About LabStart

LabStart is a 501c3 nonprofit deep climate technology venture studio backing climate solutions that are too early, too hard, and too important to ignore.

We work hands-on with seasoned entrepreneurs, first-time founders, and industry experts to launch fundable, high-impact ventures. From lab to launch, we provide the earliest support—bridging the gap between breakthrough innovation and investable startup.

Our lean, mission-driven team is backed by catalytic funders who believe in moving faster, funding smarter, and building a more inclusive climate future.

The Role

LabStart is hiring an Operations Associate to take on the day-to-day engine of a lean nonprofit: the systems, workflows, tools, and recurring mechanics that keep a small team running well. You will work directly with our Operations Manager and absorb a substantial share of the operational execution that role carries today.

You will own the most ground in three areas: daily operations management, technology and systems management, and fundraising and development support. You will also pick up the recurring mechanics of finance, HR, and compliance: the coding, tracking, filing, and calendars.

We are looking for someone highly organized, proactive, and genuinely energized by making things run. LabStart is a small, entrepreneurial team, which means work is sometimes unstructured, priorities shift, and everyone wears many hats. The person in this seat will be trusted to spot what is broken, fix it, and write down how it works so that it stays fixed.

Key Responsibilities

Full-Cycle Relationship Management: Transition warm, researched prospects through the cultivation cycle, from first contact to closing and long-term stewardship.
New Lead Generation: Use your "hunter" instincts to identify, qualify, and reach out to new philanthropic prospects that align with LabStart’s mission.
Proactive Growth: Identify and bridge gaps in our current network, utilizing research tools and industry networking to keep the pipeline consistently full.
Presence & Advocacy: Act as a primary ambassador for LabStart at key industry events (e.g., Climate Week, investor summits). You are comfortable navigating diverse environments, from family office boardrooms to tech-forward mixers.
Data-Driven Development: Own the fundraising "engine." Use our CRM (Monday.com) to track engagement metrics, ensuring timely follow-ups and transparent reporting for the leadership team.
Strategic Storytelling: Collaborate with the team to translate climate-tech initiatives into compelling opportunities for philanthropic and catalytic capital.
Commitment to Relationship Longevity: You understand that the best partnerships aren't built in a quarter. You are looking for a 3+ year horizon where you can steward relationships from the initial introduction to long-term, multi-cycle support.

Qualifications

5–7 years of experience in nonprofit development, venture capital relations, or high-end sales.
You possess the emotional intelligence (EQ) to build immediate rapport and the organizational discipline to manage a complex, multi-stage pipeline.
Authenticity and integrity – with both the donor world and the internal team
You have a high "rejection-to-success" tolerance and the relentless tenacity skills required to get onto a busy donor's calendar.
You are autonomous, extremely organized, and genuinely excited about the intersection of climate tech and philanthropic capital. Small teams excite you.
Location: NY or SF preferred, others considered on a case-by-case basis

Preferred Qualifications

Basic familiarity with climate, the solutions landscape, and various types of capital flowing into climate solutions today

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation Philosophy

LabStart offers competitive base compensation, robust benefits and quarterly performance bonuses (determined by personal and company performance) to attract and celebrate people aligned with our mission and values. Our compensation program reflects our commitment to fairness, transparency, and excellence in nonprofit management.

Salary

The base salary for this role is $100,000-125,000/yr. This reflects the good faith minimum and maximum range LabStart reasonably expects to pay for this position at the time of posting. If offered, the salary will be determined based on the candidate's specific skills, experience, and geographic location.

Note

In accordance with the California Fair Pay Act and New York Labor Law, LabStart does not request salary history from applicants.

Perks and Benefits

Flexible time off, 5% retirement matching, QSHERA (healthcare) reimbursement, 12 paid company holidays, home office reimbursement, paid parental leave, etc.

About LabStart

LabStart is a 501c3 nonprofit deep climate technology venture studio backing climate solutions that are too early, too hard, and too important to ignore.

Our lean, mission-driven team is backed by private and public funders who believe in moving faster, funding smarter, and building a more inclusive climate future.

