Volta Labs · March 2026
Welcome to Volta,
Laura.
This document gives you the full picture — where Volta is right now, how your role sits at the centre of everything we're building, exactly what we're asking you to own, and why we believe your specific background, experience, and Working Geniuses make you the right person for this moment. Nothing is held back.
28
active portfolio companies in the Residency
~300
builders across all 4 Atlantic provinces
66%+
SME AI success rate (industry avg: 5%)
01
Where Volta Is Right Now
The 2026 Proof Statement
By December 2026, Volta will prove that Atlantic Canada's AI ecosystem is real, measurable, and scalable — portfolio companies at $9–10M combined revenue, $2.5M+ documented SME economic impact, and 300+ builders embedded across all four Atlantic provinces.
This is what ACOA and the Province of Nova Scotia need to see to justify the next funding cycle. It is also what Volta needs to prove to itself. You join with nine months on the clock.
Volta is Atlantic Canada's AI-native innovation hub. We are funded by ACOA and the Province of Nova Scotia. We run three interconnected programmes — a Residency for early-stage founders, an SME AI Lab that embeds vetted builders with local businesses, and a builder community of 300+ practitioners across the region. The model is built on measurable outcomes. Everything we do produces data we can stand behind.
Pillar One
Startup Success
The Residency Program
High-stakes selection and acceleration. Volta identifies founders with real traction potential and applies structured coaching pressure to get them to $1M ARR. Go/no-go is the core mechanism. The goal is not graduation — it is revenue.
5companies at $1M+ ARR (Mar 2026)
~$5–6Mtotal portfolio revenue today
28active companies post-Feb evaluation
7%pre-revenue → first customer (target: 24%+)
Your Role Here
Program operations — day-to-day running of the Residency. Applications, onboarding, evaluation cycles, coach coordination, data integrity in Impact OS. Jaco holds coaching quality and final go/no-go decisions. You run everything else.
Pillar Two
Builders & Community
The Network — your primary domain
Atlantic Canada's AI talent ecosystem. The community is not a vanity metric — it is the talent supply chain for the Lab, the co-founder pool for portfolio startups, and the economic signal to funders that the region has depth. Health is measured, not assumed.
~300builders across 4 provinces
10/moevents (target: 10–15/month)
37Sprint waitlist — Sprint 1 launched Feb 24
55%pulse response rate (target: 80%+)
Your Role Here
You lead this pillar. Community strategy, province activation, builder-leader relationships, data quality, and Sprint community synthesis — reading builder demand, surfacing trends, and providing recommendations to Matt for Sprint direction decisions. You identify which builders have co-founder potential and build the pathway from member → vetted builder → startup team.
Pillar Three
SME AI Lab
The Engagement Engine
Volta places vetted AI builders with Atlantic Canadian SMEs using a problem-first methodology — define the problem before selecting the technology. 66%+ success rate against the industry's 5%. The Lab is where community talent meets economic need.
26–32engagement target by December 2026
$2.5M+documented economic impact target
~6vetted builders today (need 20–25)
Your Role Here
Builder supply pipeline. Monthly sync with Andy Farnsworth (Lab Director) to align builder readiness with Lab demand. Without a healthy community pipeline, the Lab stalls. You are the bridge between the two.
How the Three Pillars Connect
Community
→
Lab
The community is the Lab's talent source
Sprint develops builders into vetted practitioners. The Lab draws from this pool for every engagement. Without community depth, the Lab hits its ceiling. These two pillars are inseparable — and you run the supply side.
Sprint
→
Startups
Builders can become startup co-founders
The best Sprint graduates don't just do Lab engagements — the strongest become technical co-founder candidates for portfolio startups that need AI capability at the founding team level. You build and hold this pathway.
Health Data
→
Decisions
What you see informs how Volta runs
Your ownership of data quality means Jaco and Matt always have accurate, current community health data — the foundation of every programme decision. When Impact OS, Pulse scores, and event data are clean and current, they can pull the health picture directly, without waiting on a report. These insights shape how the Residency is structured and where Volta invests next.
02
Your Role — What You Own
Director, Community Experience is the intersection role. Your primary objective: the founder and builder experience — activation and retention across Volta's community and programmes. You sit where all three pillars meet — owning the connective tissue that makes Volta function as a system. "Director" reflects scope, not separation from execution. The coaches deliver coaching; Amy delivers events. Everything else in this role's scope, you do directly.
