Founding US Account Executive

About the Role

• Client is hiring its Founding US Account Executive after proving the product and operating model internationally. You'd close Athena's first wave of US customers: tech-led enterprises with 1,000-5,000 employees that are ready to rethink how work gets done with agentic AI. You'd help define the narrative, pressure-test positioning, and turn early deals into repeatable patterns.
• The pipeline is real: the founder is leading sales calls with serious enterprise logos, and the team recently closed a six-figure deal in nine days from the first demo. Sales cycles average 2-3 months, but quality logos move fast when the timing is right. You'd run full-cycle deals yourself, work directly with the founder and product team, and meaningfully influence how Client sells, who it sells to, and why it wins. Reports to Giovanni (Founder).

What You'll Own

• Own a full-cycle Athena pipeline in the US: discovery, qualification, demo, negotiation, close
• Run high-quality discovery with HR, Finance, Ops, and AI leaders at tech-led enterprise companies (1,000-5,000 employees)
• Sell outcomes, not features: autonomous workflows, not tools
• Build and execute creative outbound strategies (no playbook yet; you help write it)
• Work directly with the founder, Product, and CS on live deals
• Turn early wins into repeatable patterns that the next 5-10 AEs can replicate

Requirements

Must-Have

• 3-6 years of full-cycle B2B SaaS sales experience with consistent quota attainment in competitive environments
• Proven track record closing $100K ACV deals with senior executives, ideally carrying $1.5M quotas
• Sold into tech-led enterprise companies of 1,000-5,000 employees (Stripe, Plaid, comparable). Has personally driven specific named logos through to close.
• Zero-to-one signal: has sold without strong brand recognition, done the outbound, written the LinkedIn messages and emails themselves, and dealt with friction independently
• Strong tenure pattern: no year-here-year-there job-hopping. Rob direct gate: "won't get through the founder's screen."

Nice-to-Have

• Founding AE or early enterprise AE experience at a Series A through Series C startup
• AI-native or agentic AI product sales experience
• Track record selling new/innovative product categories (no repeatable playbook to lean on)
• Sold to AI-native customers (Stripe, Plaid, Lovable-tier) at prior companies
• Hunter mentality with high tolerance for rejection

Requirements

• 3-6 years full-cycle B2B SaaS sales
• $100K ACV, $1.5M quota
• Tech-led enterprise (1,000-5,000 employees)
• Zero-to-one signal (no brand to lean on)
• Strong tenure (no job-hoppers)
• SF in-person GMT overlap

Green Flags

• Founding AE or early enterprise AE at a Series A-C startup with named logo wins. Direct match for the zero-to-one motion.
• Has closed specific tech-led enterprise logos (Stripe, Plaid, comparable) and can name the deals they personally drove
• Demonstrated tenure across roles.

Interview Process

• Application Review
• Initial Screen
• Hiring Manager Interview
• Final Interview
• Offer
• Hired

“Cleo Consulting is an equal opportunity employer (Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled)”