Founder's Associate / Chief of Staff

Finding a job these days is frustrating as f**k. So we flipped the job hunt concept on its head. With Generalyst, jobs find you, not the other way around.

Startup founders pitch their roles to you. We’ll guide you through the entire process – so you can nail your interviews & get an offer. Usually within a month.

How does it work?

• Apply to Generalyst – fill out a ~5min form and upload your CV. If it’s a fit, we’ll do a short virtual interview. Afterwards, you’ll be onboarded onto the program.
• Startup founders pitch to you – get an idea what working there is really like. A job description just doesn’t do it justice.
• Connect with high-growth startups – finding a job is a two-way street. Just as the startup needs to select you, you need to select the right startup to work with. Which means that on the program, you can both apply to startups AND receive applications from startups who think you’re a fantastic fit. Your profile will be in our candidate database, and >10 candidates have received applications FROM companies so far.
• Support to nail your interviews – we’ve done >1.000 interviews in our careers. Get actionable advice and preparation guides.

On average, it takes ~4 weeks to receive an offer. Participation while working full-time is possible and encouraged!

Based on previous experience placing Founder’s Associates in Germany, a few hard requirements apply:

• Permission to work in Germany
• Fluency in German (B2-Level and up)

If you’re curious why German language is a hard criterion, there’s more info at the bottom.

As we're also helping companies expand internationally, speaking another EU language natively is a plus (specifically Dutch, Spanish, Swedish, French, Italian, Polish).

What is a Founder’s Associate?

Founder’s Associates are generalists that work directly with a company’s founder (usually the CEO) on strategic initiatives, marketing, operations, sales, fundraising, and more.

This role is a fantastic opportunity to get to know the ins-and-outs of startup building. You’ll get an overview of a variety of business areas, allowing you to go deeper in fields that you’re curious about.

Common progression opportunities include Chief of Staff (basically, a more senior generalist), individual contributor or even management (think: Head of X) positions in whichever field you feel comfortable in, or founding a startup yourself. Often, former Founder’s Associates make for the best founders.

And a Chief of Staff?

Basically a more senior Foundership Associate with more special projects and potentially leadership responsibility. The definitions fluctuate a lot. Foundership Associates usually have 0-3 years of experiences, Chiefs of Staff 3-5 (or even more, depending on the stage of the company).

Who are we looking for?

Our program is for early career generalists . If you don’t want to specialize in anything (yet), or want to get a broad overview of what building a startup is like, this program is for you.

High Potential Recent Graduates – You just finished university, already ran a side hustle during university, were president of a students’ organization, or did a bunch of cool internships.

Start-/Scale-Up Experience – You’ve worked in a startup before and are looking for your next career step.

Consulting / IB / PE / VC Experience – You've worked in a high performance environment, but never had to take full accountability for the full consequences of your actions. Now, you want to get your hands dirty, take accountability and see the other side.

Future & Former Founders – High potential generalists often make the best founders later on; and former founders often make for fantastic generalists.

But most importantly, we care about your potential to succeed in a startup. Tell us about anything entrepreneurial that you’ve done so far, your failures and successes, and any cool achievements!

Average salaries: 55-65k € for FA's, 70k-95k for Chief of Staff / Country Launcher profiles. (+ potential equity)

• Apply in ~5min on our website.
• Interview with the Generalyst team
• Become part of the program

What’s Generalyst?

Generalyst is the career accelerator for those who don’t want to specialize. We believe the future belongs to Generalists, and want to do our part in building up the generalist talent of the future.

Why do you put such an emphasis on the German language?

About 80% of companies that we work with want to hire someone who speaks German. Which makes sense: they're based in Germany, and want a Swiss Army Knife – and sometimes this involves interfacing with authorities, writing grant applications, or directly interacting with German SMBs. All of this is easier done in German.

This leads to a bad experience on both sides: candidates are frustrated because they don’t get to see interesting opportunities; companies are also frustrated because they think they’re pitching to 25 candidates, but in reality they’re pitching to 13 who do speak German.

Now, if you’ve read this far and still want to be considered for the application – despite not speaking German – feel free to still apply. We reserve 20% of spots for super high potential, non-German speakers. :)

A word on remote work

Look, I completely understand that working remotely is cool – I (Dominik, founder of Generalyst) run this business on a mostly remote basis too. However, the companies I work with are focused on in-office collaboration, and I have very few options that allow mostly for remote work. So full transparency: expect to be screened out if you're not willing to work inside an office for the majority of the week.