Standout Verified
Software, Human Resources, Employee Engagement
Founding Sales
San Francisco, California, United StatesOnsiteFull Time$150,000–$400,000 /yrPosted 27 days agoHidden Gem · YC Startup
Role summary
Standout is seeking a Founding Sales leader to shape its go-to-market strategy and build relationships with top startups and talent. This role involves end-to-end ownership, from outbound and inbound sales to partnerships and deal flow, with a focus on creating a unique, non-transactional recruiting experience. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who can create momentum from scratch, possesses strong analytical and people skills, and has experience in founder-led sales, recruiting, or partnerships. This is a remote, full-time position for an individual comfortable operating with ambiguity and intensity, working directly with founders to define the future of AI-native hiring.
You’d own a full slice of Standout end-to-end — not just “selling,” but shaping how the company finds, wins, and grows relationships with the best startups and talents in the world.
You’d work directly with founders, hiring managers, and top-tier candidates. You’d understand what makes someone exceptional, what a company actually needs, and make the introductions that matter. You’d help define the entire go-to-market motion from scratch: outbound, inbound, partnerships, positioning, deal flow, and how an AI-native recruiting company should actually operate.
The job is to make Standout impossible to ignore.
Most recruiting firms feel transactional. Most outbound feels like spam. Ours shouldn’t. The bar is: a founder talks to Standout once and immediately feels like we understand their company better than recruiters they’ve worked with for years.
You’re a fit if:
You know how to create momentum from nothing.\
You’re great with people but also highly analytical.\
You have exceptional taste in startups, talent, and communication.\
You’re relentless about follow-up, details, and keeping relationships warm.\
You can sell a vision before the company fully exists.\
You move fast, improvise fast, and learn fast.\
You’ve probably done founder-led sales, recruiting, partnerships, community building, or something adjacent where trust and persuasion mattered.\
You naturally build networks everywhere you go.
You’re not a fit if:
You need a playbook.\
You want to inherit a mature sales org.\
You optimize for process over outcomes.\
You think recruiting is just matching resumes to job descriptions.\
You’re uncomfortable operating with ambiguity or intensity.
You’ll work directly with the founders on everything from closing startups to refining positioning, building outbound systems, onboarding clients, and helping shape the future of AI-native hiring.
You’d work directly with founders, hiring managers, and top-tier candidates. You’d understand what makes someone exceptional, what a company actually needs, and make the introductions that matter. You’d help define the entire go-to-market motion from scratch: outbound, inbound, partnerships, positioning, deal flow, and how an AI-native recruiting company should actually operate.
The job is to make Standout impossible to ignore.
Most recruiting firms feel transactional. Most outbound feels like spam. Ours shouldn’t. The bar is: a founder talks to Standout once and immediately feels like we understand their company better than recruiters they’ve worked with for years.
You’re a fit if:
You know how to create momentum from nothing.\
You’re great with people but also highly analytical.\
You have exceptional taste in startups, talent, and communication.\
You’re relentless about follow-up, details, and keeping relationships warm.\
You can sell a vision before the company fully exists.\
You move fast, improvise fast, and learn fast.\
You’ve probably done founder-led sales, recruiting, partnerships, community building, or something adjacent where trust and persuasion mattered.\
You naturally build networks everywhere you go.
You’re not a fit if:
You need a playbook.\
You want to inherit a mature sales org.\
You optimize for process over outcomes.\
You think recruiting is just matching resumes to job descriptions.\
You’re uncomfortable operating with ambiguity or intensity.
You’ll work directly with the founders on everything from closing startups to refining positioning, building outbound systems, onboarding clients, and helping shape the future of AI-native hiring.
Similar roles
- Founding SalesGauge · San Francisco, California, United States · Onsite
- Founding SalesParagon · San Francisco, California, United States · Onsite
Founding Head of SalesFastino Labs · San Francisco, California, United States · Onsite- Founding SalesShadeform · San Francisco, California, United States · Remote