Investment Principal

Contrarian Thinking LLC

$125K — $150K *
Finance & Insurance
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Entrepreneurial background with experience in building or operating a business.
  • Strong underwriting skills with a solid understanding of unit economics.
  • Proven ability to generate dealflow and build relationships with founders.
  • Genuine curiosity for unglamorous industries like waste management or HVAC.
  • Ability to form independent judgments and defend positions constructively.
  • Experience conducting fieldwork to verify data and insights.
  • Exceptional writing and analytical skills to create compelling investment memos.

Responsibilities

  • Own the deal process from sourcing and underwriting to closing and post-investment support.
  • Manage and evaluate dealflow effectively across various sectors.
  • Run comprehensive due diligence to support investment decisions.
  • Craft decision-driving memos articulating investment theses clearly.
  • Engage with portfolio companies to assist them in post-funding growth.
  • Collaborate closely with General Partners and community teams to leverage sourcing advantages.
  • Conduct thorough fieldwork including site visits and customer interviews.

Benefits

  • 100% company-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for full-time crew members.
  • Unlimited PTO with supervisor approval, plus 8 paid US holidays.
  • Bi-monthly direct deposit pay with timely payments.
  • 401(k) plan with competitive match options available.
  • Exclusive employee-only co-invest opportunities.
Full Job Description
Austin, TX | Full-Time, In Office
Position Overview

Contrarian Thinking Capital is an early-stage venture fund co-led by Christopher Petkas and Codie Sanchez. We invest in the real economy: the businesses that keep the lights on, move the freight, defend our shores, and maintain the infrastructure.

We're looking for an investor who can own the deal: sourcing, underwriting, and supporting the companies rebuilding the real economy.

This role is responsible for managing dealflow, running diligence end to end, crafting the memos that drive our investment decisions, and being a resource to our companies long after the wire clears.

This role is a partner track and sits at the center of the investment side of Contrarian Thinking Capital, working directly with both General Partners and alongside our media, community, and events teams... the parts of the ecosystem that make our sourcing advantage real.
What we're looking for

There is no single background that guarantees success in this role, and we are intentionally leaving fixed experience and pedigree requirements aside. That said, the people who tend to thrive in this seat share several traits:
  • You have built or operated something. An entrepreneurial background is the strongest signal. If you have started a company, run a P&L, or carried real operational responsibility, you understand the businesses we back from the inside. Consulting or banking experience on top of that is a meaningful plus; it means you can also model, structure, and diligence with rigor.
  • You can underwrite. You are comfortable in a model, fluent in unit economics and discerning the metrics that drive a business. You know the most important part of diligence is often the assumption everyone else took for granted.
  • You generate dealflow. You build relationships that turn into pipeline, and founders want you on their cap table. You're the person founders call before they raise, not after.
  • You are genuinely curious about unglamorous industries. Sectors like waste management, HVAC, metal fabrication, and facilities services interest you rather than bore you.
  • You have judgment and conviction. You form independent views, you are willing to be the dissenting voice in the room, and you can defend a position without becoming attached to it.
  • You do the fieldwork. You tour the facility, work through a founder's imperfect data room, or make twenty customer calls to get to the truth.
  • You write and think clearly. A strong memo is an argument, not a data dump, and you can construct one with a clear and concise point of view.


Who You Are
  • You'd rather be right than consensus, and you can sit with being early
  • You do the fieldwork - the facility tour, the messy data room, the twenty customer calls
  • You take ownership without waiting for permission or a process to follow
  • You give and take direct feedback without it becoming personal
  • You're curious about how things work at the atomic level, especially the boring parts
  • You want to build something in a small team where your judgment visibly moves the outcome
Why This Role Matters

We're seeing more opportunities than we can chase, diligence, and support. This role fixes that. You'll be the third voice in our investment decisions and the first point of contact for a meaningful share of what we see. The companies rebuilding the physical economy are getting funded right now, by someone. We'd like it to be us, and you to help make that true.

Location: Austin, TX - Full time in office.

Type of Employment: Full-Time
Crew Benefits
  • 100% Company-paid health, dental, and vision for all full-time Crew Members with an option to add any dependents.
  • Unlimited PTO Policy (with approval from your Direct Support) + 8 paid US holidays
  • On-time direct deposit pay 2x/month
  • Option to enroll in a 401(k) plan with competitive match options
  • Employee-only co-invest opportunities
How To Apply

You in? Great! Click the link on top to apply!

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Contrarian Thinking LLC

  • Investor Relations
    $100K — $120K *
    Austin, TX 78745 (Travis County)
    Finance & Insurance
    In-Person
  • Director of Marketing
    $90K — $130K *
    Austin, TX 78745 (Travis County)
    Business Services
    In-Person

More Finance & Insurance Jobs

Find similar Investment Principal jobs: