Personal Assistant (Remote) — Founder Support

Do not apply without reading

About the role
I'm a busy founder and I need a sharp, reliable personal assistant to take the small-but-constant stuff off my plate: inbox triage, calendar, scheduling, travel, research, reminders, and follow-ups. The job is 20% tasks and 80% judgment — I need someone who thinks two steps ahead and never drops a ball.

What you'll do

Triage my inbox and draft replies in my voice
Own my calendar: book, reschedule, protect my focus time
Book travel and handle the logistics around it
Research and summarize (vendors, options, quick answers) so I can d ---------- fast
Track my to-dos and chase the things I forget
Handle the occasional personal errand done online
Must-haves

2+ years as an assistant or in a role where you owned someone's schedule
Excellent written English — you'll be writing as me
Fluent in Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Sheets)
A few hours of daily overlap with US Pacific time
Discreet with private information, and reliable to the minute
Nice-to-haves

Experience supporting a founder or executive
Comfortable with Slack and Asana
You spot problems before they reach me
How to apply — read carefully

Make the first word of your application TANGERINE. Applications without it are deleted unread.
In 3–4 sentences, tell me about a time you fixed a problem before you were asked to.
Rewrite this so it's polite but still firm — paste your version:
"You've moved our meeting twice and I'm not rearranging my week a third time."
A scenario: I'm double-booked at 2pm — a customer call and a vendor demo, both important. I'm in back-to-backs and can't be reached for an hour. What do you do? (Answer in a few sentences.)
List your tools, your weekly availability in US Pacific, and your hourly rate in USD.
Paid test (final step)
Shortlisted applicants get one small paid task: I'll send a messy set of details and ask you to book a (mock) dinner reservation, send a clean calendar invite with two backup options, and a 3-line summary. We pay for your time whether or not we hire you.

Pay & hours: [TBD — see my question below]

The hurdles and what each screens out:

"TANGERINE" first word ? kills mass-appliers who don't read. (Use a different word than the designer post so you can tell the two pools apart.)
"Fixed a problem before asked" ? screens for proactivity, the #1 trait that separates a great PA from a task-taker.
Rewrite the rude email ? tests written English and tone in the actual job's medium. This is your single best filter for a PA.
The 2pm double-booking scenario ? tests judgment and decisiveness under ambiguity. Bad hires freeze or ask you; good ones triage and act.
Paid test task ? real execution under real messiness. Can't be faked.
One question so I can set pay and scope: is this business-only (inbox, calendar, travel, research) or also personal life-admin (your appointments, family stuff, errands)? That changes the trust level, the hours, and how the post reads.