In April 2018, I joined SAP.iO as an Entrepreneur in Residence. When I joined, I knew almost nothing about what being an EIR was like or what I was meant to do. Over the past year, questions about the EIR position are by far the most common.
My hope with this post is to shed some light on one of the coolest positions you could have. Cheers!
What is an EIR?
An EIR, or Entrepreneur in Residence, is a fancy name for someone who sits within a larger organization (usually a Fortune 500 company or VC firm) and works on innovative new projects. Some EIRs want to learn how to identify good investments while others want to build a new company. EIR roles are shaped and molded by the person’s unique skillset.
What is shared across EIR roles is creation. Whether it is creating a company, creating new investment opportunities, or creating prototypes to provoke, being an EIR is fundamentally about creation.
Why did you become an EIR?
I became an EIR because I wanted to learn. After 3 years at Microsoft, I knew I wanted something new. I wanted to get back to the scrappy startup world. I wanted to find a project to dig my teeth which could grow exponentially. I wanted to experience the VC side of startups. But at the same time I did not know which of these I wanted next. Joining as an EIR gave me the platform to explore these avenues in a supportive environment.
Serendipity led me to finding my EIR role. A friend of the UIF program at Stanford introduced me to the group in the spring of 2016 and after two years of keeping in touch, I decided it was time to join. The chain of events which led me to that introduction is wild and my only lesson here is: relationships matter.
Someone much smarter than me said “life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards”, especially with finding unique roles such as EIRs.
What is one thing you like about the EIR role?
The flexibility. While my career is still in its infancy, I have never heard of any other role as flexible as being an EIR while maintaining the exponential upside. In most roles, your manager finds and assigns you a project, you work on it with several other colleagues, and you ship/deliver something. At this point, your manager gives you a new project, and you repeat.
On my first day as an EIR, my manager (the Chief Innovation Officer of SAP) told me “go find a big problem and solve it. If you need help, get people excited about your idea so they’ll work nights and weekends with you”. Thats it. This led to one of the most creative periods of my career, spending every moment creating new ideas, rapidly prototyping, and getting feedback from users.
What is one thing you dislike about the EIR role?
It can a lonely job. During my first several weeks as an EIR, I went at it alone. I believed that I needed to have a spark of inspiration, then I would inspire others. I certainly learned this was wrong the hard way. I knew my energy comes from working with other people, yet I believed I needed to have the ideas first.
I realized that people are inspired by your energy and drive, not your ideas. Great ideas come from the most unexpected places, at the most unexpected times but your energy is something you control every single day.
What is one video all EIR’s should watch?
I’m a big fan of Wilson Miner’s talk When We Build. While I could summarize it, I’d miss the messaging. Just go watch it.
Quick hit questions:
- Do I need to have started a company to be an EIR? Nope.
- Do I need to have an idea for a company to become an EIR? Nope.
- Do I need to have worked in a VC firm to be an EIR? Nope.
- Do I need any specific domain expertise to be an EIR? Nope.
Our amazing team in San Francisco, we’re always looking for great people to join our mission!
SAP.iO is on the hunt for great EIR’s. This person should be ready to make a change and equipped with the skills to turn their vision into a reality. This is a unique role, so do not miss your opportunity.
If you’re up for the challenge, contact Christina at christina.hamilton@sap.com.