First Round is a venture capital firm that works with founders exclusively at the earliest stages of company building, often when all they have is an “imagine if.” We fill in where we can until the team is filled out, tackling crucial early hiring and equipping those who are great at building product with the skills to sell it, too. By getting the foundational firsts right, we increase the odds of finding extreme product-market fit. Our founders’ “imagine ifs” have turned into companies like Notion, Roblox, Uber, and Square.
We’re looking to add a Chief of Staff to our team who will work directly with Partner Liz Wessel as her trusted right hand in person in San Francisco.
Chiefs of Staff at First Round supercharge our investment team by creating and managing processes behind-the-scenes that deliver world-class services and experiences to entrepreneurs. They engage across all functions of First Round, including reviewing new investment opportunities, special projects, partner branding/marketing, portfolio engagement, and management of administrative staff. This position is a balance between strategy and sharp execution.
Your Responsibilities Will Include:
Managing and tracking new investment opportunities
Managing and tracking relationships and communication within the First Round community and partner networks
Conducting research and investment diligence
Initiating and leading special projects (building internal products and programs, research deep dives, etc.)
Drafting, managing, editing and processing all kinds of communication (including emails)
Managing partner projects and events
This position is not:
A 9-5 job. We work when founders need us to work with/for them – which often means late nights and weekends.
An investing role. You will not be investing, but you will be joining most pitches that your partner is leading/on.
For people who have investing experience at another VC firm. We’re looking for people who have no VC experience.
A partner-track role. Instead, it is an ideal opportunity to get involved with helping incredible founders and to learn from the best of the best.
Expected to source companies or to be directly entrepreneur-facing. Rather, you will work with Liz to help review, analyze and prioritize existing deal flow and support our portfolio in a mostly behind-the-scenes way.
This is a unique opportunity in which individuals from many backgrounds could excel. Here are just a few examples of profiles we think could be great:
An operations guru with startup experience who thrives keeping the trains running on time with little oversight.
An aspiring entrepreneur who wants a rare window into the VC and fundraising side of the business.
A business generalist with a passion for technology and a penchant for learning new things fast.
A software engineer who wants to move into the business or operations side of things
You Might Be a Great Fit If:
You’re fascinated by technology and how today’s entrepreneurs are shaping the future. You don’t necessarily need deep knowledge of the venture capital industry, but you should be excited about the field and eager to learn the business quickly.
You’re curious and intuitive — a creative and unconventional thinker, yet also highly analytical and logical. You're a strong writer and pride yourself on thoughtful, succinct and eloquent communication. You know the right questions to ask, as well as when to listen and learn. You have the polish and presence to regularly interact with seasoned CEOs, founders and entrepreneurs.
You are extremely detail-oriented, run a tight ship, and want to create an A+ experience for those you work with. Nothing is too small and you love to go above and beyond what others expect of you. You resonate with the quote “Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.”
Most importantly, you are a fast learner and laser focused on execution with the drive to get things done. You’re deeply organized, detail oriented and reliable above all else.
You have at least 3-5 years of full-time working experience.
Our Values
At First Round, we value resourcefulness, team-play, excellence and hustle. To give you a sense of what our team is all about, check out our values that guide our work:
Try harder for founders. They’re our customers — LPs are our shareholders. Going above and beyond for our founders is what we do. We strive to be a founder's most valuable investor. We respond to their emails in hours, not days. We build candidate pipelines, unprompted. We arrange meal deliveries when they become a new parent. Simply put, we go above and beyond to earn that right to be their first call every time there’s a bump in the road.
Give your unvarnished opinions and unwavering support. We strive to be kind, not nice. One of the most (counterintuitively) compassionate things you can do is to offer your unvarnished opinion — along with your unwavering support. That willingness to risk a fleeting moment of discomfort in exchange for someone else’s growth is long-term kindness.
Treat the little things like big things. Everything can always be made better. We’re all about the carefully crafted, the nitty-gritty, and the bespoke. Whether it’s hand cutting each nameplate, or debating the optimal shape of the dinner table, no detail is too small to sweat.
Make speed a habit. Whatever you’re building, remember that now is better than two weeks from now. We’re fans of starting small and iterating quickly. No matter what we’re launching, you’ll likely hear this question in a meeting: “How soon can we get something out there?”
Invent and wander. Never stop experimenting. The best ideas are born out of experimentation. Our flagship programs have always come from our penchant for going out on a limb and approaching problems with a different perspective.
Build wider doorways and longer tables. We're in the business of backing people and betting on their ideas — no matter where they come from. While talent is evenly distributed, opportunity is not. First Round is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workspace and we encourage people from underrepresented groups to apply!