Founding Account Executive

Key Technology; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI startup is seeking a Founding Account Executive to build their sales engine from the ground up. This pivotal role involves owning the full sales cycle, landing strategic accounts, and defining the go-to-market strategy in a fast-paced, high-ambiguity environment.

Qualifications

• 3–6 years of experience as an AE, with 2+ years in B2B SaaS/frontier tech.
• Full-cycle experience with Enterprise and Mid-Market clients.
• Proven success in a hunter-style outbound organization.

Responsibilities

• Own the full sales cycle from prospecting to close.
• Land strategic accounts that shape the company’s market presence.
• Feed insights back to product and leadership.

Skills

Sales Cycle Management

B2B SaaS Experience

Outbound Sales

Strategic Account Management

Creativity

Adaptability

Coaching

Job description

Help build the sales engine from scratch at one of the most ambitious early-stage AI startups.

We’re hiring a Founding Account Executive for a fast-moving startup backed by top-tier investors. They’re building next-gen enterprise AI tools—and need a sharp, hungry AE to own outbound and take new ground.

You’ll be one of the first sales hires, reporting directly to the CEO and working closely with Growth, Product, and Marketing. This role is perfect for someone who’s crushed quota in structured environments and is now ready to help create the structure—building the playbook, iterating the motion, and helping land strategic logos.

What we’re looking for:

• 3–6 years of experience as an AE, with at least 2+ years in B2B SaaS/frontier tech
• Full-cycle experience with Enterprise and Mid-Market clients
• Proven success in a hunter-style outbound org; you’ve exceeded targets and know what great looks like
• Strong closer with a creative, first-principles mindset—you can write the playbook, not just run it
• Thrive in early-stage, high-ambiguity environments and can move fast without all the answers
• Coachable, tenacious, and excited to help define the GTM from scratch

What you’ll do:

• Own the full sales cycle — from prospecting to close — driving net new ARR
• Land strategic accounts that shape the company’s market presence
• Feed insights back to product and leadership so they’re always building the right thing
• Experiment constantly — what works today might not work tomorrow, and that excites you
• Lay the foundation for a repeatable, scalable GTM engine

This team is building something truly transformative in AI—and you’ll be central to getting it into customers' hands.

Interested or know someone who might be? Feel free to reach out.