Head of Business Development

Mercata•New York, NY

4d•Remote

About The Position

Mercata is seeking its first commercial lead, reporting directly to the CEO. This role is responsible for the entire sales pipeline, from initiating conversations with fundamental investing hedge funds to conducting product demonstrations and finalizing contracts. The target market consists of thousands of fundamental investing hedge funds with assets under management between $50 million and $2 billion. The company has an established database and outbound sales infrastructure in place. The primary objective is to secure meetings and close deals. It is important to note that Mercata is a seed-stage company and cannot offer a market-rate salary at this time. Compensation will initially consist of equity and commission on closed revenue. A full salary will be provided upon the company's next funding round, which is contingent on customer traction generated by this role. The individual who successfully secures the first two to three fund clients will effectively be funding their own position and will have demonstrated their value through signed contracts. This role is not suitable for individuals requiring an immediate salary. The ideal candidate will be motivated by the opportunity to build revenue from the ground up. Mercata's vision is that future fundamental investing firms will utilize data infrastructure and workflow tools designed for their specific operational needs, leading to enhanced thinking, increased analyst coverage, and greater alpha. Mercata's product was developed internally within a $600 million long/short fund and has been in production use since April. The COO and CIO of that fund have also directly invested in Mercata.

Requirements

Proven experience selling data, research, or workflow software into hedge funds or asset managers, with the ability to cite specific deals closed.
A strong network within fundamental investing hedge funds ( $50M–$2B AUM) whose CIOs and COOs would be receptive to calls.
Capability to manage the full sales cycle independently, from sourcing to closing, without a dedicated team.
Clear understanding and acceptance of the compensation structure, viewing it as an opportunity.
Genuine belief in the future of infrastructure for fundamental investing firms.
Ability to source, run, and close deals without a team.

Responsibilities

Own the pipeline end to end: sourcing conversations with fundamental investing hedge funds, running demos alongside the founder, and converting pilots into paid production contracts.
Manage outreach via email, LinkedIn, and phone.
Conduct product demonstrations.
Oversee pilots and letters of intent.
Negotiate and finalize contracts.
Scale the existing outbound machine and campaigns.
Collaborate with the CEO on deal strategy, including pricing and pilot design.
Report weekly pipeline numbers to the board.