keep the numbers clear
Keep revenue, active teams, Organization conversations, hiring, and open decisions in one place. It should be short enough that the team actually uses it.
independent work sample / business ops, first hire
how I'd approach Business Ops at Paper.
Paper already has a product people love, and teams are paying for it. I'd take on the business work that comes with that growth so the team can keep building.
480320
25×ARR growth in one month after Desktop
thousandsof teams already paying for Paper
$34MSeries A from Accel and ICONIQ
firstdedicated business hire
Paper-reported figures from its Series A announcement.
a quick note
The public post only says "Business Ops, first hire." I do not know what the team has already decided about the role. This is my best read from the outside.
I'd expect parts of this to change after talking with the team.
how I see the role
the first business hire should make the team's work easier.
After Desktop, Paper says ARR grew 25× in a month and thousands of teams now pay. A small team is now dealing with more customer questions, contracts, launches, hiring, and day-to-day decisions.
I would take as much of that work off the team as possible. I'd also give the team a simple view of revenue, active customers, open Organization conversations, and the decisions that need founder input.
the goalthe builders get more time for Paper, and customers get faster answers.
This is not just a sales job. Some days the work will be a customer call. Other days it will be a contract, a pricing decision, a hiring process, or a spreadsheet. That range is what interests me.
the work
what I would own first.
I'd start with these three areas and change the list after I saw where the team is actually spending its time.
help teams adopt Paper
Find users who are already inviting teammates and connecting Paper to production work. Help them move from individual use to a team plan without forcing a heavy sales process.
take work off the founders
Handle contracts, follow-ups, onboarding, recruiting logistics, launch details, and one-off projects. If something keeps coming back, make it easier the next time.
how I would start with customers
start with teams already using Paper for real work.
Paper makes collaboration free, Pro allows much more agent use, and Organizations adds the controls and support larger teams need. I would look for users who are already bringing teammates into Paper or asking about Organization features, then help with the specific thing holding them up.
Based on Paper's pricing and MCP documentation.
01 / noticea user invites the team
02 / understandlearn what they are trying to ship
03 / helpsolve the thing holding them up
04 / follow upshare what we learned with product
where I would start
I'd start with existing users, not a list of cold accounts.
These are examples of things I'd look for in Paper's data.
- 01
A designer connects Paper to a live repo or production component library.
- 02
One person starts inviting designers, engineers, or product partners.
- 03
The team asks about SSO, controls, onboarding, support, or a custom agreement.
- 04
The team starts using Paper regularly instead of trying it once.
an example
A design lead connects Paper to a production repo, invites two designers and an engineer, then asks about SSO. That is a better lead than a company picked from a list.
I would ask what they are building, help them test one real design-to-code workflow, handle the security and contract questions, and check whether the team is still using Paper after the rollout. I'd tell the product team what got in their way.
I'd answer their questions and help the team get set up.first 90 days
I'd spend the first 90 days learning the work and taking it on.
By the end of the quarter, the team should have more time and a clearer idea of what to hire for next.
- 01days 01–30
learn and start owning things
Join customer calls, see how people find and share Paper, list the business work sitting with the founders, and take responsibility for a few items right away.
- A short weekly view of revenue, active teams, Organization interest, and open decisions
- A clear list of recurring tasks and who owns them today
- Conversations with active users, former users, and team champions
- 02days 31–60
run the customer and business work
Own current Organization conversations and the follow-up. Help a few active users bring Paper to their teams, and tell the product team what gets in their way.
- A simple path from an active user to an Organization plan
- A short weekly customer and business review
- One owner for contracts, onboarding, renewals, and customer follow-up
- 03days 61–90
keep the parts that work
After seeing the same situations a few times, write down the useful steps and drop the rest. Then decide which problem is important enough to need the next hire.
- A small list of numbers the team trusts
- Teams get set up faster after asking about Organizations
- A clear recommendation for the next business hire
what I would measure
I'd keep the list of numbers short.
are teammates coming back?
First useful agent round trip, teammate invites, active collaborators, and recurring team use.
are active teams becoming Organization customers?
Time to agreement, Pro-to-Organization conversion, onboarding speed, retention, and expansion.
is work moving off the founders' plates?
Time saved for the founders, faster decisions, recurring tasks with a clear owner, and customer feedback reaching the product team.
why me
I have worked across every part of a small business.
I did whatever the business needed.
I bootstrapped GrowSpotlight to $1.6M in ARR, hired more than 25 people, worked with more than 200 businesses, and sold the company. I worked across sales, hiring, delivery, operations, and finance as the company grew.
I'm used to working across functions on a small team.
At Rosebud, I helped grow ARR from $1M to $2.5M in under a year by working across growth, sales, analytics, content, and AI workflows. Some days I talked with customers; others I worked in the data or helped the team get something shipped.
$1.6M ARR business built and sold25+ people hired and led200+ businesses served and advised$1M → $2.5M Rosebud ARR in under a year
I studied engineering, built and sold a company, and now work hands-on across sales and operations. I'm comfortable talking to a customer in the morning and fixing the follow-up or reporting that afternoon.
what I would ask first
five questions I would ask first.
- 01
What business work is taking the most founder time today?
- 02
What do users do before their teams start paying for Paper?
- 03
Where do Organization conversations slow down: product, security, contracts, onboarding, or something else?
- 04
Which customer requests should shape the product, and which should Paper ignore?
- 05
What would you want this person to fully own by month six?
let's talk
I'd like to hear what the job actually looks like.
If this is close, I'd love to compare it with the work on the team's plate today. I'd start with whatever is taking the most time, own it, and only add process if it helps.