Founding Account Executive

Clera

$200K — $270K *
Enterprise Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Proven ability to own an end-to-end mid-market SaaS sales process including sourcing, qualification, negotiation, and closing.
  • Strong experience in building, presenting, and defending business cases and ROI analyses with executive stakeholders.
  • Excellent communication and negotiation skills; adept at engaging with CROs, VPs of Sales, and procurement teams.
  • Self-starter mentality capable of generating pipeline independently.
  • Authorized to work in the U.S. without employer-sponsored visa.

Responsibilities

  • Build your own sales pipeline targeting Series C-E SaaS companies.
  • Run full-cycle mid-market deals from initial meeting to signed contract.
  • Engage with sophisticated buyers like Heads of Value Engineering and CROs.
  • Partner on expansion by identifying upsell opportunities post-sale.
  • Use the platform to build and defend rigorous ROI analyses during the sales process.

Benefits

  • Early-stage equity with potential for significant upside.
  • Opportunity to be the first dedicated sales hire in a rapidly growing startup.
  • Join a small, dynamic team with a zero churn rate.
  • Work in a role critical to transitioning from founder-led sales to a scalable model.
Full Job Description
About the Role

This is a rare opportunity to be the first dedicated sales hire at a fast-growing B2B SaaS company pioneering the value intelligence category - AI-powered software that helps go-to-market teams automate business cases, prove ROI, and scale value selling across the full customer lifecycle. Zero churn. A small but mighty team. A product already trusted by dozens of enterprise customers.

Every deal to date has been closed by the founding CEO. That worked to build an early customer base. This hire - you - is responsible for taking the mid-market motion from founder-led to repeatable and scalable. The CEO will continue co-selling on larger strategic accounts; you own the mid-market independently.
What You'll Do
  • Build your own pipeline. There is no SDR team. You'll develop a repeatable outbound motion targeting the ICP - Series C-E SaaS companies with emerging or scaling value engineering functions. Expect to prospect, network, run events, and work creative channel plays to generate your own pipeline.
  • Run full-cycle mid-market deals. You own the entire sales cycle from first meeting to signed contract: discovery, multi-threading across buying committees of 5-10 stakeholders, positioning with economic buyers (typically the CRO), navigating procurement, and closing.
  • Engage sophisticated buyers. Your typical contacts are Heads of Value Engineering, VPs of Sales, and CROs at high-growth SaaS companies. These buyers know what great selling looks like - you need to have done this work yourself, not just talk about it.
  • Partner on expansion. Stay involved post-close to identify upsell and expansion opportunities in partnership with the Implementation Lead. You are incentivized on expansion revenue.
  • Build and defend business cases. Use the platform's value intelligence capabilities to build rigorous ROI analyses and business cases for prospects - this is core to the product and your pitch.
What We're Looking For

Required:
  • Proven ability to own an end-to-end mid-market SaaS sales process - sourcing pipeline, qualification, negotiation, and closing - independently
  • Strong experience building, presenting, and defending business cases and ROI analyses with executive-level stakeholders
  • Excellent written and verbal communication and negotiation skills; comfortable engaging CROs, VPs of Sales, and procurement teams
  • Self-starter mentality - you don't need leads handed to you and can generate your own pipeline from scratch
  • Authorized to work in the United States without employer-sponsored visa (visa sponsorship is not available)

Nice to Have:
  • Background in value engineering, sales enablement, or GTM software
  • Experience selling to or within high-growth SaaS organizations
  • Prior experience as an early or founding sales hire building a repeatable motion from scratch
  • Familiarity with Salesforce or similar CRM and enterprise sales workflows
Compensation & Benefits
  • OTE: $200,000 - $270,000 (base + variable)
  • Equity: 0.3% - 1.0%
  • Early-stage equity with meaningful upside in a category-defining company
Location

This role is on-site in San Francisco, CA. Remote work is not offered. Candidates must be willing and able to work from the San Francisco office.

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