We've interviewed dozens of founders for a new series on product-market fit.

Sarah Constantino

GM, Fast Track

I’m fascinated with the winding roads people can have in their careers that lead to interesting and new perspectives — partly because my own career journey hasn’t been linear. I’ve held many different roles and cultivated a broad range of passions, doing everything from office management at a Fortune 500, to opening a family-run wedding venue from scratch, to startup recruiting.

I joined First Round as a member of our Talent team, connecting amazing candidates to their dream roles at rising startups in our community. After nearly three years partnering closely with candidates to match them with the right opportunity, and teaming up with founders to source key early hires, I’m thrilled to take on my next role at First Round as GM of Fast Track, our mentorship program.

I view it as a natural extension of my work as a recruiter and talent expert. When folks climb aboard a startup, what happens next? There are, of course, incredible opportunities ahead — as a business grows rapidly, so too does your scope of role and chances to learn. But there are also, seemingly, endless hurdles to clear, with new challenges that crop up as a company scales from 0-1 to the messy middle and beyond.

Behind every successful startup leader are brilliant mentors who coached them through thorny problems, opened doors for bigger opportunities and shared their own hard-won insights along the way. In my role as the General Manager of Fast Track, I’m excited to have the opportunity to help folks accelerate their careers by connecting them with mentors who can be sounding boards, straight-talkers, and cheerleaders at pivotal moments. There have been many vital guides in my own career and I believe strongly that the key to success is building authentic relationships.

Outside of work, I’m usually taking too many pictures of my goldendoodle Cooper, hunting for new recipes to bake, or soaking up the Southern California sunshine.