Partner Manager – Revenue & Business Development

StartX•Palo Alto, CA

About The Position

StartX—Stanford’s nonprofit accelerator and founder community—is seeking a Partner Manager focused on sales and revenue generation. In this role, you will own a portion of our partnership revenue pipeline, cultivating strategic corporate relationships that strengthen our community and drive meaningful financial impact.

Requirements

3–5+ years in business development, sales, partnerships, or account management, ideally with a track record of consistently hitting revenue targets.
A true sales mindset —you’re motivated by closing deals, hitting numbers, and owning a pipeline.
Exceptional communication skills and the ability to influence senior-level stakeholders.
Strong relationship-building instincts paired with the discipline to follow a structured sales process.
High personal accountability, strong organization, and a bias toward measurable action.
Experience working with CRMs and comfort learning new tools quickly.

Nice To Haves

Experience selling to or working within the startup or innovation ecosystem
Background with university innovation environments
Stanford alum
Former student-athlete (competitive mindset a plus)

Responsibilities

Proactively source, qualify, and close new corporate partnerships and International Government partnerships that align with StartX’s strategic priorities.
Hit and exceed revenue targets through disciplined pipeline management and a consultative sales approach.
Build and maintain a high-quality funnel using outreach, warm introductions, partner referrals, and ecosystem engagement.
Serve as the primary relationship owner for your portfolio of partners.
Develop strategic account plans with cross-sell and upsell opportunities that expand engagement and revenue.
Ensure partners see clear ROI through thoughtful communication, coordinated programming, and value-driven interactions.
Collaborate with the BD team to refine messaging, pitch materials, and engagement models.
Identify partner needs, map StartX value propositions, and craft custom proposals that drive conversion.
Lead onboarding, performance reviews, and success metrics tracking.
Anticipate partner needs and maintain high satisfaction levels to secure renewals and long-term contract value.
Share insights, refine processes, and create scalable systems for a rapidly expanding revenue function.
Work closely with leadership to shape a strong, predictable revenue engine for StartX.