Associate GTM Manager, Startups & Venture Capital

Overview

Launchpad is Salesforce's startups program. This role focuses on earliest-stage, VC-backed startups typically under 50 employees, helping founders implement and realize value from Salesforce with scalable programs, onboarding, and go-to-market (GTM) enablement.

This is a high-volume, high-build role centered in the Bay Area, acting as Launchpad's primary presence in active early-stage communities. You will work with the Head of Startups and the Launchpad team to build tooling, programs, and playbooks that help Salesforce engage authentically with the companies shaping the next decade.

• Design and build scalable technical on-ramps for early-stage startups, including onboarding workflows, accelerator programming, and lightweight implementation guides.
• Own a high-volume territory of VC-backed startups under 50 employees; develop programs and tooling, not just conversations.
• Build and maintain relationships with top-tier accelerator programs and founder communities to enable consistent cohort-level engagement.
• Collaborate with Salesforce SMB sales leadership to align on startup accounts and ensure appropriate levels of support.
• Track and manage territory performance, contributing to regular portfolio reviews with Launchpad leadership.

• Help early-stage founders implement and derive value from Salesforce, including configuring use cases and connecting integrations.
• Demonstrate Agentforce capabilities and provide a tangible sense of the platform for small teams.
• Convey a technical perspective on the AI-powered GTM stack and how AI agents, automation, and developer tooling scale lean startups.
• Explain Headless 360 and Agent Exchange benefits for building on Salesforce with flexible surfaces and trusted integrations.
• Be comfortable with vibe coding and AI-assisted configuration; you should be able to build quickly and show what's possible.
• Serve as the bridge between founders’ technical questions and the Salesforce ecosystem, knowing when to go deep or bring in the right resource.

• Act as the Launchpad expert for Salesforce SMB sales teams, guiding engagements with early-stage, VC-backed companies and identifying necessary technical support.
• Lead enablement sessions that equip the sales organization to have credible conversations with founder-led companies.
• Collaborate with Launchpad leadership to share SB-segment learnings with the broader team.

• Host and facilitate founder events, accelerator programs, and ecosystem activations to elevate Launchpad's presence.
• Build relationships within founder communities, accelerator networks, and early-stage VC firms to create durable ecosystem touchpoints.
• Help founders discover the full Salesforce ecosystem, including Agentforce, AI-powered automation, Agent Exchange, and related tools.
• Gather founder feedback to continuously improve Launchpad and Salesforce approaches for earliest-stage companies.
• Contribute to broader Launchpad initiatives and campaigns with the central team.

• Contribute to internal portfolio performance reviews with data-driven insights on the SB startup landscape.
• Provide perspective on how the early-stage ecosystem is evolving and its implications for Launchpad strategy.
• Own ad hoc strategic projects that support the growth of the broader Launchpad program.

• A builder's mentality with a track record of creating or scaling something (e.g., started a company, owned a sales function at an early-stage startup, ran a technical program, or developed tooling from scratch).
• Technical fluency with AI-powered tools, platform configuration, and API-level conversations; you don’t need to be an engineer but must engage with technical founders credibly.
• Hands-on experience with or enthusiasm for vibe coding, AI agents, or AI-powered development tools.
• Strong familiarity with the startup ecosystem and an ability to understand founders’ constraints and decision-making.
• Exceptional communication skills to earn a technical founder's trust and translate complexity into clarity.
• A scrappy, high-volume approach to relationship…