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Founding Manager Jobs in Toronto, ON (NOW HIRING)

Avomind

Founding Sales Lead

Toronto, ON · On-site

Maintain accurate pipeline, activity tracking, and forecasting in CRM (HubSpot). * Consistently meet or exceed monthly and quarterly KPIs across outreach, demos, pipeline, and revenue. * Coordinate ...

Rockstar

Software Engineer

Toronto, ON

Rockstar is recruiting for an early-stage, well-funded startup that is transforming how enterprise accounting teams manage the month-end close process. The founding team brings deep experience from ...

Sagard

Associate, AI Fund

Toronto, ON · Hybrid

Sagard is a multi-strategy alternative asset management firm active in venture capital, private ... We are looking for a founding Associate to join the Sagard AI Fund. This is a rare entry point into ...

Funded.club

Customer Success Manager

Toronto, ON · Remote

Funded.club Senior Recruiters partner exclusively with Startups and are in direct communication with hiring managers and founding team members. Funded.club uses AI-assisted tools as part of our ...

Wing Assistant

Website Manager

Toronto, ON · Remote

CA$110K - CA$135K/yr

Strong visual design skills are preferred. - Hands-on with GA4, Google Tag Manager, and heatmapping ... to founding team - High visibility, autonomy and ownership $110,000 - $135,000 a year 110000 to ...

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Founding Manager information

What is a founding manager?

A Founding Manager is one of the earliest leaders or executives in a startup or new company. They are responsible for helping to establish the organization’s vision, culture, and operational foundation. Their duties typically include overseeing daily operations, strategic planning, hiring initial team members, and driving early growth. Founding Managers often work closely with other founders to make critical decisions and set the direction for the company's future. Their role tends to be very hands-on and multifaceted, especially during the company's formative stages.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a founding manager?

To thrive as a Founding Manager, you need strong leadership, strategic planning, and business development skills, often backed by entrepreneurial experience or a degree in business management. Familiarity with startup tools such as project management software (e.g., Asana, Trello), CRM platforms, and basic financial systems is highly beneficial. Exceptional communication, resilience, and adaptability are crucial soft skills for navigating uncertainty and motivating early teams. These qualities enable a Founding Manager to drive growth, build a cohesive team, and successfully launch and scale new ventures.

What are some unique challenges a founding manager might face when building an early-stage team?

As a Founding Manager, you’ll often be tasked with assembling a team from the ground up, which can be both exciting and challenging. One common hurdle is recruiting and retaining top talent with limited resources and minimal brand recognition. You’ll also need to wear multiple hats, balancing strategic planning with hands-on execution, while fostering a collaborative culture in a fast-paced, uncertain environment. Flexibility, resilience, and strong communication skills are crucial for navigating these challenges and setting the foundation for long-term success.

What is the difference between Founding Manager vs Project Manager?

AspectFounding ManagerProject Manager
CredentialsExperience in startup leadership, business developmentProject management certifications (PMP, CAPM), relevant industry experience
Work EnvironmentStartup or new business environment, high uncertaintyCorporate or organizational settings, structured projects
Employer & Industry UsageFounders, startups, new business venturesCompanies across industries managing specific projects
Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding leadership roles in startupsManaging projects, timelines, and deliverables

The Founding Manager typically leads new business initiatives, focusing on startup growth and strategic direction, often with entrepreneurial experience. In contrast, a Project Manager oversees specific projects within established organizations, ensuring timely delivery and resource management. While both roles require leadership and organizational skills, the Founding Manager operates in a more dynamic, uncertain environment, whereas the Project Manager works within structured project frameworks.

What are popular job titles related to Founding Manager jobs in Toronto, ON?

For Founding Manager jobs in Toronto, ON, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Founding Manager jobs in Toronto, ON look for?

The top searched job categories for Founding Manager jobs in Toronto, ON are:

Founding Manager jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Manager job openings in Toronto, ON as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 88% Full Time, 11% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 80% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 16% Remote job distribution.

Founding Marketing Lead - New Brand

American Tall

Mississauga, ON • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 3 days ago

Job description

We are building a new direct-to-consumer menswear brand launching in Spring 2027. Backed by the team behind American Tall, we are entering a category we believe has been overlooked for far too long. Customers deserve better products, a stronger brand, and an exceptional experience. We are here to raise the bar. 

This is an opportunity to join as one of our founding employees. You will be part of a small team making important decisions, solving meaningful problems, and building the foundation of the business before launch. The pace will be fast, the challenges real, and your impact impossible to miss. 

Unlike many startup brands, we will launch with the backing, infrastructure, and experience of an established organization. At the same time, much of the journey ahead remains unwritten. We are looking for builders: people who embrace uncertainty, move with urgency, take ownership, and are energized by the opportunity to create something exceptional from the ground up. 