The Role

LabStart is hiring a Program Associate to help run the LabStart fellowship, our year-long program that moves climate tech founders from initial ideas to launched, fundable startups. The fellowship is the clearest expression of our mission, and this role is what keeps it running: coordinating recruitment and selection, keeping fellows supported and on track, organizing and supporting curriculum sessions and mentors, and executing the events that bring our community together.

We are looking for someone personable, exceptionally organized, and proactive, who is energized by owning a wide variety of tasks and does not need to be managed closely. LabStart's culture is entrepreneurial, which means work is sometimes unstructured or ad hoc, priorities shift with the program calendar, and everyone is expected to wear many hats and contribute across several areas.

This role is designed for someone early in their career, but we are open to candidates with more experience who want deep ownership of an exciting program and room to grow into a broader leadership role. You will step into a structured program with a thorough onboarding and handoff from the team that built it, and you will work closely with LabStart's leadership, our fellows, and the wider Bay Area climate, research, and investor community.

This is a hybrid role open to candidates based in the San Francisco Bay Area, with an average of 2 days/week in person at our Oakland office.

Key Responsibilities

Fellowship operations: Own the day-to-day mechanics of the year-long fellowship—the program calendar, session scheduling, materials prep, attendance, and follow-ups.
Fellow support: Be a consistent, responsive point of contact for every fellow. Track progress against startup milestones, surface blockers early, and connect fellows to the people, funding, and resources they need.
Recruitment and selection: Run the annual application cycle end to end—managing the applicant pipeline, coordinating the review process, and recruiting, briefing, and supporting the external reviewers who evaluate candidates.
Curriculum and mentor coordination: Coordinate curriculum sessions and manage scheduling, briefing, and follow-up for coaches, mentors, and guest experts. Gather feedback and help sharpen the content cohort over cohort.
Program events: Plan and execute in-person and virtual events including: Fellowship Kickoff, demo days, milestone celebrations, and LabStart's presence at SF and NY Climate Weeks.
Systems and documentation: Keep program data accurate and current in our CRM and project management tools
Tracking and reporting: Track fellow and program metrics throughout the year, and turn them into clear report-outs for the board of directors, leadership, funders, and prospective investors.
Materials and communications: Draft and refresh program slides, fundraising slides, and fellow-facing communications that help LabStart tell its story to fellows, partners, and funders.
Whatever else the moment needs: Pitch in across partnerships, communications, and operations as priorities shift. This list will not stay static, and neither will the role.

Qualifications

2–3 years of professional experience in a role where you were accountable for a program, a community, or events. This is not an entry-level position.
Bachelor's degree required.
A track record of keeping something complicated on the rails—a fellowship or accelerator, but equally an alumni program, volunteer corps, membership organization, event series, or education program. You do not need to have run an entrepreneurship program before.
Exceptional organization and follow-through. Proactive and self-managing.
Able to build genuine rapport across a wide range of people—first-time founders, national lab scientists, investors, funders, and partners.
Fluency with everyday web tools and a willingness to learn new ones quickly. We work in Monday, Asana, Notion, Slack, and Google Workspace.
Real enthusiasm for climate solutions and entrepreneurship.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and able to work from our Oakland office on a hybrid schedule.

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation Philosophy
LabStart offers competitive base compensation, robust benefits, and quarterly performance bonuses (determined by personal and company performance) to attract and celebrate people aligned with our mission and values. Our compensation program reflects our commitment to fairness, transparency, and excellence in nonprofit management.

Salary: The base salary for this role is $65,000 - 85,000/yr. This reflects the good faith minimum and maximum range LabStart reasonably expects to pay for this position at the time of posting. If offered, the salary will be determined based on the candidate's specific skills, experience, and geographic location.
- Note: In accordance with the California Fair Pay Act, LabStart does not request salary history from applicants.
Flexible time off, 5% retirement matching, QSHERA (healthcare) reimbursement, 12 paid company holidays, home office reimbursement, paid parental leave, etc.

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