Associate - Open Core Ventures

Location:  Fully remote, Strong preference for SF Bay Area

About Open Core Ventures

Founded by Sid Sijbrandij, GitLab co-founder and Executive Chair, Open Core Ventures (OCV) starts companies around promising open source projects. We recruit the founders, often from the OSS project we're commercializing, and help them accelerate growth to raise a Seed round. We’ve started 30+ companies around open source projects, including Fleet, FlowFuse, and Mermaid Chart. 

At Open Core Ventures, we operate in a transparent environment, with clear terms and open communication, guided by our public handbook. 

The actual offer, reflecting the total compensation package and benefits, will be at the company’s sole discretion and determined by a myriad of factors, including, but not limited to, years of experience, depth of experience, and other relevant business considerations. The company also reserves the right to amend or modify employee perks and benefits at any time.

We are an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status.

About the Role 

As an Associate at OCV, you will help identify and research investment opportunities and act as a virtual co-founder for new companies post-investment. Unlike a typical venture Associate who evaluates deals and monitors portfolio companies from a distance, you’ll work directly alongside founders to help them build traction and find product-market fit. Between the time we start a company and when we recruit a permanent CEO, you'll provide that critical bridge—talking to customers, shaping product direction, and driving early traction. You’ll get broad visibility into OCV’s full portfolio, and get exposure to both the investment and startup sides of venture.

What you will do

• Research and evaluate OSS projects for commercial potential 


• Oversee and manage new investments in collaboration with GPs


• Provide hands-on leadership around product and go-to-market strategy 


• Drive early execution and establish momentum for each portfolio company


• Champion the customer and maintain deep user understanding across multiple products and ideas

About You

We're looking for an experienced product manager with the ambition to become a great founder or full-time investor. You’ve spent your career getting close to users at a great software company and know how to build something people want and use. 

You may be a good fit if you have:

• Entrepreneurial spirit and comfort with failure: You take big swings and iterate quickly


• Resilience and adaptability: You have a high tolerance for ambiguity and work with a sense of urgency


• Bias for action: You balance big ideas with small, concrete execution steps


• Product management experience: You've been a PM at a strong software company


• Founder or investor ambition: You want to eventually become a full-time founder or investor