Co-Founder - COO (Renewable Energy Startup)

Founders Factory, a global company builder and early-stage investor offers founders capital, operational support from a team of 100 hands-on experts, and unrivalled access to industry leaders from across our corporate partners. Since 2015, Founders Factory's 300 portfolio companies - 80 built in the Studio -  have raised $720mm follow-on funding from notable investors, including NfX, Coatue, Forerunner, Tencent, Mubadala and firstminute Capital.

GridShare is the first concept to come out of our new Milan Venture Studio. We're currently in the Venture Build stage.

🧐 What's the concept at high level?

Gridshare is helping to fund the renewable energy transition by making renewable energy ownership fractional. We help people wanting to set up their own solar farms by helping them through the maze of regulations, connecting them with renewables installers and maintenance companies, and crucially help them finance the build by crowdsourcing, allowing everyone to own a piece of the energy revolution regardless of homeownership. 

⏰ Why now?

Italy is a world leader in green energy with the highest penetration of residential solar in the world, but many are excluded from being a part of the success story. Italy is expected to install 12GW of solar over the next 24 months, but needs another 73GW to hit the renewable energy targets set by the EU for 2030. Communities need to and want to take part in that energy revolution, but don’t know where to start.

About the role 

Being a Co-Founder is a unique opportunity to experience what it really takes to build & scale a venture backed business from its early days. Working directly with the founder and CEO (Giovanni Maria), you will be the most important early stage hire we are going to make. You’ll need to own all operations from day one, get stuck into executing as well as building a world class operational engine that is robust enough to help us scale. 

You’ll need to own all operations from day one while executing as well as building a world class operational engine that is robust enough to help us scale. 

Key areas of the business you’ll oversee:

Orchestrating the customer journey of (future) solar farm owners and communities from wanting to build a solar farm to having it authorised, financed, built, and maintained Managing the relationships with suppliers and lenders needed to help customers build and finance solar farms Managing energy sale and pricing Supporting the product design and development Supporting in building Gridshare's team culture and hiring

💪 We are looking for a Co-founder who will:

Own and run the day-to-day operations of the business, acting as a key contact between various stakeholders Strategically plan and manage logistics Analyse internal operations and identify areas for process enhancement Maintain metrics and analyse data to assess performance and implement improvements Implement business strategies and plans that align with the short and long-term objectives developed in tandem with the CEO Help define and shape future tech and automation roadmap so that we can scale operations with better forecasting and operational efficiencies  Comply with laws, regulations and requirements Work closely with the CEO to build the best product. In particular, your exposure to the customer and stakeholders will provide invaluable feedback into the steering of the product roadmap. Be motivated by the mission and excited and passionate about working for an innovative startup

✅ What we will take into consideration:

Several years of experience in operational leadership roles Experience working in the renewable energy industry Excellent leadership skills, with steadfast resolve and personal integrity Solid grasp of data analysis and performance metrics Ability to diagnose problems quickly and foresee potential issues Confidence with digital / technical workflows and processes Strong communications and team player  Driven by purpose and the learning opportunity, not just money Business fluent Italian skills

Nice to haves:

Experience in raising venture capital You have an existing network in the Italian renewable energy market

What’s in it for you:

Attractive salary and equity package, to make sure you have a piece of the pie Autonomy and freedom to build the operations of a booming company in the frontiers of fighting climate change Work directly with the Founder & CEO (Giovanni Maria) helping shape all aspects of the business. Giovanni Maria is a startupper and entrepreneur who has led several businesses to success. He has contributed to the creation of many entrepreneurial projects in different countries, to the exit of an Italian company and under his leadership some European scaleups have managed to internationalise to other continents, achieving the levels of financial stability and growth he hoped for. He loves to travel and has a goal of visiting 100 countries around the world. Some say he is halfway there. You can find him in a metropolitan cinema watching a movie d’essai or lying in the shade in a hammock reading a book and drinking good wine. Become part of Italy's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem and build relationships with industry leaders for life  Be part of a peer group of fantastic climate ventures addressing net zero across multiple geographies and are deeply connected to the biggest movers and shakers in the climate space A culture of self-development, continuous growth and radical candour Opportunity to build a team and create your own niche within Gridshare as we scale

Founders Factory is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where people can authentically be themselves and are free to challenge, take risks and think creatively.

We recruit, develop, compensate and promote our team members based on merit. We know how important it is not only to include, but to actively seek out diversity of thought and experiences. We want to hear from you regardless of your race, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, status, or any other applicable legally protected characteristics.

The requirements shared in our job descriptions are guidelines. If your skills are transferable and you are in the ballpark with the number of years of experience we are looking for, please apply and we will consider you for the role.