Founder & CEO

Full-time / Greater Seattle Area / Hybrid

Who are we?

It’s never been harder to sell software. Buyer behaviors are changing rapidly; now, more than ever, they are less inclined to engage with human sellers and spend more time researching before entering the sales cycle. As a result of this trend, self-education is replacing direct sales interactions, which leaves B2B sellers struggling to capitalize on leads.

Madrona Venture Labs (MVL) is incubating a new GenAI-oriented startup to address this problem. Unlike tools to help marketers create demos and content, this solution brings real-time, automated demos directly to customer websites. The Founder-in-Residence/CEO position with our team at MVL is designed to match successful entrepreneurs with business ideas that have the potential to be industry-changing, $1B+ opportunities. We now have an opening for a visionary leader to help us launch this new company.

Who are you?

As the CEO & Founder of the New Company, you will lead and launch a startup to disrupt the traditional sales cycle. In this role, you will leverage your experience, market research performed by the team at MVL, and in-house expertise to create the next-generation tool for B2B sellers and buyers. The ideal candidate will have a strong marketing, product management, or development background and superb analytical and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Leadership & Vision: Develop and communicate a compelling vision for the New Company. Lead the team with inspiration and direction, fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration.
  
• Strategic Planning: Work closely with the leadership group to refine and execute the go-to-market strategy. Drive the development and execution of business plans, ensuring alignment with company goals.
  
• Team Building & Management: Recruit, lead, and mentor a high-performing, cross-functional team. Foster a positive and inclusive work environment, encouraging creativity and initiative.
  
• Product Development & Launch: Collaborate with the technical team to understand engineering workflows, ensuring a deep comprehension of the technology behind the product. Translate technical concepts into strategic business objectives and vice versa.
  
• Raising Capital & Managing Finances: Lead fundraising initiatives to secure capital for the organization's operations, expansions, or strategic projects. Develop and execute comprehensive financial strategies aligned with the company's business objectives.
  
• Investor Relations: Act as the primary point of contact for investors, communicating the company's financial performance, strategy, and critical developments. Develop and deliver compelling presentations to potential investors.
  
• Market Analysis & Customer Engagement: Conduct market research to identify trends, opportunities, and potential challenges. Engage with customers to understand their needs, gather feedback, and iterate on the product accordingly.
  

Qualifications

• A tech-savvy entrepreneur who can articulate a compelling vision for the company's future to external stakeholders, such as investors, board members, and customers, as well as internal team members.
  
• Deep domain expertise. Capable of deep buyer empathy and working effectively with B2B sellers to help solve their problems.
  
• An effective communicator skilled at distilling complex concepts into easily digestible insights, especially for non-technical audiences, such as customers, coworkers, and investors.
  
• Strong background in at least one of the following positions: Marketing leadership at B2B SaaS companies with medium-to-high product complexity; or Product leadership at B2B companies designing tools for marketing or sales users.
  
• Has led and recruited at least small- to medium-sized, high-performing teams (10+ members), preferably with multifunctional skills, and is excited about mentorship, scaling, and management. Experience building organizations from scratch is preferred but not required.
  
• Entrepreneurial acumen. Comfortable in ambiguous situations and excited about early-stage development and diverse responsibilities.
  
• Embracing GenAI technologies, including models, frameworks, prompt systems, and agents, is preferred but not required.
  
• Located in or willing to move to the Seattle area is preferred but not required.
  

Please visit our website to learn more about Madrona Venture Labs. To apply, please send your resume or CV and cover letter to opportunities@madronavl.com.

Don’t meet every requirement listed above? That's okay. If you’re excited about this role and our mission but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with every qualification listed here, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles within the broader MVL portfolio.

We are an equal opportunity employer and highly value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.