Help us secure Fendr’s first design partner and shape the MVP for real-time invoice verification.

Toronto (Hybrid, Toronto-first) | 10–15 hrs/week | 8–12 weeks

Compensation: Equity only, milestone-based (no salary/contract fees during the EIR term)

After a successful term: Earned options + first right to convert into Founding Lead (full-time) with a founder-level package and real ownership.

What we’re building

Fendr is a real-time spend assurance layer that sits between approval and payment and verifies complex invoices before money moves.

We’re starting with repair and service invoices where leakage quietly compounds: duplicates, out-of-contract line items, rate drift, scope drift, vendor inconsistencies. Then we expand into other high-leakage invoice domains.

We’re also building this alongside a 12–18 month applied R&D partnership supported through TMU + Mitacs. The point of this role is to keep the wedge grounded in design-partner reality while the R&D engine ramps.

The mission

Land the first design partner and define the wedge.

This is not a brainstorming role. It’s execution with specific outputs.

Initial buyer hypothesis: Fleet Repair Ops + AP. You will validate and narrow fast.

What you get if you succeed

If you deliver the outcomes below:

You keep the options you earn during the term (milestone-based)
You get first right to step into Founding Lead scope with a founder-level package
You get real ownership, and the origin story of the product\

What Success Looks Like (8–12 weeks)

By the end of the EIR term, you will deliver:

1) Wedge Definition Memo

Buyer persona and workflow map
First 2–4 anomaly classes to target (tight definitions)
Why we win and what we need (data + workflow)
ROI model and success metrics (business impact + product quality)

2) One Signed Design Partner (or LOI)

A design partner with:

Access (sample invoices, policies, context)
Timeline and pilot scope
Success metrics
A clear give/get: what they receive in Early Access and what we receive in data and feedback

3) Build-Ready MVP Plan

A package engineering can execute without ambiguity:

Workflow and minimal triage/review UX
Data requirements and where truth lives
Evaluation approach and targets
Pilot plan that can convert to paid

What You’ll Do

Run structured discovery: interviews, workflow mapping, decision memos
Build and manage a design partner pipeline: target list, outreach, follow-ups, closing
Translate discovery into product scope: anomaly definitions, in/out boundaries, success metrics, pilot terms
Produce crisp artifacts: MVP spec, dataset plan, evaluation plan, partner rollout plan
Operate with a lightweight cadence: one weekly decision meeting, async updates otherwise

What This Is Not

A consulting engagement
A passive advisory seat
A broad “help wherever needed” role
A role for someone who wants a title before outcomes

Who You Are

You’re a founder-type operator who moves from ambiguity to clarity with speed and discipline.

You may be:

A product leader who can land partnerships and run discovery end-to-end
An operator from fleets/repair/claims/AP/spend management who knows where leakage hides
A technical/product hybrid who understands feasibility and how to evaluate outcomes

You’re strong at:

Narrowing scope and making hard tradeoffs
Writing clearly (short memos that drive decisions)
Closing design partners (not “interest,” actual commitment)
Thinking in measurable outcomes
Working independently with high standards and low ego

What We Offer

Founder-led environment inside Zero to Sixty Lab (Toronto)
High agency and real ownership over wedge + design partner motion
Direct access to a serious applied R&D runway (TMU + Mitacs) once the wedge is defined
A clear path to a larger founding role if you prove the work

Compensation Details

Equity only during the EIR term. Equity is earned on outcomes, not hours logged.

Equity is issued as options in Fendr’s entity
Milestone triggers are defined up front (design partner/LOI signed, wedge memo delivered, MVP spec delivered)
If you convert full-time, compensation transitions to a standard founder-style vesting structure

How to Apply

Submit application or email with:

Your lane (Design Partner PM / Venture Lead / Product, etc.)
One hard thing you’ve shipped or closed in the real world
One design partner you believe you can land in 30–60 days (company type is fine)
Your proposed wedge in one sentence (first anomaly classes you’d target and why)

If you’re not the person but know one, intros are welcome.

Fendr AI

Open Positions

Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR)