Job Drop 027

Week of 1/14/24 // Platform & Venture Ops, Weekly Jobs Roundup

Happy 1-year anniversary to #SoYouWantToWorkInPlatform! It all started with a Twitter thread & since then, we’ve grown into a newsletter an 800 subscribers. Thank you all for reading & subscribing!

FELLOWSHIP // New Venture Fellowship (Winter 2024) @ 25m Supply Chain // Undergrad/MBA Candidate // NYC preferred/Remote // $30-$50/hr

Program Manager - gBETA Alaska @ gener8tor // Alaska // $60-$70K

PE // Chief of Staff @ Windage Partners // 3+ yrs exp // Dallas

Executive Administrator @ Tola Capital // 5+ yrs exp // Seattle 

Chief of Staff to Managing Partner, Ali Rohde @ Outset Capital // SF/Remote

Chief of Staff @ BLCK VC // 5+ yrs exp // Remote // $100-$115K

Digital Marketing Director @ Aegis Investments // 5+ yrs exp // Franklin, TN // $75-$145K

Marketing Manager @ MicroVentures // 5-7 yrs exp // Austin

(Sr) Executive Assistant @ MunichRe Ventures // 6+ yrs exp // SF // $120-$145K

Head of Flywheel Fund @ Flywheel/The Mill // Bloomington, IN // $90-$110K

PLATFORM-ADJACENT

Talent Analyst @ Evergreen // 1-2 yrs exp // SF // $70K

Head of Industry Partnerships @ Maxwell // 2+ yrs exp // NYC // $80-$100K

Community Program Manager @ Work on Climate // Remote // $60-$80K

Account Executive, Startups (Existing Business) @ Stripe // 3+ yrs exp // Hybrid/NYC // $164-$247K

Events and Operations Manager @ Newcomer // 3-6 yrs exp // SF // $90-$130K

Startups Program Manager, Americas, Cloud @ Google // 5+ yrs exp // SF/NYC // $140-$209K

Chief of Staff @ Gold House  // 5-10 yrs exp // LA // $150-$170K

Senior Manager, Brand Events and Sponsorships @ Mercury // 8+ yrs exp // SF // $195-$230K

Head of Accounting Partnerships @ Mercury // 10+ yrs exp // Remote/SF/NYC/Portland // $196-$256K

VC Partnerships Manager @ OpenAI // 10+ yrs exp // SF // $235-$285K

GLOBAL

INTERNSHIP + EUROPE // Newsletter Marketing @ PAPA OSCAR Ventures // Frankfurt, Germany

INTERNSHIP + EUROPE // Growth & Operations Intern @ Deepsense // Berlin/Remote

MULTIPLE // Principal, Portfolio Strategy & Operations @ Partech Africa // 7-10 yrs exp // Dakar/Lagos/Nairobi/Dubai/London/Paris

👉 Missed last week’s Job Drop? Read it here

Platform Spotlight 🔎✨

⚡ FAST FACTS

# Years in VC: 15
# Years in Platform: 10
📍 San Francisco

1 // How do you define Platform?

Platform is about delivering support, guidance, resources, talent, and tools to the portfolio companies you’ve committed capital to in a strategic, tactical, and impactful way.

2 // What was your Path to Platform?

Funny enough, I’ve never actually had a formal Platform title. Whoops! I’ve always been a VC operations gal, but I’ve (technically) been doing Platform since my NEA days in the early 2010s. I got the most intensive exposure when I jumped in with the guys at Homebrew as they were getting Fund I off the ground in 2013. There, I was truly in the throes of Platform supporting their investments tactically and physically (many of them sat in our 30+ person office), helping build community, and working to provide meaningful resources and programmatic support.

3 // How have you seen Platform evolve from when you started?

It’s been interesting to watch the “rise of Platform” over the last decade, especially as it relates to Heads of Operation, Chiefs of Staff, etc., at funds. Some of my observations:

• Most back-office roles at sub-$500M funds execute on facets of Platform work regardless of their job title. Just because their title doesn’t say Platform doesn’t mean they aren’t in the trenches doing it.

• Platform has attracted more men to back-of-house roles at VC funds that, historically, were heavily female. I think this shift is favorable for many reasons, primarily because (IMHO) there’s been a marked increase in the visibility of the role and compensation as a result.

