BigCircle Ventures is looking for a venture developer to join our mission to create the next generation of cleantech ventures. The world needs innovations to reach net-zero and circularity, but a wealth of research inventions never gets used at scale. BigCircle Ventures scouts promising deeptech and turns this into successful startups that tackle the world’s climate and circularity challenges. We focus on the large, untapped pool of early-stage innovations that would otherwise stay untouched on a shelf, hidden in a university, research institute or company lab.
At BigCircle, we build our own ventures
We are an Amsterdam based ClimateTech venture builder with a growing, entrepreneurial team with deep expertise in venture building and the energy and materials transition. We are setting up our first ventures and are now ready for further growth and internationalisation. Join this exciting and pioneering growth phase to be part of founding and supporting 30 high impact ventures over the next 3-4 years.
We encourage all qualified candidates to apply and are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive team.
Your role as venture developer
As a venture developer, you collaborate with experienced venture partners and the wider BigCircle team to create and grow new ventures. Because we are a startup ourselves, you have many opportunities to build up and shape BigCircle.
Your activities include:
● Sourcing inventions (in collaboration with the venture partners) by building relationships with universities and researchers, taking part in events and doing desk based searches on patents, projects and licence offers
● Selecting promising inventions based on technical, impact and market potential via our structured process, in collaboration with your colleagues and by gathering input via desk based research and interviewing experts, investors and industry players
● Supporting the venture partner with negotiating an agreement with the university and the researcher to start a venture, followed by selecting the right team for the venture
● Onboarding the venture team, by handing over the insights you have gathered about the technology and the market, and staying available for sparring afterwards
● Coordinating the process from sourcing to onboarding for the inventions you are working on, being the spider-in-the-web for everybody involved
● As part of all this, growing your and our network and expertise, and getting involved in the many different opportunities and challenges to develop our organisation
Requirements
● You want to make a positive impact and believe in the power of technology
● You have a scientific technology degree in a relevant field, such as novel materials, complex engineering, advanced (bio)chemistry, applied physics, and (sustainable) energy sciences
● You have significant relevant working experience in a startup, entrepreneurship, industry, venture capital, or top-tier consulting, with deep knowledge of market and technology trends
● You have a positive, open, and outgoing personality. Combined with a growing network in academia/climate startups/R&D companies, you enjoy hunting for new technology opportunities.
● You are hands-on, a self-starter with a follow-through mentality, entrepreneurial and eager to learn, you combine sensibility with guts, you take ownership and thrive on collaboration, you enjoy learning and developing your own talents and nurturing the potential of your junior colleagues
● You are fluent in English (spoken and written), as we will work all over Europe and beyond. Being a native French/Italian/German speaker is a plus.
● You live in or within commuting distance from Amsterdam, allowing for regular close collaboration in our office
We strongly believe that the right personality, motivation and team-fit form the key to
having impact, so we value those over having a ‘perfect score’ on all the criteria
Benefits
● Join an energetic and fast growing team with a proven venture building approach
● Make a positive impact by boosting the world’s journey towards sustainability
● Enjoy flexible teamwork - no mandatory office hours, but we love to meet each other in our Amsterdam office and enjoy our lunch together
● Enjoy a startup style compensation package – co-own our business and future upside