Founder in Residence (f/m/d)
Location
Hamburg | Berlin | Munich
Type
Full time
Department
Venture Building
Our Mission
Most corporate venture builders want "innovators" to build slide decks. We want founders to build companies.
We are Uplift Ventures, and we shape the future of moving goods. Global supply chains are not just being incrementally optimized anymore; macroeconomic shifts and labor shortages mean they are being completely rebuilt from scratch. Moving goods is the circulatory system of our global economy, commanding over 10% of global GDP.
This is the ultimate playground for founders. We are looking for relentless builders who want to throw themselves at hard systemic challenges and build a massive business.
We know what top-tier founders need to succeed, and we offer a setup that is incredibly hard to come by. As a Founder in Residence, you get:
Financial Runway: A competitive fixed compensation of €80,000 p.a. for one year of founding
Real Ownership: The option for the founding team to retain up to 80% equity after successful building phase
Serious Capital: A clear path to a pre-seed investment of up to € 1mn from Uplift Ventures upon successful validation
Corporate Muscle: Real unfair access to the data, expertise, network and assets of a German industrial giant, Jungheinrich AG
What you’ll do
This is not about executing tasks; it is about owning a venture hypothesis and making it real. Over the next 12 months, you will:
Find the friction: Dive deep into market shifts and user needs to discover high-impact problems actually worth solving
Design the solution: Translate abstract ideas into concrete value propositions and compelling product visions
Test and break things: Validate your hypotheses through rapid experiments, customer conversations, and quick-and-dirty prototypes
Build the engine: Develop an MVP alongside a highly scalable, venture-backable business model
Secure the capital: Turn your raw insights and early traction into an investor-ready venture, pitching to secure your pre-seed funding within 12 months
This role is for you if
You go beyond the status quo. We don't care about traditional linear CVs. We care about raw founder potential.
We aren't looking for a polished resume; we're looking for an engine. You are the kind of builder who fundamentally refuses to accept the status quo just because "it's always been done that way.” When faced with a complex industry, your instinct is to strip problems down to their core and rebuild them from scratch.
You pair that restless curiosity with raw analytical horsepower, the ability to take a mess of data, ambiguity, and market feedback, and distill it into a crystal-clear product vision and actionable strategy. But being smart isn't enough. You are wildly ambitious and commercially minded, ready to take absolute ownership from day one to build something massive and scalable.
What we offer
A one in a kind deal on VC Terms within an environment full of unfair advantages