Founding Account Executive

FOUNDING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Why Zania Every enterprise spends millions of dollars on Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC). It's one of the most critical, yet universally painful, parts of running a business. For decades, this industry has been dominated by legacy systems with notoriously low NPS scores, making it totally ripe for disruption. Zania is building agentic AI for Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) to solve this massive problem. We are on a rocketship trajectory, creating intelligent agents that automate and augment the most complex risk and compliance workflows. We have found exceptional product-market fit and are scaling our team very quickly. Some reasons to join Zania are: - Dream Customers: Our customers are the most notable enterprises in the world, including FAANG, Big 4 firms and a portfolio of top customers. - Tier 1 Backing: Funded by a leading Tier 1 venture capital fund, giving us the resources to build a generational company. - World-Class Team: Zania is hiring the best. Our team includes AI and Security leaders from Airbnb, Microsoft, Bain & Company, Deloitte, PwC, Brex, and Instacart. - Pioneering Technology: Our engineers and GRC experts work at the absolute forefront of applied AI, building the next generation of agentic systems that will define the future of compliance. - Hyper-Growth: We have seen 10x ARR growth in the last year and are rapidly expanding. - Competitive Compensation & Equity. Role Overview As our Founding Account Executive, you will be the driving force behind our early revenue engine. You will work directly with the founders to transition from founder-led sales to a scalable Go-To-Market motion. This is a true 0-to-1 role: you won't be handed a neatly packaged pipeline. You will be responsible for full-cycle sales—from hunting and generating your own leads to navigating complex enterprise procurement processes and closing six-figure deals. If you are a builder who thrives on the thrill of the hunt and wants to shape the sales playbook of an AI rocketship, this is for you. What You'll Do - Drive Full-Cycle Sales: Own the entire sales process from outbound prospecting and lead generation to discovery, demo, negotiation, and closing. - Generate Your Own Pipeline: Act as your own SDR by researching target accounts, executing outbound campaigns, and building a robust pipeline of enterprise prospects. - Define the Playbook: Partner with the founders to refine our ICP (Ideal Customer Profile), test different messaging, and build the foundational sales playbook for future hires. - Navigate Complex Deals: Manage multi-stakeholder enterprise deals involving GRC leaders, CISOs, and IT procurement teams. - Voice of the Customer: Act as a critical feedback loop to our Product and Engineering teams, translating customer pain points into actionable product insights. What You Have - Experience: 5+ years of B2B SaaS sales experience, with a proven track record of closing complex, six-figure enterprise deals. - Hunter Mentality: Demonstrated success in generating your own leads and building pipeline from scratch without relying heavily on inbound marketing. - Domain Knowledge: Previous experience selling into Security, Compliance, Risk, or AI domains is a massive plus. - Startup DNA: Comfortable operating in a highly ambiguous, fast-paced Series A environment where you must build the parachute on the way down. - Location: Based in (or willing to relocate to) Palo Alto, working in-person with the team five days a week. Minimum Qualifications - Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience - 5+ years of B2B SaaS sales experience, with a demonstrated track record of closing six-figure enterprise deals end-to-end - Proven ability to independently generate pipeline through outbound prospecting — not solely reliant on inbound leads - Exceptional written and verbal communication skills — you will navigate multi-stakeholder enterprise deals with GRC leaders, CISOs, and IT procurement teams and must articu