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.
