Sales Development Representative UK - Startups Team

Vestd; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 26,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

A dynamic equity management company based in the UK is seeking a Sales Development Representative to engage with early-stage startups. The ideal candidate will focus on lead generation, communicate effectively across various platforms, and research target businesses. This remote role offers a salary of up to £31k, along with bonuses, equity, and benefits, fostering a collaborative and innovative work culture.

Benefits

Equity after qualifying period

Flexible work environment

Monthly recognition scheme

Support with home working equipment

Training and development budget

Private medical insurance

Team retreats

25 days annual leave

Employer contribution pension scheme

Qualifications

• Prior experience in an SDR or similar lead generation role.
• Confident communicator across multiple channels.
• Strong research skills to understand companies.

Responsibilities

• Identify and engage with early-stage startups.
• Qualify prospects and hand over warm leads.
• Create personalized outreach using multiple channels.
• Research target businesses for tailored approaches.
• Upgrade existing customer accounts through outreach.
• Represent the company at networking events.

Skills

Lead generation

Effective communication

Research skills

Emotional intelligence

Tech-savvy

Self-motivated

Attention to detail

Tools

HubSpot

Job description

Overview

Role: Sales Development Representative

Team: Startups

Location: Remote working (UK based)

Salary: up to £31k depending on experience, plus bonus, equity and benefits

Hours: Full-Time 37.5 hours per week

The role

We are looking for individuals who are not only passionate about our mission but also comfortable and confident using cutting-edge technologies and AI tools, to streamline processes, drive innovation, and contribute to the growth of Vestd. As part of Vestd’s Startups Team, you’ll play a crucial role in introducing early-stage founders to the benefits of equity management. Our Startups Team is dedicated to helping founders build strong foundations for growth, and you’ll be the first point of contact in that journey. This is not just about lead generation—it’s about connecting with innovative founders, understanding their challenges, and creating meaningful conversations that lead to long-term relationships. You’ll support the team by surfacing new opportunities, upgrading existing customers, re-engaging lapsed leads, and ensuring that the right startups get the right advice at the right time.

Primary responsibilities

• Proactively identify and engage with early-stage startups and founders, creating new leads and reigniting lapsed conversations
• Qualify prospects to ensure a good fit for Vestd, handing over warm leads to the Equity Consultants in a seamless manner
• Use multiple channels (email, LinkedIn, video, calls) to create personalised outreach that stands out
• Research target businesses to understand their growth journey, funding, and team structures, using this insight to craft tailored approaches
• Identify opportunities to upgrade and expand existing customer accounts through proactive outreach and tailored value propositions
• Identify and engage with existing customers to uncover upsell opportunities and guide them towards higher-tier packages or additional services
• Represent the company at startup networking events to build relationships, generate leads, and stay close to the founder community
• Collaborate with the marketing and partnerships teams to share trends, insights, and feedback from conversations with prospects
• Maintain accurate records of outreach, engagement, and lead status using HubSpot and other sales tools

Essential elements for this role

These are the skills and qualifications we consider important for this role:

• Prior experience in an SDR or similar lead generation role (preferably B2B, SaaS, or startup/recruitment environment)
• Confident communicator across multiple channels (email, LinkedIn, phone, video)
• Strong research skills—you enjoy digging into a company’s story to find the right angle for outreach
• High emotional intelligence; able to quickly build rapport with founders and senior leaders
• Tech-savvy with knowledge of CRM systems (preferably HubSpot) and automation tools
• Self-motivated, collaborative, and eager to learn
• Impeccable attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• You must be comfortable with working in a fully remote environment

Key deliverables and how measured

Nice to have

These will help you stand out from the pack:

• Entrepreneurial experience
• Startup/scaleup experience
• Knowledge of shares and share schemes
• Experience working in a remote team

Culture fit

What makes Vestd folk collaborative, adaptable, and eager to grow?

• Thrives in a startup environment, ready to tackle diverse challenges with enthusiasm
• Adaptable - open to taking on responsibilities beyond the defined role as needed
• Passionate about contributing to a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Embraces technology to improve processes and drive efficiency

What you can expect

Our culture is our backbone (BreatheHR named us one of the ‘Top 3 Companies in the UK for Company Culture’), and we take team happiness seriously.

Vestd strives to be as principled as possible. We’re all about Goal 8 of the United Nations “Sustainable Development Goals”. This goal is about ‘Decent work and economic growth,’ and we consider it both with our external activities and internal workings.

We’ll do everything we can to help you grow in your role. In return, you’ll want to learn all about our industry and do all you can to help us continue leading it.

Vestd is 100% remote, so in return for your commitment, diligence, and productivity, you’ll have a lot of autonomy during your working day. Some roles demand office hours (to fit our customers’ schedules), but we are committed to offering flexibility where possible.

Happy employees make for happy customers, as demonstrated in our five-star reviews. Vestd’s excellence has also been recognised by The Europas, The Fintech Awards London, The Hustle Awards, TechRound, and BusinessCloud’s Fintech50. See more about our awards here.

This could be the perfect opportunity if you’re an autonomous, self-driven individual passionate about contributing to a meaningful mission and value being part of a supportive, close-knit team.

Why work at Vestd?

Vestd is a great place to work. Don’t just take our word for it - take a look at the award-winning suite of benefits that you can look forward to as one of our folk:

• This job is fully remote, although attendance is required twice yearly at our in-person get-togethers
• A flexible environment to help you achieve the best work/life balance
• Equity, of course! (After the qualifying period)
• Monthly recognition scheme, where we celebrate our folk
• Support with home working equipment
• A personal training and development budget to keep your career and professional growth on track
• Private medical insurance with Aviva (after the qualifying period)
• Team retreats are held twice a year. They can include an overnight stay and focus on fun and team cohesion
• Great team ethos, connect through regular team and company socials.
• 25 days annual leave plus one extra day per year of service (up to five days)
• Employer contribution pension scheme (after the qualifying period)

We’re looking for somebody with initiative who can focus on the business and their personal growth path. This is a great time to join our team, and it would be a superb role for the right person.

Our application process

We are accepting rolling applications for this role with no fixed end date - if you are interested in joining the Vestd folk, please apply when you can. We will respond to every applicant, but we may only screen some candidates depending on the number of applications received.

Our recruitment pipeline has a few stages, giving you plenty of opportunities to learn about Vestd as we take the time to find someone who is the best fit for the role. We aim to complete the selection process as efficiently as possible, and we are committed to making our candidate experience as inclusive as we can, so please get in touch with us if you require any information or support during the application process or need to ask for any adjustments.

A typical selection process might be:

• Apply online
• 20-minute screening call
• 45-minute interview with the hiring manager and team member
• Task-based assignment
• 45-minute team cultural interview
• 30-minute interview with the CEO

We are excited to receive your application.

When a role is filled, we will contact all other applicants to let them know.

This job is remote within the UK. You must be primarily UK-based and eligible to work in the country.