Co-founder, Market Intelligence, Research & Strategy | Market Thesis, Commercial Validation & Institutional Growth | Equity Only

**Location:** Gurugram, India | Remote Worldwide **Experience:** 8–15 years preferred **Compensation:** Equity only **Job type:** Co-founder ## About the opportunity I'm building Whitebrinjal, an enterprise technology market network focused on improving how organisations discover, evaluate, select and adopt complex technologies. I'm looking for a co-founder to build and lead our Market Intelligence, Research & Strategy function from zero. This is a founder-level opportunity for someone who can connect market evidence, customer problems, industry dynamics, competitive intelligence and commercial strategy, then turn that understanding into decisions that shape the company. I'm not looking for someone to prepare a market research report, populate a spreadsheet, write a pitch deck or produce recommendations that someone else must execute. I want someone who can determine what we need to understand, establish how we will find the answers, lead the work across multiple markets and industries, challenge assumptions, bring the right people into the process and help turn what we learn into a credible business and investment thesis. **The expectation is to build the capability, not simply complete the research.** ## What Whitebrinjal is building The ambition is not to build another marketplace or software directory. There are platforms for discovering products, reviewing software, professional networking and buying and selling. But enterprise technology adoption is considerably more complicated. A technology can be technically ready and still have no clear path into an enterprise. The buyer may not know what to ask. The underlying business problem may not be sufficiently defined. The right stakeholders may not be aligned. The technology may not be properly evaluated. The business case may not be clear. Procurement may not know how to structure the engagement. The solution provider may not know how to navigate the organisation. A promising evaluation may never translate into deployment. Whitebrinjal is exploring the infrastructure around how enterprise technology gets discovered, evaluated, commercialised and ultimately adopted. The journey can extend from problem discovery and qualification through matching, evaluation, RFI/RFP, proof of concept, pilot and deployment. The opportunity is to build a network that can extend into workflows, intelligence and infrastructure around enterprise technology adoption. Our broader thesis is that better structured decisions, before significant time, money and organisational resources are committed, can improve the path from technology discovery to enterprise adoption. We need to establish where this thesis is strongest, which customer problems matter most, how the market behaves, what buyers will value and pay for, and how the business can scale commercially. That is where you come in. ## Why this role matters now Whitebrinjal is at an early stage. The product direction and market thesis are being developed, but the company is pre-revenue and pre-funded. At this stage, an investor may reasonably ask: - What specific market problem is Whitebrinjal solving? - How widespread and commercially significant is that problem? - Who experiences it, who owns it and who pays to solve it? - How does the problem differ across enterprise sizes, industries and geographies? - Why are existing platforms, consultancies, procurement processes and technology providers not adequately solving it? - What evidence supports the proposed business model? - Which markets and use cases should we prioritise first? - How will Whitebrinjal reach its first customers and establish network effects? - What must be true for this business to become scalable? - Which assumptions have been validated, and which remain unproven? These questions cannot be answered by a generic market size estimate or an attractive presentation. They require structured research, credible evidence, direct customer understanding, commercial judgement and the ability to distinguish an attractive hypothesis from a viable business opportunity. The role will help establish that foundation and continue using it as the company develops. ## What you will own ### 1. Build the market intelligence and research function You will establish how Whitebrinjal understands its markets and makes evidence-based decisions. This includes defining the research mandate, priorities, methodology and operating cadence. You will establish standards for source quality, evidence, assumptions, confidence levels and validation. You will design a repeatable approach to market sizing, customer discovery, competitive intelligence and commercial assessment. You will build a research architecture that accommodates multiple industries, technology categories, buyer types and geographies. You will create a system for identifying unanswered questions, assigning research, assessing findings and translating them into decisions. You will coordinate internal contributors and external specialists where deeper domain expertise is required. You will build reusable research assets, market maps, intelligence repositories and decision frameworks. You will ensure the work remains commercially useful rather than becoming research for its own sake. You will initially be hands-on where necessary, but your central responsibility is to build and lead the function, not personally conduct every interview, analyse every industry or write every research document. ### 2. Develop Whitebrinjal's horizontal market thesis Whitebrinjal is intended to address a horizontal problem: