US-only / CT time
Starting with a 6-week engagement/sprint - possibly extending for a year
What you’ll be working on
Our client's Venture Studio is looking for a passionate and motivated Product Strategy Lead (a.k.a Entrepreneurs-In-Residence) to join in the development and commercial “beta” launch of a new venture serving the financial needs of freelancers.
About Our Client
Their studio’s mission is to explore value-generating opportunities beyond our core business. Along with our partners, they assemble and provide business-building support and resources to teams with a compelling opportunity, so they can get into the market to experiment, iterate, and validate solutions to real customer problems. Our client's Venture Studio operates from a human-centered design orientation, so opportunities start at discovering and then confirming genuine pain points / needs / jobs-to-be-done in the market. After achieving problem-solution fit, an opportunity will move to a live beta pilot and if that results in product-market fit, then they will unlock or seek additional funds to graduate the opportunity along its path to commercialization.
Role of Any Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR)
Our client's human-centered design methodology applies inside the studio as well as out, so they are obsessed with finding and supporting the highest-quality talent on all of their ventures. This three-month to ongoing EIR role is critical to the success of their Venture Studio and business at large, so they’re hyper focused on creating success in every direction.
An EIR will become a key part of a team that has been working on an opportunity already, in the search for product-market fit. They will work closely with the core team to advance the opportunity into a feasible, viable business. Their Venture Studio provides every EIR with resources to enable running experiments that validate (or invalidate) the opportunity consistent with the phase it’s at (i.e. to test the critical assumptions that de-risk proceeding toward commercialization). At the end of every phase, an investment decision is made to continue or pivot or stop the venture. While not a guarantee, the goal will be for an EIR to potentially transition to full-time with the venture.
Specific Responsibilities for the Product Strategy Lead
● Manage overall product strategy for beta version webapp platform for personal financial management for freelancers
● Manage overall user journey, experience
● Leverage direct fintech experience to evolve the MVP feature set to the commercially viable one and ensure the accuracy and relevance (and impact) of the financial information shared back to users
● Liaise with Product Design Lead and tech/development partner to build the commercial feature set and set delivery/fulfillment requirements
● Manage overall KPIs and success metrics, and strategic milestone setting as applicable
● Lead UX/UI design strategy, influence designer(s) to shape the experience accordingly
● Set engagement model for users against the ideal user journey, and work closely with Growth Marketing and Research leads to execute on the learning plan and objectives you’ve shaped
● Oversee team formation and optimization, and other go-to-market requirements or forward-looking projection setting
Other Responsibilities Include
● Collaborate with other EIRs, Venture Leads, innovation assignment staff and other PFGVS/PFG team members or partners to support one another and collectively solve critical issues
● Establish strong working relationships with core PFGVS team and leadership, as well as other supporting functions across PFG (including marketing, comms, HR, finance, legal and others)
● Regular reporting to Studio leadership on progress against your goals, including providing supporting material for PFG sponsor (i.e. exec committee) decision-making
What You Will Need
● You will have experience in the “zero-to-one” phases of business building – as an intra- or entrepreneur
● Ideally, you have some consumer product / SaaS experience; fintech experience a plus
● You have experience working with customer data, analyzing for research/learning purposes
● You have the ability to hold a strong vision for what your solution must do for users – both today and 5 years from now – in tension with being hyper-flexible and willing to pivot for better problem-solution fit
● You inspire people to work with you - you’re a top-notch collaborator
● You have a strong sense of ownership - you’re willing to do whatever it takes to serve the mission and the customer
● You are focused on results and appreciate the entrepreneurial constraints of limited resources
● You respond well to complex situations, working with customers and partners to solve problems
● You move quickly and have the confidence to act decisively when needed
● You know what to measure, when, and how to communicate success/learnings to others who have not been in the trenches with you
● You have the ability to work with remote teams
● You appreciate the power of a diverse organization and contribute to the culture of co-creating impactful solutions
This begins as a temporary role, for a minimum of 6 weeks, with the potential to extend and, depending on the success of the venture, to transition into a full-time founding team role with the new business. If appropriate, this would include an equity position to participate in the upside potential of the venture.