MvE is deliberately small — one strategist, a bench of specialists, and two ventures that occasionally need people. Nothing here is a growth-at-all-costs hiring page. Most of the work happens with people I have already worked with, which is exactly why it's worth knowing how to get onto that list.
Three routes, and they behave differently. Be honest with yourself about which one you're actually applying to.
Kept current. If nothing is listed, nothing is open — I'd rather say so than keep a permanent "always hiring" page that wastes your afternoon.
Applies to every route above, and it is not a list of software.
Anyone can have an opinion about a piece of work. The useful skill is being able to say precisely why it works, in a way that changes what someone else does next.
I have seen a great deal of promising work that stopped at ninety per cent. The last ten per cent is the profession. Show me something you took all the way.
Much of this work sits close to founders during consequential moments. Some of it is under NDA and stays that way permanently. If that feels limiting, this isn't the right bench.
Tell me when something is wrong, including when it's mine. Politeness that costs the client money isn't politeness.
Send your portfolio or a link to something you made and finished. One paragraph on what you do and what you'd want to be brought in for is plenty — I don't need a cover letter and I won't read a long one honestly.
I read everything. I reply to the ones I can genuinely use, usually within a fortnight — and I keep the rest on file rather than deleting them.