What We’re Looking For:
Sidebench is a team of disruptive technologists and creative innovators that are proud to serve as an award-winning strategic partner to forward-thinking organizations around the world. We design first-in-kind solutions and regularly challenge the status quo of our clients’ industries. On the front lines, we’re looking to add a Venture Strategist who thrives in new situations and can shape opportunities using radical, lateral thinking.

The ideal candidate is a strong collaborator with a toolbelt full of strategy consulting practices & methodologies. They’re an incremental thinker who can think critically about our clients’ businesses and our business to help build client delivery frameworks that co-invent the future of our niche innovation consulting space. They will collaborate with our Product Managers and Designers on product strategy for enterprise & startup clients and will help define our business strategy.

Above all, we’re seeking someone who can research, draw insights, and craft a story and business cases that influence our client’s perspective and decision-making to deliver the most value to their organization.

This role will begin by employing a Venture Strategist on a part-time, contractual basis with the opportunity for full-time employment based on fit and need.

Responsibilities:

Our Venture Strategist will influence many of our internal practices, while also serving as a trusted advisor to our clients. Their responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Instinctually synthesize data and findings to paint a profitable business and/or product strategy narrative for both the client and Sidebench
• Research, analyze, and explore market opportunities and trends within our industry
• Utilize, modify, and create strategy consulting frameworks based off of existing ones (i.e. SWOT, Porter’s 5, 4P’s, 3C’s, business model canvas, etc.) and the best practices of industry leaders to enable the team to both deliver unique value to our clients and assess opportunities for Sidebench
• Properly evaluate startup companies to assess business and technical characteristics that align with our expertise and priorities
• Act as a subject matter expert (internal and client-facing) who has a deep understanding of opportunities and risks across both enterprise and startup domains
• Implement and maintain consistent research practices while designing common deliverables from those research practices
• Produce regular reports that analyze and evaluate the current state of various industries and verticals to support our business development strategy
• Create and regularly update core Sidebench frameworks that influence how we deliver more value to our clients and how we uniquely position ourselves in the market
• Act as a trusted advisor to our clients and internal leadership and continue to grow our relationships and capabilities while maintaining a high level of quality and client satisfaction in everything we deliver

Qualifications:

Beyond having an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for thought leadership, our ideal candidate will have:

• 4+ years in a client-facing strategy and analysis role at a consultancy or in an adjacent work environment
• The ability to juggle multiple projects in a rapidly changing environment while staying meticulously organized
• Ability to provide a strong and lasting structure to their responsibilities and role amidst change and chaos
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written
• Experience in a client-facing role where you’ve worked directly with corporate executives and startup leadership clients
• Ability to conduct meaningful research and package and present insights in a compelling and easily digestible format
• Experience in a role with high exposure to key product strategy decisions and a strong intuition for human-centered decision making
• Visual literacy, meaning that you’re able to instantly recognize good product design and visually compelling formats of presentation for client deliverables
• A solid grasp of business fundamentals, and an ability to articulate the value of a service and product in alignment with clients’ businesses
• A basic understanding of the product lifecycle including strategy, design, development, and launch
• Experience and interest in tech, whether by trade or by hobby
• Immaculate task management skills with a passion for proactivity and organization

Benefits & Perks

• Our dress code is casual and we play music throughout the office (we DJ by committee)
• Our Culture Club celebrates new hires, birthdays, Sidebench anniversaries, and holidays
• We have a monthly happy hour, one big company event per quarter, and an annual party to celebrate our anniversary
• We are walking distance from downtown Culver City and offer free office parking
• We have a modern, open-air office space that encourages collaboration while also providing private space free from distraction
• Our kitchen is stocked with free coffee, tea, beer, wine, fresh fruit and plenty of snacks