The Role

As our Founding Marketing Lead, you will play a central role in bringing our new brand to market. 

Working closely with leadership and partners across Product, Creative, Ecommerce, Operations, and Customer Experience, you will turn the marketing and go-to-market strategy into coordinated plans, campaigns, content, partnerships, and customer experiences. 

This is a highly hands-on role for a versatile marketer who knows how to create momentum. One day you might be developing a campaign brief, coordinating a product launch, or managing an agency. The next, you could be building the content calendar, reviewing performance, organizing an influencer program, or resolving a launch dependency with another team. 

You will help build the marketing operating system while executing the work required to launch and grow the brand. You should be comfortable working with direction from senior leadership while independently organizing complex initiatives, making practical recommendations, and driving work through to completion. 

Job Duties & Responsibilities

Execute the Go-to-Market Plan 

  • Translate the go-to-market strategy into a detailed launch plan, calendar, milestones, owners, and deliverables.
  • Coordinate marketing activity across paid media, owned channels, content, lifecycle marketing, partnerships, influencers, and referrals.
  • Help define channel plans and recommend practical opportunities based on customer insights and performance.
  • Maintain the integrated marketing calendar and ensure campaigns, product launches, promotions, and customer communications remain aligned.
  • Monitor launch readiness across the customer journey and follow through on outstanding decisions and deliverables.
  • Identify risks, dependencies, and gaps before they affect execution. 

Bring the Brand to Life 

  • Translate the brand positioning and messaging into clear campaign briefs, content plans, and customer-facing programs.
  • Partner with Creative, Product, and Ecommerce teams to develop launch and ongoing marketing assets.
  • Help maintain consistent storytelling across campaigns, content, email, partnerships, the website, and other customer touchpoints.
  • Coordinate the creation, review, approval, and delivery of marketing assets.
  • Develop a strong understanding of the target customer and use insights to improve messaging and execution.
  • Maintain high standards for brand consistency, accuracy, and customer relevance. 

Coordinate Campaigns and Growth Programs 

  • Support the planning and execution of customer-acquisition and retention programs.
  • Coordinate with agencies and internal partners responsible for paid media, content, lifecycle marketing, public relations, influencers, and partnerships.
  • Build campaign briefs, document requirements, manage timelines, and ensure partners have what they need to execute successfully.
  • Help develop and run tests across audiences, messaging, creative, offers, and channels.
  • Track campaign results and turn findings into practical recommendations.
  • Identify opportunities to improve reach, engagement, acquisition, conversion, and retention. 

Manage Launch Execution 

  • Act as a central marketing coordinator for launch.
  • Organize meetings, decisions, workstreams, timelines, and follow-up across the launch team.
  • Coordinate marketing dependencies with Product, Creative, Ecommerce, Operations, Technology, and Customer Experience.
  • Drive accountability and ensure actions are completed by the appropriate owners. 
  • Escalate risks and trade-offs clearly when leadership decisions are required.
  • Respond quickly to changing priorities and solve execution problems as they emerge. 

Build Marketing Operations 

  • Help establish campaign-planning, briefing, approval, reporting, and performance-review processes.
  • Maintain marketing budgets, calendars, project documentation, and status reporting.
  • Coordinate agency, contractor, platform, and vendor relationships.
  • Build dashboards and reports that help the team understand what is working and what requires attention.
  • Document processes and create repeatable ways of working as the brand grows.
  • Identify capability and resource gaps and recommend practical solutions. 
Experience, Education, & Designations
  • 5+ years of marketing experience within a direct-to-consumer, retail, apparel, or consumer brand environment.
  • Experience coordinating and executing integrated campaigns, product launches, or go-to-market programs.
  • Experience working across brand marketing, content, performance marketing, lifecycle marketing, partnerships, or related channels.
  • Experience developing briefs and coordinating work with creative teams, agencies, contractors, or external partners.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects with multiple stakeholders, dependencies, and deadlines.
  • Experience using marketing data and customer insights to evaluate performance and recommend improvements.
  • Experience within an early-stage, high-growth, or entrepreneurial environment is considered an asset.
  • Experience launching a new brand, product category, or customer proposition is considered a strong asset. 
Knowledge, Skills, & Attributes
  • Highly organized and execution-oriented, with strong attention to detail.
  • Able to translate direction and strategy into practical plans and completed work.
  • Strong marketing judgment and an understanding of how brand, content, acquisition, and customer experience work together.
  • Comfortable analyzing performance and turning data into clear next steps.
  • Excellent project-management and stakeholder-coordination skills.
  • Strong written and verbal communication.
  • Comfortable working independently while knowing when to seek input or escalate a decision.
  • Entrepreneurial mindset, bias toward action, and willingness to wear multiple hats.
  • Comfortable operating in ambiguity and creating structure where little exists.
  • Collaborative, resourceful, accountable, and excited by the challenge of building something new. 
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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