CEO (3DS)

3 Day Startup - Austin, TX; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

3 Day Startup, a nonprofit based in Austin, Texas, seeks a visionary CEO to lead our mission of expanding entrepreneurship education worldwide. The role demands strategic leadership, strong fundraising, stakeholder engagement, and the ability to forge durable partnerships with universities, companies, governments, investors, and supporters to grow impact.

The CEO will shape program strategy, explore new revenue streams, and steward our resources while guiding a diverse team and board.

Qualifications

• Experience in entrepreneurship/startups leadership.
• Significant nonprofit community involvement (staff, board, donors, volunteers).

Responsibilities

• Build and guide 3DS’ vision and strategy.
• Welcome innovation at all levels of work.
• Understand and track global movements and trends.
• Gather critical data about startup success factors and market dynamics to inform work.
• Demonstrate commitment and enthusiasm for mission, vision, and work.
• Expand partnerships with nonprofits, universities, investors.
• Build revenue streams and steward resources to sustain impact.

Skills

Entrepreneurship and startups

Nonprofit involvement

Job description

Over a decade ago, a group of students at The University of Texas at Austin launched 3 Day Startup (3DS) to create a new way for universities to promote their students’ entrepreneurial concepts. Since then, more than 16,000 students in 35 countries have participated in 3DS programs, and 142 companies have been launched by our alumni, who have raised $208 million to date.

A nonprofit with an annual budget of $700K, 3DS supports 6+ staff producing more than 45 immersive hands-on entrepreneurship education programs annually. Our 8-person Board of Directors includes veterans of our program, nonprofits, and the startup environment; backgrounds that enhance their strong stewardship and leadership. We strive to make entrepreneurship accessible to students all over the world through a wide variety of programs in high schools, universities, and companies, as well as through virtual cohorts, exchange programs and our signature Global Roundup annual event.

We begin the next chapter of 3 Day Startup celebrating these successes. We are committed to our principles of innovation, intensity, and market growth as well as our values: dynamic and engaging; inclusive and equitable; research-based; technologically savvy; operationally lean and academically rigorous.

With the leadership of our next CEO, we will navigate a new set of priorities and opportunities, including:

• Expanding and updating our programming to demonstrate impact and address trends and student needs
• Growing partnerships with universities, companies, governments, investors and supporters
• Exploring new revenue streams and models to best serve budding entrepreneurs

At 3DS, the nonprofit, business, and education communities intersect and blend. Our new CEO will shape our organization’s future across disciplines as business, startup, and innovation interact in new and different ways worldwide; we expect great opportunities for entrepreneurial problem-solving as the world emerges from pandemic.

3 Day Startup is located in Austin, Texas. We are all working remotely right now, and we support a combination of working remotely and at our office downtown at Capital Factory.

Position Overview

The CEO is our chief visionary, strategist, and voice. The CEO steers and stewards the work of our talented staff and board. They ensure that our values, mission, and viability are at the forefront of all decisions. Externally, the CEO advocates for the 3DS mission, cultivates resources and collaborative partnerships, and increases our reach and impact.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Build and guide 3DS’ vision and strategy
• Practice and welcome innovation at all levels of our work
• Understand and track global movements and trends
• Gather critical data about startup success factors, market dynamics, and advances in various sectors to inform our work

Leadership

• Demonstrate commitment and enthusiasm for our mission, vision, and work
• Welcome all voices in problem-solving and organizational development,
• Encourage staff to pilot and pursue ideas that support the 3DS mission
• Model inclusion, empathy, energy, and optimism
• Inspire others to join in our work as partners, investors, and champions

Partnership and Program Development

• Expand partnerships with other nonprofits, universities, and investors
• Attract essential decision-makers and influencers to support 3DS’ work
• Explore new programs outside of our standard entrepreneurship and exchange programs
• Continuously review metrics to inform improvement of programs and demonstrate impact

Sustainability

• Build revenue streams that add value to our mission and bottom line (and sunset those that do not)
• Build donor support to provide broader access to students
• Responsibly steward 3DS’ resources of all types—including financial, data, team, and intellectual property
• Speak passionately about our work as an ambassador and assembler

Ideal Candidate

First and foremost, the ideal candidate is energized by our mission to make entrepreneurship accessible and to activate the entrepreneurial potential in students globally. We expect our next CEO to be emotionally intelligent and approachable. An ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate entrepreneurial experience, including successful development of business models and sustainable earned revenue streams. We are looking for a track record of building collaborative external partnerships and influencing decision makers.

We are on the brink of big decisions and expect our CEO to be open to innovation and able to inspire people to think, act, and lead. We seek an advocate for 3DS’ mission and vision who can identify and manage risks, connect and develop internal and external champions, and sustain an inclusive and respectful team.

Qualifications

We are looking for a leader who can demonstrate the following:

Professional Experience

• Working within entrepreneurship and startups
• Engaging in the nonprofit community in a significant way—staff, board, volunteer, donor

Functional Expertise

• Leading teams of smart, dedicated people, seeking out and incorporating ideas from across the org chart and across sectors
• Fundraising in a nonprofit context, seeking major donors and grants
• Driving Business Strategy to:
  • Build and adjust business models for changing environments, seeking sustainable solutions
  • Identify and manage risk
  • Make data-driven decisions using the most effective metrics for key activities
• Navigating new technology comfortably
• Communicating effectively across a range of audiences, engaging in productive dialogue and challenging ideas respectfully

Personal Characteristics

• Action-oriented and confident
• Approachable and optimistic
• Backbone, heart, and voice for 3DS
• Integrity
• Inspiring, motivated, and motivating

The salary range for this position is $140,000 – $160,000. We welcome candidates from a wide range of backgrounds who have the skills to fulfill this role regardless of compensation history.

Equal Opportunity Statement

3 Day Startup is an equal opportunity employer and committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. All candidates will be considered without regard to race, color, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, national origin, religion or belief, family or parental status or any other characteristic protected by law.

We look forward to learning about your interest in this role.