--- title: 'Founding Growth & Operations Lead at Fernstone' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/founding-growth-operations-lead-fernstone-new-york-wyasmywxyd2t' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-26' --- # Founding Growth & Operations Lead at Fernstone - **Company:** Fernstone - **Location:** New York, NY - **Compensation:** $90k–$130k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-09-24 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-26 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fernstone/dcbc02ce-bf20-4dd4-adc7-dfa42818c04a ## Job description Fernstone is building a new kind of insurance company: we combine AI with expert advisors to place insurance faster and at better terms. Insurance is a $1T category that still runs on pen and paper. We believe AI will fundamentally reshape how insurance is bought, sold, and serviced. We’ve raised $3M from YCombinator and other notable investors. Fernstone was founded by[James](http://bookface.ycombinator.com/user/737672/linkedin_redirect?key=f4f026c4cd7e51d1014e2de378f0e60f559cb6ac) (BCG, Traba, UChicago), and[Bryant](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryant-le-3884a7134/) (Google, SentiLink, Vanderbilt). We work in-person in our NYC office. Since the start of the year we’ve grown from 0 to 500+ customers – we’ve built a compelling product, and now we are scaling it up to reach thousands more. As Founding Growth & Ops Lead, your scope will span Growth, Operations, and Product: - Growth: own, launch, and grow an industry vertical core to our business - Operations: partner with insurance carriers to place coverage and transact on policies - Product: transmit operations work into scalable, agent-led workflows We’ll be most excited if you: - Have 2 - 4+ years working on a team that requires operational rigor and analytical excellence (high-growth startup, consulting, banking/PE, or similar) - Have built something before and are excited about ownership, ambiguity, and fast execution - Have accomplished impressive things in your life, whether professionally, academically, competitively, or otherwise This is a founding role, and that is reflected in scope, equity, and upside. ## About Fernstone ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Fernstone is an AI-native insurance brokerage that combines artificial intelligence with licensed brokers to help businesses obtain complex insurance faster and at better terms. - **Entity Type**: Private (Pre-Seed / Y Combinator F25 batch) - **Headquarters**: New York City, NY, United States (some sources also list San Francisco, CA – conflicting reports) [ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/fernstone) | [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fernstone) - **Founded**: 2025 [ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/fernstone) - **Founders**: James Chen, Bryant Le, and a third co-founder (Luke) [ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/fernstone) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Insurance brokerage, with a focus on commercial property & casualty, workers’ compensation, and specialty lines. - **Target customers**: B2B – construction, security, trades, and other businesses that need complex, multi-carrier risk coverage. - **Mission or purpose statement**: “Insurance for businesses that move fast” – providing a single platform to manage risk, compliance, and coverage without the typical back-and-forth. [fernstone.com](https://fernstone.com/) ## Products & Services - **Fernstone Platform**: A SaaS-based insurance management suite that includes: - **COI Management** – Create and share certificates of insurance instantly. - **Claims Handling** – File and track claims with dedicated support. - **Policy Management** – Access, update, and organize policies across carriers. - **Automated Alerts** – Notifications for renewals, expirations, and coverage gaps. - **Secure Access Control** – Role-based permissions for team collaboration. - **Billing & Payments** – Pay premiums, manage installments, and view history. - **Brokerage Services**: Human-in-the-loop licensed brokers who combine AI-driven automation with personal relationships to source quotes from top carriers (Tokio Marine, Amtrust, Markel, Liberty Mutual, The Hartford, CNA, Travelers, BHSI, Kinsale). [fernstone.com](https://fernstone.com/) ## Market Standing - **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private, pre-seed). - **Key Metric**: Total funding of $125,000 from Y Combinator (pre-seed round, led by YC, September 2025). [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fernstone) - **Notable Investors / Partners**: Y Combinator (lead investor); David Lieb (primary YC partner). Carrier partners include Tokio Marine, Amtrust, Markel, Liberty Mutual, The Hartford, CNA, Travelers, BHSI, Kinsale. [fernstone.com](https://fernstone.com/) | [ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/fernstone) - **Growth Signals**: Serving 100+ businesses in construction, security, and trades; monthly website traffic growth of +394%; headcount growth of +40% monthly (from 2 to 5 employees); actively hiring a Growth & Operations Lead. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fernstone) | [ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/fernstone) ## Competitive Advantages - **AI-native automation**: An AI agent automates the manual broker-carrier back-and-forth (email threads, follow-ups, document generation), dramatically reducing quote turnaround times. - **Licensed brokers in the loop**: Combines technology with human expertise – all co-founders and staff are licensed brokers, ensuring quality and accountability. - **Dedicated risk management team**: Every client gets a single point of contact who learns their operations, updates policies, and monitors exposures proactively. - **Transparent, competitive pricing**: Works across multiple carriers to keep coverage effective and affordable, with continuous monitoring to avoid overpaying. ## Strategic Focus - **Scaling the platform**: Onboarding more businesses, especially in complex risk verticals (construction, security, trades). - **Expanding carrier relationships**: Partnering with additional top-rated insurers to broaden coverage options. - **Product development**: Enhancing the self-service portal and AI capabilities to reduce friction further. - **Talent acquisition**: Building a small, high-leverage team (currently ~5 people) with a focus on growth, engineering, and operations. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Early-stage startup with a strong sense of ownership; all three founders are hands-on and licensed brokers, creating a culture of deep domain expertise and hustle. - **Remote/Hybrid**: Fully remote workspace (US-based). [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/fernstone) - **Notable perks**: Direct exposure to Y Combinator’s network; opportunity to shape the product and company from the ground up; small team means high impact per person. - **Engineering culture**: One co-founder (Bryant Le) is a former Google and SentiLink engineer; the team values technical tooling and automation. [ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/fernstone) ## Sources 1. [fernstone.com](https://fernstone.com/) 2. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/fernstone](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fernstone) 3. [ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/fernstone) 4. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/fernstone) 5. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fernstone) ## Other roles at Fernstone - [Founding Sales Development Representative](https://feeny.ai/job/founding-sales-development-representative-fernstone-new-york-a2pay4sqabfz) — New York, NY