Portfolio Business Development

Job Description

Job Description

About the Role

We are hiring a founder-caliber operator to own and scale the Portfolio Engine for Martell Ventures , leading all business development, deal flow, and founder talent pipeline. You will source and close world-class founders for Partnerships and Incubation, drive top-tier deal flow through brand leverage and the Media team, and ensure only ventures with clear ICP, problem definition, offer design, and monetization paths enter the studio.

You will also match validated product ideas to the co-founders you advance through the pipeline, ensuring each founder enters with a studio-approved and strategically vetted product focus taken from our prioritized idea list or from a new opportunity endorsed by the Martell Ventures leadership team.

Your mandate is to drive high-quality pipeline growth and ensure every founder handed to the Portfolio Growth Leader has a clear, validated, and strategically aligned product direction that increases the likelihood of PMF and enterprise value creation.

You will run the deal pipeline end-to-end, translate founder ambitions into clear early operating plans and milestones, and maintain a cross-portfolio view of momentum, risk, and resource needs before handing initiatives to the Portfolio Growth Leader for activation and growth.

This is a high-velocity, high-judgment role that combines sourcing, evaluation, systems thinking, operating systems thinking, and founder leadership. You are a founder-level operator who can sell, evaluate, coach, and close at a very high bar.

Location : Kelowna, BC (In-Office Only)

What You'll Do 1. Deal Flow and Founder Qualification

• Source, qualify, and close world-class founders and venture opportunities across Partnerships, Incubation, and Studio-owned product categories.
• Build the founder pipeline through outbound sourcing, brand leverage, media distribution, SaaS Academy, influencer networks, industry ecosystems, and targeted hunts.
• Operate from a thesis-driven market map that guides sourcing lanes, segment founders by archetype, and tailor qualification accordingly.
• Apply rigorous founder and product qualification standards including execution proof, ICP clarity, traction signals, alignment to the Ventures filter, PMF likelihood, and structured founder capability scoring for grit, speed, and coachability.
• Drive opportunities through top of the funnel to Contracting with speed, precision, and discipline while maintaining high cultural alignment.
• Use the Martell Ventures framework to evaluate strategic fit, assumptions, risks, expected venture economics, and provide light coaching to test adaptability.

2. Early Product Validation and Offer Clarity

3. Strategic Partnerships and Portfolio Growth

What You Bring

Success Looks Like (First 90 Days)

You establish a high-velocity business development engine that increases opportunity quality, strengthens founder sourcing, and ensures only high-probability ventures enter the studio.