Account Executive

Light-Labs; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Light Labs in Austin, TX seeks an Account Executive to own the new-logo motion for enterprise co-manufacturers and large CPG brands. You will use AI to personalize outreach, generate referrals, and move deals quickly from first contact to first sample.

This is a high-velocity, hunter-focused role with travel to plants, HQs, and events. We’re building a scalable GTM engine and you’ll work side-by-side with founders, contributing to Light Labs’ growth toward a multi-million-dollar run rate and a

Qualifications

• 2+ years of quota-carrying, high-velocity sales experience with outbound wins.
• Proven ability to land new logos and manage enterprise buyers.
• Experience using AI for research, personalization and outreach.
• Strong written and verbal communication with an entrepreneurial mindset.

Responsibilities

• Own the new-logo motion across named co-manufacturers and large CPG brands.
• Leverage AI to personalize outreach and out-execute competitors.
• Generate referrals from existing customers and design incentives for introductions.
• Respond within minutes; keep deals moving and qualify quickly.
• Reduce cycle time from first contact to first sample.
• Size opportunities and stage trials with minimal friction.
• Lead with curiosity to uncover customer pain points and craft wedges.
• Travel to plants, HQs, and industry events to build relationships.

Skills

Quota-carrying sales

New-logo acquisition

High-velocity selling

AI-native outreach

Enterprise communication

Travel flexibility

Job description

Role Overview

As an Account Executive at Light Labs, you'll be our first pure hunter. Your job is breaking into new co-manufacturers and large brands in CPG: getting us in the door, landing the first order, and handing a clean account to the Account Management team to grow. Today, hunting and farming are blended across our AEs; this is the first role resourced exclusively for net-new logos, and you'll own that motion end to end. We've grown from zero to a multi-million-dollar run rate in under 2 years, and you'll play a key role in scaling Light Labs to a $50M run rate in 2027.

Responsibilities

• Own the new-logo motion. Work a named list of co-manufacturers and large CPG brands and get in however you can: referrals, warm intros, cold calls, trade shows, inbound. Whatever it takes. You're measured on new logos landed each month. This is a high-velocity motion, but your buyers are enterprise: quality and ops leaders at some of the largest manufacturers and brands in the world.

• Leverage AI to out-execute every other lab. Use AI for ABM at a level nobody else in this industry is touching: personalize every aspect of outreach to the account, the plant, the person. Be insanely creative. Wow prospects with a level of polish and relevance no other lab matches.

• Turn customers into pipeline. Our happiest customers know every coman and brand in their category. Systematically generate referrals and intros from the existing base, and design incentives that make introducing Light Labs a no-brainer.

• Respond within minutes. Speed wins trust and deals. It's the number one reason customers work with us, and it's the standard for every email, call, and follow-up in your pipeline.

• Compress cycle time. Make it fast and easy for a prospect to qualify our lab. Kill every step that slows the path from first conversation to first sample, and keep deals moving daily.

• Qualify, size, and stage trials. Understand each account's whitespace, size the opportunity, and stage trials so prospects can test us with near-zero friction. Then crush the trial experience so the account is set up to scale.

• Be a true problem solver. Lead with curiosity. Every prospect has a testing pain: turnaround time, cost, failed results, a compliance deadline. Find it, get creative, and build the wedge that gets us in.

• Always get on the plane. Nothing beats in-person time. Visit plants and HQs, walk the floor with quality and ops teams, and work the trade shows where comans and brands actually make decisions.

• Learn the science and how a lab operates. We work in a complex, highly technical industry. Learn what matters to prospects, speak their language, and know enough of the science (methods, contaminants, specs, regulatory thresholds) to build rapport and trust with technical buyers.

• Hand off clean. Once the first order is placed, transition the account to an Account Manager with relationships mapped and context documented, so expansion starts on day one instead of from scratch.

• Scale impact. Help drive Light Labs to a $50M run rate in 2027 by consistently opening the doors our Account Managers grow through.

Requirements

• 2+ years of quota-carrying, high-velocity sales experience with a track record of outbound-sourced wins, ideally in a fast-paced or early-stage environment.

• True hunter. Breaks into accounts cold, comfortable on the phone, and energized (not drained) by a monthly new-logo number. Knows how to run fast without cheapening the experience for an enterprise buyer.

• AI-native seller. Already uses AI daily for research, personalization, and outreach, and is excited to push it further than anyone in this industry has.

• Scrappy and creative. Finds the referral path, the trade show booth, the mutual connection, or the side door when the front door is closed.

• Relentlessly responsive. Operates with urgency and treats speed as a competitive advantage, not a courtesy.

