US Sales Lead

The way companies innovate is broken. The systems built to create and protect ideas can’t keep up with the pace of change. Today,
90% of S&P 500 company value is intangible (e.g., in intellectual property) - yet R&D and IP teams spend half their time buried in manual work
, sifting through patents and paperwork instead of pushing the frontier forward. The tools of creating and protecting are stuck in the past.
We’re here to fix that.

Ankar is building the AI operating system for innovation, reinventing how companies generate and protect their inventions. Our platform orchestrates how ideas become defensible IP with a suite of AI modules such as patent drafting, office action response, and infringement detection.

We’re at an inflection point:

• The sector has raised >$24M to date from Tier-1 VCs like Atomico, Index Ventures, Norrsken, Daphni, and angels like the Founder of Hugging Face, CEO from Datadog, and Leaders from Deep Mind and OpenAI.
• We’re already working with the world’s most innovative companies, including Fortune 500 company L’Oréal and global law firm Vorys
• Expanding our world-class team with alumni from Palantir, Amazon, and BCG to tackle the $1T+ innovation market
  . We’re just getting started.

We are growing our team and looking for people who take ownership of ambitious projects, solve complex & high-impact problems, and do the best work of their career.

The US will be our largest market; we already have revenue, customers, and pipeline - now we’re building the team to scale it.

• Active customers across US corporate IP teams and leading law firms
• Mid-five to mid-six figure ARR already coming from US accounts
• Ongoing enterprise conversations with larger US-based organizations

The US is generating meaningful revenue today without a local team. We’ve validated demand and built pipeline from the UK. Now we’re formalizing our US go-to-market.

Over the next year, our ambition is to :

• Build our first US enterprise sales pod (AEs, patent attorneys, GTM support)
• Close multiple six-figure enterprise accounts
• Establish Ankar as a category leader in AI for patent workflows in the US
• Lay the foundations for long-term US infrastructure and leadership

This role is not about territory management - it’s a market building role.

As our Founding US Sales Leader, you’ll build and lead Ankar’s US go-to-market from the ground up. This is a player–coach role. You will personally own and close complex enterprise deals while setting the standard for how we sell in the US.

You will:

• Own a new‑business quota and run full‑cycle enterprise deals end‑to‑end — from sourcing and deep discovery through pilot design, negotiation, and close.
• Aggressively land pilots and convert them into long‑term, six‑figure enterprise accounts.
• Spend significant time on the road with customers — building relationships, driving momentum, and developing real conviction in‑market.
• Establish and enforce high standards across:
  • Sales process and methodology
  • Deal qualification and quality
  • Pipeline discipline and forecasting rigor
• Translate complex AI and patent/IP workflows into clear business value for senior stakeholders.
• Iterate messaging, positioning, and pricing based on live market feedback.
• Hire, coach, and develop future US AEs — raising the bar on execution and culture from day one.
• Partner closely with the London team to:
  • Avoid territory conflicts
  • Leverage existing relationships and references
  • Feed US learnings back into the global sales playbook

You will report directly to the founders and work closely with the London sales team from day one. This is a true build‑from‑scratch mandate — with significant ownership, visibility, and long‑term upside.

You likely:

• Have 7+ years of experience in enterprise B2B SaaS sales
  , with a track record of closing complex, six‑figure deals.
• Have experience opening new markets
  , territories, or building sales functions from an early stage.
• Are comfortable in a true player–coach role — carrying quota while developing others.
• Thrive in ambiguity and can create structure where none exists.
• Are confident selling to senior decision‑makers in enterprise environments.
• Are highly disciplined with pipeline management and forecasting.
• Are energized by being in front of customers — and willing to travel heavily in the early days.
• [Bonus points] Have experience selling AI, technical platforms, or workflow software into enterprise teams.
• [Bonus points] Have sold into law firms, patent attorneys, or in‑house IP / R&D functions.
• [Bonus points] Have built or scaled a US sales team at an early‑stage (Series A/B) company.

• Location: New York (onsite)
• Contract: Full‑time
• Compensation: We pay competitive salaries and will reward you with a substantial equity package.
• Visa sponsorship: Not for US‑based roles