At a Glance
- Tasks: Create and validate innovative venture concepts with corporate partners in a fast-paced environment.
- Company: Join Founders Factory, a leading venture studio shaping the future of tech and entrepreneurship.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, collaborative workspace, and support across various business functions.
- Other info: Dynamic studio culture with opportunities for growth and exposure to diverse industries.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by turning ideas into ventures that could change industries.
- Qualifications: Experience in concept development, strong strategic thinking, and excellent communication skills.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 ÂŁ per year.
About Founders Factory
Founders Factory is a venture studio and accelerator backed by some of the world's leading corporations. We combine capital investment with deep operational expertise to build and scale tech companies from scratch. With a portfolio of over 300 companies and $900M+ in follow‑on funding, we offer a unique opportunity to shape the future of tech and entrepreneurship – working at the intersection of corporate innovation and startup building.
About the Role
Venture Design at Founders Factory is how we create new venture concepts on demand, not by chance. Working closely with our corporate partners, you'll take high‑level investment themes and turn them into validated, venture‑backable concepts through a structured three‑month sprint. This is the earliest and most exploratory stage of our venture building process. You'll dig into markets, uncover gaps, conceptualise solutions, and pressure‑test them with real users – all before a founder is ever hired. The concepts you validate and present to our Investment Committee become the ventures we go on to build. It's high‑impact, high‑autonomy work that directly shapes our portfolio.
What You'll Do
- Take investment themes developed with our corporate partners and break them down into explorable problem spaces and opportunity areas.
- Conduct deep market research to understand where sectors are heading, identify structural gaps, and map the competitive landscape.
- Generate multiple potential venture concepts from each theme, applying human‑centred design principles to conceptualise solutions that address real user needs.
- Design and run rapid experiments – including A/B testing, prototype testing, and user interviews – to validate or kill concepts quickly.
- Synthesise research and testing into clear, evidence‑backed recommendations, narrowing from many ideas to a shortlist of the strongest concepts.
- Present validated concepts to the Investment Committee (comprising decision‑makers from our corporate backers and the Founders Factory CEO), making a compelling case for which ventures to green‑light.
- Collaborate across the studio – working with other Venture Designers, Venture Builders, investors, and functional specialists – to sharpen your thinking and leverage collective expertise.
- Stay close to emerging technologies, tools, and market shifts so you're always bringing fresh thinking to each sprint.
What We're Looking For
- Proven experience in 0→1 concept development, venture design, or similar roles where you've taken ideas from fuzzy opportunity spaces through to validated propositions – ideally across multiple industries or verticals.
- Strong strategic thinking combined with a bias for action. You can zoom out to see the big picture and zoom in to run a scrappy experiment in the same afternoon.
- Deep comfort with market research and competitive analysis. You know how to find signal in noise and develop a point of view on where a market is going.
- Experience designing and running rapid experiments (A/B tests, landing page tests, concierge MVPs, user interviews) to validate assumptions with real users.
- Excellent communication and storytelling skills. You'll need to present complex findings and recommendations clearly to senior stakeholders with diverse backgrounds.
- A curious, creative mind that also brings discipline – you generate lots of ideas but know how to prioritise ruthlessly based on evidence.
- Comfort with ambiguity and pace. The sprint format means things move fast and the brief is often wide open. That excites you, not intimidates you.
Nice to Have
- Fluency in German language.
- Background in innovation or a venture studio/builder environment.
- Experience working with or alongside corporate partners and navigating stakeholder dynamics.
- Familiarity with rapid prototyping tools (Figma, no-code/low-code platforms) to bring concepts to life quickly.
- Understanding of business model design and unit economics at the concept stage.
- Experience across multiple sectors (fintech, healthtech, sustainability, consumer, etc.).
What We Offer
- The chance to shape ventures from the very beginning – the concepts you validate become real companies.
- A collaborative, high‑energy studio environment surrounded by builders, investors, and operators.
- Exposure to a diverse range of industries and corporate partners.
- Desk space in our London office with a fully‑serviced workspace.
- Support across marketing, legal, finance, fundraising, growth, and recruitment.
- Competitive salary and benefits package.
Venture Designer (London) employer: Founders Factory
Contact Detail:
Founders Factory Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Venture Designer (London)
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, and don’t be shy about reaching out on LinkedIn. The more connections you make, the better your chances of landing that dream role.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or a personal website showcasing your past projects and achievements. This is your chance to demonstrate your venture design prowess and creativity, so make it pop!
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising your storytelling skills. You’ll need to clearly communicate your thought process and how you’ve tackled challenges in the past. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! We love seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in Founders Factory. Tailor your application to highlight how your experience aligns with our mission and values.
We think you need these skills to ace Venture Designer (London)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Venture Design: When you're writing your application, let your enthusiasm for venture design shine through! We want to see how excited you are about turning ideas into validated concepts. Share specific examples of your past experiences that highlight your passion and skills in this area.
Be Clear and Concise: We appreciate clarity! Make sure your application is easy to read and straight to the point. Use bullet points where necessary to break down your achievements and skills. This helps us quickly grasp your qualifications and how they align with what we're looking for.
Tailor Your Application: Don’t just send a generic application! Take the time to tailor your CV and cover letter to reflect the specific requirements of the Venture Designer role. Highlight your experience with market research, concept development, and any relevant tools you've used – it’ll make a big difference!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets to the right people. Plus, it shows us that you’re genuinely interested in joining our team at Founders Factory!
How to prepare for a job interview at Founders Factory
✨Know Your Market Inside Out
Before the interview, dive deep into market research related to the venture design role. Understand current trends, identify gaps, and be ready to discuss how you would approach these areas. This shows your strategic thinking and comfort with market analysis.
✨Prepare to Showcase Your Experiments
Be ready to talk about your experience with rapid experiments like A/B testing or user interviews. Have specific examples at hand that demonstrate how you've validated concepts in the past. This will highlight your hands-on experience and bias for action.
✨Craft a Compelling Story
Practice presenting your ideas clearly and engagingly. You’ll need to communicate complex findings to senior stakeholders, so think about how to structure your narrative. Use storytelling techniques to make your recommendations memorable and persuasive.
✨Embrace Ambiguity and Speed
Show your excitement for working in a fast-paced environment where things can change quickly. Prepare examples of how you've thrived in similar situations before. This will demonstrate your adaptability and readiness for the dynamic nature of venture design.