Executive in Residence (EIR) - CPG, Retail Value Chain SaaS Startup

EXECUTIVE-IN-RESIDENCE (EIR) 

Location: This position is located in Bentonville Arkansas and will have access to work out of the Fieldbook Studio Office

FIELDBOOK, a studio operated by High Alpha Innovation, is dedicated to creating and accelerating advantaged retail value chain startups. We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Executive-in-Residence to lead an early-stage growth company in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Our newest concept, “Triive”, aims to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and support brokers in their interactions with both CPG brands and retail buyers. This platform will directly integrate with value-added software applications and service providers to extend its retail capabilities. Eventually, this platform can be augmented to support emerging brands seeking to manage their own “sell in” opportunities with major retailers.

As the EIR and potential NewCo Cofounder, you will be responsible for building an engaged, high-performing team, prioritizing the team’s early-stage focus, defining a scalable growth strategy, and setting the company's vision for the future. You will work to build conviction with the market, investors, and early customers as you bring the product to market. You will also set the go-to-market strategy and get the MVP into the hands of early customers. This is a unique opportunity to be a zero-to-one creator, builder, and innovator. Ideally, this role will transition to CEO  (or alternative C-level title) and Cofounder after launch and incorporation.

A preferred candidate will have a strong leadership background in retail CPG business models, and experience scaling a high-performing team and SaaS product between $3 million to $25 million and beyond. A deep understanding and network of CPG Brokers, retail buyers and merchandisers as well as strong relationships within the Northwest Arkansas supplier ecosystem are compelling factors for this position. 

If you are a visionary entrepreneur passionate about leveraging technology to revolutionize the retail value chain and drive meaningful impact, we invite you to apply to join us on this exciting journey at Fieldbook Studio. The selected candidate gets to build this business in Northwest Arkansas with Fieldbook Studio’s innovative team and support model. Together, we will revolutionize the way CPG brands and retailers connect, empowering sales representatives to achieve unprecedented success.

What You'll Do:

• As the Executive in Residence (EIR) for our newest venture, focused on automating how CPG brands and retailers connect, you will lead the strategic vision and execution of building a disruptive solution in the retail value chain sector. Reporting directly to the Fieldbook Studio executive leadership team, you will be responsible for:
• Market Opportunity Analysis: Continue in-depth market research and analysis to refine the pain points, trends, and opportunities within the CPG to Retailer space, specifically targeting CPG Brokers and related personas.
• Product Vision and Execution: Develop a comprehensive product vision for StealthCo, aligned with market demands and customer needs. Define the product roadmap, prioritize features, and partner with our in-house CTO to deliver a valuable software solution.
• Customer Validation: Engage with potential customers and stakeholders to validate product-market fit and gather insights for product iteration and enhancement. Build strong relationships with key stakeholders to drive adoption and advocacy.
• Team Building and Leadership: Recruit, onboard, and lead a high-performing cross-functional team comprising product managers, engineers, designers, and marketers. Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence within the team.
• Go-to-Market Strategy: Define and execute a comprehensive go-to-market strategy, encompassing sales, marketing, and partnership initiatives. Drive demand generation efforts and establish strategic partnerships to accelerate market penetration and revenue growth.
• Serve as a leader to shape corporate strategy and company vision while building conviction in the market, with investors, and customers
• Drive growth, profitability, and company value while implementing scalable and efficient strategies to ensure consistent results and exponential growth
• Align resources to achieve key business goals and milestones 
• Own the operational budget and managing burn rate and runway
• Report updates to all stakeholders regarding progress on strategic goals
• Assist with creating and executing a fundraising strategy to drive interest from outside VC investors
• Set the vision for the company and define the overall strategy from launch to scale.
• Structure a thoughtful organizational hiring plan and recruit, retain & develop world-class talent against that plan.
• Drive strategy and decision-making across all functional areas, including business development, product, marketing & content, operations, and finance.
• Determine the highest-order KPIs and build the plan and team to measure, monitor, and improve them.
• Lead all fundraising activities to support growth objectives in partnership with High Alpha Innovation.
• Develop a comprehensive framework for initiating and supporting relationships across the retail value chain to include; retail merchandising, retail sales/buying or CPG Brokerage.
• Develop strategic relationships with development and channel partners to further Triive's offering.
• Design, execute and continually iterate go-to-market strategies.
• Assist in defining, evaluating, and evolving the product roadmap by identifying new opportunities and gaps through strategic relationships with CPG Brokers.
• Drive operations and operational rigor, including full P&L and cash flow management.
• Create and sustain a great company culture with articulated values that provides inspired leadership and enables a great working relationship to the team across all levels.

Requirements

• Proven track record of entrepreneurial success, ideally as a founder or early-stage executive in a technology startup, with experience in the B2B SaaS or retail industry preferred.
• Deep domain expertise in building successful software platforms, business models or process automation, with a strong understanding of the retail value chain ecosystem and its complexities.
• Demonstrated ability to identify market opportunities, develop innovative solutions, and drive scalable growth strategies from ideation to execution.
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to inspire and influence cross-functional teams, stakeholders, and investors towards a common vision and goal.
• Demonstrated experience in selling SaaS products and building high performing teams
• A passion and vision for working with CPG Brokers and retailers to streamline their operations and improve their customer experience
• Founder experience is preferred or experience working in an early stage venture-backed company in a key leadership role
• Venture capital fundraising experience preferred or other relevant experience across sales, negotiations or corporate development
• Strong track record of tackling difficult challenges, a strong work ethic and desire to build a high growth company
• An resourceful mindset along with the grit and determination to scale a company from scratch
• Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, computer science, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree is a plus

Benefits

• Competitive compensation, This will be a 1099 position until the company is officially launched and incorporated (approx 9 months)
• Equity available after company is launched and incorporated
• A collaborative, entrepreneurial environment with a proven venture studio playbook
• A highly validated concept and business model hypothesis developed by our team 
• The support of the venture studio and platform services, our goal is to surround the startup with world-class expertise in every discipline required to build a market-leading company