This is a remote position.
Managing Director — Motor Gear Trader (MGT)
Company overview
Motor Gear Trader (MGT) is building a modern marketplace and trading platform for the motor gear ecosystem—helping recreational enthusiasts buy and sell pre-owned vehicles and gear with ease. MGT supports key categories including ATVs, Dirt Bikes, Go-Karts, Personal Watercraft (PWC), Racing Bikes, and Snowmobiles, with a simple flow to browse listings, post listings, connect with buyers/sellers, and leave reviews.
MGT operates within Estoras Group and aligns to Estoras’ operating standards: performance, accountability, and disciplined execution.
Role summary
The Managing Director owns the end-to-end business: launch readiness, revenue, operations, product execution, and (where applicable) investor outcomes. This is a builder/operator role—someone who can take MGT from beta → launch → scale, while recruiting and leading a high-performing team and ensuring the platform and go-to-market motion match real customer demand.
This role reports into Estoras Group leadership.
6–12 month outcomes (what success looks like)
Within the first 6–12 months, the Managing Director will:
· Launch a stable, market-ready platform (post-beta) with clear adoption and retention signals
· Establish repeatable acquisition channels across buyers/sellers/dealers/partners (based on MGT’s operating model)
· Build a lean, high-output team (contractor-first where possible) with clear scorecards and accountability
· Implement operating cadence: weekly KPIs, monthly reporting, and forecast discipline
· Create investor-ready reporting and a credible scaling plan (fundraising optional depending on strategy)
Core responsibilities
1) Strategic leadership & growth
· Own and execute the company operating plan: positioning, pricing, GTM, partnerships, and growth targets
· Translate Estoras Group objectives into measurable quarterly priorities (OKRs / EOS-style rocks)
· Drive launch readiness across product, operations, marketing, and support
· Build a roadmap toward scale and (if applicable) future capital events (fund raise / strategic sale)
2) Platform & product execution (beta → launch → scale)
· Oversee the design, development, and deployment of the MGT platform (beta improvements, launch version, iteration cycles)
· Ensure product decisions are grounded in customer feedback and marketplace liquidity dynamics
· Establish lightweight but effective delivery systems:
o Roadmap management and prioritization
o Sprint cadence and delivery rituals
o QA/release process and incident management
o Uptime/support workflows and vendor SLAs
· Partner with technical leads and vendors to deliver outcomes on time and within constraints
3) Operational management & performance
· Run day-to-day operations with a focus on speed, quality, and profitability
· Build and maintain core operating infrastructure:
o KPI dashboards and weekly reporting
o Budgeting, forecasting, and cost controls
o Vendor management and contract oversight
o Risk management and compliance awareness relevant to marketplace operations
· Own P&L accountability (or build toward it as revenue ramps)
4) Team leadership & talent development
· Recruit, onboard, and lead a high-performing team across:
o Product / engineering (internal or vendor-managed)
o Sales / partnerships
o Customer success / support
o Ops / admin (as needed)
· Make key personnel decisions (hiring, compensation, performance management) aligned with Estoras Group policies
· Build a performance culture: clear expectations, scorecards, feedback loops, and accountability
5) Customer, partner, and stakeholder relationships
· Build strong relationships with customers and key supply-side stakeholders (dealers, distributors, partners)
· Own customer satisfaction, retention, and escalation management
· Develop strategic partnerships that accelerate liquidity and trust in the platform
· Manage investor communications (where applicable): updates, transparency, metrics, and narrative
6) Project & change management
· Deliver cross-functional initiatives on time, within budget, and to spec
· Maintain clear documentation:
o Project plans and milestones
o Status reports and risk logs
o Change requests and decision records
· Resolve conflicts quickly and professionally—internally and externally
Requirements
Required skills (top 10)
· Marketplace operations & liquidity management (balancing supply/demand, category focus, activation loops)
· Go-to-market execution (channel testing, acquisition funnels, conversion optimization)
· Product leadership (roadmap prioritization, translating customer feedback into shipped outcomes)
· Technical fluency (working effectively with engineers/vendors; understanding modern platform constraints)
· Operational cadence & KPI management (weekly dashboards, metric definitions, accountability rhythms)
· Financial management (budgeting, forecasting, unit economics, cost control)
· Vendor and contract management (SOWs, SLAs, delivery governance, performance enforcement)
· Team leadership and performance management (scorecards, coaching, hiring/firing decisions)
· Customer success and escalation management (retention, support workflows, trust-building)
· Executive stakeholder communication (board/investor-ready reporting, narrative, decision memos)
Requirements
Qualifications (must-have)
· Proven Managing Director/operator experience in a startup, marketplace, platform, or high-growth environment
· Strong execution track record across operations + product delivery + revenue growth
· Demonstrated ability to lead teams and vendors with clear accountability
· Strong business fundamentals: budgeting, forecasting, KPI management, cost control
· Excellent communication skills with customers, partners, and senior stakeholders
· Comfort operating in ambiguity; bias toward action and measurable outcomes
Preferred / strong assets
· Fundraising experience (seed/Series A or strategic capital) and investor communications
· Experience with trading platforms, marketplaces, or multi-sided networks (liquidity, trust, supply/demand dynamics)
· Familiarity with compliance, risk, and governance expectations in regulated or high-trust industries
· Experience building contractor-heavy teams and performance-based compensation structures
Benefits
Compensation & ownership structure
This role is structured as a long-term ownership opportunity for an operator who is willing to invest effort to take an existing platform to the next level.
· Co-ownership / equity participation: The Managing Director will have the opportunity to become a co-owner of the company. The specific ownership structure (e.g., equity, options, profit share, or equivalent) will be discussed and documented during the selection process.
· Performance-based compensation only: Compensation is strictly performance-based and is triggered only once the business generates profit, per an agreed definition and reporting cadence.
· No guaranteed salary at start: There is no initial pay and no guaranteed monthly salary until growth and profitability milestones are achieved.
· Founder investment already made: The founders have already invested in the technology and platform. This role is best suited to candidates focused on long-term ownership and value creation rather than a traditional employee mindset.
Motor Gear Trader website: motorgeartrader.ca