Account Executive, Higher Education HYBRID
Location: New York, NY | Work arrangement: HYBRID (NYC headquarters)
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 | Travel: about 25% | Visa sponsorship: H-1B, O-1, and OPT, with full support | Openings: 1
Our Ref: GEN-0001 | Client Ref: X985R74R
Company Confidential
About the Company
A seed-stage, AI-native startup (founded 2023, 1–10 employees) that is widening access to college counseling. It already serves 250K+ students across 190 countries, works with 25 institutional partners, and runs at a $2 blended CAC. Its investors include Reach Capital (lead), JFF Ventures, ECMC Group, Tuesday Capital, and Indus Valley Capital, and it was selected for OpenAI's ChatGPT Futures Class of 2026.
The Role
This person takes over new-business acquisition across higher education from the founding Account Executive, who is moving into a Head of Partnerships role. The job covers the full cycle of sourcing, discovery, demo, negotiation, and close, with real influence over go-to-market. Two SDRs generate leads. The AE runs a first demo call and a second proposal and contract call, and the average sales cycle is under two weeks. Selling here is relationship-based: ACV typically runs $20–25K, with recent deals reaching $36–50K.
Key Responsibilities
- Run the entire sales cycle for new institutional customers, from the first demo to a signed contract
- Build and manage a pipeline of colleges and universities, targeting decision-makers in admissions, enrollment, and recruitment
- Lead consultative discovery that ties each institution's enrollment goals to the company's value
- Negotiate pricing and partnership terms, and close deals that are set up for strong retention
- Represent the company at conferences and events (about 25% travel)
Requirements
- Direct experience in admissions and enrollment at a college or university (adjacent roles such as teaching or research do not count)
- Proven Account Executive track record closing deals, ideally at a seed to Series A startup, with concrete results (for example, ARR grown by a specific amount)
- Comfortable selling to senior decision-makers and navigating buying decisions with multiple stakeholders
- Strong consultative instincts: listens first, then connects the buyer's goals to the product
- Excellent written and verbal communication, able to make both a data-driven case and a mission-driven story
Nice to Have
- Familiarity with the AI or edtech landscape
- An existing network across college and university admissions and enrollment offices
- Fluency in HubSpot or a comparable CRM
- Prior partnership-style role that blends relationship management with closing
Interested? Apply for this role (Ref GEN-0001)