H/L seeks an enthusiastic, innovative, dedicated, and mature Director of Platform to join their family. They are looking for a professional with prior experience in venture capital, and a passion for entrepreneurship, social impact, and working with early-stage companies. H/L is building a new model for venture, and their Director of Platform will be a crucial part of their strategy and a core member of a compact, dynamic team, based in New York City. 

As a crucial point of clarity, at H/L, there is no difference between Platform and Investment professionals. Their investment decisions rely first and foremost on whether their platform is relevant to the prospective portfolio company. The Director of Platform will be engaged in investment decisions as a key member of the team.

Who They’re Looking For

The ideal candidate will demonstrate a number of important characteristics, including:

• Experienced. Prior relevant experience is a requirement, and prior venture capital experience (at a firm or a venture-backed start-up, or both) is a strong benefit. Experience level of 5-10 years is preferred.
• Committed. Passion for positive social impact; a deep sense of integrity and exceptional judgment.
• Professional. Exhibits a high degree of professionalism and discretion, including situation-appropriate work and communication style.
• Hard-Working. Possessing a strong work ethic, responsive, and detailed. Stays until the job is done.
• Positive. Helpful can-do attitude as a mature team player; strong ability to build and curate relationships and trust; do-any-job attitude.
• Proactive. Confident, with the ability to work flexibly and autonomously in an open-ended, self-directed work culture, especially given H/L’s compact core team and relatively unstructured office environment.
• Critical Thinker. Creative, intellectually curious, analytical, and truly engaged by difficult questions and new models.
• Organized. Advanced organization and multitasking skills, allowing effective prioritization and meeting deadlines without fail.
• Communicative. Possessing strong communication skills (written, verbal, and interpersonal), especially as the Director of Platform will often be talking to entrepreneurs and other stakeholders on behalf of the firm.
• Technically-Adept. Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, other technical and product-related skills beneficial.
• Academically Qualified. Excellent academic performance; at least a Bachelor’s Degree.

What You’ll Do

• Portfolio Company Engagement. H/L deploys a virtually unique methodology of Daily Active Engagement with each of their portfolio companies. This functionally means that an H/L staff member, Advisor, Venture Partner, or service provider assists each founder virtually every day. The Director of Platform will help to lead this process. This will require the Director of Platform to manage many relationships simultaneously, be extremely responsive, be highly collaborative with the rest of their portfolio team, and build deep trusting relationships with their portfolio company founders. Key areas of value they provide include:
  • Founder Wellbeing. Working with founders to be responsive to their needs and ensure that they are as supported as possible by H/L, including building a strong working relationship together.
  • Communications. A key common area of need among their portfolio companies is communications/marketing/branding; H/L has numerous resources to assist in these areas. The Director of Platform will quarterback theses efforts.
  • Talent/Team. Talent/team management is another universal area of need for their founders, including culture and HR best practices, recruiting, and people operations. The Director of Platform will help marshal their efforts in these areas as well. Selecting and managing tools that allow for these priorities to work effectively.
  • Resources. The Director of Platform will work with the H/L staff to support their founders in accessing resources needed for growth, including strategy/structure advice, co-investment, etc.
  • H/L Partner Network. The Director of Platform will work with key staff members to curate their network of experts and service providers, as well as to drive the plans for development of new offerings and partnerships on their platform.

• Curating Key Communities. As a leading venture studio, H/L must create and maintain an ecosystem that includes existing and prospective founders, portfolio company teams, existing and potential investors, team members (including staff, Advisors, and Venture Partners), and service providers. It is the effective interaction of these stakeholders that makes their firm successful. Key tasks include:
  • Team. Working with H/L’s various sub-groups, including staff, Advisors, and Venture Partners, to build transparency and engagement, and ensure they are leveraging these team members effectively.
  • Network. Working to map and fully utilize H/L’s very significant network of relationships, including business development contacts, service providers, influencers, and co-investors.
  • Technology. Selecting and managing tools that allow for these priorities to work effectively.

• Enhancing H/L’s Visibility. The Director of Platform will oversee the public profile of H/L and its portfolio, including as follows:
  • Media Presence. The Director of Platform will work with H/L’s Public Relations Firm and team to enhance their presence in various forms of media.
  • Events. The Director of Platform will collaborate with their team to oversee their events program, including their Bi-Monthly Leaders in Venture Dinners, their Bi-Monthly Founders Nights, their Founders Summit, and their Annual Meeting.
  • Content Creation. The Director of Platform will seek opportunities to create content around H/L’s activities, including working with team members and founders on social media, podcasts, short videos, and the like. This includes overseeing H/L’s web presence.

• Investment Involvement. As mentioned above, at H/L the platform is the key differentiator of their investment thesis. With that in mind, the Director of Platform will be engaged in sourcing and screening companies, as appropriate, and will take part in Investment Committee discussions as a key member of the team. The Director of Platform’s feedback will be vital to understanding whether H/L should proceed in taking a prospective portfolio company into their venture studio and further investment decisions as well.