Founding Account Executive (Local Partnerships)

Nearvana Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 60,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

Nearvana is building the future of local discovery in New York City. We seek our first Founding Account Executive to grow local business partnerships across NYC, closing deals with restaurants, bars, attractions, and brands.

You’ll work directly with the founders to develop sales strategy, messaging, and the foundation of Nearvana’s revenue engine. This hands-on role offers ownership and growth as an early-stage company.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of sales experience, preferably in advertising, media, SMB sales, hospitality technology, or local business partnerships.
• Experience selling directly to restaurants, bars, hospitality, entertainment, retail, or small businesses is strongly preferred.
• Previous experience at Yelp, DoorDash, Uber Eats, OpenTable, Toast, Tripadvisor, local media companies, agencies, or similar platforms is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Prospect, pitch, and close NYC businesses for placements on Nearvana’s airport discovery kiosks.
• Conduct in-person visits, product demos, and relationship-building meetings with local businesses.
• Own the full sales cycle — prospecting, outreach, presentations, follow-ups, negotiations, and closing.
• Build relationships with restaurant owners, hospitality groups, marketers, tourism companies, attractions, and experience operators.
• Identify businesses that benefit from reaching travelers, tourists, and new customers visiting NYC.
• Develop repeatable sales processes, scripts, outreach strategies, and customer feedback loops.
• Track leads, manage your pipeline, and consistently work toward revenue goals.
• Share market insights with the founders to improve our product, pricing, and sales approach.

Skills

Sales experience

Advertising/Media SMB sales

Field sales

Relationship building

Negotiation

Job description

Nearvana is building the future of local discovery — helping travelers discover the best restaurants, experiences, attractions, events, and hidden gems when they arrive in a new city.

Our interactive discovery kiosks are deployed in high-traffic destinations like airports & hotels, connecting travelers with local businesses at the exact moment they’re looking for what to do, where to go, and what to experience.

We’re starting in New York City and building a new discovery and advertising platform that helps local businesses reach millions of visitors.

About Nearvana

Nearvana is building the future of local discovery — helping travelers discover the best restaurants, experiences, attractions, events, and hidden gems when they arrive in a new city.

Our interactive discovery kiosks are deployed in high-traffic destinations like airports & hotels, connecting travelers with local businesses at the exact moment they’re looking for what to do, where to go, and what to experience.

We’re starting in New York City and building a new discovery and advertising platform that helps local businesses reach millions of visitors.

About the Role

We’re looking for our first Founding Account Executive to help grow Nearvana’s local business partnerships across NYC.

This is a hands‑on sales role for someone who loves meeting customers, building relationships, and closing deals. You’ll work directly with restaurants, bars, hospitality groups, attractions, tour operators, experiences, and brands looking to reach travelers visiting New York City.

As our first sales hire, you won’t just sell — you’ll help build. You’ll work directly with the founders to develop our sales strategy, refine our messaging, understand customer needs, and create the foundation for Nearvana’s revenue engine.

This is a unique opportunity for someone who wants more ownership than a traditional sales role and wants to grow with an early‑stage company.

What You’ll Do

• Prospect, pitch, and close NYC businesses for placements on Nearvana’s airport discovery kiosks
• Conduct in‑person visits, product demos, and relationship‑building meetings with local businesses
• Own the full sales cycle — prospecting, outreach, presentations, follow‑ups, negotiations, and closing
• Build relationships with restaurant owners, hospitality groups, marketers, tourism companies, attractions, and experience operators
• Identify businesses that benefit from reaching travelers, tourists, and new customers visiting NYC
• Develop repeatable sales processes, scripts, outreach strategies, and customer feedback loops
• Track leads, manage your pipeline, and consistently work toward revenue goals
• Share market insights with the founders to improve our product, pricing, and sales approach

Who You Are

• You love talking to people and building relationships
• You’re comfortable walking into businesses, introducing yourself, and creating opportunities
• You’re energized by closing deals and helping businesses grow
• You understand how local businesses think and what drives their marketing decisions
• You’re resourceful, persistent, and comfortable figuring things out without a playbook
• You want to be part of building something from the ground up
• You’re excited about startups, travel, hospitality, and the future of local discovery

Ideal Experience

• 3+ years of sales experience, preferably in advertising, media, SMB sales, hospitality technology, or local business partnerships
• Experience selling directly to restaurants, bars, hospitality, entertainment, retail, or small businesses is strongly preferred
• Previous experience at companies like Yelp, DoorDash, Uber Eats, OpenTable, Toast, Tripadvisor, local media companies, agencies, or similar platforms is a plus
• Comfortable with field sales — visiting businesses, running demos, building relationships, and closing deals
• Proven ability to prospect customers, handle rejection, follow up consistently, and manage a sales pipeline
• Strong communication skills and ability to represent Nearvana professionally with both small businesses and larger brands
• Existing relationships in NYC restaurants, nightlife, tourism, or hospitality are a bonus, but not required

Compensation

• Base compensation: $60,000/year
• Performance‑based commissions on closed partnerships and revenue milestones
• Opportunity for increased earning potential as the business scales

Why Join Nearvana

Most sales roles ask you to follow a playbook. This role gives you the opportunity to help create one.

You’ll join Nearvana at the earliest stage of building a new advertising and discovery platform connecting travelers with local businesses.

The partnerships you create, customers you bring on board, and sales systems you help build will directly shape how Nearvana grows across New York City and future markets.

For someone who wants to move beyond being just another salesperson, this is an opportunity to become a foundational part of building a company and grow into a larger leadership role as we scale.