Yours to Own
Community strategy, architecture & data quality
Startup Success program operations — day-to-day running of the Residency
Founder & builder experience design
Coach coordination — reporting line, roster, briefing rhythms, 1:1s
Portfolio data coverage & Impact OS health
Builder-leader relationships & check-ins
Peer partnership with Amy — both report to Jaco; you set strategy, Amy executes
Application processing & resident onboarding
Hours & invoice reconciliation with coaches
Works Alongside — Not Owns
Sprint event logistics & scheduling
AmySprint design, architecture & direction
MattCoach ongoing support & training
Jaco leadsDirect founder coaching
Jaco + benchLab engagements & SME relationships
AndyExternal partnerships & board
MattInvoice processing & financial reporting
Jaco
Core Responsibilities in Detail
Startup Success — Residency Program Leadership
Day-to-day running of the Residency. Owns the application and onboarding pipeline — applications in, interview coordination, approvals, and ensuring every resident knows what they have access to. Maintains data integrity in Impact OS that makes coaching and go/no-go decisions possible, and coordinates the monthly evaluation cycle with Jaco.
Coach Coordination
Owns the operational layer of the coaching bench — Jared Perry, Jaco, and Shri, with Shahriar Amin joining as the bench grows. Roster management, briefing rhythms, portfolio context prep before coaching cycles, and 1:1 check-ins to surface issues early. Jaco coaches founders and develops the bench — holding quality and standards. You own the coordination and data layer that makes that possible.
Builders & Community Strategy
Owns the health, growth, and experience of Volta's builder network. Community strategy, experience architecture, builder-leader relationships, and the Pulse data programme. The community is Volta's most important asset — it is a pipeline for the Lab and a co-founder pool for portfolio startups.
Sprint Community Synthesis
Sprint community synthesis — reads builder demand and feedback patterns, surfaces trends and recommendations to Matt for Sprint direction decisions. Does not own Sprint design or oversight. Matt leads Sprint architecture. This role tracks builder outcome data from Sprint so the community pipeline impact is documented and visible.
Community Data Quality & Hygiene
Ensures Impact OS, Pulse scores, and community engagement data are current, consistent, and accurate at all times. Jaco and Matt access health data directly from the system — your deliverable is clean data, not a report document. When the data is current and accurate, the health picture is always available. Community data quality is the foundation of every programme decision.
The Day-to-Day Operational Layer — The 25–30%
Below the strategy and community work is a real operational layer that keeps the Residency running. This is not work that gets delegated — it requires the same person who knows the context, the companies, and the coaches. Volta's AI automation stack reduces the admin burden significantly, but these tasks are yours to own and execute consistently.
1
Application Processing & Interview Coordination
Review new Residency applications, coordinate interview scheduling, communicate post-interview, and manage the flow from application through to approval or decline.
2
New Resident Onboarding
Ensure every new resident is fully onboarded — they know what they have access to, where to find it, and how to use Impact OS, the coaching system, and Volta's support infrastructure.
3
AWS Application Approvals
Process AWS credit applications for portfolio companies. Review, approve, communicate with founders, and keep records updated in Impact OS.
4
Hours & Invoice Reconciliation
Review all open support engagements and liaise with coaches to ensure hours approved in Impact OS align with hours logged. Verify invoices before they move to finance. Flag discrepancies early.
5
Company Update Monitoring
Monitor company updates in Impact OS for all residents. The data in the system is the evidence base for coaching and go/no-go decisions. If data is stale, you surface it.
6
Pre-Evaluation Monthly Update Chase
In the weeks before evaluation week (last week of every month), ensure all companies awaiting a coaching seat have submitted their monthly updates. You own making sure this happens.
7
Monthly Evaluation Processing
Work with Jaco through the evaluation cycle each month — reviewing which companies advance to 1:1 support, which continue, and which exit. Once decisions are made, manage coach allocation for the following month, update Impact OS, and communicate outcomes to founders and coaches.
70–75%
Relationships, strategy & experience design
25–30%
Operational layer & admin (AI-assisted)
Volta's agent stack handles data tracking, system admin, and synthesis. Your time is protected for relationships and decisions from day one.
03
What Success Looks Like
Specific OKRs, targets, and quarterly milestones will be shaped together in your first 30 days — Laura will have direct input into what gets measured and how. What's described below is the direction: what Volta needs this role to produce, and what "good" looks like at each stage of your first year.