• Excellent communicator. Skilled in discovery, storytelling, and objection handling, with a clear, persuasive writing style.

• Entrepreneurial mindset. Operates independently, thrives in ambiguity, and builds structure where none exists. You'll be defining this motion, not inheriting it.

• Fast learner. Quickly absorbs technical and scientific concepts and translates them into business value.

• Willing to travel. Regular time on the road with prospects; expect meaningful travel to plants, HQs, and industry events.

• Mission-aligned. Motivated by improving transparency and integrity in the food system.

• Austin, TX (in-office 5 days per week). This role sits side-by-side with the founders and broader team as we scale Light Labs' GTM engine.

Who We Are

Light Labs is building the modern platform for lab testing, starting with consumer goods brands. We help companies test more cheaply, quickly, and enable them to use lab results to automate regulatory compliance and grow revenue.

We believe consumers deserve to know the purity and accuracy of every product that affects their families' health. Improving our food system starts with increasing transparency and creating a more informed customer. Not only are we building a lab that makes testing faster, cheaper, and easier, but also the infrastructure that allows brands to:

1. Market and highlight their lab results by making it easy to push lab data directly to product display pages. Here, brands will highlight what's in their product (active ingredients + they meet their claims) and what's not in their product (heavy metals, environmental toxins, PFAs, etc)

2. Automatically comply with regulations like Prop 65, CA AB 899, Amazon testing requirements, etc.

By integrating the full experience – from testing to the data sharing with customers – we're building a more efficient and streamlined process. Brands can now differentiate themselves and become the no-brainer choice in their category through testing and great transparency.

We're a team of experienced founders that have raised $30M+ from top VCs (8VC and Valor), with top CPG founders and strategics who participated into the round. Whether you're lab tech, engineer, sales, marketing, or customer support, you'll have a seat at the table as we work to increase transparency in the food system.

Our Mission

Almost everything people consume is becoming increasingly toxic (and bereft of nutrition) which leads to massive health dysfunction while simultaneously destroying our planet. No one knows about it because you can't see, taste, smell, or quantify the problem:

• Cinnamon Apple Puree pouches, marketed for children and labeled as preservative-free, kosher, and gluten-free, contained lead levels 200 times greater than the FDA's proposed guidelines

• Over 1300 chemicals are banned in cosmetics in the EU, while only 11 are in the United States

• The US also allows thousands of food additives which are banned in other countries

• A study of 168 baby foods revealed that 95% contained at least one heavy metal (arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium), with a quarter containing all four

• Seven out eight samples of kale contained 'disturbing' levels of PFAs, with organic kale containing higher levels of the toxic compounds

Today, even if consumer brands or manufacturers wanted to test for purity of their products, the experience is slow, cumbersome, expensive, and nearly impossible to interpret or share the lab results unless you have a PhD in the area you're testing for.

Because there is no feedback loop or standardized transparency that brands offer, there is no consumer pressure on change of practices and sourcing. If people knew what was in their food, they'd be shocked. They would shop differently.

Our mission is to bring this transparency to the food system. Allow customers to buy products and brands that are free of toxic ingredients. Transparency is the first step in creating demand for cleaner products, and ultimately a cleaner supply chain.

Founding Team

• Nick Mares: 2x founder, Kettle & Fire and Upside Financing. Kettle & Fire is a $100 million/year brand while Upside Financing exited in 2022. He's raised more than $60M across the two companies and been both in the CEO and COO roles. Nick is a Thiel Fellow.

• Vijay Manohar: growth and GTM leader. He helped Samsara scale to be one of the fastest growing B2B software companies ever to reach $1B ARR, including an IPO (NYSE: IOT). B.S. in computer engineering from UT Austin.

Values We're Looking For

• First Principles

  • We're looking for team members who can deal with ambiguity, deconstruct problems, and build the optimal solution.

  • Question every requirement → Delete any part or process you can → Simplify and optimize → Accelerate cycle time → Automate.

• Standard of Excellence

  • High standards are contagious. A+ talent attracts A+ talent.

  • There's a glut of mediocrity in the world. We're chasing after the products and people that strive for excellence.

• Bias for Action

  • Take initiative, make decisions quickly, and have a willingness to experiment and learn from failures.

  • Customer expectations are not static. They rise over time, which means we have to continuously improve every single day.

• Low Ego

  • Coachability; it's not about being right, it's about getting to the right answer.

  • Reacts calmly to criticism or negative feedback, and has a "feedback is an opportunity for information and improvement" mindset.

  • Respectfully challenges decisions when you disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable. Once a decision is made, even if you still disagree, commit wholly and move forward.