Library of Things is an award-winning organisation on a mission to make borrowing better than buying for people and planet. They first started testing rental in communities back in 2014 and helped kickstart a global movement. Their aim ever since has been to make rental accessible, convenient, impactful, viable and repeatable – to help people save money, reduce waste and build resilient communities.

They have an exciting opportunity for an experienced entrepreneurial leader to drive and scale their Rental Platform – in tandem with Library of Things, their place-based operations and social movement.

At Library of Things, they've designed and developed this Platform in-house over the last few years, to power their own London-wide operations.

No other platform can power place-based product rental in their uniquely community-led and impact-led way.

Library of Things realised this Platform also has huge appeal with other organisations wanting to deliver their net zero and circular goals – whether local governments, housing developers, universities, community businesses, corporate retailers or product manufacturers. So Library of Things started piloting a B2B licensing business – licensing their Platform to other organisations to power their own rental services.

This pilot now has:

• a pipeline of 150+ inbound enquiries from around the world
• one licensee already live: a national lending library network
• a second licensee launching soon: a housing developer with aligned impact goals
• expressions of interest from a variety of use cases and contexts

Library of Things anticipate the Platform could evolve to have a new trading name and visual identity to differentiate it from Library of Things’ place-based operations. It’s their intention that there’s a strong permanent and symbiotic relationship between the Platform and Library of Things, the movement.

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Who are they looking for?

Library of Things are looking for an experienced, purpose-led leader to spearhead this B2B licensing business, working with the existing team to grow it from pilot to scaled impact business. You’ll be working closely with co-founder Sophia, who will initially be your co-CEO.

You may have founded a company previously, or played a leadership role in growing one from the early stages. You may not.

What matters is that you have:

• Strong narrative skills – can you tell a story authentically so that it inspires others?
• Ability to fundraise and pitch – can you connect to and build meaningful investor relationships to support the mission?
• Business development, retail or SaaS experience - do you have considerable experience in one of these areas?
• Proven interest in creating impact – do you have experience with purpose-led initiatives?
• Entrepreneurial energy – have you directly been involved in building something from the ground up?
• Empathetic leadership – can you inspire, nurture and rally a team around you?
• Commitment to values – are you invested in creating an inclusive and regenerative venture, for people and planet?

Library of Things are really encouraging of those with atypical career paths or those who want/need more flexibility in their life, for any reason. They are open to discussing what that looks like for you. They already operate 9 day fortnights, for example.

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What’s the offer?

• A validated concept with global credibility
• A unique opportunity to build a business that has proven ability to scale
• Shape it from the early stages, commercialise it and share in its success
• Work on a purposeful venture - create tangible and significant environmental impact

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Library of Things are offering a financial stake in the growth of Library of Things Limited – and a remit to join the team in shaping the B2B licensing from pilot to scaled impact business. You’ll be working with them from a nascent-enough stage to be in effect a co-founder of the platform. The goal is to achieve a mission-aligned return on investment in the coming years.

Salary to be decided together. It’s partly dependent on fundraise efforts that you’ll be a part of – which can be discussed more in conversation. Warm leads are already in place.

You’ll be joining and building on strong foundations like their award-winning culture, created by three women co-founders, and centred on principles like transparency, autonomy and joy. Get a flavour of this by reading their team reviews here.

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