Founding Sales

Sphinx•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

Before you can move money or open an account, someone has to make sure you're not a criminal. That's compliance, and it's broken. Sphinx builds AI analysts that work inside browsers, APIs, and internal systems just like humans – automating AML, KYC, KYB, and transaction monitoring end-to-end. We help banks and fintechs eliminate 90% of manual work, cut compliance costs by 4×, and make onboarding instantaneous. We're trusted by leading institutions across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and LatAm. We've closed every deal we've competed for, including seven-figure contracts with leading banks. Until now, sales has been founder-led, and it's worked. But we're at the point where we need someone to own it: build the pipeline, run the full cycle, and lay the foundation for a sales org that scales with us. Why Join Sphinx Massive, unsexy market: Banks spend $200B a year hiring thousands of analysts to review alerts and fill out reports by hand. The space has seen very little innovation, and customers complain about our most well-funded competitors weekly. It's not glamorous, until you realize you're selling the intelligence layer that protects the entire financial system. Undefeated win rate: We've won every RFP we've been in. The product sells – we need someone to put it in front of the right people, more often. Build the sales org from zero: You won't inherit a playbook. You'll write it. Work directly with the CEO to define our sales motion, hire the first AEs, and architect the revenue engine from the ground up. Do this well, and you'll grow into the sales leader of a category-defining company. Founder-level scope: You'll shape pricing, packaging, territory strategy, and GTM positioning. Your fingerprints will be on everything that drives revenue. Small team, big surface area: Our co-founders previously sold an AI company & have built ML systems that scaled to millions of users and closed deals with major banks. The rest of our team in SF includes PhDs, industry experts, and competitive coders. Zero startup bullshit: We're not chasing hype. We're chasing customers – and closing them.

Requirements

You've closed real deals: You have 3-5+ years of sales experience with a track record of closing $100K-$1M+ enterprise contracts.
You've navigated procurement, legal, and multi-stakeholder buying committees – and you know how to move complex deals forward.
You're a hunter: You don't wait for inbound. You build pipeline, cold-call confidently, and create opportunities where others see nothing. You're energized by the chase.
You're magnetic: Clients trust you, prospects remember you, and rooms pay attention when you speak. You build relationships fast and make people want to work with you.
You've seen the full cycle: From prospecting to negotiation to close to renewal – you've owned every stage and know what it takes to move deals through each one.
You think like a builder: You're not looking for a cushy quota-carrying seat. You want to build the sales org, define the playbook, and create something from scratch alongside the CEO.
You communicate with precision: Whether it's a board-ready deck, a cold email, or a live demo with a bank's CCO, your messaging is sharp, clear, and tailored to the audience.
You're impact-obsessed: You want to see your work move the company forward – every day.

Responsibilities

Own the full sales cycle from first touch to signed contract. You'll prospect, run discovery, lead demos, negotiate, and close – bringing in new banks, fintechs, and MSBs across the world.
Build Sphinx's sales organization alongside the CEO. That means designing the sales playbook, hiring and coaching the first AEs, defining comp structures, and creating the processes that let the team scale without losing quality.
Work directly with the GTM team to generate, qualify, and refine leads – building a pipeline that's predictable, data-driven, and constantly improving.
Shape how we go to market. You'll partner with the CEO on pricing, packaging, territory planning, and competitive positioning – feeding frontline insights back into strategy.
Be the voice of the customer internally. Translate what you hear in sales cycles into product priorities, marketing narratives, and deployment improvements.