AI Studio Coach- AI-Powered Entrepreneurship

Break Through Tech•New York, NY

1d•Remote

About The Position

Break Through Tech is seeking several subject matter experts to partner with program staff to deliver a first-of-its-kind program for up to 500 undergraduate fellows enrolled in their flagship, extracurricular AI Program. The new 16-week AI-Powered Entrepreneurship program will enable fellows to take a venture from an unexamined idea to an evidence-backed pitch. With expert guidance and support from Coaches, fellows will work in teams to identify a customer problem, interview real customers, build and test an MVP with real users, and pitch their venture. The program covers four units: Problem Opportunity, Customer Validation, MVP and Prototype, and Pitch and Business Model, utilizing the Lean Startup Build-Measure-Learn cycle and AI tools. This is a hands-on coaching role where Coaches bring experience and judgment to help fellows learn, rather than prescribing answers. Coaches will support 8-10 project teams (about 40 fellows), facilitate live virtual events, design concept reviews, form and support venture teams, monitor progress in Canvas, grade deliverables, and host virtual office hours.

Requirements

Previous experience teaching, advising, mentoring, or coaching Lean Startup, customer discovery, Design Thinking, entrepreneurship, innovation management, or a comparable methodology
Working knowledge of customer discovery, hypothesis-driven experimentation, MVP development, value propositions, and business model development
Ability to coach multidisciplinary teams and provide constructive, specific feedback without taking ownership of the team’s venture
Comfortable working with early-stage ideas where significant uncertainty remains and the appropriate next step may not yet be clear
Hands-on experience using generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, or similar) for research, analysis, or product development
Commitment to developing inclusive and equitable working relationships with fellows from a variety of backgrounds, volunteers, other Coaches, and program staff
Experience evaluating and giving feedback on team work products
Prior teaching, tutoring, or mentoring experience
Excellent communication and facilitation skills
Ability to thrive in a virtual work environment
Availability for all Workshop, Maker Day, and Flagship Event dates

Nice To Haves

Experience working for, advising, or launching a startup or early-stage venture
Experience supporting technology commercialization, product development, accelerator programs, incubators, or university entrepreneurship programs
Experience obtaining or advising ventures pursuing startup financing (e.g. seed or investor funding, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, non-dilutive funding opportunities, etc.)
Familiarity with AI-enabled products, or experience building with AI-assisted prototyping tools (e.g. Figma Make, no-code platforms)
Experience judging pitch competitions, demo days, or venture showcases

Responsibilities

Facilitate and design short concept reviews for 4 Workshops (1.5 hours each)
Facilitate and design short concept reviews for 3 Maker Days (3.5 hours each)
Facilitate and support the culminating Flagship Event (3.5 hours), evaluating team pitches from an angel investor’s perspective alongside industry judges and volunteers
Review fellows’ Idea Board submissions ahead of Workshop 1 and form venture teams of three to five fellows around shared problem spaces
Create and monitor breakout rooms for team-based activities, rotating through every team to observe progress, ask evidence-based questions, and provide feedback and suggestions to ensure fellow success and engagement
Track attendance and ensure survey completion at the end of each event
Provide venture mentorship — both with individual teams and in small group settings — on customer discovery, value proposition development, MVP scoping, business model generation, and pitch preparation
Help teams distinguish customer evidence from assumptions, opinions, and AI-generated conclusions, and challenge them to identify and test their highest-risk assumptions
Support teams through milestone decisions, including whether to iterate, continue testing, pivot, or pursue further development based on what their evidence actually shows
Encourage thoughtful use of AI as a venture-building and thinking tool, while reinforcing the importance of human judgment, primary customer research, and responsible AI practices
Create a supportive environment where fellows can fail fast, receive candid feedback, learn from unsuccessful assumptions, and improve through repeated practice
Provide practical guidance on commercialization, market strategy, startup funding, and investor readiness when appropriate
Find and recommend additional resources to support your fellows’ venture development (e.g., accelerator programs, pitch competitions, non-dilutive funding opportunities)
Attend and actively engage in weekly Community of Practice meetings with other Coaches and program staff, to share ideas and troubleshoot together
Review team deliverables submitted in Canvas — the Problem Opportunity Brief, Customer Validation Brief, MVP/Prototype Package, and Final Pitch Package — providing written feedback and leveraging a grading rubric to score each one
Review Canvas checkpoint submissions ahead of each Workshop and Maker Day to identify teams that are stuck or under-prepared, and intervene before the live session rather than discovering the gap during it
Review “knowledge check” activities in Canvas to identify areas where fellows are struggling with Lean Startup concepts; and use that information to create concept review content for Workshops and Maker Days
Partner with Break Through Tech program staff to identify any fellows or teams who are failing to meet program expectations, and assist with intervention and follow-up as needed