Business Operations Associate

About Cardless

Cardless is a Series C consumer fintech platform that helps major brands add credit card products directly into their customer ecosystems. The company works with brands such as Shopify, Coinbase, Bilt Rewards, Alibaba, Qatar Airways, and LATAM Airlines, and supports programs across Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Its AI-enabled servicing model is designed to run these card programs with far fewer employees than a traditional issuer would need.

Over the last year, Cardless grew its run-rate revenue from $10 million to $150 million. In September 2025, the company secured a $60 million Series C round led by Spark Capital, taking total funding beyond $170 million. The team is now more than 50 people strong and is working toward profitability by the end of 2026.

About the Role

This position is built for someone who can turn rough ideas into polished, decision-ready materials. You will help prepare decks, agendas, follow-up notes, and business summaries for high-stakes conversations with partners, investors, and the board.

As a Business Operations Associate, you will work closely with Michael Spelfogel, the President, to help run day-to-day operations, prepare materials for important external meetings, and keep cross-functional work on track. This is an execution-focused role rather than a strategy role: the broader thinking happens elsewhere, and your responsibility is to make sure it is communicated clearly, organized carefully, and carried through reliably.

The ideal background includes consulting or investment banking experience, strong presentation-building skills, and a desire to apply those abilities in a fast-growing operating environment where the work is tangible and high impact.

What You Will Do

• Take ownership of presentation creation for partner meetings, board reviews, quarterly business reviews, and investor updates, handling the work from rough draft through final version.
• Convert incomplete inputs such as call notes, verbal direction, or partial slides into structured decks with a clear storyline.
• Partner with the go-to-market team to prepare for important external meetings by anticipating audience questions and tightening the materials before the meeting.
• Keep recurring assets such as partner templates, internal scorecards, and QBR frameworks updated and consistent over time.
• Prepare agendas, pre-reads, and follow-up documents for recurring leadership syncs, cross-functional reviews, and partner QBRs.
• Track action items, decisions, and unresolved questions across multiple workstreams, making sure commitments are recorded and followed through.
• Handle the preparation and coordination behind key planning cycles, including quarterly strategy reviews and annual planning.
• Gather partner feedback, meeting notes, and cross-functional input into concise written summaries that support faster leadership decisions.
• Write memos, one-pagers, and briefing documents for both internal and external audiences with precision and clarity.
• Break down complicated business topics into the few points that matter most and present them in a way that creates alignment.

Experience And Requirements

• 3 to 5 years of professional experience, ideally in management consulting or investment banking; experience in operations or finance is also relevant.
• A proven ability to create presentation materials that are actually used and shape decisions, not just delivered as a formality.
• Prior experience supporting senior leaders in high-pressure situations, including meeting preparation, follow-through, and workstream organization.
• Exposure to financial services or fintech is helpful, though not mandatory; genuine curiosity about the space is expected.
• Strong deck-building instincts, including narrative structure, slide clarity, and visual storytelling.
• Excellent written communication with the ability to produce concise memos and summaries that do not require heavy editing.
• Comfort bringing structure to ambiguity and turning open-ended discussions into concrete next steps.
• Analytical comfort with spreadsheets, numbers, and finding the key takeaway in data.
• Professional maturity, discretion, and comfort working closely with leadership on sensitive information.
• A hands-on, low-ego approach with willingness to do behind-the-scenes execution work.

Not A Fit For This Role

• Candidates who mainly want a strategy position with ownership over roadmap and direction.
• People who feel that slide production and meeting preparation are minor or unimportant tasks.
• Applicants who need a narrow, highly defined scope rather than a flexible, do-what-is-needed role.
• Candidates who require remote or hybrid work arrangements.

Why This Role

Cardless is at a pivotal stage: the company has found product-market fit, raised capital to scale, and is now executing toward profitability. The pace is fast, and the work has direct business consequences.

This role offers close exposure to the founders and the chance to work on decisions that will help shape the company’s next phase. It is a strong fit for someone from consulting or banking who wants to apply those skills in an environment where outcomes are real and immediate.

Compensation

The starting annual salary for this role is $140,000 to $175,000, plus equity and benefits. Final compensation will depend on factors such as skills, experience, and work location.

Benefits

• Meaningful startup equity
• Full primary coverage for health, vision, and dental insurance
• 75% coverage for dependents under health, vision, and dental plans
• Catered lunches
• $250 per month commuter benefit
• Parental leave
• Team-building events and happy hours
• Flexible PTO with a minimum of 15 days off each year
• Apple equipment provided
• 401(k) plan

Location

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with an office in Jackson Square. This position is based in-office five days per week.