- Build marketplace 0→1
- Cold-start, vendors to Amazon/Walmart
- In-app conversion + take-rate
- Uber-GM energy, self-directed
This is the Founding GM for Pathfinder's marketplace — and the founders are clear that the marketplace is the actual core business; the card is just the wedge they're willing to break even on to drive marketplace revenue (Visa pays ~2% of every card transaction today). It's a greenfield 0-to-1 role: comfortable in a P&L, strong intuition for the cold-start problem and SMB distribution, building vendor relationships from small local education providers all the way up to Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Think Uber GMs dropping into new cities to build them up. Day to day spans a product/ops mix — how to position things in the app so parents actually purchase, and how to structure take-rate/commission with vendors to start adding that revenue.
This role is intense — high energy, burning the evening candlelight — and needs an intense, confident, charismatic personality comfortable talking with vendors. The founders want depth over breadth on vendor relationships (fewer vendors with strong sponsored sessions beats many with leaflets), and they screen hard on self-directed experimentation: how many mini-experiments has this person run themselves, unprompted. If the résumé reads like a list of manager-assigned projects, pass. And — they get on the plane.
What You'll Own
- The marketplace 0-to-1 — the actual core business — including the cold-start problem
- Vendor relationships from small local education providers up to Amazon/Walmart/Target (depth over breadth)
- In-app merchandising — positioning offerings so parents purchase, influencing the purchase decision
- Take-rate / commission structuring with vendors to build the revenue line
- Getting on planes — Arizona (and beyond) frequently
Requirements
- Greenfield 0-to-1 operator; comfortable in a P&L and the numbers
- Strong cold-start and SMB-distribution intuition; Uber/Lyft-GM "launch a city" energy
- Vendor-facing confidence and charisma; depth-over-breadth on relationships
- Product/ops blend — thinks about in-app conversion and commercial terms
Execution and Ownership
- Intense, high-energy, ready to burn the evening candlelight
- Self-directed experimenter — runs mini-experiments unprompted (the core filter)
- High agency, autonomous, mission-driven; AI-native, not AI-dependent
Background
- Strongest archetype: former founders (especially consumer-product builders); Stanford GSB/GSE with consumer-product experience; Uber/Lyft alumni; ex-D1 athletes or frat presidents welcome
- University not required if something impressive is present
Location
- SF preferred (travels to Arizona frequently); Arizona-based OK if exceptional
Who Will Thrive Here
- A founder-type GM who wants to own the actual core business from zero and loves the cold-start grind
- Charismatic vendor-builder who goes deep on the few relationships that matter
- Self-directed experimenter, intense, mission-driven, on a plane most weeks
- Excited to build the marketplace that becomes a new education system