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Kaizen Labs is a government technology company founded in 2022 that replaces legacy federal systems with modern software. The company has raised $35M from top-tier VCs (NEA, a16z, Accel) and is experiencing 35x revenue growth, with software projected to serve over 100 million Americans across dozens of federal agencies in the coming year.
The Founders Associate role sits directly under the CEO and COO, serving as the operational backbone of the leadership team. You will manage the CEO's day-to-day operations, prepare detailed briefs for high-stakes meetings with investors and federal agencies, own follow-through on critical stakeholder conversations, and execute one-off projects when ownership is unclear.
Key responsibilities include:
- Building advance meeting briefs from board materials, agency context, and internal communications to ensure leadership enters every meeting fully prepared
- Traveling to Washington, DC with the CEO for multi-day engagements, participating in meetings, taking notes, and owning all resulting action items
- Researching, preparing talking points, and handling logistics for CEO speaking engagements, panels, and external events
- Managing the CEO's inbox and calendar: triaging daily, drafting responses, prioritizing decisions, and eliminating low-value commitments
- Tracking and closing investor, partner, and federal stakeholder interactions; drafting follow-ups and ensuring all open threads are resolved
- Supporting active recruiting by prepping the CEO for interviews, running debrief readouts, and coordinating offers for priority hires
- Executing ad-hoc deliverables such as competitive briefs, partner decks, and research pulls
You will have visibility across all business functions—business development, finance, hiring, and government relationships—while working at the pace of one of the fastest-growing govtech companies. The role is based in New York City with bi-weekly multi-day trips to Washington, DC, often on short notice.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 2–4 years of experience in consulting, banking, an early-stage startup, or a role where you directly supported a founder or senior executive
- Demonstrated track record of taking ownership and executing with incomplete information, with a high success rate
- Excellent written communication skills: briefs, follow-ups, and summaries that are ready to use under time pressure
- Fluency with AI tools, applied to increase speed and efficiency rather than as a substitute for judgment
- Willingness to travel frequently, including multi-day DC trips and last-minute travel
- Comfort operating in daily ambiguity where priorities shift and context is provided on a need-to-know basis
PREFERRED:
- Experience working with federal agencies, defense stakeholders, or public sector partners
- Background in a high-growth startup in a generalist or operational capacity
