Founder Associate

Founder Associate - Commercial (They/She/He)
PlatformE | Porto, Portugal | Entry level | Full-time
The Role
You're the founder's right hand on revenue-generating activities. You'll shadow the CEO across business development, partnerships, sales, and marketing initiatives for PlatformE's portfolio (Enterprise Software, Shopify Plugin, and DTC Brand). This isn't admin work - you'll own projects end-to-end while learning how deals get made, brands get built, and products get sold.
Think of it as a commercial apprenticeship - you're learning the full spectrum of building and scaling businesses by doing, not observing.
What You'll Actually Do
**Commercial shadowing (60%)**:

- Join partnership calls and follow up on action items;
- Research potential customers, partners, acquisition targets;
- Prepare materials for investor/board meetings;
- Analyze sales data and performance metrics across portfolio;
- Support pitch deck creation and refinement;
- Attend strategy sessions and contribute ideas.

**Project ownership (30%)**:

- Own specific initiatives like competitor analysis for the plugin;
- Manage relationships with agencies and service providers;
- Coordinate between teams on cross-functional projects;
- Build financial models for new initiatives;
- Run customer discovery interviews for enterprise software.

**Learning & development (10%)**:

- Weekly 1:1s with founder covering decisions made that week;
- Exposure to board meetings and strategic planning;
- Access to founder's network and introductions;
- Mentorship on specific skills (negotiation, financial modeling, etc.);
Who You Are
**Experience level**:

- 0-3 years professional experience;
- Recent grad from top program OR 1-2 years in consulting/banking/tech/startups;
- Strong academic record.

**Traits we're hiring for**:

- Commercially curious - genuinely interested in how businesses make money;
- Fast learner - can context-switch between enterprise software and DTC brands;
- Proactive - sees what needs doing and does it;
- Detail-oriented - precision in analysis and execution;
- Comfortable with ambiguity - startup pace, things change weekly;
- Strong communicator - will interface with partners, agencies, potential customers.

**Nice to have**:

- Portuguese + English fluency;
- Understanding of e-commerce, SaaS, or DTC brands;
- Experience with data analysis (Excel, basic SQL, analytics tools);
- Side projects or entrepreneurial attempts.

Why This Role
**Career accelerator**: 2 years here = 5 years elsewhere in terms of learning;
**Exposure to multiple business models**: Enterprise SaaS, plugin marketplace, and direct-to-consumer all in one role;
**Founder access**: Daily interaction with someone who's built multiple ventures;
**Real autonomy**: You're trusted with actual commercial work, not coffee runs;
**Perfect for**: Someone who's done 1-2 years in consulting/banking/tech and wants to understand how businesses really work.
**We offer**:

- Hybrid working model (three days a week in our Porto office and two days remote);
- Bulletproof healthcare insurance;
- Free gym membership;
- Stock options plan;
- Learning budget for courses/conferences;
- Fast track to operator roles if you perform;
- Unrestricted access to founder for learning;
- Entry-level salary: €19,000/year

**Exit opportunities after 2 years**:

- Head of Growth at early-stage startup;
- Strategy/BizDev roles at scale-ups;
- Start your own venture with our backing/advice;
- Senior IC roles at larger tech companies;
Interview Process
**1. Application**: Resume + Application question;
**2. First call (30 mins)**: Culture fit, work ethic, learning mindset;
**3. Case study**: Real business problem to solve;
**4. Final interview**: Chemistry check with founder, discuss case study;
**5. Trial period**: 1-month paid trial before committing fully.