Operating Partner, Bentonville Studio

Gitwit•Bentonville, AR

11d•$160,000 - $185,000•Onsite

About The Position

Gitwit is launching its Bentonville Studio to help develop the next generation of product-minded builders for AI-native companies. AI is changing what small teams can build, how quickly they can build it, and which kinds of work can become software for the first time. Capital, ideas, and engineering talent matter, but they are not enough. The scarce skill now is knowing which problems are worth building around and how to turn messy customer reality into a product people actually want. This kind of builder is hard to find and cannot be developed from the sidelines. You do not become this kind of builder by studying startup theory, attending panels, or watching companies get built from a distance. You become this kind of builder by being inside the work: sitting with customers, seeing the mess of real workflows, finding the signal, shaping product strategy, testing assumptions, working with engineers, and watching an idea either earn its way forward or die. The work is the program. Gitwit’s Tulsa-based venture studio already does this every day: discovery, product strategy, design, engineering, brand, go-to-market, customer validation, and company formation, working together inside one studio system. We start with customer pain, pressure-test ideas with users and buyers, build prototypes, stop work on ideas that do not show enough signal, and concentrate energy around the opportunities that show demand, technical possibility, and the potential to become durable companies. Now we are extending that model into Bentonville. This is not a satellite office someone has to figure out alone. Bentonville will be tightly connected to Gitwit’s Tulsa studio and supported by the full team: discovery, product strategy, design, engineering, brand, recruiting, operations, and venture leadership. And it starts with live venture work from day one. With a Gitwit venture already locating in Bentonville, local builders will not be learning from theory. They will be learning inside product work, operating needs, and company-building momentum. At the center of the Bentonville Studio will be a Builder-in-Residence program: roughly six full-time Builders in Residence developing inside live venture work over the next 18 months. These are high-potential product, technical, and operator builders who will learn by participating in discovery, product strategy, prototyping, validation, venture support, and the day-to-day craft of building AI-native companies. As Operating Partner, Bentonville Studio, you will help turn this model into a working Bentonville presence: running discovery, shaping product strategy, helping Builders in Residence learn through the work, connecting closely with the Tulsa studio, and helping builders, operators, engineers, founders, and design partners understand where they can plug in. Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas sit inside a rare concentration of business complexity, operational expertise, customer access, and ambitious people. That matters because the next generation of AI-native companies will not come from generic software ideas. They will come from a deep understanding of workflows: the messy, expensive, repetitive, high-friction work inside industries where AI can create a step-change improvement. The Bentonville Studio is designed to turn that regional potential into a working path into AI venture creation backed by Gitwit’s experienced venture studio team in Tulsa.

Requirements

Proven experience leading 0-to-1 discovery, product strategy, venture exploration, or early-stage product development.
A strong ability to synthesize raw research into clear product direction.
The judgment to distinguish interesting insights from venture-worthy opportunities.
The ability to concept products that create a step-change experience for customers.
Comfort working with engineers, designers, founders, operators, business stakeholders, and customers.
Strong storytelling skills grounded in evidence, not hype.
The ability to build trust with people quickly.
A low-ego, high-curiosity working style.
Strong operating discipline: you create rhythm, clarity, artifacts, and follow-through.
Comfort with ambiguity, fast learning, and changing course when reality teaches you something.
Interest in developing local builders through real work, not abstract instruction.
Willingness to be deeply present in Bentonville and tightly connected to the Tulsa studio team.

Nice To Haves

You may be a product strategist, discovery leader, ex-founder, early-stage operator, venture studio builder, or hands-on innovation consultant.

Responsibilities

Lead hands-on 0-to-1 discovery with customers, users, buyers, operators, and design partners.
Turn raw field signal into insight, product strategy, and venture direction.
Shape product concepts that create a meaningful delta between the old way and the new way.
Define the wedge, the magic moment, the riskiest assumptions, and the first MVP tests.
Help shape the Builder-in-Residence experience with Gitwit’s studio leadership, venture teams, and recruiting team.
Help Builders in Residence learn by participating in discovery, product strategy, prototyping, validation, and venture-building work.
Create operating rhythms that connect Bentonville tightly with Gitwit’s Tulsa studio leadership and full venture team.
Pull the right Tulsa expertise into the right moments: product strategy, design, engineering, brand, recruiting, operations, or venture leadership.
Create repeatable artifacts: insight briefs, product concept decks, hypothesis maps, experiment plans, prototype briefs, and handoff materials.
Coach emerging builders on how Gitwit works: curiosity, low ego, sharp synthesis, fast learning, and evidence over opinion.
Establish a tight working rhythm between Bentonville and the Tulsa studio team.
Support live venture work already located in Bentonville.
Help launch and shape the Builder-in-Residence program as a real learning-by-doing environment.
Lead discovery and product strategy efforts tied to customer and business problems.
Build trusted relationships with local builders, operators, product thinkers, engineers, founders, and design partners.
Help Gitwit’s recruiting team and studio leadership recognize strong local talent and understand how they could plug into the work.
Make the Bentonville Studio feel active, useful, rigorous, connected, and worth joining.

Benefits

Competitive base salary, targeted around $160,000–$185,000, depending on experience and fit
Meaningful long-term upside/equity
Relocation support as needed
8 weeks per year of PTO
Excellent health, vision, and dental insurance, with 99% of employee premiums paid by Gitwit
401k with 4% match
Life insurance
Paid parental leave
Cell phone reimbursement
Weekly team lunches
Flexible, high-trust work environment
Casual work attire
Close collaboration with experienced entrepreneurs, researchers, product strategists, designers, engineers, and venture builders
The chance to help launch a new Bentonville presence while being backed by Gitwit’s full Tulsa-based venture studio