Venture Strategist

Job Description

Job Description

Go-to-Market/Venture Commercialization Lead

Boisei labs - Venture Studio

Location: State College, PA (hybrid - approx. 2-3 days per week in-office; flexible)

Reports to: Managing Partner

OVERVIEW

boisei labs is looking for a Venture Commercialization Lead to serve as the commercial engine behind our "tech for good" ventures - the person who takes early-stage concepts from idea to real customers, users, and traction. You will build the first sales and marketing pipelines, secure pilot customers, validate business concepts with the market, and forge partnerships and early-adopter networks that give new ventures their initial momentum.

This is a builder's role for someone who thrives in ambiguity and enjoys being externally facing. You'll move fluidly between market research, business development, and hands-on go-to-market execution, often across more than one venture at a time. While your initial focus will be on a particular venture company, we are hiring for overall venture studio fit; you'll apply modified commercialization playbooks to future ventures as they are built and launched.

You'll partner closely with our product team to test prototypes and MVPs in the market, and you'll help prioritize what we build based on real business value. As ventures find their footing, you'll establish clean hand-off processes, so those customer and partner relationships continue to thrive.

ABOUT BOISEI LABS

boisei labs is a venture studio focused on building ambitious "tech for good" companies - innovations that drive social good, green tech, and other meaningful impacts. We create multiple ventures in parallel across ideation, development, launch, and growth phases.

Our team works fast, embraces startup culture, and continually pushes new ideas forward - backed by an unusual advantage: we have capital in hand, no outside investors to constrain timelines, and deep connections across Penn State and the broader innovation ecosystem.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Go-to-Market & Customer Acquisition

• Build and manage the initial sales and marketing pipelines needed to secure pilot customers and early users.
• Identify and manage external vendors and partners to support go-to-market launches.
• Establish clear processes to hand off a launched venture's customer and partner relationships, ensuring ongoing success beyond launch.
• Refine brand strategy and development for new and existing ventures. 

Market Validation & Research

• Test early-stage business concepts through market research, including industry and user interviews.
• Define participant personas for new ventures and determine how to get in front of these audiences.

Partnerships & Early-Adopter Networks

• Build relationships with potential partner businesses - primarily virtual, with in-person and regional meetings where they help move key opportunities forward.
• Develop relationships with prospective users of new "tech for good" ventures to build a strong network of early adopters.

Product Collaboration

• Partner with the product team to test prototypes and MVPs with the market.
• Help prioritize technology development based on business value and real market signal.

New Venture Creation

• Identify and evaluate emerging opportunities and market trends to inform the direction of boisei labs and boisei investments.
• Contribute innovate ideas and strategies for new venture development.  
• Working on the earliest stages of venture development  through launch.

HOW YOU'LL SPEND YOUR TIME

The mix will flex with each venture's stage, but as a starting guide:

~45% - Go-to-market and customer acquisition: building pipelines, securing pilots, and managing launch partners and vendors.

~30% - Market validation and research: concept testing, industry and user interviews, persona development, and trend scanning.

~25% - Partnerships, product, and venture collaboration: building partner and early-adopter networks and working alongside product on MVPs and prioritization.

WHO THIS ROLE IS FOR

This role is best suited for someone who is:

• Curious and quick to pick up new ideas, paired with the persistence to dig deep and uncover new insight.
• A demonstrated self-starter who can navigate ambiguous, novel work - ideally shaped by past entrepreneurial experience.
• Grounded in social science principles and skilled at uncovering underlying business needs.
• A natural networker with early-stage business development experience.
• Highly comfortable in external-facing roles, demonstrated through past sales, public speaking, or similar experience.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Early-stage business development, sales, or go-to-market experience, ideally within startups or a venture-building environment.
• A track record of operating independently in ambiguous, fast-moving settings; prior entrepreneurial experience is a strong plus.
• Strong research and interviewing skills, with an understanding of social science principles and how to translate them into business insight.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with genuine comfort representing a venture externally.
• Experience building multisided marketplaces is a plus.
• Experience with affiliate marketing programs is a plus.
• Ability to work in the US without sponsorship.

WHY JOIN US?

• Competitive benefits like 4% matching 401k and health care reimbursement
• Flexible hybrid schedule
• You will have the opportunity to work across multiple industries and venture concepts
• We are a supportive small and highly collaborative team
• A uniquely mission-driven environment grounded in meaningful societal and environmental impact