30
Days
"Learn Everything"
You've met every active founder — name, context, and where they are in the Residency in your head
You understand Impact OS end-to-end — how data flows, what's tracked, what matters for decisions
You've shadowed coaching sessions and understand the dynamic without needing to run it yet
You've mapped the builder-leader network — who's active, where, and what they need
Coach briefing rhythm started with Jared — they know how you operate and what to expect
The Residency operational layer runs without Jaco holding it — eval cycles, data, coach coordination, all on cadence
Community data is clean and current — Jaco and Matt have an accurate health picture without chasing it
You and Amy have a working relationship and an agreed scope document — no ambiguity between you
You're reading community signals clearly enough to be useful to Matt on Sprint direction
Jaco trusts the layer is covered — his energy goes to coaching quality and go/no-go, not holding the system together
1 yr
Year One
"Volta Runs Better"
The founder and builder experience is measurably better — people feel Volta more, show up more, and tell others
Community data quality is systematic — always current, always accurate, always accessible
Coaches are well-briefed and effective — the coordination layer works
The community is healthy and growing — builder pipeline stronger, more provinces active
Laura is the connective tissue the system needed — founders, builders, coaches, and the programme all run better because she's here
04
Who You'll Work With
JB
Jaco Burger
CINO · Your direct manager
Daily collaboration. You lead both Startup Success ops and Builders & Community — Jaco is oversight and support across both pillars. The division is clean: Jaco delivers and develops coaching quality; you make sure the system around it runs. Briefings, roster, context, evaluations. The closest working relationship you'll have.
MC
Matt Cooper
CEO · Strategic alignment
External relationships, board prep, strategic direction. Your community health reports and programme data become his proof points with funders and government. Monthly touch, not daily. Your work is what makes his story credible to ACOA.
AC
Amy
Community and Events Manager · Peer — both report to Jaco
Amy and you are peers — both reporting to Jaco. This is a flat structure by design. Amy executes what you help design: events, Sprint logistics, builder-leader operational support. You bring strategy; Amy brings execution excellence. She's been carrying an ambiguous "acting community manager" role alongside Events — your arrival gives her the partner she deserved. Build trust before anything else.
AF
Andy Farnsworth
Director, SME AI Lab
Builder pipeline coordination. Monthly sync to align builder readiness with Lab demand. Your community is his talent source — and his Lab engagements are your community's biggest career opportunity. The two roles are designed to reinforce each other.
JP
Jared Perry + Coaching Bench
Jared Perry · Jaco · Shri · Shahriar Amin (incoming)
Coaches report to you. You own the coordination layer — roster, briefings, portfolio context prep, 1:1 check-ins. Jaco leads ongoing support and training for coaches — quality and development sit with him. Your job is making sure they're organised, briefed, and have what they need. Jared is primary; Shri and Shahriar expand the bench as the portfolio grows.
SH
Shri
Cape Breton Community Lead · Reports to Jaco
Province activation in Cape Breton — community and Lab work. Shri is the most developed non-Halifax community leader. He's the proof of concept for NB, PEI, and NL expansion. What works in CB is the playbook you replicate.
05
Why You're the Right Person for This Role
Working Genius × Role Fit
Your Working Geniuses aren't just compatible with this role.
They're what this role is built around.
The 6 Working Geniuses map to how people naturally generate energy at work: Wonder (asking "is this the right problem?"), Invention (generating new ideas), Discernment (evaluating ideas), Galvanising (rallying others), Enablement (equipping and supporting), and Tenacity (driving to completion). Yours are Enablement and Discernment — the two geniuses that sit at the heart of what this role demands every single day.
Laura's Working Genius Profile
Genius — Natural Energy
E — Enablement
D — Discernment
This is where you are at your best — where work feels energising and natural. Enablement means you instinctively make others more effective: you anticipate what they need, equip them to do their best work, and step in at exactly the right moment. Discernment means you have an unusually reliable read on people, situations, and which ideas have real merit — you sense what's working before the data confirms it.
Competency — Reliable Work
G — Galvanising
I — Invention
You can do this well, and you're reliable here — but it doesn't energise you the way E and D do. Galvanising (rallying people toward a goal) and Invention (generating new ideas) are things you can do, and the role calls on both from time to time. You won't be building from scratch every day, but when creative problem-solving is needed, you can deliver.
Frustration — Draining Work
W — Wonder
T — Tenacity
These are not defects — they are data. Wonder (asking "are we solving the right problem?") and Tenacity (pushing every task to full completion) are draining for you. That's fine: Jaco holds Wonder-level strategic questioning, and the team's AI agent stack absorbs a large portion of the Tenacity-heavy admin follow-through. Your energy is protected where it matters.
Team Context
Where Laura's profile fits in the team
The Volta team has strong Discernment coverage — Andy, Jaco, Matt, and Shri all share it. Where the team has gaps is Wonder and Tenacity. Laura's E+D combination gives the team more of what it already uses well (evaluation, judgment) while not adding burden in areas where the team is already stretched. This is a complementary fit, not just a compatible one.
How Your Geniuses Map Directly to the Role
E — Enablement
→
Coach Coordination — Making the Coaching Bench Better
Coach coordination is almost entirely an Enablement function. You anticipate what Jared, Shri, and the bench need before each coaching cycle — portfolio context, company flags, milestones to watch for. A well-briefed coach is a better coach. This isn't administrative support — it's the job. Your natural genius here means you'll do this intuitively, at the level the role needs, without burning out doing it.