the difficulty of moving from technology discovery to confident enterprise adoption. The research therefore cannot be restricted to a single industry or technology category. You will help establish where the enterprise technology adoption problem is most acute, which parts of the discovery, evaluation and procurement journey create the greatest friction, and which problems are frequent, costly and important enough to support a business. You will identify the stakeholders who experience the problem, the people who control the budget and the alternatives customers currently use, including internal teams, consultants, procurement functions, analysts and existing platforms. You will investigate where existing solutions fall short and why those gaps persist. You will assess which aspects of the problem can be addressed through software, structured workflows, market intelligence, network effects or a combination of these. You will identify the assumptions fundamental to Whitebrinjal's long-term thesis and determine how they should be tested. You will also identify where the company can develop a defensible position rather than simply replicate existing discovery or marketplace models. The objective is not to prove that every enterprise has a problem. It is to identify where the problem is sufficiently meaningful, accessible and commercially addressable to justify building a business around it. ### 3. Lead research across industries, technology categories and use cases A horizontal platform requires a disciplined way to understand multiple markets without spreading resources too thinly. You will establish a research framework covering relevant industry verticals, enterprise technology categories, use cases and buyer environments. For each priority area, the team should understand: - Industry structure and key participants. - Relevant technology categories and adoption trends. - Business problems driving technology investment. - Buyer and decision-maker roles. - Existing discovery and procurement processes. - Adoption barriers and current alternatives. - Budget ownership, purchasing triggers and willingness to pay. The research should also consider regulation, security, integration, compliance and organisational change where relevant. For every priority area, you will identify potential entry points for Whitebrinjal, the evidence needed to justify further investment and the assumptions that remain unresolved. You will establish a prioritisation method so the company does not attempt to investigate every industry equally. Research depth should follow commercial potential, customer access, urgency of the problem, evidence strength and strategic relevance. You are not expected to be the world's leading subject matter expert in every vertical. You are expected to build a system that brings the right expertise into the right decisions. ### 4. Lead geographic market intelligence, with North America as a priority Whitebrinjal's market research must reflect the geography of its intended customers, not simply the location of its founding team. North America is an important initial research priority, including the United States and Canada, with particular attention to relevant enterprise technology ecosystems such as the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Seattle, Boston and Toronto. Other geographies may be investigated where the evidence supports their strategic relevance. You will help the company understand differences in enterprise buying behaviour across geographies, regional differences in budgets and buying cycles, trust requirements and adoption barriers, the influence of local competitors and established networks, and where customer discovery and commercial validation are most feasible. You will assess which geographies offer the strongest initial opportunity and why, and how Whitebrinjal's positioning, distribution and monetisation may need to adapt across markets. The role is not restricted to someone physically located in North America. What matters is the ability to understand those markets credibly, engage relevant stakeholders and validate findings with people who know the market. ### 5. Own the Investor Market Thesis & Evidence Dossier One of the first major outputs will be a rigorous Investor Market Thesis & Evidence Dossier. This is not intended to be a generic industry report or a pitch deck filled with unsupported market size claims. It should establish the evidence behind Whitebrinjal's opportunity and identify what still needs to be validated. **Market definition and opportunity** Define the market Whitebrinjal intends to serve, establish relevant market segments, size the opportunity using transparent methodology and defensible assumptions, assess market structure and growth drivers, and distinguish the broad addressable market from the initial serviceable opportunity. **Customer problem and demand** Identify priority customer segments and ideal customer profiles, buyer roles and economic decision-makers. Establish evidence of existing problems, their frequency and commercial consequences, current alternatives, customer discovery findings, urgency and willingness to pay. Clearly distinguish interview observations, validated demand and untested hypotheses. **Competitive landscape** Map direct competitors and adjacent platforms, enterprise software discovery and review platforms, technology marketplaces, procurement tools, relevant service providers, consulting-led approaches and internal alternatives. Assess competitive positioning, differentiation and areas of overlap. Establish why customers might choose Whitebrinjal or decide they do not need it. **Business model and