As our Head of Ecosystem, you’ll connect with founders and senior leaders who are interested in building the next generation of pillar companies in Boston.
Apply Here
Early-stage investing is all about people. What sounds like a promising idea on Day 0 could look totally different on Day 365. Startups are full of twists and turns; it’s all about finding a team of people who have the capacity to blow through walls and navigate change. As our Head of Ecosystem, you’ll help Pillar identify promising future-founders and senior leaders interested in building and joining the next generation of pillar companies in Boston.
Who We Are
Pillar is the first capital in for founders building the next-generation of pillar companies in Boston. We’re proud investors in companies like PillPack, Desktop Metal, Algorand, Hometap, Kuebix, Asimov, and Soofa.
We started Pillar with the belief that there has to be a better way for founders and investors to align. We began with a simple hypothesis — that if we treat founders the way we would want to be treated, that good things will happen. That if we align every incentive, every action, and decision to realize mutual benefit, we will engender trust, and from that, achieve profound results. It’s that simple.
Our firm was co-founded by Jamie Goldstein, who spent 18 years at North Bridge Venture Partners, and 17 world-class CEOs and executives from top Boston companies like Wayfair, TripAdvisor, DraftKings and Rapid7. All are investors in our firm, but are also owners, bringing their insight and experience to our portfolio companies as advisors, mentors, board members and customers. Jamie is joined by Russ Wilcox (E Ink, Transatomic Power, Piper Therapeutics) and Sarah Hodges (Pluralsight, RunKeeper, Intelligent.ly) in managing the fund, and by team members, Parker McKee and Katie Mulligan. Collectively, we have over 50 years’ experience building and scaling companies.
Who You Are
- You’re a great listener. Whether you’re a former founder or senior leader yourself, in a business development role inside a company, or have an investing background, what motivates you is the chance to meet new people and learn what they’re all about. When you meet someone new, you soak up their story, asking the right questions to understand what they know, what motivates them, and which decisions they’ve made that have shaped their path in life.
- You have a great read on people. You have a keen ability to identify promising founders and senior leaders who have the capacity to blow through walls and create momentum, sweeping people into their mission along the way. It doesn’t take you long to understand someone’s strengths and what makes them unique, regardless of whether you have first-hand experience in their industries or areas of expertise.
- You have a diverse network. Each person on our team brings a unique set of relationships to our firm and our portfolio; together we’re stronger than we could ever be alone. You have a complementary network that helps us access, connect with, and learn from an interesting new group of people.
- You’re a connector. You enjoy meeting new people and building a community, but more importantly, thrive on putting people together who mutually benefit from shared skills, ideas, and perspectives.
- You’re an operational wiz. You thrive on creating systems to help you organize knowledge and relationships, helping to connect the dots between people and ideas.
Your Responsibilities
- More than just a talent leader, you’ll work closely with our investing team to understand opportunities to create and grow new companies by connecting with the right senior leadership.
- Collaborate with our portfolio companies to understand their senior hiring needs, identifying key executives who can help each company evolve and scale through the next stage of growth. Become a go-to resource for our founders.
- Connect with CEOs and senior leaders in Boston before they seek new companies and roles. Brainstorm with each individual, understanding how they want to make an impact, learn and grow in their next role, matching them with opportunities inside our portfolio.
- Be purposeful about creating value for the broader Pillar community by connecting people with relevant, experts, and experiences to help resources who can provide useful insight. Connect the dots between the people in your network, and watch the sparks fly.
- Collaborate with other members of our platform team to plan, host and attend events that support and grow our relationships with senior leaders in Boston.
- Become the central point of contact for senior leaders in our community, keeping a pulse one who we need, and how we can be helpful.
How to Apply
Our process starts with having candidates answer two questions by recording videos, as well as submitting two short written pieces. Apply here.
Here are the questions:
- Video 1: Why are you interested in the Head of Ecosystem role? [30 seconds]
- Video 2: Tell us about a meaningful connection you made between two people and how you were helpful?[60 seconds]
- Written 1: An email asking for a meeting with someone from the Boston tech community who you are interested in getting to know.
- Written 2: Imagine you’re trying to find a CEO to lead an agriculture company that’s created a novel new way to manage crops. How would you approach the challenge? [750 words max]
