🌞 Earlywork #53: How to Break Into BizOps
Featuring Marlene Baquiran (BizOps @ Vow), Kanav Bhama (BizOps & Finance @ Dovetail), Liani Strauss (BizOps @ Open) & Nigel Lee (BizOps & Strategy @ Immutable) + Gigs from Mobius
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💡Weekly Cheeky Tip
The BizOps (aka “Business Operations” but more sexy) function at tech companies has picked up a lot of clout over the last few years.
From big tech FAANG (or MAMAA) companies, fast growing unicorns to early stage startups, BizOps is becoming an increasingly important part of the planning, strategising and executing of their wildest ambitions and dreams.
Well sounds pretty swanky but what is it exactly?
There’s not one clear cut definition but broadly speaking, BizOps teams bring a method to the madness of startups; a central decision mechanism that helps different business functions connect and operate in sync.
Let’s refer to a widely-used analogy to understand further; BizOps is to a business what the cardiovascular system is to the body. To build a successful company you need the tools, process, and people.
Similarly, the cardiovascular system would not function properly without a heart (tooling), a standardised way to deliver nutrients and oxygen to cells (process), and blood cells (people) to implement the process correctly.
However, It’s very easy to get broad-based definitions online but what is not as straight-forward is capturing insights from 4 industry operators who are currently working in BizOps at some of the leading startups in the ecosystem.
It was a real privilege to speak to Marlene, Kanav, Liani & Nigel and hear how they got started in BizOps, distil what they actually do day-to-day and share advice for young Earlyworkers trying to land a job in the field.
Marlene Baquiran, BizOps @ Vow
First, we chatted to Marlene, who left consulting at Bain to jump into fast-growing, cultured meat technology company Vow.
How’d you get started in BizOps?
Really, I fell in love with the mission and the team. Then I just wanted to help the best way that I could. I suspected I would exit consulting to PM, because I feel very empowered by seeking what I like to call Business Futch™ (BizFutch): perfect harmony between interpersonal and analytical work, business and technical etc. BizOps is a good analog in this sense but perhaps even more generalist, closer to strategy, and with more focus on internal stakeholders rather than customers (though with Vow's size and flexibility, our other BizOps Associate has been leaning in on product work too). Being close to the big picture is super fun when you have a batshit insane moonshot vision like feeding billions of people.
What do you do in your day to day in BizOps at Vow?
There are a few patterns to my work, and it's always co-created with friendly folks who are smarter than me:
Bringing sharp first-principles reasoning, e.g. getting around a whiteboard with scientists to conceptualise our manufacturing plant, and understanding how our most sensitive assumptions change our best answer.
Bringing evidence to strategic decisions, e.g. delivering insights on our unit economics to help bridge our product and manufacturing strategy.
Connecting dots and discovering our options, e.g. interviewing regulators, other founders, and think-tanks to inform our global GTM strategy, or learning from leading experts on cell culture manufacturing.
Concretely, it's a lot of all forms of communication, project management, forming OKRs, modelling (unsexy kind, though I don't judge), just getting shit done, and occasionally a trip to Singapore!
Any advice for young Earlyworkers looking to break into BizOps?
The conventional wisdom is to go through consulting because it signals traits of a great generalist. Ask yourself whether you value these traits in your 'character arc', and whether you can either already demonstrate competence across these areas or pave the pathway to competence by leaning on your current strengths:
Analytical skills, structured thinking, and a love for optimisation
Decisiveness and ruthless prioritisation skills (work on confidence)
Openness and comfort with ambiguity (work on humility - a necessary antidote to over-confidence!)
Our talented Junior BizOps Associate Gabby also has an interesting view to really show that there are always other pathways to carve out. Simplistically, you could come in either top-down (strategy to execution i.e. from consulting) or conversely, bottom-up like Gabby did:
BizOps didn't exist when I joined Vow. Vow just needed someone scrappy and willing to tackle some day to day Lab Ops tasks. I never thought this would turn into a BizOps role. Once you get accustomed to the day to day ops work, you start seeing opportunities for improvements and that's when work becomes more strategic.
Kanav Bhama, BizOps & Finance @ Dovetail
Kanav leads BizOps & Finance at Dovetail, recently dubbed Australia’s next big thing after also leaving consulting (seems to be a trend)!
How’d you get started in BizOps?
My first BizOps role was at Dovetail - where I currently am. I joined as the first Operations hire and as employee #9, and had the space to figure out how to incubate and/or grow Ops teams and enable other functions. Before delving into BizOps I used to work in financial assurance and strategy consulting, marrying the two together gave me a sound base to add value in a generalist BizOps role.
