Principal, VC & Startup Ecosystem Lead
👋 Hi, I’m Kat, Head of Partnerships at Ashby. I joined the team in 2024 to develop and lead our Partnership ecosystem. From the start, I was responsible for setting strategy and executing; the 0 to 1 work that a serial startup marketer like me loves. The through-line in my career is ‘doing things that have never been done before’, which is what drew me to Ashby. The work here looks different than at most companies. We have strong buy-in for partnerships within the organization. This has allowed me to focus on building key programs like Ashby Experts, our integration directory, community partnerships that provide air cover to our sales teams, and partner activations like the SF Giant’s game for Ashby One.
As the business scales, it’s time for me to give away my legos. One of the projects I’ve fully owned since the beginning is our VC Partnerships. The startup ecosystem is an anchor of Ashby’s growth. Our goal is to make Ashby the default ATS for venture-backed startups by embedding deeply into the VC talent ecosystem, driving trust, preference, and repeatable startup pipeline. It’s led me to forming deep relationships with VC Talent at firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Craft, and hosting our inaugural VC Talent Summit. Now it’s time to think bigger.
The Principal, VC & Startup Ecosystem Lead role is an opportunity for someone to come in and own partnerships across three key pillars: VC Talent, Startups, and Accelerators. I’m looking for someone who’s excited about being the face of this community and building programming that serves founders and VC Talent. Taking what I’ve started and 10x’ing it to increase the impact. You’ll immediately own our startup partnerships, making sure we’re connected with the right firms, running campaigns with Demand Gen to target portfolio companies, building relationships with accelerators to develop programming for founders, and running an event strategy to co-host meetups with top VC firms.
Over the next 12 months, you’ll be responsible for:
1. Deepening Ashby’s VC Talent Partner community & programming. You’ll own our annual VC Talent Partner Summit, taking our format and making it even better next year. You’ll develop programming that builds trusted relationships with top Talent Partners, create content, events, and touch points that invest in Talent Partners and become a known, trusted advisor in the community.
2. Extending Ashby’s startup ecosystem. You’ll design events that bring together founders and first recruiters, turning community moments into long-term relationships, and make Ashby the default hiring tool in a founder’s stack.
3. Building our Accelerator GTM motion. You’ll build relationships with Accelerators and design programming that increases adoption across early-stage companies. Making accelerators a clear part of Ashby’s startup success.
At Ashby, we design our interview process to help you show your best self. Here’s what to expect:
Ashby’s success hinges on hiring great people and creating an environment where we can be happy, feel challenged, and do our best work. We’re being deliberate about building that environment from the ground up. I hope that excites you enough to apply.
If this sounds like a role you’d love, we’d love to hear from you! Apply through our careers page with your resume and make sure to fill out the application questions. While we appreciate your use of AI, please use your own work and examples on the questions.
Ashby provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and welcome people from all backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and abilities.
Health Insurance
Stock Options
Equity / RSUs
401(k) with Matching
Unlimited PTO
Minimum PTO Requirement
Parental Leave
Company Equipment
Learning & Development Budget
Conference Attendance