E — Enablement
→
Builder Experience Design & Province Activation
Building a community is an Enablement activity — you're constantly asking "what does this person need to show up fully, contribute meaningfully, and stay?" Province activation requires you to equip community leaders in NB, PEI, and NL to run their own version of what happens in Halifax. You make Shri more effective. You'll make the NB and PEI leaders more effective. That multiplier is how the community scales beyond one person.
D — Discernment
→
Community Health Sensing — Knowing Before the Data Confirms It
Community health reporting is not just a data exercise — it requires judgment about what the data actually means. Is a drop in Pulse scores a signal or noise? Is this builder's engagement real or performative? Is this founder getting coaching benefit or just checking a box? Discernment is what separates a useful community health report from a dashboard printout. Jaco and Matt need to trust your read. Your genius here is why that trust is warranted.
D — Discernment
→
Builder Vetting & Sprint Graduate Assessment
The Lab needs vetted, deployment-ready builders — not just active community members. Going from ~6 vetted builders to 20–25 isn't a volume problem, it's a judgment problem. You'll be reading people, assessing readiness, and making calls about who belongs in the Lab pipeline and who needs more development first. This is Discernment at its most direct — and the Lab's entire engagement target depends on you getting it right.
E + D Combined
→
Residency Program Leadership — The Hardest Part of the Role
Running the Residency requires both geniuses working in tandem. Enablement: you make sure every founder knows what they have access to, every coach is briefed, every evaluation cycle runs cleanly. Discernment: you're reading founders, reading data, and forming views on who's ready to advance and who isn't — views Jaco will test in the go/no-go evaluation. Together, E and D make you someone who both supports founders effectively and reads them honestly — which is exactly the combination the programme needs.
E — Enablement
→
Amy Partnership — Giving Clarity, Not Micro-managing
Amy has been carrying ambiguity. Your arrival changes that — but the transition needs care. Enablement means you naturally give people what they need to succeed: in Amy's case, that means a clear scope, genuine strategic partnership, and the confidence that she won't be second-guessed on execution decisions you've handed her. Amy will work harder and better for you because of how you show up — not because of the authority you hold.
06
Your Scorecard: Q2 Indicators
Leading Indicators — April–June · What you directly control
Company updates current in Impact OS
Every active portfolio company has submitted an update within 60 days. If data is stale, you follow up. Coaching and go/no-go decisions depend on this.
100% of active portfolio
Coach briefing rhythm — monthly cadence
All coaches briefed with current portfolio context before each coaching cycle. Coaches report to you — a well-briefed coach is a better coach.
All coaches briefed monthly
Community data quality — active companies with current data
Laura owns data hygiene in Impact OS, Pulse, and event systems. When the data is clean, Jaco and Matt pull health reports directly. No stale data means no blind spots.
100% current data by Day 60
Builder-leader check-ins completed
Every active builder-leader has a touch point each month — you know what's working, what's blocked, and what needs support from Volta.
All active BLs monthly
Residency evaluation cycle running
Every month, companies awaiting a seat have submitted updates before evaluation week. The cycle runs the last week of every month without gaps.
Last week every month
Lagging Indicators — Assessed July 1 · Outcomes you influence
Pre-revenue → first customer conversion
Baseline is 7%. The community health systems, coach coordination, and founder engagement you build in Q2 are the engine behind this moving.
24%+ by Dec 2026
Coaching bench size
Bench grows as portfolio grows. Laura coordinates the roster and reporting line — Jaco leads support and training. Target is 4+ active coaches by year end.
4+ coaches active
Portfolio data coverage
100% of active companies with current data in Impact OS. Partial coverage means blind spots in coaching and go/no-go decisions.
100% current data
Community data quality fully systematic
Data hygiene was ad hoc before your arrival. By Day 100, Impact OS, Pulse, and event data are clean, consistent, and current — Jaco and Matt can access accurate community health data at any time.
Systematic by Day 100
A Direct Note
We didn't hire you because you were available. We hired you because this role is built around what you do best.
Volta is at an inflection point. The three pillars exist. The community exists. The Lab exists. The Residency exists. What hasn't existed until now is someone in the centre, holding it all together with judgment, care, and operational consistency. That's the gap you fill.
The conditions are right. You have Enablement and Discernment as your natural energy sources — and this role calls on them constantly. Volta's AI agent stack protects your time from the admin overhead that would drain you. Jaco is close, coaching-capable, and genuinely invested in your success. Amy is a strong operator and a genuine peer — she will thrive with the strategic clarity you'll bring to the partnership. And the community — 300 builders who chose to stay in Atlantic Canada — is waiting for exactly the kind of leader who makes them feel seen, equipped, and growing.
That's you. Welcome.
Jaco Burger · CINO, Volta Labs · March 2026