Founding Sales & Growth Lead

Dchappyhours; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

DCHappyHours is seeking a results-driven partnerships and sales professional to turn our audience into a growing, sustainable business across DC, Maryland and Virginia. You’ll win venue partners, build offers that sell, and grow our weekly digest and local reach.

This contract role pays through commission on the revenue you bring in, with no guaranteed base salary, and there is potential for ownership for the right person. Scope and commission structure will be agreed in writing.

Qualifications

• Sold to small businesses and can take a conversation from first outreach through a signed agreement.
• Comfortable reaching owners and managers through email, phone calls and in-person visits.
• Can point to something you’ve grown, sold or built—and explain your contribution.
• Writes clearly and persuasively, whether it’s a venue pitch, an email digest or a social post.
• Knows the DMV and understands its neighborhoods and hospitality scene.
• Takes initiative, follows through, and can choose useful next steps without a detailed playbook.
• Excited by building a business and comfortable with compensation tied to results.

Responsibilities

• Win venue partners by contacting bar and restaurant owners and managers and selling opportunities such as featured listings, flash deals and advertising.
• Build offers that sell by developing packages, testing pricing, and giving venues a reason to participate.
• Grow the audience with weekly digest, social content, local partnerships and organic search opportunities.
• Build lasting relationships to turn initial sales into repeat business, including partnerships with restaurant groups.
• Track results by measuring revenue, audience growth and value for venues to inform where to focus.
• Help shape the product by feeding back venue and visitor needs for a more useful site.

Job description

About us

DCHappyHours.com helps people discover happy hours, brunches and trivia nights across DC, Maryland and Virginia. Thousands of people already use the site. Now we’re looking for someone to help turn that audience into a growing, sustainable business.

You’ll help build the commercial side from the ground up: finding venue partners, developing offers they want to buy, and growing the audience that makes those partnerships valuable. You’ll have room to shape what we sell, how we sell it, and where we go next.

This opportunity is for someone who enjoys both figuring things out and making them happen—starting conversations, testing ideas, closing deals, and building on what works.

What you’d do

• Win venue partners. Connect with bar and restaurant owners and managers, understand their needs, and sell opportunities such as featured listings, flash deals and advertising.
• Build offers that sell. Work with us to develop packages, test pricing, and give venues a clear reason to participate.
• Grow the audience. Develop the weekly digest, social content, local partnerships and organic search opportunities that bring people to the site and keep them coming back.
• Build lasting relationships. Turn initial sales into repeat business, including partnerships with restaurant groups and operators with multiple locations.
• Track results. Measure revenue, audience growth and value for venues, then use what you learn to decide where to focus.
• Help shape the product. Bring back what venues and visitors need so we can build a more useful site.

Your early priority: find an offer venues will pay for, close the first partnerships, and develop an approach we can repeat.

Compensation and potential ownership

This is a contract role paid through commission on the revenue you bring in. There is no guaranteed base salary.

We’re also open to an ownership arrangement with the right person—someone who helps build the business and wants to contribute over the long term. Becoming a part owner is a possibility, not a guaranteed part of the role.

Before work begins, we’ll agree on the scope, expectations and commission structure in writing. Any ownership arrangement would also be agreed in writing.

Who we’re looking for

• You’ve sold to small businesses and can take a conversation from first outreach through a signed agreement.
• You’re comfortable reaching owners and managers through email, phone calls and in-person visits.
• You can point to something you’ve grown, sold or built—and explain your contribution.
• You write clearly and persuasively, whether it’s a venue pitch, an email digest or a social post.
• You know the DMV and understand its neighborhoods and hospitality scene.
• You take initiative, follow through, and can choose useful next steps without a detailed playbook.
• You’re excited by the opportunity to help build a business and comfortable with compensation tied to results.

Helpful experience

• Restaurant, bar or hospitality work
• Local advertising sales or account management
• Existing relationships with DMV venues
• Growing a newsletter, local publication or consumer audience
• Building a small business or joining one early