monetisation** Assess potential paying customer groups, value propositions and commercial models that fit the problem and buying behaviour. Investigate pricing hypotheses, transaction or success-based fees, subscriptions and other relevant mechanisms where justified. Assess revenue drivers, potential unit economics, major cost considerations and the conditions required for sustainable monetisation. **Go-to-market and market entry** Identify initial customer and use-case priorities, customer acquisition and distribution options, potential strategic partnerships, enterprise sales considerations, buying cycles and stakeholder alignment. Define initial market-entry hypotheses and measurable validation milestones. Establish what must be learned before substantial resources are committed to expansion. **Network effects and defensibility** Investigate the conditions under which a larger network could create greater value, the incentives for buyers and technology providers to participate, barriers to adoption and participation, and potential data, workflow, intelligence or relationship advantages that could emerge over time. Identify the assumptions that must hold for these advantages to become meaningful. **Risks, assumptions and evidence gaps** Identify major commercial, operational, competitive and adoption risks. Assess evidence supporting or contradicting the current thesis. Rank critical assumptions by importance and uncertainty, identify unanswered questions and recommend the next research priorities. The final output should make it possible for the founding team and prospective investors to understand not only the opportunity, but also the strength of the evidence behind it. The objective is not to make the company appear investable by overstating certainty. It is to establish a credible, decision-ready understanding of the business and what needs to happen next. ### 6. Translate research into strategic and commercial decisions Research is useful only when it changes what the company does. You will work with the founding team to convert findings into decisions about which customer problems to address first, which customer segments and industries to prioritise, which geographies offer the strongest initial opportunity, which product capabilities are essential, how Whitebrinjal should position itself against existing alternatives and which business-model assumptions require validation. You will also help determine where the company should invest its limited time and resources, which partnerships could accelerate customer access or market credibility, and what evidence would strengthen the case for fundraising and institutional engagement. You should be comfortable challenging the founder's assumptions when the evidence does not support them. The expectation is not to validate every existing belief. It is to help the company arrive at better decisions. ### 7. Build a repeatable research and intelligence operation As Whitebrinjal develops, market intelligence must become a continuous capability rather than a one-time exercise. You will establish a practical operating model for market and competitor monitoring, customer and buyer intelligence, technology and category mapping, signal detection, opportunity identification, research briefs, decision memos and structured customer feedback. You will explore AI-assisted research and repeatable workflows where useful, while maintaining source verification and quality control. You will coordinate specialist researchers and industry contributors as required, and establish regular reviews of assumptions, findings and strategic priorities. You will determine which work should be performed internally, which can be delegated and which requires specialist expertise. The goal is a lean, scalable function that can support an expanding horizontal business without creating unnecessary research overhead. ### 8. Work as part of the founding leadership team You will work closely with the founder and other founding leaders. The founder and CEO will lead the company vision, strategic choices, product direction and final decisions. The capital and institutional development function will focus on investor readiness, fundraising strategy, strategic investor research and institutional relationships. The market development and GTM function will focus on customer access, market activation, partnerships, outreach and commercial validation. Technology and product leadership will focus on product feasibility, workflow design, technical priorities and implementation. External specialists and industry contributors will provide deeper research and validation in selected markets. You will own the quality, coherence and usefulness of the market evidence, while collaborating with the relevant leaders to turn that evidence into action. This is not a role that operates in isolation or hands over a report at the end of a project. It is a long-term leadership responsibility within the founding team. ## The kind of person I am looking for You may have come from market intelligence, competitive intelligence, corporate strategy, strategic planning, strategy consulting, commercial due diligence, venture capital, investment research, enterprise technology research, B2B market analysis, business strategy at a technology company, marketplace or platform businesses, commercial strategy or a research-led organisation where you built or led a team, practice or function. The background matters, but what you have actually built matters more. ### Relevant background and experience **Experience: 8–15 years preferred** You may have built your experience in strategy consulting, commercial due diligence, corporate strategy, market