Vice President: Sales

Lavu Inc.

7h•Hybrid

About The Position

This is a zero-to-one role where you will build the entire commercial motion while closing deals simultaneously. There is no existing sales team, playbook, or inbound pipeline. You will be responsible for sourcing your own pipeline from trigger events such as CFO, COO, and VP hires at multi-unit groups, PE acquisitions of restaurant portfolios, minimum wage increases, post-audit-season budget cycles, and DOL activity. You will run discovery, anchor value to identifiable cash exposure in the prospect's portfolio, close the audit engagement, and convert to subscription. The target buyer is the person accountable for EBITDA, specifically senior operators in multi-unit restaurant groups who need to see the numbers before making decisions. You will own the full sales cycle, build the outbound engine, run sales opportunities, document everything to create the foundation of the playbook, and feed product direction based on market feedback. You will also be responsible for hiring your own team once sufficient signal is gathered. The role reports directly to the CEO and is part of the leadership team.

Requirements

Proven hunter with a primarily self-generated pipeline in previous roles.
System for identifying accounts, manufacturing urgency, and getting in front of the right person without a warm intro.
Experience closing middle-market deals in the $100,000 to $300,000 range (not transactional volume or long enterprise motions).
Experience selling something analytical (data, intelligence, business performance software, fintech, or workforce analytics) where the core sale is translating findings into financial impact on a CFO's P&L.
Strong written communicator, capable of writing concise, specific outbound emails that make the reader feel understood.
Ability to build without infrastructure (no RevOps, content team, or brand awareness support).
Comfortable being the entire commercial motion.
Analytical mindset.
CFO/COO buyer focus.
Middle-market deal size experience.

Nice To Haves

Restaurant experience.
Experience selling into restaurant groups, hospitality operators, or multi-unit food service.
Understanding of restaurant P&L structure, labor percentage points, and budget cycles.
Experience from a data or intelligence software company (restaurant tech, BI platforms, workforce analytics).
Understanding of selling insight rather than just software.
Experience in a founder-led, pre-scale environment where the pitch and product were still evolving.
Personal network including CFOs, COOs, or multi-unit operators at 10 to 200 location restaurant groups.

Responsibilities

Source own pipeline from trigger events (CFO, COO, VP hires; PE acquisitions; minimum wage increases; post-audit-season budget cycles; DOL activity).
Run discovery calls and anchor value to identifiable cash exposure in prospect portfolios.
Close audit engagements and convert them to subscriptions.
Build the outbound engine: list-building, trigger-event sourcing, Clay and Sales Navigator workflows, outreach sequences.
Write own emails for outbound communication.
Run sales opportunities from start to finish with no handoffs or support structure.
Coordinate delivery with the CEO after closing the initial contract.
Present findings to prospects.
Convert initial engagements to subscriptions.
Document everything: every loss reason and every win pattern to form the foundation of the playbook.
Feed product direction based on market feedback, objections, integration needs, and effective language.
Hire your own backup team once sufficient signal is gathered.
Work directly with the CEO and sit on the leadership team.
Have real input on pricing, packaging, and go-to-market strategy.