Suggestions
Erik 🇺🇦
Advisor, Investor, COO, Exec Coach, Board Member - Founder and CEO - Strategy and Operations Exec
Erik Bullen is a seasoned entrepreneur, advisor, and investor based in the Greater Boston area.12 He currently serves as a Chief Operating Officer (Fractional) and Member of the Board of Directors at Three Sages, a position he has held since December 2020.2
Erik's career spans various roles in the startup and innovation ecosystem:
Professional Experience
- Founder and Managing Director of bullhaus since August 20182
- Managing Partner at Gravitate AI since February 20202
- Bolster Ambassador, providing advisory, COO, and board roles for startup and scaleup companies2
- Angel investor with TBD Angels and previously with Launchpad Venture Group and Walnut Ventures2
- Venture Partner at Republic since August 20212
- Mentor for organizations like Techstars, GrowthMentor, and MassChallenge24
Previous Roles
- CEO of GrooveJar and MageMail (2017-2018)2
- VP of Digital Strategy and Innovation at Mobiquity, Inc. (2016-2017)2
- Vice President of Global Services at Brightcove (2012-2016)24
Education
- Bachelor of Business Administration in Operations and Computer Science from The College of William and Mary (1991-1995)23
- Graduate studies in Technology Innovation and Management at The George Washington University School of Business (1996-1997)3
Erik is known for his expertise in building and scaling SaaS, e-commerce, and mobile companies, as well as his focus on product strategy, innovation, and organizational culture.1 He is actively involved in mentoring and advising startups, and contributes to various causes including cancer eradication, children's education, and environmental protection.14
Highlights
As a #COO, I have real hiring needs, and I'm testing several Applicant Tracking Systems (#ATS), including major ones such as Workday.
Workday, as well as other last-generation ATSs, are terrible. Their #UX friction prevents great candidates from applying.
Example: As a user (applicant), I drop off shortly in the midst of the onerous process (uploading my resume as a start is a disaster, barely filling the required fields), and as a user (hiring manager), I'm worried about how many great applicants I don't see because the applicant's user experience is terrible.
It's one reason applicants are gaming the system using #AI, and we're not for the better either way.
Which ATS - or process - do you recommend that may be better for all involved?
Robynn Storey?
#hiring #chiefoperatingofficer
Are you a woman person of color interested in working in the venture capital industry? We are now accepting applications for Vencapital 's fall program starting Sept. 4th, 2023.  Vencapital (where I'm on the board and a mentor) provides venture finance training and placement for minorities and women.  The program consists of 8 weeks of immersive venture capital training and financial modeling workshops led by experienced VC and Angel instructors, operators and mentors, including founder Henry Ogbuagu and me.  Fellows get matched with VC firms and subsequently have the opportunity to be placed at those firms on three month internships or project-based engagement after completing the 8 week training. Participating firms include Sequoia Capital, Flourish Ventures, Philips Ventures, Type One Ventures, and many more.  The application deadline is this coming Monday, July 31st.  Apply here: https://lnkd.in/eXNK9xip  #venturecapital #startups #education #jobs
