Seeking a strategic and collaborative Senior BD Manager to support the firm’s startup and platform growth initiatives. This role is designed to help identify and scale market-facing opportunities that drive early-stage client engagement, strengthen investor relationships, and support key verticals and geographies.

The Senior Manager will use data, ecosystem insights, and a collaborative mindset to shape programs and strategies that elevate the firm’s visibility and position in the startup and venture capital ecosystem. The role is externally oriented, with a focus on uncovering market opportunities and creating repeatable approaches to relationship-building across regions. This position will work closely with the startup business development team to ensure alignment and help identify the right opportunities for deeper engagement and targeted follow-up.

This position can be based in our San Francisco (CA), Santa Monica (CA), or New York (NY) office locations and offers a hybrid work arrangement, allowing you to work both from home and at your designated office. The frequency of in-office work will be determined by business needs and guided by your department's directives.

 

Job Description:

Opportunity Identification & Market Strategy

• Analyze early-stage company trends, investor activity, and emerging industry signals to surface firmwide engagement opportunities.
• Use data and ecosystem knowledge to identify underdeveloped geographies, sectors, and referral networks.
• Develop and maintain a startup-focused opportunity pipeline in coordination with the broader BD team.

 

Scalable Engagement & Program Support

• Support the development of cross-market programming that fosters founder and investor relationships.
• Create templates, frameworks, and scalable approaches for regional activations, founder touchpoints, and ecosystem engagement.
• Ensure initiatives are structured to be proactive, repeatable, and complementary to ongoing partner and team efforts.

 

External Relationship Building

• Serve as a thoughtful and informed representative of the firm in early-stage and investor-facing settings.
• Cultivate relationships with ecosystem stakeholders including VCs, accelerators, operators, and founders.
• Identify and recommend market “on-ramps” that enable partner and BD team participation in key communities.

 

Internal Collaboration & BD Alignment

• Work in close coordination with the startup business development team to identify priority opportunities and ensure strategic alignment.
• Share insights, targets, and activation strategies that help accelerate client and referral relationships.
• Act as a resource to partners and BD managers for market awareness and program execution.

 

Desired Skills & Qualifications:

• Familiarity with early-stage company formation, venture capital, and startup growth dynamics.
• Proven ability to connect the dots across ecosystems, design programs, and collaborate across teams.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; confident operating in both internal and external stakeholder conversations.
• Self-starter with an eye for opportunity and a practical approach to execution.

 

Success in This Role Means:

• Uncovering new firmwide opportunities and connections in the startup and investor ecosystem.
• Building scalable, cross-market engagement approaches that support vertical and geographic growth.
• Strengthening coordination between firm-level programming and the startup BD team’s partner-facing efforts.
• Earning trust as a collaborative, strategic, and externally aware contributor to the firm’s growth.

 

Reporting to the Director of Business Development, the qualified candidate will have 10+ years of experience in business development, venture/startup ecosystems, or program strategy at a law firm, VC fund, startup, or similar organization. Bachelor's degree required; M.B.A or J.D. preferred.

 

The anticipated range for this position is:

$153,000 - $228,750