---
title: 'Operating Partner, Studio at Interplay'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/operating-partner-studio-interplay-new-york-1gx1zpqbrykv'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-11'
---

# Operating Partner, Studio at Interplay

- **Company:** Interplay
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Employment:** part-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-11-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/interplay/bff4b8fd-f3ee-4f60-9e5f-b4406ff4eefc

## Job description

## JOB DESCRIPTION

Interplay is looking for an Operating Partner to work within our Studio. Interplay is an ecosystem where ideas scale. On the studio side, we build companies from scratch. On the capital side, we operate a multi-family office, a venture fund, and we make secondary investments.

Our Studio builds companies around American Independence: using cutting-edge technology to strengthen U.S. national interest, economic resilience, and technological sovereignty. We build in defense and national security, advanced manufacturing and re-industrialization, critical minerals, energy, critical infrastructure, and more. The right person has built and sold a company in or adjacent to these sectors, is passionate about the 0-1 space, and is ready to help create a handful of high-quality companies per year. As an Operating Partner, you will lead due diligence, help recruit CEOs, and support Studio portfolio companies as they grow.

## WHAT YOU’LL DO

- Conduct due diligence, including market research and competitive analysis, on opportunities in American Independence sectors.
- Recruit and hire leadership teams, including CEOs, to drive new ventures forward.
- Provide strategic guidance and hands-on operational support to portfolio companies.
- Leverage Interplay’s ecosystem of capital, services, and resources to accelerate company growth.
- Work with customers, suppliers, government stakeholders, and technical experts to build high-potential businesses.
- Drive the creation of scalable, venture-backable companies that can become industry leaders.

## WHO YOU ARE

- A self-starter, motivated to learn, and not afraid to get your hands dirty.
- A problem solver who finds a way around walls and gets things done.
- A Swiss army knife who handles many responsibilities and stays organized.
- Experienced at managing timelines and turning information into plans.
- A strong team player who builds relationships across functions.
- Tech-savvy and comfortable with data and diligence tools.

## REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

- Proven experience as a founder, with a successful company exit.
- Direct operating, founding, or investing experience in one or more American Independence sectors:
- National interest and defense: aerospace, defense tech, public safety, autonomous systems, AI-enabled national security.
- Re-industrialization and hard tech: advanced manufacturing, domestic supply chains, critical minerals and materials, energy and grid hardware, nuclear.
- Commercial technology for government: agile, low-cost, mass-producible hardware and software replacing legacy contractors.
- Critical infrastructure: logistics, transportation, housing, education, and workforce development.
- Working knowledge of how these markets operate, such as government procurement, supply chains, hardware development, or regulated industries.
- Deep passion for the 0-1 startup phase and company-building.
- Strong ability to identify and evaluate new market opportunities.
- Track record of hiring and mentoring executive leadership.
- Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical, and decision-making skills.
- A strong network in the startup and investment ecosystem.

## PREFERRED

- A network in defense, industrial, or energy ecosystems, including primes, DoD and government stakeholders, operators, and manufacturers.
- Experience selling to or partnering with government or large industrial customers.
- Engineering, operations, or military background, or experience scaling hardware or industrial businesses.
- Undergraduate degree from a top university, with a strong academic background in finance or another quantitative field. An MBA or CFA is nice to have.
- VC experience is not necessary but preferred.
- Ability to work well in an unstructured environment.
- A great attitude, a sense of humor, and a love of building, problem-solving, and winning.

## About Interplay

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Interplay is a startup ecosystem that provides venture capital, an accelerator, a studio, and platform services to support founders and innovation at every stage.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Venture Capital & Operating Platform)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2012
- **Founders**: Mark Peter Davis (Managing Partner)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Venture Capital, Startup Acceleration, Company Building (Studio), Operating Services, Multi-Family Office
- **Target customers**: Early-stage founders, startups (Pre-Seed to Series B), and high-net-worth individuals (family office clients)
- **Mission statement**: “Entrepreneurs are the primary driver of social change. Our goal is to accelerate their journey.”

## Products & Services
- **Venture Capital**: Invests $500K–$2M in early-stage North American tech companies, with a focus on application-layer AI and marketplace businesses. Co-invests in Seed to Series B rounds (sweet spot: Series A).
- **Accelerator**: Provides a $50K cash investment for a 6% equity stake, plus a six-month remote program with hands-on support as interim co-founders. Sector-agnostic but prefers pure software and tech-enabled services.
- **Studio**: Partners with CEOs to build companies from scratch, typically starting from internal ideas. Invests $100K–$10M+ to break the cold-start problem.
- **Platform**: Offers core operating services (accounting, marketing, legal, professional development, outsourcing) and vendor discounts to portfolio companies.
- **Ascend (Multi-Family Office)**: Provides full-service portfolio and investment management, plus advisory services for estate planning, philanthropy, taxes, and more.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue of $9.0M (as of latest data)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not disclosed; the firm acts as a conviction co-investor and maintains a network of hundreds of executives.
- **Growth Signals**: 28 employees (+25% YoY), 8,319 LinkedIn followers (+16.7% yearly), active job postings (+200% yearly), and a growing presence in Mexico, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Full‑stack ecosystem** – Combines capital, company building, and operational support under one roof, allowing founders to access multiple resources seamlessly.
- **Hands‑on, interim co‑founder model** – In the accelerator, Interplay embeds itself as an interim co-founder, aligning incentives through equity (6% common stock).
- **Network density** – A large pool of executives, engineers, and interns that portfolio companies can tap into for talent and introductions.
- **Conviction co‑investing** – Performs its own underwriting but never leads, allowing it to remain flexible and aligned with market pricing.

## Strategic Focus
- **Investment thesis**: Application-layer AI and marketplace businesses in North America (primarily US, also Canada and Latin America).
- **Studio approach**: Identifies gaps in society’s “social fabric” and builds commercially viable solutions, often recruiting a co-founder/CEO after internal ideation and diligence.
- **Global reach with US focus**: Accelerator is remote and open worldwide, but companies must target US customers; studio companies are built in the US.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Rated 4.6/5 on LinkedIn (Work-Life: 4.5, Compensation: 3.9, Culture: 5.0, Career: 4.7).
- **Work model**: Accelerator program is fully remote; studio and venture teams likely operate in a hybrid environment based in New York.
- **Open roles** (as of search date): Cofounder + CEO (Manufacturing), Associate (AI), VP of Engineering – indicating opportunities for both operators and investors.
- **Perks**: “Unreasonable support” through platform services, access to a vast executive network, and a collaborative environment where employees work directly with founders.

## Sources
1. [interplay.vc – Homepage](https://www.interplay.vc/)
2. [interplay.vc – About](https://www.interplay.vc/about)
3. [interplay.vc – Jobs](https://www.interplay.vc/jobs)
4. [interplay.vc – Ventures](https://www.interplay.vc/ventures)
5. [LinkedIn – Interplay](https://www.linkedin.com/company/interplayecosystem)

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