me - including offers from EY and Accenture."

Now an Analyst
at Accenture

Garrett Boyce

HP Tech Ventures Externship

“If I hadn’t done a VC externship during term time, I know I’d be spending hours watching YouTube videos just to understand which careers I might enjoy! I don’t think I fully understood the value of an externship till I actually did one and now I want to argue that externships should be a part of the college experience for every student.”

Now an Analyst at Boston Consulting Group

Diego Juarez

Crafted Capital Externship

“My Externship really changed my career trajectory. As students, we often chase after Fortune 500 work experiences, but the intimate experience of getting to work with a startup can actually really help you learn a lot and level up what you can bring to the table. My cohort even had the opportunity to speak with the founder of Crafted Capital and learn from his firsthand experience.”

Now a CLDP Analyst at
JP Morgan Chase & Co

Skills You'll Gain

Source and vet startups using open tools: Crunchbase, SEC EDGAR, LinkedIn, and Google News.

Apply a criteria-based eligibility gate and relevance rubric to screen startup candidates.

Build a ranked shortlist and defend your recommendation to a decision-maker.

Manage a shared pipeline with claim-ownership, deduplication, and data hygiene.

Use AI to accelerate company research while verifying every claim against a primary source.

Gain domain fluency in climate/water tech and the govtech accelerator model.

Your Schedule

4 weeks

Orientation and Territory Selection

—

Meet the Lab, deep-dive the DEP Challenges, and claim your research territory (Week 1)

Profile, Screen, and Rate

—

Learn the free-tools sourcing method and calibrate your judgment on real alumni companies (Week 2)

The Sourcing Sprint

—

Source independently, vet ~5 companies, and keep the shared pipeline clean (Week 3)

Curate and Present

—

Rank your top 3, build your Top Companies Briefing, and record your walkthrough (Week 4)

About Environmental Tech Lab

The Home Depot is not accepting or considering any applications for this Externship through other channels.

Meet Your Host

Stacey Matlen

Senior Vice President of Innovation, Partnership for New York City

As Senior Vice President of Innovation at the Partnership for New York City, Stacey partners with New York governmental agencies to understand their challenges and recruits innovative solutions to solve these challenges. She oversees three programs with missions to make New York the global leader in transportation, water, and construction: the Transit Tech Lab, the Environmental Tech Lab, and the Buildings Tech Lab.

Through the Transit Tech Lab, Stacey works with the MTA and other regional transit agencies to identify and test solutions that can reduce carbon emissions, enhance operational efficiencies, attract & retain talent, and increase subway capacity and reliability through improvements to the signaling system. Through the Environmental Tech Lab, launched in May 2023 in partnership with New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Stacey works to enable the largest public water/wastewater utility in the country to source, pilot and evaluate new technologies to help mitigate perilous effects of climate change. Through the Buildings Tech Lab, Stacey works with NYC Department of Buildings leadership to identify and test solutions from the global tech sector to accelerate innovation in construction, safety, and sustainability in New York City's built environment.

Stacey has a public sector, startup, and public health background: she led multiple initiatives with the City of Detroit's Office of Mobility Innovation and founded an award-winning startup that increased healthy food access for low-income residents. Stacey holds a Master's in Public Health and a Bachelor's degree with high distinction from the University of Michigan.