Executive Assistant

Hi there,

My name’s Edward. I’m looking for someone unusually capable, who would relish helping an ambitious and fast-moving entrepreneur organise their life, stay on track, and be ballast to help achieve all that’s being taken on.

If you’re:

- At a crossroads in your life, wondering what to do next

- Feeling like you have a lot to give, but aren’t presently sure how to harness it

- Excited at the prospect of joining a thriving team (or several)

- Seeking an opportunity to prove yourself

…This could be a dream opportunity.

Projects I’m working on right now:

1) A new diplomatic-journalistic outlet called "Listening to the Other Side". Our early work has received praise from senior US political advisors (on both sides of the aisle) and world-leading academics.

2) Altitude Climbing - a new platform with the most-followed fitness/rock climbing YouTuber, Magnus Midtbø. And further, together considering pioneering a new format of fitness race.

3) In 2017, aged 24, I co-founded an online course publishing house called Course Concierge. This continues today. We’re planning a spin-out with Paul Davids, the most-followed guitar teacher on YouTube.

4) I’m helping a very clear-thinking twenty-something advisor start his own international tax advisory firm.

5) And a very talented 23-year-old London-based designer get her fashion brand off the ground.

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I’m in need of a right-hand person who can assist with this starbursting of projects, help drive them forward, and have a creative and operational hand in them all.

Duties will include:

- The founder of CrossFit defined the word "virtuosity" as "performing the common uncommonly well". Spinning up new companies, there are many foundational things - setting up bank accounts, email addresses, bookkeeping, headhunting and recruiting early team members… - that need to be done uncommonly well. Somebody who can build systems for such things, winning my immediate trust in their doing so.

- Regular travel planning and management. The last trip I took to the US, I changed my itinerary four times mid-trip. This is not atypical. I need someone on board with this, and who can help ensure all runs to schedule.

- If I ask you to do something you’ve never done before, like set up a landing page with WordPress/ConvertKit, or a product page on Shopify, you will figure it out with little to no instruction.

- Gift buying for team members and important people in my life. Recently I had a 100-message thread perfecting the design of an origami crane (with an origami designer) to gift to advisors of the new diplomatic outfit. In this role, I need somebody comfortable with such meticulousness.

Keith Rabois, who ran operations for Paypal, LinkedIn and Square, notes the difference between "a barrel" and "ammunition" in an organisation-

Someone very accomplished I was just in contact with noted of their chief-of-staff:

"[Name] played a pivotal role over the last five years in helping me manage my responsibilities. When people asked how we accomplished so much with so few people, I would say that she was my army of one… She offered skillful suggestions, helped verify important details, and has kept our team organised every step of the way."

I’m in need of such an "army of one".

- Someone with supreme attention to detail who, even in their own private messages, upholds near-flawless grammar.

- Someone relentlessly resourceful in overcoming obstacles. When people are telling you "No, this can’t be done", you - through a mix of creative thinking, perseverance and charm - find a way to make it happen. Initiative, and not giving in. You can effectively bend the clock and get 26 hours’ activity into 24.

- Someone committed to the art of assisting - and who aspires to growth in the direction of ever more responsibility in the role of an Executive Assistant/Chief of Staff.

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I’m after someone who can start as soon as possible. I’m not sure it’ll be quite full-time to begin (I am my own bottleneck in getting things in motion), but ~3/4-time to begin, likely expanding to full-time reasonably swiftly.

Hours are flexible and up to you. This is not a conventional 9-5. I work odd hours myself, and we work with team members across many time zones.

I’m based in central London - just by Charing Cross. You can do the vast majority of this role remotely/at home. But I need someone who can come into central London a few times a week. (Trying to open new bank accounts with a remote assistant does not work.) We can discuss salary in interview.

We won’t be able to get back to everyone, but for those who stand out, I will be in touch from 22nd July on (so consider that an early deadline). If you haven’t heard back within a few days following that, please assume on this occasion you have not been shortlisted for interview.

Like any assistant position, this role will be one of deep insight, and it’s one I will be selecting for carefully. Thank you for considering the position. If you’re on the fence about applying: please do. Best of luck, and I look forward to hearing from you,

Edward

PS. Recently hiring for another role, I received near-duplicate emails from people who’d used ChatGPT. Use LLMs with extreme caution. Well-written human notes still tend to win out. :)