Role Summary
A seed-funded startup targeting the online fashion shopping/commerce space with a category defining offering is looking for a chief of staff to work closely with its founder in setting up/launching the business and to quickly get it to series A scale. As part of the role, the COS is expected to work on all non-engineering aspects of the business including on the next fundraise and then gradually move to a more well-defined leadership role in the organization.
The founder is a semi-successful entrepreneur having built, scaled and sold his first startup in the fintech space in India and is now looking to set up this venture in USA. Primarily being a big-picture and idea/product guy with an innate understanding of business/consumer pulse and strategic aspects, the founder needs a partner who is a force multiplier, someone who is not only hands-on, operations person and a maverick in tactical execution but can also add value on strategic aspects with unique insights and nuances.
From an applicant’s perspective, this could turn out to be their most exciting career move ever with an opportunity to be part of an early stage tech venture in a space with massive opportunity. This role will provide the applicant with a ring-side view of what actually transpires in an early stage startup and essentially be the person responsible for transforming the founder’s vision into a rapidly scaling venture. In summary, this is the closest to starting out on your own with proportionate degree of freedom, decision-making and financial upside.
Ideal candidate’s profile
Super-smart, highly motivated individual with a keen understanding and hands-on experience of the fashion/fashion tech/fashion commerce space in the US market.
He or she will possess outstanding strategic thinking, communication, and organizational skills, and will have a proven record of excellence operating independently and within a high performing team environment.
Exceptional execution abilities particularly in ambiguous and undefined scenarios backed by hard work and a “never give up and figure a way out” mindset.
An extrovert by nature, someone who has a keen interest and ability to connect with people and establish relationships and is demonstrated by the person's connects in the industry and outside.
A consummate problem solver with an exceptional attention to detail and an ability to break a large problem into byte sized, prioritised execution steps.
Someone with an amazing ability to think and articulate both in a verbal and written communication style, with a specific ability to churn out documents/decks that are impactful.
A keen observer & listener and someone who has an innate ability to plan and carry out primary and secondary market research and consume vast amounts of information to finally articulate their point of view in a crisp and precise manner.
Individuals with unconventional educational backgrounds and career paths that includes stints with relevant startups in impactful roles and some experience of raising funds from investors would be a good fit.