Founding Go-To-Market Director

Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA (must be locally based; relocation supported for the right candidate)

Work model: Hybrid (work from home when not in-market; frequent in-person meetings/events across the Bay Area)

Industry: Branded merchandise, custom products, event marketing services

Compensation: Base salary $140,000-$160,000, depending on experience + commission with target OTE up to ~$300,000 (50/50 base/variable split).

About the Company

Our partner is a high-growth, early-stage company helping teams "turn ideas into physical products"—designing and producing premium custom merchandise and branded goods for modern organizations. They launched recently, have scaled quickly, and operate with a lean U.S. go-to-market presence supported by a larger global operations team.

The Opportunity

This is a Founding Go-To-Market role for someone who wants to build a revenue motion from the ground up—not just run an existing playbook. You'll work directly with the founder leading GTM, own the full sales cycle, and help define the strategy: ICP discovery, messaging, playbooks, pipeline generation, and repeatable execution.

The business is transactional (not SaaS), with strong repeat ordering potential (mid-market accounts often place multiple orders per year). The role is highly in-person: you'll spend meaningful time at events, conferences, and customer meetings across the Bay Area, with periodic travel (often Las Vegas 2-3 days, roughly monthly).

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end sales process: prospecting, discovery, pitching, quoting, closing, and account expansion/renewal through repeat orders
• Build and iterate the go-to-market playbook: ICP segmentation, messaging, outbound approach, and pipeline standards
• Identify and validate new customer segments beyond the current core ICP (e.g., new verticals and buyer profiles)
• Develop demand channels that fit the business (event-driven pipeline, partnerships, community/field marketing, targeted online campaigns)
• Represent the brand in-market: run booths, network at events, and convert conversations into qualified opportunities
• Partner cross-functionally with operations/design to ensure excellent customer experience and on-time delivery
• Track performance, pipeline health, and learnings; propose improvements and test new approaches quickly
• Help hire, onboard, and lead future GTM team members as the company scales

Requirements

• Experience owning revenue outcomes in a high-velocity environment (sales, BD, partnerships, or GTM), ideally 5+ years (flexible for exceptional candidates)
• Demonstrated 0→1 / builder mindset (e.g., early-stage startup experience, starting a project/company, or building a motion from scratch)
• Comfort with ambiguity and strong judgment—able to question assumptions, test ideas, and iterate fast
• Strong interpersonal skills and presence; able to start warm conversations with new people and build trust quickly (high EQ)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English for customer-facing work
• Willingness and ability to be highly present in-market: weekly Bay Area events/meetings and regular travel (Las Vegas)
• Bias for action, responsiveness, and ownership typical of early-stage roles (including occasional time-sensitive issues outside standard hours)
• Interest in a hands-on role spanning field sales, pipeline creation, and GTM strategy—not a narrow "run the book" AE position

If you're excited to be a founding GTM builder—equal parts seller and strategist—and want to help shape how a fast-growing company scales revenue, we'd love to hear from you. Our partner is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please let us know.