intelligence, technology research, investment research or business building. Relevant experience could come from organisations such as McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Gartner, Forrester, IDC, CB Insights, AlphaSense, PitchBook or similar firms. These are examples, not a list of preferred employers. What matters is the work you have personally owned. You should have experience going beyond research and analysis to determine whether a market opportunity is commercially viable, understand what customers actually need and will pay for, assess competitors and alternatives, identify promising entry markets, and translate evidence into business decisions. You may have led commercial due diligence, evaluated new markets, built a market intelligence or strategy function, developed a new business, or helped leadership decide where to invest time and resources. **The expectation is not that you know every industry. It is that you know how to investigate an unfamiliar market, find credible evidence, challenge assumptions and build a repeatable process for making sound commercial decisions.** A prestigious employer or a strong research portfolio alone is not enough. I am looking for someone who has exercised independent judgement, taken ownership of consequential decisions and is ready to take founder-level responsibility for building this capability at Whitebrinjal. Candidates with fewer years of experience may be considered if they demonstrate exceptional ownership and business-building ability. Senior candidates should be comfortable working hands-on and building a function from the ground up. This is an equity-only founding opportunity at an early-stage company, not a salaried executive position. ### Leadership and function-building experience I am looking for someone who has led people, coordinated multidisciplinary work or built a repeatable research, strategy or intelligence capability. You should have experience setting direction, deciding what matters, assigning work, evaluating evidence and bringing different perspectives together. You do not need to have held the exact title of Head of Market Intelligence. You do need to demonstrate that you can lead the function rather than simply execute assigned research tasks. ### Commercial judgement You should understand that a large market does not automatically create a good business. You should be able to distinguish between a visible industry trend and a problem customers will pay to solve. You should know how to investigate market size, customer urgency, alternatives, purchasing behaviour, competition, pricing and the economics of a potential business. You should be able to make a recommendation even when the evidence is incomplete, while clearly explaining the uncertainty and what would change your view. ### Customer and market validation You should know how to get beyond desk research. That means being able to identify the right people to speak with, design useful discovery conversations, examine actual buying behaviour, test assumptions and recognise when positive feedback is not evidence of real demand. You should be comfortable coordinating research with enterprise buyers, technology providers, procurement leaders, technical stakeholders, industry experts and other relevant participants. ### Analytical and strategic depth You should be comfortable with market sizing, segmentation, competitive analysis, business-model assessment, research synthesis and evidence-based prioritisation. You should be able to work across industries without assuming that the same buying process or commercial model applies everywhere. You should also be able to communicate complex findings clearly to founders, prospective investors and commercial or technical leaders. ### International market understanding Experience researching or working with North American enterprise markets is particularly valuable. Experience across multiple countries, international business environments or global technology markets is an advantage. The important requirement is the ability to understand how markets actually work and to validate that understanding with credible evidence. ### Ownership and founder mindset Most importantly, you should want to build a company, not merely advise one. You should be comfortable operating without a large team, established research infrastructure, extensive budgets or a predefined playbook. You should be willing to challenge assumptions, make decisions, take responsibility for outcomes and build the function as the company grows. A large professional network is useful, but a network alone is not enough. A prestigious résumé is useful, but a résumé alone is not enough. A polished strategy deck is useful, but a deck alone is not enough. I need someone who can turn research, judgement and relationships into decisions and measurable progress. ## What success looks like ### Initial stage: establish the foundation - Build an agreed research framework and operating methodology. - Map the most important questions underlying Whitebrinjal's horizontal thesis. - Establish initial customer segments, industry categories and geographic priorities. - Separate established facts, credible evidence, assumptions and open questions. - Identify the most important commercial risks and research gaps. - Develop the structure and initial evidence base for the Investor Market Thesis & Evidence Dossier. ### Next stage: validate and prioritise - Coordinate customer and market validation across the highest-priority opportunities. - Assess competitive alternatives and identify meaningful differentiation. - Evaluate business-model and monetisation hypotheses. - Recommend