• Much of the new class of Platform (those who have stepped into the role over the last 7-10 years) forget or don’t know that they’re actually the second generation. There are super OGs, like Katie Belding at Norwest, who’s been doing this work for twenty-three years! There’s also Christiaan Vorkink at True Ventures — a fund that’s been heavily investing in Platform since its inception — who’s right behind her at sixteen years.

4 // What is Platform's superpower for firms?

My attitude about doing Platform well and having a true impact is two-fold:

1. Don’t do it just because everyone else is. Your Platform value-add needs to be rooted in your fund’s unique DNA, the skillsets/strengths of those on your team, and your firm’s expertise and differentiation. Spend the time to define those and then create a strategy to deliver them. If you can’t come up with anything concrete, then doing Platform isn’t for you, and that’s OK!

2. Don’t try to do too much. It’s better to do one or two Platform efforts well and consistently hit them out of the park. Trying to do everything at once or taking on more than you can effectively manage leads to sloppy execution and mediocrity, which definitely doesn’t slap with founders (and certainly doesn’t help your brand/reputation).

5 // Tell us about Let’s Talk Ops.

Let’s Talk Ops (LTO) is a community of first-class operators powering some of the most successful venture capital firms in the world from behind the scenes. LTO was built for those in today’s more nascent and non-traditional venture capital roles, such as Director of Operations, Head of Platform, Chief of Staff, Investor Relations, Marketing Director, Portfolio Services, Community Manager, etc. While our job titles and backgrounds may differ, these individuals are integral to healthy and high-functioning funds. They also act as critical decision-makers when selecting and implementing the third-party service providers, resources, and tools that support their funds and the companies they invest in. LTO is rooted in four core values:

1. Hive mind power – The community leverages membership mindshare, intel, resources, contacts, and on-the-job experience to nurture the funds we support more effectively. 

2. Mutual respect & confidentiality – LTO follows a strict code of conduct around confidentiality. The group was designed to be a place where members can share their struggles, disclose embarrassing moments, and discuss failures without fear of gossip or backlash.

3. Network – Membership in the group provides a unique and rich opportunity to build meaningful relationships in the community and helps members feel less alone inside their funds.

4. Real talk – The community has an honest, open dialogue about the challenges we’re all facing and leverages collective wisdom for meaningful solutions and best practices to shape the next chapter of venture capital.

If you’re interested in joining us, we’d love to have you!

6 // What inspired you to start Let's Talk Ops?

Truth be told, I started LTO by accident. My original intent was to pull together a small group text/wine club of peers in the industry who were tackling similar challenges to mine so we could have a little network of support. That original collective quickly snowballed and became what LTO is today. Shout out to Dan Strickland, my 2013-2017 counterpart when he was at Bloomberg Beta, for helping come up with the idea and pushing me to start it, as well as Hillary Tyree, who championed and supported LTO in the early days when she was on the emerging manager team at SVB.

7 // What is your advice to Platform job seekers?

Getting into VC isn’t easy. Most of these roles never make it to the open market or are sourced and filled by a fund’s community at large. To beat the system, you must invest time building your network and finding ways to leverage it effectively. You also have to research the source points where VC jobs are most commonly shared (such as this fantastic newsletter!), get to know the recruiters who have strong VC relationships, and put in the work to learn about the role. You can specialize in a particular facet of the Platform role (talent, marketing, biz dev/partnerships, customer networks, etc.). You can also earn your stripes on the startup side and come to the table with real-world experience of what it takes to help companies succeed, increasing your value in the eyes of potential VCs.

Protip: Most VCs run a horrible hiring process. It’s sad, but true. If you’re lucky enough to get interviewed, mentally prepare yourself for slow response times, pivots in the job description/role midstream, and general chaos throughout the experience. In short, VCs may be great at what they do (investing) but not so great when it comes to people ops and HR. Expect to proactively follow up more than what feels normal/standard, don’t give up even when it feels like you’re being ghosted, and practice patience (especially if it feels right and you really like the people you met while interviewing).

Reading & Learning 🗞️

Melody Hahm , Community & Platform at Harlem Capital shares her experience on the Play Brydge podcast .

Are you hiring? 💼

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