Research Associate

About the role

Outlier Ventures is seeking a Research Associate to become a cornerstone hire for a new dedicated research function to gather and synthesize insights from across the business, and it’s exposure to thousands of startups applying to its accelerator programs each quarter, to hundreds of portfolio companies and synthesize them into actionable insights for thesis development, thought leadership and to support its cohort managers and growing portfolio.

We are looking for an individual that is a dedicated research professional passionate about Web3 and its commercial and societal applications, but understands it in a broader context in its convergence with other technologies; in particular AI.

It is a unique opportunity to work directly with Outlier’s Founder and CEO Jamie Burke as well as its Chief Product Officer and CMO to help inform company strategy as well as feed into wider business thesis development and thought leadership.

You will have demonstrated an ability to produce and present research into complex subject matter that can be distilled down into various easy to consume formats from; academic research papers, physical in person keynote presentations, media interviews to trend reports and tweet storms.

It will require you to be capable of cross-functional stakeholder management to both surface insights from and serve insights to the OV employee population of 100 staff.

Because of the speed of innovation in Web3 compounded by its convergence with other technology domains and industries you must be able to manage your time and attention effectively to not become overwhelmed, whilst harnessing emerging tools like ChatGPT to scale your capabilities and keep pace with its exponential growth.

Your Key Responsibilities:

• Work on all aspects of the research lifecycle, from concept or hypothesis development through to initial data collection, analysis, visualization and communication of the findings, allowing for a great deal of diversity on the job and the development of a broad skills set.
• Deliver research projects focusing on web3 topics such as DeFi, Metaverse worlds and gaming and generative AI and agent based systems.
• Work with quantitative data, as well as conducting field research in the industry based on desk research, conference and event findings, interviews with prominent financial and non-financial institutions.
• Distil content into digital marketing friendly segments and work with creative teams to ensure that the visual elements complement the content
• Present findings to our co-investor and wider partner network in timely formats
• Support our portfolio investor relations team in fostering growth and engagement with investors as well as our partnership team in building relationships with emerging protocols and corporations

We are looking for someone who:

• Has a degree in economics, finance, information technology or related field; master's degree preferred.
• 5-8 years of experience in Fintech, banking sector, private equity or venture capital company or closely related area with 2-3 years in research function within Web3.
• Deep passion for innovation, start-ups, financial technology, Web3 and AI
• Strong analytical capability and problem-solving skills
• Aptitude to synthesize information from diverse sources and present findings in a clear and concise manner
• Excellent writing, editing and proofreading skills in English
• Comfortable with multi-tasking; ability to work efficiently under pressure and keep tight deadlines
• Entrepreneurial mindset to work in a dynamic and results-oriented environment
• Basic understanding of digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO).
• Consultative approach - engaging key stakeholders
• Native to Web3
• Someone who can work independently and get ‘stuff’ out and is not a perfectionist.
• Strong communication and presentation skills from media interviews to keynote presentations