Founding Sales & GTM Lead

Ciphers; Mumbai; Remote; INR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

ciphers is seeking a hands-on founding Sales & GTM Lead in Mumbai with a remote option. You will own the full sales cycle from prospecting to closing for Startaflo, our initial product focus, working directly with the founder to win early customers.

This role builds the first commercial function, shaping target customers, messaging, pricing, and acquisition channels through real selling experience. Expect to generate your own pipeline and manage inbound interest as the business starts.

Qualifications

• Experience selling B2B software to founders or SMBs in India.
• Ability to prospect and close deals independently.
• Comfort with direct founder-level conversations.
• Proven track record of generating pipeline and revenue.

Responsibilities

• Prospect and identify relevant businesses and decision-makers.
• Conduct discovery conversations and demos to map needs.
• Own closing processes including proposals and negotiations.
• Manage pipeline with a lightweight CRM and document progress.
• Coordinate onboarding with the founder and ensure smooth handover to the product team.
• Refine GTM messaging, pricing, and acquisition channels through real-world selling.

Skills

B2B sales

Prospecting

Demos

Closing deals

Pipeline management

Clear communication with founders

Tools

CRM (e.g., HubSpot)

Job description

# Founding Sales & GTM LeadBe ciphers’ first commercial hire. Own prospecting, demos, follow-ups, and closing for Startaflo, our initial product focus. Work directly with the founder to win early customers and build a repeatable sales process.Mumbai, IndiaRemoteFull-timeSales & Go-to-Market₹8,00,000–₹12,00,000 / year**Applicant eligibility:** Based in India, with authorization to work in India and availability during Indian business hours.## About ciphersciphers is an AI & software lab solving the boring but important problems others overlook.We build focused software products around real problems. Our initial commercial focus is Startaflo, a platform in development to help founders and small-business operators manage company operations, including compliance workflows, documents, and contracts.You’ll join ciphers as our first commercial hire, working directly with the founder to win customers and establish how we sell.## The roleWe’re looking for a hands-on salesperson who can turn a promising product into paying customer relationships.You’ll own the full sales cycle: finding prospects, starting conversations, understanding their needs, demonstrating the product, managing follow-ups, negotiating within agreed terms, and closing.You’ll also help refine our target customer, messaging, pricing, and acquisition channels through real selling experience.This is an individual-contributor role with direct responsibility for building pipeline and revenue. Expect to generate your own opportunities as well as handle inbound interest.## What you’ll own* **Prospecting:** Identify relevant businesses and decision-makers, build focused prospect lists, and initiate personalized outreach.* **Customer conversations:** Understand the prospect’s current workflow, pain points, alternatives, budget, and urgency.* **Demos:** Show how available product capabilities address the customer’s needs and move each conversation toward a clear next step.* **Closing:** Own proposals, objections, commercial discussions, follow-ups, and conversion into paying customers.* **Pipeline management:** Keep a lightweight CRM current with deal stage, value, decision-makers, next actions, and expected timelines.* **Early customer activation:** Coordinate onboarding with the founder and follow through until customers begin receiving value.* **GTM experiments:** Test messages, offers, referrals, and acquisition channels that can generate qualified opportunities.* **Product feedback:** Bring recurring objections, lost-deal reasons, and customer requests back to the founder.* **Sales documentation:** Capture effective outreach, demo approaches, and objection handling so successful work can be repeated.## Start selling immediatelyWe expect customer-facing activity from the beginning, with product learning and market discovery happening alongside outreach.* **Day one:** Get briefed on the product, current capabilities, target customer, and commercial offer. Begin relevant prospect research and initial outreach.* **First week:** Establish a daily prospecting and follow-up routine, start customer conversations, and run demos as opportunities develop.* **First month:** Build a qualified pipeline, progress opportunities toward paid commitments, and use customer feedback to improve the offer and sales approach.We’ll agree initial targets during your first week, based on product availability, pricing, and the expected buying cycle.Before public release, you may recruit early-access customers or offer paid pilots where the scope, delivery, and terms have been agreed with the founder. Customer commitments must accurately reflect what we can deliver.## What we’re looking for* You have personally prospected for and closed B2B software or comparable business-product sales.* You can explain your results: what you sold, who bought it, how you found them, and your contribution to winning the deal.* You’re comfortable reaching out to people who have never heard of the company.* You run useful discovery calls, deliver clear demos, and ask for a commercial commitment.* You follow up consistently and keep track of multiple opportunities.* You write clear, relevant outreach and communicate confidently with founders and business operators.* You can work independently and make practical decisions with incomplete information.* You learn quickly, accept feedback, and adjust your approach when something isn’t working.* You represent product capabilities and timelines accurately.Experience selling to Indian founders, small businesses, or operations teams is particularly relevant.Your previous title matters less than evidence that you can find customers and close business.## How we’ll measure success* Paying customers won and revenue generated.* Qualified opportunities created and progressed.* Conversion through discovery, demos, proposals, and closing.* Time taken to move suitable opportunities toward a decision.* Early customer activation and quality of handover.* Accurate pipeline reporting and dependable follow-through.We’ll review progress weekly. Outreach and meeting counts help us understand the work, but customer quality and commercial results matter most.## Working with the founderYou’ll work directly with a founder who leads product and engineering and stays involved in early customer conversations.Together, you’ll agree the initial offer, pricing, qualification criteria, and commercial boundaries. You’ll have a direct channel to raise product gaps, discuss objections, and get decisions on live opportunities.Your initial focus will be Startaflo, with scope to contribute to future ciphers products as the lab develops.## Why join* Own the first commercial function at ciphers.* Influence product decisions through direct customer evidence.* Build customer relationships and a sales process from the beginning.* Work directly with the founder, with clear ownership and short feedback loops.* Grow your responsibilities as the business and your results develop.## ApplyCover note should contain:* One brief example of a customer you personally found and closed.* The product, typical deal size, sales cycle, and your role in the outcome.* Your location, availability, and compensation expectations.Include #iread in the cover note, if you read the JD completely.Please anonymize confidential information. A concise application with specific examples is enough.## Compensation* **Fixed salary:** ₹8–12 lakh per year, based on relevant experience and demonstrated sales results.* **Performance incentives:** ₹3–6 lakh per year at 100% achievement of agreed sales targets.* **On-target earnings:** ₹11–18 lakh per year, depending on your final compensation package.The fixed salary is separate from performance incentives. On-target earnings represent total annual cash compensation when agreed targets are met; variable pay is not guaranteed.Sales targets, incentive eligibility, and payout timelines will be documented before joining. Initial targets will account for product readiness and the expected sales cycle.## Apply for Founding Sales & GTM LeadTell us what you have worked on, how you think, and why this particular role makes sense. Clear examples are more useful than polished adjectives.