Founding Account Executive

About the role

This is a founding sales hire at an early-stage AI startup operating in the talent and recruiting technology space. You'll own the full sales cycle for mid-market and enterprise deals, build the closing playbook from scratch, and work directly with the founding team to shape go-to-market strategy and pricing. This role is central to the company's growth trajectory and positions you to eventually build and lead the sales org.

Responsibilities

• Own the complete sales cycle — discovery, demo, negotiation, and close — for mid-market and enterprise customers.
• Self-source pipeline through both warm and cold outbound, alongside inbound qualification.
• Build and refine the closing playbook, including pricing strategy, objection handling, and deal stage definitions.
• Partner directly with founders to shape go-to-market strategy and positioning.
• Drive expansion revenue and upsell opportunities within existing accounts.
• Hire and mentor BDRs as the sales organization scales.

Requirements

• 2–6 years of experience as an Account Executive at a high-velocity startup or in finance, with a consistent track record of beating quota.
• Demonstrated full-cycle sales ownership — you've sourced, run, and closed your own deals rather than relying solely on handed-off pipeline.
• Proven success with cold outbound prospecting, including at least one significant deal sourced through cold outreach.
• Experience closing mid-market and enterprise deals with complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles.
• Experience building or documenting sales processes, playbooks, or methodologies.
• Experience managing expansion revenue or upsell opportunities within existing accounts.
• Experience hiring, training, or managing SDRs or junior sales staff is a strong plus.
• Experience working directly with founders or C-suite on GTM strategy and pricing decisions is a plus.
• Background in recruiting, talent, or HR technology verticals is a plus.
• A track record of exceptional individual achievement — founding a company, winning a competition, or similar — is a differentiator.

Pay

Base salary range: $130,000 – $180,000 USD annually.

Location

On-site in San Francisco, CA, United States.

Visa sponsorship is not available.