Venture Growth Manager, Prototypes for Humanity
Role Overview
The Venture Growth Manager works across ventures moving from technical validation toward letters of intent, early adopters, product-market fit and commercialization.
The role focuses on early traction: finding customers, users and distributors who will use, buy or pay for venture products.
Key Skills for This Role
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About Prototypes for Humanity
Prototypes for Humanity supports ventures from a community of academic entrepreneurs across more than 1,000 global universities.
The organization supports venture development from early strategy through co-building, piloting, investment and growth, helping scientific ventures reach market fit, investment readiness and internationalization.
Its ecosystem includes global academia, government, industry and investors, with a mission to turn research into viable ventures and create economic and societal impact.
The role
The Venture Growth Manager works across ventures moving from technical validation toward letters of intent, early adopters, product-market fit and commercialization.
The role focuses on early traction: finding customers, users and distributors who will use, buy or pay for venture products.
Key responsibilities
- Identify and approach customers, users, distributors and public-sector buyers for each venture; convert conversations into letters of intent, paid pilots, early adopters and first sales.
- Work with founders to test and refine offers using market feedback and move ventures toward product-market fit.
- Set commercial roadmaps for ventures and track progress.
- Build traction to support fundraising readiness and coach founders to communicate and sell their products.
- Spend regular time in the field through UAE site visits, client meetings and events.
- Contribute to venture building with the team, including venture structuring.
Experience and qualifications
- Significant experience, typically 8 years or more, growing early-stage businesses as a cofounder, growth or business-development leader, venture builder, or in venture-capital portfolio support and value creation.
- Track record securing customers, users or commercial commitments for early-stage products, including letters of intent, paid pilots, contracts or first revenue.
- Sales mindset and ability to turn conversations into commitments, support market fit, approach investors and build a fundraising roadmap.
- Fundraising experience, including investor engagement, preparing a raise or participating in one.
- Knowledge of UAE business, startup and innovation ecosystems is imperative; wider GCC knowledge is desirable.
- Relevant industry and investor network is a competitive advantage; government or regulatory collaboration and science- or research-based venture experience are pluses.
Personal qualities
- Growth-driven, urgent, resilient and able to persist through rejection.
- Builds relationships quickly and communicates credibly and convincingly across commercial and relationship-building settings.
- Lateral thinker who is flexible about where the work takes place.
- Cares about research-driven innovation and its impact.
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