About MaRS
MaRS Discovery District (@MaRSDD) in Toronto is one of the world’s largest urban innovation hubs.
MaRS supports promising high-growth companies to scale their businesses globally, while tackling key societal challenges in areas such as Health, Cleantech, Finance, Transportation, AI, and others. In addition to helping start-ups launch, grow and scale, the MaRS community is dedicated to cross-disciplinary collaboration, commercialization of discoveries, and driving ideas to impact.
MaRS is the place where you can play a meaningful role in our innovation economy.
We understand qualifications on a job posting can be daunting. If you're passionate about the role and believe you can make a meaningful impact, we want to hear from you, even if you don't meet every listed qualification. We’re always looking for great talent to join our team on planet MaRS.
We actively encourage all candidates, including equity-deserving communities, including those who identify as BIPOC, racialized, women, people with disabilities, and people with diverse gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations.
We want you to be comfortable being your most authentic self throughout our recruitment process. Please reach out to careers@marsdd.com if there’s anything we can do to make your experience more accessible and inclusive, including accommodations. Include 'Accessibility Request' in your subject line.
About the opportunity
MaRS is seeking Advisors to support our highest potential companies. Advisors provide strategic guidance to executive teams and facilitate community events. They make connections to talent, customers, experts, and funding. They collaborate on the development of the program and partnerships.
This is an independent contractor opportunity.
Key Responsibilities
- Through individual advisory and community events provide guidance on topics relating to scaling cleantech ventures like:
- raising capital from early stage (seed, Series A) to bankability including equity, non-dilutive, project finance, private equity, and alternative sources of capital
- building and leading an executive team
- product development and commercialization roadmap of capital-intensive projects
- negotiating strategic partnerships including licensing agreements
- preparing for entry into global markets
- Provide expert input into company and portfolio assessment processes to maintain a high-quality bar for venture programs
- Assess client needs and plan service delivery in collaboration with the MaRS team
- Make connections to your network — to talent, customers, experts, and funding. The priority is making connections to VCs and other capital providers in your own network.
- Document your venture activities in the MaRS CRM and follow program processes to enable effective client and program management
- Provide strategic and operational input on program elements to ensure the program maintains high value for ventures
Qualifications
- You are/were an executive who scaled a cleantech company to commercialization and at least $20M capital raised. We will give priority to executives who:
- have recent (within the past 2-5 years)
- have raised amounts substantially in excess of $20M
- have experience negotiating deals with investors globally, especially in the US
- We welcome applications from VCs who have led multiple Seed and Series A cleantech deals.
- We prefer candidates who have experience as a mentor, coach or consultant. Relevant experience as an advisor, mentor, or coach for science or engineering based companies at Seed to Series A stages is ideal.
- Highly developed analytical and interpretive skills, conceptual thinker, able to solve complex problems
- Demonstrated passion for building businesses
- Personal accountability and commitment to achieving and exceeding goals and objectives
- Detailed knowledge of commercial practices for high growth businesses.
- Familiar with the “language” and terminology of industry, finance, government, and the academic community.
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