Startup Marketing Apprenticeship in Lisbon, Portugal

I'm Shane Melaugh, co-founder of Thrive Themes and I'm looking to add to our rag-tag team of marketing badasses. If living in the vibrant city of Lisbon for 3 months and working on the front lines on startup marketing and growth hacking sounds like something you'd enjoy, keep reading.

​This is the kind of opportunity I wish I had when I started out. In fact, it's a way better opportunity than I could have even imagined back then... but only for the right kind of person.

What's this Opportunity?

You'll be joining me in Lisbon where you'll be working with me and other members of the marketing team full time for 3 months.

This is an apprenticeship, which means you aren't expected to already be a marketing genius, but you will be working on high-leverage tasks of critical important to the business. You won't be fetching coffee and proofreading emails for 3 months, in other words.​

What Kind of Work Will You be Doing? ​You'll be working with me, the marketing team and the other apprentices on tasks directly contributing to the traffic and revenue of the Thrive Themes business. These tasks will include: ​ Content Marketing - Create amazing, educational content for our blog.

- Create amazing, educational content for our blog. Case Studies - Work on other people's websites to generate examples of how our themes and plugins can make a positive difference.

- Work on other people's websites to generate examples of how our themes and plugins can make a positive difference. F unnel Design - Create and optimize funnels consisting of ads, landing pages, sales pages etc.

- Create and optimize funnels consisting of ads, landing pages, sales pages etc. Copywriting - Work on writing sales page, landing page and ad copy

- Work on writing sales page, landing page and ad copy Script Writing - Create scripts for sales videos and educational videos.

- Create scripts for sales videos and educational videos. Outreach - Contact people for potential collaborations such as podcast interviews, webinars, affiliate promotions or guest posts.

- Contact people for potential collaborations such as podcast interviews, webinars, affiliate promotions or guest posts. Analytics - Look at data, make decisions based on it and figure out what needs to be measured to further improve the business.

- Look at data, make decisions based on it and figure out what needs to be measured to further improve the business. Customer Development - Talking 1-to-1 with our customers and prospects, to get a better understanding of demands and needs in the market and how we can address them.

- Talking 1-to-1 with our customers and prospects, to get a better understanding of demands and needs in the market and how we can address them. Learning New Tools - Dig deep into the Thrive Themes tools, WordPress and many tools we use to supplement the business. You'll learn how to use everything we use to run a successful online business.

- Dig deep into the Thrive Themes tools, WordPress and many tools we use to supplement the business. You'll learn how to use everything we use to run a successful online business. High Level Planning - Brainstorm and come up with new ideas for campaigns that span all our promotional channels (email list, blog, Facebook, YouTube, affiliates,...).

What are the Perks? Accommodation Live in a beautiful Lisbon apartment for 3 months. Expenses for rent, internet access, water and electricity will be covered. Travel We'll pay for your round trip plane, train or bus ticket to come work with us. Vegan Lunch During the workweek a free vegan lunch will be provided. Feel free to pack your own lunch or eat out if you'd prefer. Fair Wage More than enough to finance nights out on the town, exploring the city on weekends or building up a bit of a savings.

What Will the Work be Like?

As you can tell by now, the work will be varied and it will also be very challenging.

You'll be working as part of a small team in a small company, which means everything you do has impact.

You aren't just a small cog in a huge machine, you're an essential part of the team from day one. That's part of the reason why the work is so varied: we don't have 100 people, each with a tiny area of specialization.

You will be expected to take initiative. Not everything you have to do will be clearly defined and prepared in bite-sized proportions. You'll simply start working as part of the marketing team and you'll be expected to contribute to the overall goal for Thrive Themes to create more awesome content and generate more revenue.​

You need to have a very good command of the English language. You need to be fluent in English and you need to not only be able to write error-free but also express yourself well in writing.​

What Will the Living Situation be Like?

You'll live in a shared flat in Lisbon. You'll have your own room, and expenses for rent, internet access, water and electricity will be covered. On top of that, you'll also be earning a fair wage, which will be more than enough to enjoy the nightlife, explore the city and surrounding areas on the weekends or pad up that savings account.