What do you do in your day to day in BizOps at Dovetail?
Every day looks different and as Dovetail grows the role has also evolved. When I joined as the first Ops hire a lot of the work was ‘firefighting', solving problems and I was across a wide range of work such as core operations, real estate, people and hiring, legal, finance, leadership ops. I’d also be the first point of contact for many of our external advisors and specialists we’d work with, at one point up to 27 different partners.
As we’ve grown I’ve been able to let go of some of those ‘lego blocks’ to specialists we’ve hired in-house and a lot of my focus is now on running high-impact special projects (i.e. office expansions, site selection for international expansion, cap raises) and scaling the finance team. What’s stayed true in the role over time has been the breadth of work across various specialities.
Advice for young Earlyworkers looking to break into BizOps?
From a technical front I’d recommend looking to build specialist knowledge in one or two areas (e.g. project management, finance, legal) and then branch out into learning about other spaces. This shows a level of curiosity and ability to build enough context to operate effectively as a generalist.
In terms of finding the dream entry into BizOps - it’s important to acknowledge that BizOps’ focus is on solving business problems and building the blocks which enables the rest of the business to thrive. I’d recommend looking to connect with BizOps teams and Founders and asking them the question “how can I help?”. That mindset can help unlock unique opportunities to get involved in solving interesting problems or helping keep the wheels on the business as a side hustle, sometimes leading to longer-term opportunities. Some of the best BizOps roles come about organically and are rarely advertised.
Liani Strauss, BizOps @ Open
Liani recently joined InsurTech Open after spending time working in customer facing roles at her previous startup.
How’d you get started in BizOps?
It took me a little while to find out about BizOps. I identified that I wanted a role where I could use a blend of analytical, problem solving and execution skills. After speaking to a friend that works in BizOps, I went into an article rabbit hole and found that this BizOps thing was pretty aligned with what I was looking for.
Convinced of my next move, I reached out and spoke to a few people working in BizOps in startups to understand the most important skills I needed to showcase. I worked hard on them, especially the analytical side, and then was very lucky to find the opportunity to join Open.
What do you do in your day to day in BizOps at Open?
Typically, the BizOps team has a few 'special ops' projects running where we solve problems for other business areas. These can range from process improvements to exploring new market opportunities.
A big part of my day-to-day is performing analysis to understand what the data tells us about a problem and then creating dashboards to empower others to understand insights. I think about processes a lot and how to build and implement simple but powerful workflows for other teams.
Advice for young Earlyworkers looking to break into BizOps?
1. Pursue your interest. Easier said than done - I know! I was given this advice and I could only really follow it when I started exploring many different things. Don't be afraid to try something (like a new role) and assess and reassess whether it gives you energy or steals your energy.
2. Lean into analytics. Knowing SQL feels like a bit of a superpower and for a long time, I was resistant to getting my hands dirty. Being data-driven is one of the most powerful skills for BizOps, along with problem-solving and good communication.
Recommendations: Data with Danny SQL course & Bullet Proof Problem-solving book
3. Speak to people. You can gain an incredible amount of insight about a role when you hear from others who have done it. BizOps can also vary greatly depending on industry and company. Don't be afraid to ask for advice or a quick chat; people are kind and willing to help.
Recommendation: Earlywork slack community 😉
Nigel Lee, BizOps & Strategy @ Immutable
Nigel leads BizOps & Strategy at blockchain startup Immutable, who recently became the fastest Australian company to become a unicorn.
How’d you get started in BizOps?
My background before startup land was in management consulting. BizOps felt like a natural fit — a bit of strategy, a sprinkle of process, a pinch of data, and a whole bunch of just getting stuff done. Showcasing strong problem solving, structured thinking, and clear communication also helped during my interviews!
What do you do in your day to day in BizOps at Immutable?
Really depends on the company. BizOps is usually the bunch that are generalists so depending on 1) the stage of the company, 2) the skillsets of the team, 3) the current problem to be solved, I could be doing high-level strategy like pricing models or really getting into the weeds by serving as customer support.
For Immutable in particular, it's very much a mixed bag! In my first 6 months within Immutable, I've changed roles 3 times. Most recently, I've been handling two functions at once with very limited resources—customer support and community management.
Advice for young Earlyworkers looking to break into BizOps?
Think T-shaped skill sets. First establish that you're a super strong generalist—you can solve any problem or at least know how to figure out how to solve it really quickly (hint: you don't have to solve it like an expert. Just find the 80/20).
Next is the '|' in the 'T'. Find your niche and specialty. It could be finance, strategy, analytics, or rounding up people to get alignment. For such an ambiguous role, reputation is super important so you need to stand out and make a name for yourself.
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