Account Executive: Higher Education Partnerships

Company:  (Seed, founded 2023, 1–10 employees)  AI-native platform democratizing access to college counseling; 250K+ students across 190 countries, 25 institutional partners, $2 blended CAC. Backed by Reach Capital (lead), JFF Ventures, ECMC Group, Tuesday Capital, Indus Valley Capital. Selected for OpenAI's ChatGPT Futures Class of 2026.

Compensation: $90,000 base + $90,000 OTE (50/50 split), uncapped commission at 10% of quota attainment, no accelerators. Meaningful early-stage equity. Experience: 3+ years. Hybrid (NYC HQ). Visa sponsorship: H-1B, O-1, OPT (full support). ~25% travel.

About the Role

Own new business acquisition across higher education, replacing the founding AE who is moving into a Head of Partnerships role. Full-cycle: sourcing, discovery, demo, negotiation, close, with real influence on go-to-market. Two SDRs generate leads; AE runs a first demo call and a second proposal/contract call.

Average sales cycle under two weeks. Relationship-based selling wins here — ACV runs $20–25K, with recent deals reaching $36–50K.

What You'll Own

• Own the full sales cycle for new institutional business, from first demo through signed contract
• Build and manage a pipeline of colleges/universities, targeting admissions, enrollment, and recruitment decision-makers
• Run consultative discovery connecting each institution's enrollment goals to company's value
• Negotiate pricing and partnership terms, closing deals set up for strong retention
• Represent company at conferences and events (~25% travel)

Must-Have

1. Direct experience in admissions and enrollment at a college/university (not adjacent roles like teaching or research)
2. Proven AE experience closing deals, ideally seed–Series A startup, with concrete results (e.g., grew ARR by a specific amount)
3. Comfort selling to senior decision-makers and navigating multi-stakeholder buying
4. Strong consultative instincts: listens first, connects buyer goals to product
5. Excellent written and verbal communication; data-driven case + mission-driven story

Nice-to-Have

• Familiarity with AI or edtech landscape
• Existing network across college/university admissions and enrollment offices
• HubSpot or comparable CRM fluency
• Prior partnership-style role blending relationship management with closing