Founder’s Associate — Pilots, Partnerships & Strategic Programs

Founder's Associate - Pilots, Partnerships & Strategic Programs

Location: Amsterdam preferred; remote within the US or Europe considered

Commitment: Part-time / fractional, approximately 10-15 hours per week

Initial engagement: Paid 4-6 week sprint, with potential to continue

Stage: Pre-seed, moving into live product validation

ABOUT SPLITSTAY

Group trips rarely get stuck because people cannot find somewhere to stay.

They get stuck because several people first need to align on dates, budgets, room arrangements, location and individual constraints — usually across fragmented WhatsApp threads, polls, spreadsheets and private messages.

SplitStay is building the AI coordination layer before group travel.

We collect individual inputs, show what is agreed, missing or blocking the decision, help groups work through relevant trade-offs, and turn those fragmented constraints into one shared, booking-ready plan.

We are starting with sports, endurance events and other event-driven communities, where groups already exist, dates are fixed and travel intent is high.

We have built the first coordination journey, recently submitted our Y Combinator application, and are part of the Start it @KBC accelerator. We are now focused on putting SplitStay in the hands of real groups, securing pilot partners and building evidence that the coordination model works.

The Role

We are looking for an unusually resourceful Founder's Associate to work directly with the Founder and convert our current momentum into:

• live pilot groups;
• event and community partnerships;
• high-quality accelerator and strategic-program opportunities;
• relevant angel and pre-seed investor conversations;
• a disciplined external pipeline with clear next steps.

This is not a generic business-development, investor-list-building or application-writing role.

You will identify the small number of opportunities capable of materially advancing SplitStay, prepare the Founder to pursue them, and ensure promising conversations turn into concrete outcomes.

The Founder will continue to lead strategic partner, accelerator and investor conversations. Your role is to make those conversations better targeted, better prepared and consistently followed through.

WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON

Pilots and partnerships - approximately 60%

• Identify event organisers, clubs, teams and communities that regularly coordinate group travel.
• Prioritise potential pilot partners based on cohort access, urgency, strategic fit and speed of execution.
• Find warm introduction paths through LinkedIn, advisors and existing relationships.
• Prepare personalised outreach, meeting briefs and follow-ups.
• Help turn interest into a defined pilot with an owner, cohort, launch date and success measures.
• Track conversations, objections, decisions and next steps.
• Capture organiser and participant insights and feed them back into product decisions.
• Focus on activating real groups—not stopping at introductions.

Accelerators and strategic programs - approximately 25%

• Build a ranked pipeline across the UK, Europe and selectively the US.
• Assess programs based on funding terms, equity cost, investor and partner access, selection criteria, deadlines, founder time and strategic relevance.
• Recommend where SplitStay should—and should not—apply.
• Adapt our YC application, pitch deck and narrative for the strongest opportunities.
• Manage deadlines, materials, introductions and interview preparation.
• Prioritise quality and strategic fit over application volume.

Investor research and preparation - approximately 15%

• Map relevant angels, syndicates and pre-seed funds across travel, AI, consumer platforms and B2B2C distribution.
• Identify credible warm paths rather than relying on mass outbound.
• Prepare concise investor briefs and personalised outreach.
• Maintain a structured CRM with context, next actions and follow-up dates.
• Help the Founder prepare for investor conversations and recurring objections.

This role does not involve independently soliciting or negotiating investments for SplitStay.

FOUNDER LEVERAGE

A central part of the role is protecting the Founder’s time.

You will turn conversations into actions, owners and deadlines; maintain a weekly external-pipeline dashboard; prepare briefs, applications and follow-ups; independently handle the research and coordination underneath them; and challenge opportunities unlikely to justify the company’s time.

You should be equally comfortable thinking strategically and executing the details required to move something forward.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN THE FIRST SIX WEEKS

• A ranked pipeline of 25–30 pilot and distribution targets.
• A scored shortlist of 15–20 accelerator, program and capital opportunities.
• Several qualified conversations with organisers, partners or ecosystem decision-makers.
• At least one pilot advanced toward a committed cohort, owner and launch date.
• Initial activation of real groups.
• 3–5 high-fit applications, warm introductions or relevant investor conversations.
• A functioning CRM and weekly reporting rhythm.
• Clear evidence of which audiences, messages and opportunities are converting.

Five strategically relevant conversations are more valuable than 500 generic contacts.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

You may have worked as a Founder's Associate, early-stage Chief of Staff, accelerator or founder-program manager, VC platform professional, startup ecosystem lead, investment associate, angel-network operator, partnerships lead or founder.

You are likely to be a strong fit if you:

• understand early-stage founders, accelerators, angels and pre-seed investors;
• have meaningful relationships in the London, UK or European startup ecosystem;
• can distinguish a strategically valuable program from an attractive logo;
• write exceptionally clear and persuasive English;
• research deeply before recommending outreach;
• are disciplined with CRMs, deadlines and follow-through;
• operate independently in an ambiguous, fast-changing environment;
• have strong commercial judgement;
• are willing to challenge the Founder;
• care about concrete outcomes rather than advisory theatre.

Experience across travel, sports, events, communities, AI or B2B2C products is helpful but not required.

THIS ROLE IS NOT FOR SOMEONE WHO

• sends generic accelerator or investor lists;
• relies primarily on mass automated outreach;
• measures success by application volume;
• promises investor access without verifiable relationships;
• considers an introduction complete before it produces a meaningful next step.

WHY JOIN NOW

SplitStay recently shifted from building a two-sided marketplace for strangers to solving a more immediate problem: coordinating groups that already intend to travel together.

We now have:

• a clearer product thesis and working coordination journey;
• a strong pitch deck, Founder Video and product demo;
• an experienced founding, product and engineering team;
• active conversations across the endurance-event ecosystem;
• advisors spanning travel, product, behavioural science and human-centred AI;
• a concrete opportunity to move from product development into real-world validation.

You would join at the point where sharper external execution can meaningfully change the company’s trajectory.

COMPENSATION AND STRUCTURE

This will begin as a paid, part-time 4-6 week engagement combining a fixed project fee with defined performance milestones.

Outcome-based bonuses may apply for advancing a founder-approved pilot to a committed cohort and launch date, activating real groups, converting an originated commercial partnership into revenue received by SplitStay, or progressing a pre-approved strategic program through meaningful selection milestones.

Any commercial commission will apply only to opportunities approved in advance, be based on revenue actually received by SplitStay, and have clear attribution, time limits and an agreed cap.

No compensation will be calculated as a percentage of investment capital raised.

If the engagement creates substantial recurring value, there may be an opportunity to continue in a broader role and discuss equity separately.

Generic lists, copy-pasted outreach and messages without specific examples will not be considered.