Founding Chief of Staff

Stealth Startup; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity: 1-3%

Job summary

Stealth Startup in San Francisco is seeking a high-velocity operator to join as a founding team member, reporting to the CEO, owning execution across product, operations, fundraising, partnerships, and go‑to‑market.

This rare early-stage role offers substantial equity (1–3%) and a base salary up to $150k, with compensation contingent on pre‑seed funding. The candidate must thrive in ambiguity, move quickly, and build scalable processes while shaping the company's path to category leadership.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of high-performance experience in startups, consulting, investing, operations, product, strategy, marketing or another demanding environment.
• Proven ability to independently lead complex, cross-functional initiatives.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to rapidly learn unfamiliar domains and produce high-quality work.
• Excellent judgment, discretion, and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ownership mentality and bias toward action.
• High EQ and the ability to work effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong proficiency with AI tools for research, analysis, writing, and operational execution.
• Ability to thrive in a hybrid, collaborative, and entrepreneurial environment.

Responsibilities

• Translate company goals into clear priorities, owners, and execution plans.
• Drive critical cross-functional initiatives from idea through completion.
• Establish operating rhythms, dashboards, documentation, and accountability.
• Drive fundraising strategy, investor outreach, diligence, and updates.
• Manage recruiting pipelines, candidate coordination, and onboarding.
• Develop partnerships with clubs, leagues, federations, and other stakeholders.
• Support customer discovery, go-to-market planning, and early sales.
• Research markets, competitors, vendors, and strategic opportunities.
• Prepare decision briefs, presentations, financial analyses, and operating plans.
• Identify bottlenecks and step directly into whatever work is needed.
• Help build a high-performance, AI-native operating culture.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication excellence

Analytical mindset

Ownership mindset

AI tool proficiency

High adaptability

Sports/tech interest

Education

Master's degree or equivalent

Tools

AI tools

CRM systems

Job description

Employment Type: Full-Time

Compensation: 1–3% equity; up to $150k base (once funded)

Our Mission

We’re building the operating system and social layer for modern sports communities to modernize how clubs, leagues, tournaments, players, and fans operate and connect. Our multi-tenant business SaaS and consumer social platform brings together sports management, community engagement, player experiences, and business operations across web, mobile, and agentic experiences.

The company is early-stage, actively pursuing pre‑seed funding, and turning an existing product foundation into a production‑ready platform for go‑to‑market.

This is a high‑impact, high‑equity founding role—not a traditional administrative Chief of Staff position but a rolling up your sleeves and grinding daily pathway to COO. You’ll be one of the first employees, working directly with the CEO to turn company priorities into execution across product, operations, recruiting, fundraising, partnerships, and go‑to‑market.

You’ll operate as an extension of the founder: identifying what matters most, creating structure where needed, driving initiatives across the finish line, and ensuring the company moves with urgency and focus.

If you’re a high‑velocity operator who wants significant ownership, is willing to work with exceptional intensity, and wants to help build a serious company into a category leader, we’d love to connect.

What You’ll Work On

You’ll work closely with the CEO and founding team across the full company‑building lifecycle to:

• Translate company goals into clear priorities, owners, and execution plans
• Drive critical cross‑functional initiatives from idea through completion
• Establish operating rhythms, dashboards, documentation, and accountability
• Drive fundraising strategy, investor outreach, diligence, and updates
• Manage recruiting pipelines, candidate coordination, and onboarding
• Develop partnerships with clubs, leagues, federations, and other stakeholders
• Support customer discovery, go‑to‑market planning, and early sales
• Research markets, competitors, vendors, and strategic opportunities
• Prepare decision briefs, presentations, financial analyses, and operating plans
• Identify bottlenecks and step directly into whatever work is needed
• Help build a high‑performance, AI‑native operating culture
• …and more

Who This is For

This role is for a hardcore operator, expert generalist, and entrepreneurial 10x AI‑native builder—someone who can move across strategy, operations, recruiting, finance, partnerships, marketing, executive assistance, and execution with little direction.

You must be willing to take extreme ownership of your role and work intensely to bring something ambitious to life. This is an early‑stage startup role, not a conventional 9-to‑5 Chief of Staff position. The right person is comfortable with long hours, high ambiguity, fast iteration, imperfect information, and the grind of building a real product and company.

You should be comfortable with:

• Turning ambiguous objectives into concrete plans and deliverables
• Moving fluidly between strategic thinking and hands‑on execution
• Owning important projects independently from start to finish
• Making sound decisions with incomplete information
• Building lightweight systems that improve speed and accountability
• Communicating clearly with engineers, customers, candidates, and investors
• Using AI tools aggressively to multiply research, analysis, and execution
• Giving and receiving direct feedback with low ego
• Working with urgency without sacrificing judgment or attention to detail
• Traveling when needed on short notice

Compensation

This role is targeted at 1–3% equity with base salary up to $150k.*

Negotiable for the right candidate. Equity will reflect the early‑stage nature and importance of the role, matched with your experience, capabilities, and expected scope of ownership. Benefits will be considered after subsequent funding rounds.

*IMPORTANT: Base salary only begins upon your successful ability to raise pre‑seed funding in collaboration with the CEO.*

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of high‑performance experience in startups, consulting, investing, operations, product, strategy, marketing or another demanding environment
• Proven ability to independently lead complex, cross‑functional initiatives
• Exceptional written and verbal communication
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem‑solving skills
• Ability to rapidly learn unfamiliar domains and produce high‑quality work
• Excellent judgment, discretion, and attention to detail
• Demonstrated ownership mentality and bias toward action
• High EQ and the ability to work effectively with technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Strong proficiency with AI tools for research, analysis, writing, and operational execution
• Ability to thrive in a hybrid, collaborative, and entrepreneurial environment
• Passion for sports, technology, startups, or building communities
• Able to travel when needed on short notice

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as a Chief of Staff, founder, early‑stage operator, product manager, or management consultant
• Experience helping build or scale a venture‑backed startup
• Familiarity with fundraising, investor relations, or financial modeling
• Experience with recruiting, partnerships, business development, or go‑to‑market
• Working knowledge of SaaS, consumer products, marketplaces, or social platforms
• Experience in sports technology, community platforms, or recreation businesses
• Master's degree or equivalent practical experience