CEO / Co-founder

The Opportunity

We're seeking a visionary entrepreneur to partner with our venture studio in building a large and impactful new company – WorkHero. This is a unique opportunity to be a co-founder and CEO, but with a running start, building on nearly a year of research and initial development. The founding CEO will co-create and helm a company that's not just talking about AI—we're actively applying it to solve real-world problems for an essential yet underserved market. As CEO and Co-founder, you'll drive WorkHero's strategic direction, scaling our AI solution to address the critical workforce challenges in the HVAC industry and beyond.

About WorkHero

WorkHero is an AI-powered virtual assistant designed to streamline business management for owners of small businesses in the skilled trades, beginning with HVAC. Why HVAC? It's an industry crucial for both the economy and our climate goals, but small contractors face real challenges with business management and workforce shortages. We see a huge opportunity to make a tangible impact with the right technology.

We combine multiple narrow solutions into a single, comprehensive tool that understands and executes tasks through a combination of AI and human support, simplifying operations and improving efficiency and business outcomes. Our mission is to give diverse local small business owners all the sophistication of a corporate contractor while retaining their local ownership and love for their work.

About Workshop

Workshop is a venture studio that partners with founders to build startups in climate and education. Our team of entrepreneurs, engineers, and strategists leverages deep industry and customer insights to identify urgent unsolved problems and supports founders to develop breakthrough innovations to address them. We are led by Eleanor & Chad Laurans, co-founders of SimpliSafe, which they built and scaled into one of the largest home security companies in the U.S.

Why Partner With Us?

• Co-found a startup with nearly a year of research and development already completed
• Work with a dedicated team and enjoy the full support of Workshop Ventures' resources
• Shape a product that has the potential to transform an entire industry
• Address a significant gap in the market for affordable, scalable business management solutions for over 400,000 small skilled trades businesses in the U.S.
• Be part of the solution to the workforce challenges in the skilled trades, which are essential for the U.S. economy and climate transition

What You’ll Do

• Partner with Workshop to refine and execute WorkHero's strategic vision
• Lead product development and go-to-market strategy
• Engage directly with small contractors, initially in HVAC, to ensure our product continually evolves to meet their needs
• Build and lead a high-performing team
• Secure additional funding and manage investor relationships as we grow
• Oversee the expansion of our product into other trades and deeper service offerings
• Drive partnerships with key stakeholders in the climate tech and workforce development ecosystems

Who We're Looking For

We are seeking an entrepreneurial leader with a passion for empowering small business owners and a demonstrated bias to action. You would be an ideal candidate if you have:

• A deep understanding of the challenges faced by small skilled trades contractors
• Passion for the potential of AI to revolutionize small business operations
• Prior experience founding or leading an early-stage venture, ideally in SaaS, proptech, skilled trades, or workforce development
• Proven ability to build and execute on a strategic plan, with a nimble approach to managing processes and teams
• Experience partnering with product and engineering teams on software development
• Strong product vision and sales acumen
• Ability to articulate complex tech solutions in simple terms that resonate with small business owners

Ideally, you'd also have:

• Experience working in or with the HVAC industry
• An understanding of the current state of AI & how it's changing the way we work
• Track record of successful fundraising
• Understanding of finance & accounting, including cash flow management and related back-office systems

How We'll Support You

As a Co-founder partnering with Workshop, you'll receive comprehensive support to build and scale WorkHero:

• Dedicated support from Workshop's experienced team of operators, business strategists, and engineers
• Access to Workshop's playbooks and advisor network to support critical business needs
• Proprietary tools, processes, and resources to develop the product and business
• Pre-seed funding already secured to accelerate growth

Compensation

As a Co-founder, you will receive significant founder's equity in addition to salary and benefits, giving you a substantial stake in the company's success.

Join Us in Empowering the Trades

At WorkHero, we believe the true heroes of the skilled trades deserve cutting-edge tools to thrive in an increasingly complex business environment. Our comprehensive solution tackles everything from scheduling to customer management, all through a conversational AI interface that includes the ability to:

• Respond to customer inquiries and automate customer communications, empowering contractors to easily respond to customers while on the go.
• Automatically create professional quotes and proposals to close more leads and improve job profitability.
• Manage customer records and work to be done so contractors can know exactly what needs to be done for whom at any time.
• Handle routine billing, collections, and procurement tasks, so that contractors can focus on their real work.
• Integration with common industry tools like QuickBooks, Jobber, and HouseCall Pro.

If you're excited about the opportunity to co-found and lead a company that's simplifying trades business management through AI innovation, we want to hear from you.

Join us in our mission to empower the backbone of America's economy—one small business at a time.

Questions about the role? email us at careers at workshop.dev