Founding Account Executive

Your quota history doesn't tell the whole story. Neither does your title.

Some of the best sellers we've come across didn't have the cleanest backgrounds on paper. They hadn't all sold at name-brand SaaS companies. They didn't all have "Enterprise" in front of their title. Some did, plenty didn't, but that wasn't the point.

What set them apart was simple: put them in front of a buyer they'd never met, in an industry they'd never sold into, and they found a way in.

They listened more than they pitched. They learned the customer's business faster than the customer expected. They didn't flinch at a hard "no." And, most importantly, they closed.

We want to meet more of them.

The opportunity

Peri is recruiting Founding AEs for some of New York's most exciting AI startups, from Seed to Series D+, backed by investors including a16z, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, Notable Capital, and Thrive.

We've sat down with the founders, looked closely at the people who win in these seats, and figured out what separates them from everyone else.

What we found: Grit, curiosity, judgment, and the ability to earn trust quickly often predict success better than your last company's logo.

You don't need to have sold AI before. If you have, great. If you haven't, keep going.

What the job actually looks like

Picture getting on a call with a company in an industry you've never thought about.

You don't know their workflows, their politics, or what keeps their leadership up at night.

Your job is to find out. Ask the right questions. Figure out who really makes the decision. Understand the problem well enough to explain it back to them better than they could. Then show them why this product changes things, and get the deal done.

You're part strategist, part translator, part closer.

You'll sell alongside founders. You'll run deals from first touch to signed contract. And because these companies are early, you'll help shape how they sell, not just follow a playbook someone else wrote.

These roles are for people who'd rather build the pipeline than wait for it.

Who we're looking for

Maybe you're an SDR or BDR who's been outperforming the AEs around you.

Maybe you came from somewhere else entirely: consulting, operations, founding your own thing. You've been selling the whole time, even if it was never in your job title.

We're not looking for people who sound great describing themselves. We're looking for people whose results speak first.

All of that counts. But there's a catch. You have to make it visible.

A résumé can't tell us how you handle a stalled deal, how you navigate a skeptical buyer, or what you do when the champion goes quiet two weeks before the quarter ends.

So show us.

Why aren't the companies named?

Because this isn't a single posting.

We partner with several companies that want the same kind of seller but are building very different things.

Instead of you applying to six startups one at a time, we'd rather get to know you, understand how you sell, and match you to the opportunities where you'd actually thrive.

We only partner with companies we genuinely believe in.

Who is Peri?

Most recruiting looks for a pattern: same title, same industry, same President's Club badge.

We think that filter throws away a lot of great people.

So we start with the founders instead. We learn what makes someone win at their company, then go looking for those traits in people whose backgrounds might not make it obvious.

We're especially interested in people who outperform their résumés.

How to apply

• Apply here or DM me on LinkedIn.

• Just answer one question: What's a deal, customer, or result you made happen that proves you can sell at a higher level than your resume shows?

  • A few sentences is plenty. Be concrete. Numbers and specifics beat adjectives every time.

  • If it looks like a fit, we'll talk, share what we know about the companies, and help you figure out where you'd be strongest.

  • When there's a clear match, we'll introduce you to the founders directly.

And if you've been thinking, "I'd crush this, but my résumé doesn't show it," we want to hear from you most of all.

One last thing

Taking unconventional backgrounds seriously doesn't mean lowering the bar.

If you're blasting applications without reading them, can't point to anything you've actually sold or won, have a padded or fake LinkedIn profile, or aren't authorized to work in the United States, please don't apply.

It won't go anywhere, and it costs us both time.