General Manager - EdTech Company

Beacon Software is a permanent capital holding company which acquires and grows essential businesses. We are a profitable series B+ firm that combines great technologists, operators and M&A professionals to accelerate the scale of the ambition of the dozens of business we own and operate. We are supported by capital from tier-1 venture capital, crossover, and endowment investors as well as the founders of the leading technology companies from the past decade.

We are growing our team in Toronto, San Francisco, and New York. Apply below.

Beacon Software Company Overview

Beacon Software is a new type of software holding company with the mission to buy, build, grow and hold great vertical market software businesses. 

 

We are not a financial firm. We are technology entrepreneurs who are passionate about building great software. We seek out founders who have built their business by spending years understanding their market and prioritizing their customers' specific needs. Our flexible structure offers entrepreneurs a unique option to implement a transition that ensures the continuity of the company while receiving liquidity at full value for their equity in their business. Beacon acquires companies with the intent to hold them forever and to invest in their continued growth. We have a permanent, committed capital base with a long-term time horizon and no pressure/intent to sell to another buyer. Our capital comes from a diverse set of investors including Wall Street (i.e. D1 Capital, CPMG), Silicon Valley (General Catalyst), the family offices of great technology entrepreneurs (i.e. John & Patrick Collison, Tony Xu, Eric Glyman, Karim Atiyeh) and evergreen funds which specialize in buy/hold models (i.e. Sator Grove). 

 

Beacon Software was founded by entrepreneurs Nilam Ganenthian (former President of Instacart and partner at D1 Capital) and Divya Gupta (former partner at Sequoia Capital) both of whom have spent their careers investing in, scaling and building high growth technology businesses.

 

Role and Mission: General Manager

This is an exciting opportunity to take over the leadership of a profitable, high-integrity EdTech business with a deeply loyal customer base. The founder is transitioning out of the business, and we are seeking a General Manager to lead the company through its next chapter of growth. The company is trusted in its space, with a tenured team, consistent profitability, and a strong product-market fit. The GM will be responsible for ensuring operational continuity, stewarding the company’s values, and scaling its go-to-market engine and product roadmap.

 

This is a hands-on operating role. The General Manager will lead all day-to-day operations, including sales, marketing, product, support, and internal processes. They will work across a hybrid team made up of full-time and part-time employees as well as contractors. While the business has a strong foundation and loyal customers, there is untapped growth potential in marketing, expanding internationally, upsell strategy, and select product-led initiatives (e.g., AI integration and data visualizations).

 

The ideal candidate will have first-hand experience going through the US higher education system (or helping their kids), full P&L ownership experience, a strong commercial background, and a collaborative leadership style. They should bring a strategic mindset, excellent judgment, and the willingness to roll up their sleeves in pursuit of customer value and long-term growth. The GM will also work closely with Beacon’s centralized teams and peer GMs across the portfolio to share learnings and scale best practices.

 

Location: Remote (US or Canada)

 

Scope of Responsibility: Business Ownership – Full Stack Leadership

 

This General Manager role offers full accountability across four major pillars:

1. Sales and Marketing (50%)
2. Product (25%)
3. People, Culture, and Team Leadership (15%)
4. Finance, Operations, and Partner Collaboration (10%)

 

The other main functions of the role include:

• Serve as the day-to-day leader of the company.
• Own the company’s P&L and deliver growth while maintaining profitability.
• Lead a distributed team composed of full-time, part-time, and contract employees.
• Execute a go-to-market strategy rooted in relationship-based sales and reputation-driven marketing.
• Represent the company externally through industry events, webinars, and customer-facing activities.
• Collaborate with engineering and product to shape and sequence roadmap initiatives.
• Foster continuity and alignment across legacy team members while introducing scalable process improvements.
• Identify and execute on areas to improve operations, automation, and reporting.

 

Qualifications

• Strong academic foundation and professional track record in technology or software.
• Experience with SMB vertical SaaS or EdTech
• Proven track record of managing and growing lean or hybrid teams with high retention.
• Demonstrated success in full P&L ownership, with strong operating discipline.
• Familiarity with founder-led businesses and sensitivity to cultural continuity.
• Highly empathetic, self-motivated, and a natural relationship builder.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to navigate ambiguity.

Ideal Candidate 

• Based in the U.S. or Canada and willing to travel as needed.
• Excited by the opportunity to lead an established software business with operational autonomy.
• Values mission-driven work and customer-centricity.
• Fast learner and high EQ.
• Looking to step into a CEO-equivalent role with support but no micromanagement.
• Has experience managing cross-functional software teams and setting growth strategy.
• Experience in the edtech space either as founder, GM, or commercial leader

 

Potential Personas

• COO, General Manager, Head of Sales at a edtech B2B company
• Commercial or product leader ready for end-to-end business ownership.
• Ex-founder with strong operator instincts and multi-disciplinary capabilities.
• Experience serving educators, non-profits, or high-trust customer segments (a plus).

 

What You Will Get From Beacon

• Network and learn from leading public and private equity investors who are Beacon LPs.
• Learn directly from entrepreneurs who have scaled businesses from seed-to-$10B+ IPOs.
• Attend exclusive/private fireside chats with legendary venture capital, private equity and hedge fund investors (Beacon Speaker Series). 
• Work directly with Silicon Valley product and engineering teams to perform diligence and underwrite technology driven value creation streams with potential acquisitions.
• Operate in an environment that encourages initiative and rapid development.
• Access to a trusted network of software operators, advisors, and fellow GMs.
• Strong development of interpersonal and presentation skills.

 

Minimum Expectations 

• Build trust with the internal team and key customers in the first 90 days.
• Deliver and begin executing a growth and ops plan within 6 months.
• Own business performance, team leadership, and roadmap delivery.
• Ensure smooth founder transition without compromising continuity.

 

 

Descriptors of Personas That Succeed At Beacon

• High agency 
• Impatient with actions, patient with results
• Play for front of the jersey 
• Intellectually curious 
• Perpetual learner
• Low bureaucracy 
• Systems thinker 
• Optimistic 
• Commercial 
• Ambitious

 

Beacon Software Values

• Humility: We acknowledge that the path to getting to the right answer involves being wrong along the way. We have strong beliefs which are weakly held. We actively seek new ideas and believe we can learn from anyone at any time. 
• Honesty: We are truth seeking in our approach to business problems. Business is a repeat game and we believe that human relationships generate alpha. We understand that trust is earned over a lifetime and can be lost in an instant. 
• Hunger: We play to win. We hold ourselves to high standards and will not be outworked. We take pride in having a deep sense of responsibility to ourselves, each other, our partners, and our customers. We believe to whom much is given much is expected.
• Horizon: We seek to build a generational software company. This will take decades. We manage our expectations and those of our partners to take advantage of the 8th wonder of the world - compounding growth.