Job description
Overview:
This is a rare opportunity to join a growing team and fast-adopting product (category) in an expansive role, with massive disruption that has yet to have been capitalized upon in the US. We have VC funding from top investors, scaling revenue, a working product, and a head start in the US market mitigating much of the startup risk.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Reports to: Founder & CEO
To build the US market the COO, US will be charged with launching and spearheading a comprehensive revenue, marketing, financial, operational and partner strategy to drive awareness and usage of the company platform. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise from a relevant business and understand the challenges involved in managing a complex funnel in the form of a three-sided marketplace business – viewers/shoppers, influencers/hosts, and brands/retailers. Since the company has an established base of 100s of retailers and brands today, the core responsibilities of this role are growing viewers and hosts. This means prior experience developing strategies to drive new customer acquisition and maximize engagement is essential. The COO, US should have an entrepreneurial spirit combined with the ability to see the “big picture” for this massive TAM, unlimited energy to identify/launch opportunities, and enthusiasm to build a team that will help the company reach scale.
HIGH-LEVEL, ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
• Serve as the #1 outside of Asia, #2 to the CEO, and as the representative and driver of the company in the US today.
• Lead, define, and build all aspects of the US business.
• Drive acquisition and activation of customers – viewers to shoppers.
• Get to critical mass of hosts on the platform representing all demographics, styles, and geo factors.
• Secure retailer on the platform and deliver brand expectations.
• Manage the P&L by determining, allocating and measuring resources (costs, time, people).
• Evolve the product for the US audience and reach operational scale.
• Develop the organizational design and then recruit/manage the talent to support growth.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Execute on the Vision. The COO, US will be responsible for championing the company's vision as it evolves, both internally to employees and externally to existing and new audiences. Developing a multi-faceted understanding of the competitive landscape, business risks, and industry-wide opportunities as well as continuously iterating the business model will be key to establishing and communicating the brand vision.
• Launch the US Business. While the company already has US customers and retailers using the platform, the plan is to expand the user base and prioritize a robust roadmap using data to inform what opportunities offer the best near-term and long-term value for the business. The COO, US will define and launch additional verticals and products for outside of Asia.
• Viewers / Shoppers. Build the team to acquire more viewers on the platform. These viewers ultimately become shoppers and will need to create robust customer segmentation analyses to codify that evolution. Understand and research top viewer / shopper personas, preferences and desires, and know how to influence their behavior. Monetization is critical to revenue, and tracking average view time, time to purchase, average order value, frequency of login, among other core KPIs is crucial in having a data- driven plan to drive growth.
• Influencers / Hosts. At the beginning, work with agencies to gain access to the many influencers that could bring and build audiences. Create a plan to evolve (train) influencers into hosts, where they are committed to the company – both as an exclusive platform and ultimately as revenue that can forecast against. A variety of factors and operational challenges will need to be resolved (with a strong team), which could include access to the retail stores, rules while in the store, film crews, etc. Also building a diverse base of hosts across demographic, style, location, language, and lifestyle factors will be critical
• Brands / Retailer. Create the plan and calendar to showcase brands and retailers to the audience. Build forecasts and models backing into a US target revenue number. You will develop a process to match hosts with brands and retailers that bring the right base of viewers / shoppers to the livestreams. Ultimately bring on more brands and retailers (by way of a business development / sales team), who will represent a broader base of styles, trends and products.
• Leadership and Growth. The COO, US will lead planning efforts to set strategic, operational and financial goals designed to increase top-line growth and enhance operating margins. Additionally, the COO, US will have primary responsibility for providing structure, organization and discipline to the company as well as guidance to employees of all levels.
• Figure (Sh)it Out. Get (Sh)it Done. We will be going through rapid growth and requires every person on the team to evenly pull their weight. The COO, US will be able to solve problems on their own before pulling time away from others in the organization. Similarly, the COO, US should be comfortable working in a high-growth and lean environment; one with smaller budgets and leaner teams with a greater scope of responsibility.
• Results Driven. Deliver financial results for both ongoing operations and future expansion initiatives. In addition, the COO, US will ensure that the company maintains positive relationships with existing stakeholders while playing a key role in helping attract additional partnerships.
• Culture. The COO, US will ensure team members are excited to go to work every day, ready to produce results and make a positive difference in the world. Architect, codify, and continue to improve the team member journey from recruiting to onboarding to thriving. Be the collective voice of the company on the executive team.
• Networking. The COO, US will represent the company by maintaining an active presence in relevant networking / industry circles. In particular, those in which there exist opportunities for the company to establish partnerships.
CRITICAL SUCCESS INDICATORS
• Iterate and Scale. Grow the current user base, monetize existing customers, and continuously improve the product offerings in support of the company's near / long-term user acquisition and revenue targets.
• Reach Profitability. Identify opportunities to reduce operating cost while increasing the consumer base.
• Brand Building. Establish the brand as a recognized eCommerce platform.
REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate will have significant experience in a senior leadership role, preferably as a CEO, President, COO, GM, Head of Marketing, and/or Head of Product. The candidate has a customer- focused mindset and a proven track record of driving growth and scaling a business. He / she must be comfortable collaborating closely with a global team across time zones.
A successful candidate will possess most, if not all, of the following:
• 10+ years of progressive experience in the following consumer categories: marketplace, streaming, eCommerce.
• Ideally has an understanding of marketplace dynamics, particularly those that are 3-sided and/or with local expansion.
• Prior experience working a mobile-first platform understanding the customer journey on mobile vs desktop.
• A passion for solving big consumer problems. In this case, you will need to become (want to become) the world’s leading expert on livestream shopping.
• Ideally, has created a business plan and driven a Go-To-Market strategy. Willing to roll up their sleeves.
• Overseen all functions across product, sales, marketing, etc. and has had a successful track- record of recruiting top talent.
• Prior experience leading and/or coordinating a global team is ideal.
• Has developed and monetized new products and services in support of user acquisition and revenue targets.
• Experience building company culture, either “from scratch” or redefining a pre-existing culture is critical.
• A deep understanding of the content-to-commerce approach and how to drive activity through content while monetize on commerce.
• Has held a senior position(s) with responsibility for a team / division of employees.
• An undergraduate degree is required and an MBA (or other advanced degree) is preferred.
• Willingness to work / live in NYC is preferred. We are open to remote candidates, but you must be able to travel to NYC.
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
• Entrepreneurial. You think outside the box; you can do more with less; you are resourceful and fiscally responsible in the pursuit of business objectives.
• Motivated by Scale. You want to take a company with massive market opportunity and grow its presence across the world.
• Nimble/Agile. You enjoy stepping outside of your comfort zone and relish the opportunity to tackle new and exciting challenges.
• Execution Focused. Apolitical, driven by financial objectives and/or pride in work, but not personal aggrandizement.
• Integrity. You keep your word and do not cut ethical corners. You choose to do what is right versus what is most convenient.
• Team Player. You are a collaborative, hardworking, problem-solver who leads by example. You would never ask anyone to do something that you are not willing to do yourself.
• Intellectually Curious. You have a deep desire to learn new things and acquire new skills.
