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Founding Operations Lead at Harper | Y Combinator
www.ycombinator.comThe Mission
The E&S insurance market is a $100B+ industry running on systems designed before the internet. Every policy requires dozens of complex decisions and hundreds of steps. While others try to patch the existing system with basic automation, we're building something fundamentally different: an intelligent system where humans and AI seamlessly collaborate to execute complex workflows at unprecedented speed, turning two-week processes into hours.
You're Our Person If
You're both an operator and architect - running today's processes while building tomorrow's systems
You transform processes rather than follow them, making teams 10x more effective
You excel at AI integration - from prompt engineering for tactical operations to working with engineering to build AI agent workflows
You bridge the gap between manual operations and automation, using AI strategically while permanent solutions are developed
You measure success by problems eliminated, not hours worked
You think in first principles and build complex systems in one-third the normal time
You're comfortable throwing everything away and starting from scratch when needed
You can look at complex workflows that "experts" say can't be improved, see through to the core problems, and build solutions at a speed that makes others uncomfortable
Hard Requirements
Must be in San Francisco during YC W25 batch (Jan-March 2025)
Long term: Based in San Francisco or New York
Proven track record of building and running complex systems at unprecedented speed
Experience turning human decision-making into scalable automated systems
Comfort with high-velocity environments where everything changes daily
Indicative Weekly Targets
In your first two weeks, you'll:
Master our core operations by end of week 1 - you'll be the operator driving our business
Use AI to eliminate 95% of friction from lead-to-binding workflow
Identify critical bottlenecks and launch first AI-human workflow for throughput improvement
Take ownership of sales and payment operations while testing new AI solutions
Be ready to adapt or rebuild from scratch as we learn
By weeks 3-4, you'll:
Design systems for rapid expansion into new insurance lines
Create and deploy AI-human workflows that transform customer operations
Build scalable processes that don't require additional headcount
Work closely with engineering to test AI solutions and provide rapid feedback
Bridge the gap with AI tools until permanent automation is built
Your Domain & Impact
You'll both operate tactically and transform the core of our brokerage:
Sales Operations: Design and run intelligent workflows that optimize both how we sell and how we work with insurance carriers
Payment Operations: Build and operate frictionless payments for the complex flow of insurance premiums
Customer Operations: Create and manage scalable systems that turn us into a true risk manager for our clients providing near instant customer service
How We Execute
Make Requirements Less Dumb: Question everything. If someone says "that's how insurance works," that's exactly where we start
Delete the Process Step: The fastest process is no process. Every step must justify its existence
Optimize: Make it smarter. If AI can do it better, it should
Accelerate: Speed compounds. What can be done in a day should be done in an hour
Automate: Transform human expertise into AI systems that scale
Our Operating Philosophy
"Move fast. Break things. Fix them faster." "Strong opinions, loosely held"
Join as an Owner, Not an Employee
Base compensation for the Operations Lead role ranges from $75-150K depending on your experience:
Early Career (1-2 years): $75-100K
Mid-Level (3-5 years): $100-125K
Senior (6+ years): $125-150K
But here's what really matters - we're building something that could transform a $100B+ industry, and we want our Operations Lead to be a true architect and owner of this transformation. Your equity package will reflect your role as a core builder who's fundamentally reshaping how insurance operations work.
We're looking for someone who sees this role not as a job, but as an opportunity to build and own the future of insurance operations. If you're comparing base salaries at tech companies, you're thinking too small. This role is for someone who understands that the real upside comes from building and owning revolutionary systems that could transform an entire industry.
Think like an owner because you will be one. If you're primarily optimizing for cash compensation, we're probably not the right fit. If you're excited about building something massive, seeing your operational innovations drive real change, and owning a meaningful piece of what we're building - let's talk.
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