Founding Account Executive

At Tenor, we’re on a mission to make every manager more effective - using the latest AI technologies. We’re a passionate group of technologists, working with some of the world’s best companies to have a big impact for their people. And we’re just getting started, with a huge opportunity ahead of us.

As Tenor continues to grow, we’re looking for a Founding Account Executive to join the team. We're defining a new product category, and are on track to be a leading player in the space - and you'll be a key person in us achieving our ambitious growth goals.

Tenor has a strong customer base of household-name logos, and we're continuing our growth into the F500 and beyond. You'll be reporting to an experienced founder with a product and GTM background, working closely together to drive the next chapter of Tenor's growth.

Our sales process is highly consultative, and we have a strong preference for a candidate who knows the talent development space, and who can consult with customers to 'connect the dots' between their leadership development priorities and our cutting-edge AI technology.

We're a distributed team, with our headquarters in San Francisco. For this role, we're open to awesome candidates anywhere in the US, with hybrid in-office also being an option for Bay Area team members.

Key Responsibilities

• Full-Cycle Sales Leadership: Own and drive the entire sales process - from sourcing and engaging potential clients, leading discovery, independently crafting and delivering compelling product demos, to negotiating and closing deals - all while collaborating with the founder to ensure a seamless, high-touch, and superb buyer experiences.

• Market Education & Evangelism: Proactively educate potential clients about the value and impact of Tenor's AI-driven leadership development solutions, helping 'connect the dots' between customers' talent priorities and Tenor's AI technologies.

• Strategic Prospecting: Building relationships with key personas at ICP companies, creating opportunities and building pipeline through trust and awareness.

• Solution-Oriented Selling: Conduct in-depth discovery sessions to understand client challenges and tailor Tenor's offerings to meet their specific leadership development needs, positioning yourself as a trusted advisor.

• Late-Stage Deal Execution: Take ownership of mid-to-late stage enterprise deal cycles - including mapping stakeholders, managing procurement and legal processes, and negotiating complex terms - to bring deals over the finish line with precision and confidence.

• Pipeline & Forecast Management: Maintain accurate records of sales activities and pipeline status, providing regular updates and forecasts to the leadership team.

• Continuous Improvement: Stay abreast of industry trends and continuously seek opportunities to enhance sales strategies and processes for greater effectiveness, including potential for our own AI / tech stack upgrades to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Candidate Qualifications & Skills

• Experience: Minimum 3 years in a quota-carrying sales role at an early-stage startup selling into mid-market or enterprise, ideally in HR tech, learning & development, or professional services. (Experience at comparable sized consultancies may also be considered)

• Deal Size: Proven ability to close complex deals over $100K in recurring revenue, including experience working with multi-stakeholder buying groups.

• Sales Skills: Deep consultative selling expertise, with strong discovery, storytelling, and solution mapping capabilities. Skilled at navigating ambiguity and helping buyers shape their vision to implementing new technologies.

• Execution: High personal accountability, excellent time management, and process discipline. Comfortable operating autonomously with startup scrappiness.

• Character: Collaborative, kind, curious, and ego-free. Energized by helping others grow and by building meaningful client relationships.

• Tools: Familiarity with modern sales stack (CRM, sequencing tools, intelligence platforms) and ability to optimize your own workflow.

• AI native: You have a strong working knowledge of AI technologies, and use them as an integral part of your daily workflows.

Location, Compensation, and Benefits

• Location: Remote within the United States, ideally close to a major metro for travel

• Compensation: $180,000 - $220,000 OTE

• An equity stake - you’ll have ownership in what we’re building

• Full medical, dental, and vision coverage

• 401(k)

• Paid PTO

• Annual learning and development stipend

• Home office setup budget

• Regular offsites and retreats — we like being in person when we can