Founding Account Executive

Needl is working with an exciting SaaS start-up who are looking for their first AE hire. This is a rare opportunity to join an early stage and well funded AI company to help build the Sales function from the ground up. As the first AE onboard, there is a huge opportunity for career progression and massive earning potential. Experience in a similar type role in the B2B SaaS space is preferred.

• Drive new business growth by acquiring new logos and executing innovative sales strategies to consistently exceed revenue targets.
• Build and manage a strong pipeline through a mix of outbound prospecting, inbound leads, events, and conferences.
• Own the full sales cycle from initial discovery through to close, operating against an annual quota.
• Monitor the market to identify trends, competitive shifts, and opportunities — translating insights into targeted sales initiatives, campaigns, and partnership strategies.
• Collaborate closely with founders, product, and engineering to ensure a tight feedback loop between customer needs and product development.
• Improve sales processes and methodology by refining playbooks, templates, and best practices, while identifying ways to increase efficiency and consistency across the sales motion.

• Exceptional track record of sales performance
  , demonstrated through rapid career progression, consistent quota over achievement, President’s Club wins, or other top-rep recognition.
• Proven success in new logo acquisition
  , with a history of winning net-new business in competitive B2B SaaS environments.
• Early-stage experience strongly preferred — ideally a former Founding AE or one of the first sales hires at a B2B SaaS startup.
• Alternatively, a high-performing AE from fast-growth SaaS company who has excelled in competitive sales teams and is eager to move earlier-stage and build from zero.
• Comfortable owning the full sales cycle from prospecting to close, with a strong ability to generate pipeline autonomously.
• Experience selling into technical, operations, or leadership stakeholders across multiple departments.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to understand customer pain points, articulate value, and drive urgency.
• Self-starter mentality — thrives in fast-moving, ambiguous environments and embraces building processes, messaging, and motion from scratch.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
  , with the ability to influence decision-makers at all levels.
• Highly coachable and collaborative
  , especially with founders, product, and engineering teams.
• A mindset geared toward learning, ownership, and resilience
  , with a bias toward action and results.

If this has piqued your interest and you want to know more, apply today!

Mid-Senior level

Full-time

Sales and Business Development

Software Development

Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Needl by 2x

San Francisco, CA

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