the most promising initial customer segments and use cases. - Translate evidence into product, GTM and capital-allocation recommendations. - Build a repeatable process for reviewing and updating the market thesis. ### Longer term: build the function - Establish a scalable market intelligence and research capability. - Build and coordinate a team or network of contributors as the company's needs and resources evolve. - Develop repeatable research workflows, quality standards and intelligence assets. - Ensure market understanding informs company strategy, product priorities, commercial development and fundraising. - Help Whitebrinjal expand into additional industries and geographies based on evidence rather than assumptions. Success will be measured by the quality of decisions enabled, the strength of market validation, the usefulness of the research capability and the commercial progress it helps create, not simply the number of reports produced. ## What this role is not This is not an individual-contributor market research analyst position. It is not a job limited to desk research, data collection or report writing. It is not a pitch-deck or fundraising-documentation role. It is not a conventional strategy consulting assignment. It is not a role where the founder defines every question and the candidate only executes instructions. It is not a role that assumes every industry and geography must be researched simultaneously. It is not a position where market hypotheses are treated as validated simply because they appear in a report. The founding leader will establish the research agenda, lead the capability, coordinate contributors and take responsibility for the strategic usefulness of the work. The role will require hands-on contribution in the early stages, but the objective is to build a function that can grow beyond any one individual. ## Why Whitebrinjal The opportunity is to help shape a company from its earliest stage. You will have the opportunity to influence the company's market thesis, strategic priorities, customer understanding, commercial direction and investment readiness. You will not be joining an established research department with a fixed mandate. You will help define what the function should become and how it contributes to building the business. For the right person, this is an opportunity to combine market intelligence, strategy, research leadership and company building in a horizontal enterprise technology venture. ## Founder opportunity and compensation Whitebrinjal is currently pre-revenue and pre-funded, so there is no initial cash compensation. This is a genuine founding opportunity intended for someone interested in building the company over the long term. The opportunity is meaningful founder equity, with the possibility of growing into a substantial leadership responsibility as the business develops. The exact equity structure will depend on the person, their commitment, the scope of responsibility and the contribution they will make to the company. Equity, vesting, responsibilities, decision rights and other terms will need to be discussed and agreed explicitly. The initial working arrangement will reflect the company's current stage, with the expectation of increasing commitment as the company reaches the appropriate funding and operating milestones. The intention is to build towards full-time founder involvement as circumstances permit. This is not a salaried position disguised as a co-founder opportunity, nor is the title intended to be offered without genuine ownership and accountability. We are building from Gurugram, while the business and research scope are international. I care more about founder-level commitment, sound judgement and meaningful work than where someone sits every day. Regular overlap in person or remotely will matter around major decisions, research priorities, market validation and company building. Please consider the equity-only arrangement carefully before applying. The opportunity requires alignment on the reality of building an early-stage company without an initial salary. ## How to apply If you have spent your career understanding markets, leading research or strategy, evaluating commercial opportunities, and now want to build a company rather than advise one from the outside, I would like to hear from you. Please explain the following in your application. **1. What have you built or led?** Describe a research, market intelligence, strategy or commercial function you owned. What was your responsibility, and what changed because of your work? **2. How do you approach an unfamiliar market?** Give an example of how you moved from an unclear problem to evidence, a recommendation and a business decision. **3. How would you investigate Whitebrinjal's opportunity?** Explain how you would structure the first phase of research for a horizontal enterprise technology adoption network serving international markets, including North America. **4. How have you led people or coordinated research?** Describe how you set priorities, divided work, maintained quality and brought findings together into a coherent recommendation. **5. Why do you want to be a co-founder?** Explain why building a company is the right next step for you and how you view the equity-only arrangement at this stage. Specific examples are more valuable than generic frameworks. Please distinguish work you personally owned from work performed by your wider team. I am interested in people who can think deeply, work pragmatically, challenge assumptions and take ownership of building something from zero. **Think clearly. Investigate rigorously. Decide responsibly. Build for the long term.**