Founding Sales

present of AI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Standout, an AI talent agent, is seeking an early sales role that covers the full cycle—from finding startups and candidates to closing deals and onboarding clients. The role requires a few years of quota-carrying selling, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to build outbound systems and sharpen positioning with the founders.

A strong candidate brings trust-building with founders, sound judgment about startups and talent, and steady follow-up.

Qualifications

• Few years of quota-carrying selling experience.
• Comfort with ambiguity and building outbound systems.
• Ability to sharpen positioning alongside founders.
• Strong trust-building with founders and good judgment about startups and talent.
• Steady follow-up and relationship management.

Responsibilities

• Handle full sales cycle: sourcing startups and candidates, selling, closing deals, onboarding clients.
• Develop outbound processes and messaging that can scale.
• Collaborate with founders to refine positioning and GTM strategy.

Job description

This is an early sales role that covers the whole cycle, from finding startups and candidates to closing deals and onboarding clients. The role asks for a few years of quota-carrying selling, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to build outbound systems and sharpen positioning alongside the founders. A strong candidate brings real trust-building skill with founders, good judgment about startups and talent, and steady follow-up.

How it fits the AI era

Standout is an AI-driven recruiting company, so the role involves deciding how AI tools fit into prospecting, matching, and outreach without making it feel like spam. AI can handle research, drafting, and sorting at scale. What stays human is earning a founder's trust, reading what a company truly needs, and judging who is exceptional.

How it builds AI experience

Someone in this seat would see up close how an AI talent agent is sold, positioned, and run day to day, and would help shape its go-to-market. To build relevant experience beforehand, try using AI tools for outbound research and personalized outreach, and learn how recruiting products in the AI and developer tools space describe their value to buyers.

Worth showing

• Founder-led or early-stage selling
• Building outbound systems from scratch
• Thoughtful, non-spammy outreach examples
• Judgment about startups and talent

This is our own read, written from the employer's posting and the company's Spotlight. The employer's posting is the source of truth for the role.

About Standout

Standout is an AI talent agent that scouts roles for engineers and operators and introduces them directly to founders, per the company.