Strategy & Ops Lead

About Stadium Vault (Stadium Live Studios)

Stadium Vault is the newest app we launched. Our vision is to turn every fan into a collector by making commerce feel like play. We digitize the experience of collecting real TCG (Pokémon, One Piece) and sports cards, so users can rip packs from anywhere while collecting rewards along the way. We've crossed 8-figure GMV, and we're just getting started.

Stadium Vault is built by the team behind Stadium Live, a sports prediction app that reached over 3.5 million users. We've raised $15M to date and are backed by Union Square Ventures, KB Partners, Kevin Durant (35VC), and the founder of NBA Top Shot.

About The Role

This is our first dedicated strategy hire. You'll work directly with the CEO, VP Product, VP Growth, and the leadership team to find our blind spots and fix them before they cost us. We're a fast-moving business that sells physical goods, which brings real inventory, cash flow, regulatory, and operational complexity. We need someone who can turn messy tradeoffs into clear decisions, and then make sure those decisions get carried out.

This isn't a slide-deck role, and it's not a role where you wait to be handed problems. You'll find them yourself, build the model, negotiate the terms, and chase the timeline until it's met. This is a high-intensity role, and you'll report to the CEO.

What you'll do

You'll touch every part of the business. The problems will change month to month, but they'll usually fall into a few buckets:

• The money: forecasting, cash flow, financing options, and helping us tell a sharp story when we raise
• The machine: inventory bets, unit economics, and making sure the ops team scales ahead of demand
• The risks: tax, legal, regulatory, and whatever we haven't thought of yet. You'll be the one who spots it first
• The next bets: new markets, new categories, and partnerships worth doing, each backed by a clear case for why
• The team: helping us figure out who we're missing, how to find them, and how to keep everyone shipping on time

If you're the kind of person who reads that list and thinks "I'd start with the second one, and here's why," we want to talk to you.

What you'll get

• A seat at the leadership table at a high-velocity startup with real revenue, real users, and a genuine shot at becoming the defining platform in gamified TCG and sports commerce
• Unusually broad scope that will quickly show you which parts of the business you want to lead long-term
• Competitive compensation, equity, and the chance to build something that matters in a space you actually care about

Qualifications

• 4–8 years in strategy, BizOps, or finance, ideally including time in consulting, banking, or PE followed by a high-growth consumer, e-commerce, or marketplace company
• You have exceptional drive and agency. You don't wait for permission, a brief, or a perfect dataset. You see what needs doing and you do it
• You're AI-native. You use AI tools every day to research, model, analyze, and automate, and you've built workflows that let you do the work of a small team
• You're fluent in the numbers: you can build a forecast, break down unit economics, and model cash flow without a template
• You've operated in a business with physical goods, inventory, or logistics, or you're eager to get your hands dirty in one
• You've negotiated real deals and you're comfortable pushing for good terms
• You bring the counter-argument. You'll tell leadership when you think we're wrong, and back it up with evidence
• You're scrappy and willing to do anything it takes, from building the board model to packing boxes on a busy week
• Excellent written communication
• Some familiarity with or interest in TCGs (Pokémon, One Piece), sports cards, or collectibles

Nice to Have

• Experience with non-dilutive financing (revenue-based financing, credit facilities, inventory financing)
• Exposure to cross-border tax, customs, or consumer and gaming regulation
• Experience managing people or running a partnerships function