For the most part, you will be working where you live, so you need to be comfortable working from a laptop and occasionally on couches, in cafes or in co-working spaces.​

What Kind of Person Are we Looking For?

Make no mistake, this is an awesome opportunity and of course it appeals to those who are looking for travel, adventure and a taste of the location independent lifestyle... but this is NOT an opportunity to relax on a beach and get paid for it.

You need to be a maker, first and foremost. You need to be the kind of person who gets shit done with attention to detail (please include your favorite color in the subject line of the application below), who thrives on a challenge and who wants to grow some serious marketing skills. You need to have a strong drive to create awesome things.

​Here's an easy way to find out if you're the kind of person we're looking for: do you already do difficult things in your life on a regular basis (and enjoy them)?

I'm talking about things like going to the gym to work up a serious sweat, running, climbing mountains, meditating, playing competitive sports, organizing large events... The kind of stuff that's good for you and even enjoyable, but definitely not comfortable or easy. In short, the kind of stuff that makes couch potatoes cringe.

If you see a really difficult challenge and your first thought is "let's see how well I can do at this", you're the right kind of person for this opportunity.

Who Will You Be Working With? More About Shane Melaugh I'm the guy you'll be working with every day, during your apprenticeship. I co-founded Thrive Themes in 2013 together with Paul McCarthy. Before that, I was a co-founder for SwissMadeMarketing (SECockpit, Rank Tracker and more) and the founder of imimpact.com, a brand under which products like Hybrid Connect, Viral Quiz Builder and WP Sharely were sold. I'm a self-taught entrepreneur ​and I've been involved in services, ecommerce, information products, distributed software and SaaS. I've always taken the approach of biting off more than I can chew and then finding a way to chew it anyway. One of the most important aspects in my personal life as well as my business is the concept of gradual and consistent improvement of skills. I try to organize my life in such a way that I am always improving some skills that are important to me and as a business owner, I do my best to create a working environment in which every team member can work on improving their specific skill set every day. In my opinion, the skills and experience you already have today aren't nearly as important as the "vector" that you're on. If you can improve gradually and consistently (even on the bad days and during hard times), it doesn't matter where you start from. I take the same approach to my business overall: while I have had many failures and setbacks along the way, I've also made sure that every new project I start is a bit more challenging than the last one, so that my "business skills" can grow. Every project is a stepping stone to the next one. The way I see it, the better I get at this, the more of a positive impact I can have on the world. If you work with me, this attitude of mine can be a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I will obsess over providing a good environment for work, growth and skill building for you. On the other hand, I will relentlessly demand work, practice and improved results from you.​ The Marketing Team Miquel Malet Hanne Vervaeck Jay Pitkänen Dave Danzeiser The Other Apprentices

What Happens After the 3 Months?

We are looking to expand our marketing team with several more full-time members and the apprenticeship is one of our attempts to find the right people. There is a chance you can continue working with us after the 3 months are up, but there's no guarantee for it.

The opportunity awaiting is a "semi-remote" working position, where you'll spend 3-4 months per year working with me and the rest of the team on location (in awesome places like Barcelona, Budapest, Bangkok...) and work the rest of the year remotely, from wherever you want.​

If that sounds like the coolest job in the universe, it's because it probably is. However, this is a position we are only willing to offer to the absolute best of the best.

Make yourself invaluable to the company during the apprenticeship and we'll talk about next steps...​

Details & Next Steps

Deadline for applying: July 15, 2016

Start and end dates for the apprenticeship: September 12 to December 2, 2016 (82 days)

If you believe you're the right match for this apprenticeship, fill out the form below before the deadline to begin the application process:

[contact-form-7 id=”293574″ title=”Apprenticeship Application_v2″]

Thank you for taking the time to read though this page! I hope to speak to you soon and get to know more about you.

All the best,​

P.S.: Know anyone who might be interested in this position? Let them know! Or tweet this to help us get the word out: