Sector Director (Accelerator Squad Lead)
Milan
Factory – Operations /
Full-time /
Hybrid
Founders Factory builds and funds startups together with exceptional entrepreneurs and the world's leading companies. Headquartered in London, Founders Factory backs visionary founders with capital, dedicated support from a team of 70+ operators, and unrivalled access to a coalition of industry leading corporate partners. Since 2015, our 300 portfolio companies have raised $900mm follow-on funding from leading investors in four continents.
We’ve recently launched a new Venture Studio and Accelerator in partnership with Mediobanca, Italy's leading investment bank, and Fastweb, Italy's fastest growing telecommunications company. Based in Milan, we're building and investing in over 50 startups across Fintech, Wealth, AI, Cyber, Telco, Energy & Health.
We're looking for an experienced operator to run our Milan based Accelerator program, making investments and leading program delivery to support our startup portfolio. This is a unique opportunity to fund and support category-defining startups with Founders Factory’s experienced team.
What you'll do:
You will be responsible for making 10 investments a year and delivering a 6 month operational program for each startup. You will be responsible for managing a squad of Founders Factory operators to help our portfolio companies develop their technology, chart a path to find product-market fit and scale to Series A.
You will need to have extensive experience investing in early stage companies and be able to give entrepreneurs in the program strong strategic advice. A big part of this role will be making investment decisions and ensuring the portfolio has outstanding founders building novel technologies.
As the Sector Director, you will set the strategic direction and investment profile within this vertical and have overall ownership and accountability to ensure the exceptional delivery of our program. For the right person, this is an incredible opportunity to deliver the best possible experience for founders and to work closely with our partners.
As our Sector Director, you will:
- Select and close investments in 10 startups a year for the program, including management of the Investment Committee process
- Manage a bespoke accelerator program for each startup
- Organize and lead the Founders Factory accelerator squads to drive successful outcomes for the portfolio companies
- Manage our investors, ensuring access to unfair advantage for the portfolio companies
- Lead Founders Factory’s ongoing engagement with investors to align on strategic investment themes
Requirements:
- Previous experience as a founder, early stage investor and/or experience within in high growth startups in digital/tech businesses
- 5+ years of experience in a leadership capacity within your own startup or in a high growth company
- Investment experience in pre-seed and seed startups
- Speaking Italian or having lived in Italy previously is required
- Ability to empathize, listen and communicate effectively with senior individuals in large corporates
Qualities you need to be successful in this role:
- Deals comfortably with the uncertainty of change and complex problems, effectively handles risk and can make a decision with incomplete information
- Operates effectively, is calm under pressure and productive with multiple plates spinning or when the future is unclear
- Have a strong bias for action and persists in accomplishing objectives despite setbacks
- Has an approach to management that involves trusting other people, removing roadblocks
- Able to understand the perspective of others and evaluate their own thinking whilst looking for feedback and continuously improve
- Ability to work across geographies, time zones and multi-functional teams
- Has an ability to connect, empathize and collaborate with top tier founder talent
Why work with us:
We are guided by a set of core values that shape the way that we think and act. We hold ourselves accountable to these, and measure ourselves against them. We are looking for candidates that share these principles and can help Founders Factory to thrive:
- Think big, act small, move fast
- Value momentum over perfection
- Embrace uncertainty and remain decisive
- Suggest solutions, not problems.
- Prioritize diversity to strengthen our collective intelligence
- Be polite, generous and show empathy to others, always
Benefits:
Hybrid environment: flexible working in a fast paced environment with some travel to London
Remote working Opportunities: Up to 5 weeks working abroad allowance each year
Health and Wellness: Comprehensive health insurance, quarterly mental health days
Growth: Work with and meet exceptional talent. Learn faster than you ever have before. Access our large network of investors
Perks: Monthly team events, discounts across our entire portfolio
Founders Factory is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where people can authentically be themselves and are free to challenge, take risks and think creatively. We recruit, develop, compensate and promote our team members based on merit. We know how important it is not only to include, but to actively seek out diversity of thought and experiences.
