- Date published
How Nightly turned business goals into a Great Game (and a Silver Dollar City celebration).
There’s a special kind of energy running through efactory this fall. If you catch a whiff of cinnamon bread and apple cider, you’re not imagining it.
That’s the sweet smell of success from our Entrepreneurship Intern Pilot Program, where Missouri State University students are jumping headfirst into local startups and helping them grow in real, measurable ways.
Crawling, walking, and winning big
Nightly is only three years old, or as General Manager Natalia Lynn puts it, “definitely in the toddler phase.”
But this is no ordinary toddler. In just a few years, the company has built a strong reputation purely through referrals, been invited to exclusive Airbnb summits, and crafted a culture rooted in people.
“We love what we do not because we work with vacation rentals,” Natalia says, “but because we value people. That’s what sets us apart. We could thrive in any industry because we care for people first.”
That care shows up in everything Nightly does. Whether it’s a surprise birthday cake for a guest’s big celebration to heartfelt hospitality moments that go way beyond a weekend stay. It’s exactly that heart that made them such a perfect fit for our Entrepreneurship Intern Pilot Program.
Enter Bri Record: entrepreneur-in-training
This semester, Bri Record, a Missouri State entrepreneurship major, joined the Nightly team through the program. Students in the program don’t just shadow and take notes. They build things. They learn the Great Game of Business (GGOB) principles from members of the efactory and Missouri SBDC at MSU team. Then they design their own MiniGame to help their host company tackle a real challenge.
And Nightly’s MiniGame? Let’s just say they took “game” to theme-park levels.
The challenge: boost Nightly’s reach and growth.
The twist: tie every benchmark to a Silver Dollar City prize.
The result: serious fun, serious engagement, and one seriously fired-up team.
The first milestone reward? Fresh cinnamon bread and apple cider from the park itself. When they crushed that goal…well, you can see for yourself.
Playing hard, working harder
“At first, none of us really knew what the Great Game of Business was,” Natalia admits. “But once we caught on, it was so us. Our team is super competitive and we love games. So the idea that we could turn business goals into a literal game? That was perfect.”
As the points rolled in, the competition heated up. One day, the team realized they were just 80 points away from their next prize tier. Within hours, Nightly’s feeds were buzzing: posts shared, followers gained, leads rolling in.
“I was driving to Kansas City,” Natalia laughs, “and by the time I got there, we had 84 new followers. Our team can rally when they’ve got a goal in sight.”
But beneath the laughter and friendly competition, something deeper was happening: it gave everyone a shared mission to achieve something together.
Investing in people, not just positions
When Natalia talks about Bri, you can hear that same heart-centered philosophy.
As the semester-long program comes to a close, Nightly offered her a part-time position to remain part of their team.
“We didn’t bring Bri on just because we needed another person,” she says. “We brought her on because she fits our culture. She’s curious, she’s compassionate, she’s a go-getter, and she genuinely cares about people.”
That people-first approach runs deep at Nightly. Natalia herself came to the company from a decade in campus ministry, and so did cofounder Nathan Cole.
“College students are ingrained in our hearts,” she says. “We really believe they’re the generation that will change the world.”
So for Nightly, hosting an intern was a chance to invest in someone’s growth.
“I don’t even know exactly what role Bri will play next,” Natalia says, “but she’s the kind of person you make space for. We’ll figure out the seat. We just know we want her on the bus.”
The power of connection
From Silver Dollar City treats to social media rallies, Nightly’s story captures everything we love about this program: students learning by doing, companies growing through creativity, and everyone involved having an absolute blast along the way.
As Bri puts it: “I’m loving my experience, learning a lot, and feel like this is really preparing me for my career. I really love everyone at Nightly. When I start my own business one day, I’ll have more confidence because I’ve seen someone do it before.”
That’s the spark we live for.
The Entrepreneurship Intern Pilot Program connects students with real-world startup experience. It’s a perfect snapshot of what makes Missouri’s entrepreneurial ecosystem so vibrant.
The Entrepreneurship Intern Pilot Program is made possible by the Missouri Technology Corporation MOBEC grant, with additional support from the Hatch Foundation.