Founding CEO

kadence; New York (NY); On-site; USD 300,000 - 800,000; Full time

Job summary

Kadence, in partnership with a leading investment firm, is seeking the Founding CEO of a new enterprise AI company in New York. You will shape the product and proposition, take it to market and build the early customer and investor relationships.

You will lead discovery, pilots and commercialization, develop the go-to-market strategy, recruit the initial team, and represent the company to customers, future hires and backers.

Qualifications

• Experience selling or building enterprise software, AI products, workflow tools or technology-enabled services.
• Product leadership, venture building or previous founder experience.
• Credibility with senior enterprise buyers and the ability to sell an evolving proposition.
• Enough technical fluency to work closely with a deeply technical founding CTO and set realistic expectations with customers.
• The judgement and energy to recruit a team, win early customers and build momentum from the ground up.

Responsibilities

• Shape the product and commercial proposition around real enterprise customer needs.
• Build relationships with senior buyers and secure early design partners.
• Lead early discovery, pilots and commercialization.
• Develop the go-to-market strategy and create the foundations of a scalable business.
• Build the early team and represent the company with customers, future hires and investors.

Skills

Enterprise sales

Product leadership

Founder experience

Technical fluency

Job description

Confidential Search | Founding CEO | Enterprise AI | New York

Kadence is partnering with a leading investment firm to appoint the Founding CEO of a new enterprise agentic AI company.

The business is building a platform to help organizations better understand how work is carried out, identify opportunities to improve and automate processes, and turn those insights into useful AI-enabled tools.

There is a working product and early customer interest. The CEO will be the first key commercial and business leader, shaping the proposition, taking it to market and building the company around its first customer relationships.

The opportunity

This is a true founding CEO role. Working closely with the incubation team and a founding CTO, you will:

• Shape the product and commercial proposition around real enterprise customer needs.
• Build relationships with senior buyers and secure early design partners.
• Lead early discovery, pilots and commercialization.
• Develop the go-to-market strategy and create the foundations of a scalable business.
• Build the early team and represent the company with customers, future hires and investors.

The role requires someone who can handle both the opportunity and the challenge of an emerging category. A key part of the job will be helping customers see the value of better workflow insight and automation, while establishing trust around how workplace data is used.

What we are looking for

We are looking for a credible, commercially minded leader with strong product instincts and genuine appetite for a zero-to-one environment.

The strongest candidates are likely to bring a combination of:

• Experience selling or building enterprise software, AI products, workflow tools or technology-enabled services.
• Product leadership, venture building or previous founder experience.
• Credibility with senior enterprise buyers and the ability to sell an evolving proposition.
• Enough technical fluency to work closely with a deeply technical founding CTO and set realistic expectations with customers.
• The judgement and energy to recruit a team, win early customers and build momentum from the ground up.