If you didn’t get a chance to meet our interns from this summer, don’t fret – we’ve got you covered right here. Today, we interview Kishin Manglani and John Exley to find out what they love about the city, what they’ve learned this summer, and what they were up to pre-Hashable days.

Let’s hop to it!

Part I: Meet Hashable’s Business Development + Marketing Intern, Kishin Manglani

Before we get to the interview, here’s the lowdown on Kishin:

• Follow Kishin on Twitter here
• Hash with Kishin here
• Check out Kishin’s photography skillz here
• City of Kishin: Murray Hill, New York, NY
• A short bio: “Intern at @Hashable, Intern at @TechCrunch, working on @CrunchBase, VC Analyst, Developer, CS and Business student at @UofPenn”

1.     What is your favorite thing about NYC?

As a lifelong New Yorker, it is very difficult for me to narrow it down to just one aspect of this city that I love. I won’t say people, food, and nightlife because these are all pretty obvious answers. Of course these are all awesome, but that’s also why everyone loves New York. The thing that really excites me is the size of the city. Sometimes people forget just how big New York really is. I love being able to walk around and discover new places in different neighborhoods. When I had jury duty for two weeks this summer, I went to 15 different tiny dumpling places in Chinatown, searching for the best, and I had only scratched the surface. Foursquare’s explore feature is very useful when trying to find the best places in any given neighborhood.

The best thing about it all is that I don’t have to drive! I still don’t have my license. I don’t think I would do too well with the rush hour traffic.

2.     What was your favorite experience from your summer with Hashable? 

Meeting people. The team at Hashable was awesome, and I learned so much from everybody. One of the things that drew me to Hashable was its emphasis on people and relationships. I knew that I would be able to meet brilliant people working at such a cool company.

More specifically, I am really glad that I was able to meet so many great interns here in New York. It is amazing how many college students are so enthusiastic about the tech scene here in New York. When John and I organized the NY tech intern events, the turnout was much higher than expected. It was awesome interning with John this summer.  If I could go back in time, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

3.     What were the top 1-2 lessons you learned from running your “Computer Repair NY” business back in the day?

1) Discipline – Running a business in middle and high school was a lot of fun. More importantly though, I learned some long lasting lessons that have left a memorable impression. Between working after school, scheduling meetings, and making time to study, it certainly instilled a solid work ethic in me. You cannot just expect things to happen for you because you have particular skills or smarts. Doing stuff is the most important thing. One of my favorite quotes is, “I make my own luck.”

2) Selling – Before my computer repair business, I tried to do web design. I hadn’t even reached my teens when I started. Of course, people can tell when you are only 12 years old. It was very difficult to establish my credibility and sell my services at such a young age. By the time I started doing computer repair, my sales skills got much better. In college I have continued to work with student organizations and startups to hone my selling skills. Whether you are selling yourself or your product, you should aspire to do so extremely well.

THE FINALE: Get To Know Kishin In Three Quick Questions

1.     What camera do you use?

Nikon D80.

2.     What languages can you program in?

Java, Ruby, Python, Objective-C.

3.     What is one skill you’d like to improve by next summer?

Coding.

Part II: Meet Hashable’s User Support + Community Management Intern, John Exley

Before we get to the interview, here’s the lowdown on John:

• Follow John on Twitter here 
• Hash with John here
• Check out John’s blog here
• City of John: Rochester, NY
• A short bio: “Loyal. Compassionate. Ambitious. Interning at my dream startup, @Hashable. Aspiring entrepreneur. LOVE learning & helping others! Technology + Fashion + HUSTLE”

1.     What is your favorite thing about NYC?

There is no other place on earth where more people regularly perform at a ‘#1 in the world’ level than in NYC. For so many of the things I love, it stands alone as best-on-earth, and I guess it’s this cultural phenomenon as a whole that is my favorite thing about NYC. For example, the city has birthed so many of the best hip hop artists to ever live (Fabolous, Tupac, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., 50 Cent, The Diplomats, Wu Tang Clan, et. al.).

Additionally, I grew up playing basketball outdoors all over Rochester and in Bristol, and I looked to Rucker Park in Harlem as holy ground. NYC is the mecca of street basketball and is home to the most famous basketball arena on earth, Madison Square Garden. I could go on…NYC is also a hub for international fashion and is currently undergoing a technology renaissance.

As such, the energy and the ‘hunger to win’ in NYC is absolutely electric. Contagious. It is the greatest city in the world.

2.     What was your favorite experience from your summer with Hashable?

Oh man, there are just so many to choose from. I looked to the team at Hashable as my dream team…like the Los Angeles Lakers of the Internet. Being apart of the team alone was amazing. Working together with Kishin all summer and organizing the NYC Interns events with him was also something I won’t forget.

My absolute favorite experience actually took place just 2 weeks ago. My heroine (and boss) Rachel Sklar invited me to be her personal photographer at an event she had organized for Change The Ratio, sponsored by Fashism. The event took place at Cindy Gallop’s infamous ‘The Black Apartment’. Hanging with Rachel and watching her lead a room packed with some of the top female founders in the city (and in the coolest apartment I’ve ever seen) was so sick. Let’s just say ‘The Black Apartment’ is itself something unforgettable haha….

3.     What are the top 1-2 lessons you’ve learned from interviewing entrepreneurs on your blog?

It’s all in the preparation, the homework. I learned that telling the story of each entrepreneur who had agreed to be interviewed on my blog in a detailed, compelling fashion was the way I could be most helpful to the entrepreneur. To do so, I researched each individual in depth – reading and watching every interview I could find with the person. I was motivated by the idea of asking questions that hadn’t been captured in any previous interviews about the entrepreneur and his/her company.

Interviewing taught me how to do extensive homework on the background of entrepreneurs and then present his/her story in a compelling, readable way.

THE FINALE: Get To Know John In Three Quick Questions

1.     What are your 3 favorite cities?

Rochester, NY (my home city); New York, NY; Rome, Italy.

2.     Who is your favorite artist?

Fabolous.

3.     What is one skill you’d like to improve by next summer?

Writing – higher quality content, faster.

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Have any questions you’d like to ask Kishin and/or John? Well, go right ahead! Ask away in the comments below.