Business Development & Sales Lead

Job Description

ABOUT US

Makers of Awe is an AI-powered immersive technology company designing experiences for connection, embodiment, and joy. We've created a set of 6 turnkey experiences — real-time AI visualizations, movement-reactive, biofeedback, and guided breathwork experiences. We rent these experiences into conferences, private events, festivals, as well as build custom versions for brand activations. Our team has a track record of building experiences for brands like Deloitte, YouTube, the Sphere, Nickelodeon, Snickers, and more. This role reports in to Kyle Ruddick, the Founder/CEO of Makers of Awe and Makers with AI.

Watch a demo of Dream Forward, one of our flagship immersive experiences, at &fe=vl

For more demos, visit our website at

We're a small startup, and we wear many hats. There's a lot of room for creativity and diversity of tasks in building a unique experience company of this kind. While this first project is a quarter's scope, additional opportunities for role expansion and career growth are highly likely into 2027.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Makers of Awe is 9 months old and we're just starting to go-to-market in a scalable way. We're looking for someone to drive Business Development and Sales to generate deals across our three key revenue lines: Event rentals, custom activations (for brands and agencies), and our partner program.

You run business development and sales across three motions, working directly with the Founder and the Strategy lead. You're our first dedicated BD & Sales hire.

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• RENTALS: Sell our turnkey experiences into conferences, corporate events, holiday parties, and brand activations — and spot which rentals can grow into something bigger.
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• CUSTOM BUILDS: Listen to and react to higher-tier commercial, advertising, and marketing clients looking for experiential design. Support the founder in developing the pitch, help make the sale, and bring in the right partners to deliver it.
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• THE PARTNER PROGRAM: Activate and manage our tiered partner channel, including Referral, Agency, and Reseller Partners.
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This role suits someone who is strategic about sales and partnerships but also likes having their hands on the execution. We'll want to hear from what you're learning on the front lines - what's landing well with prospects, what isn't, how can we improve, etc.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

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• CLOSE RENTAL BUSINESS: own pipeline from outreach through signed contract, starting with Q4 holiday activations and end-of-year parties.
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• TURN RENTALS INTO CUSTOM BUILDS: recognize when a rental client wants more, then shape the opportunity into a customized activation.
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• DEVELOP AND SUPPORT PITCHES: work with the founder and our sister company to build pitch materials and proposals for brand, agency, and marketing clients — and be in the room to make the sale.
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• TEST AND GROW THE PARTNER PROGRAM: take the program out to your first 10 prospective partners, get a read on what is and isn't working, and help us adjust. RSA, Monks, and We Are Social are already in motion.
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• CREATE A SYSTEM: keep the deal log current — registrations, protection windows, attribution, payouts — and keep every deal in the right tier.
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• WORK THE ROOM: If and when possible, show up at Makers of Awe demo nights, activations and industry events. We'll reimburse your travel.
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• KEEP THE FORECAST HONEST: report pipeline weekly so we can reconcile what's actually closing against the operating model.
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• SHARPEN THE TOOLS YOU SELL WITH: tell us what's landing and what isn't in the sales collateral — decks, one-sheets, rate cards, follow-up templates. Guide what we build next, and make light touches yourself rather than waiting on us.
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• PROSPECT ON SOCIAL: work LinkedIn, Instagram, and the event-industry channels to find leads and open conversations.
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FIRST QUARTER GOALS

The engagement starts as a one-quarter trial, measured from your start date. These goals set the shared bar for that quarter.

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1. RENTALS Goal: Closed Q4 bookings against a target set with you at kickoff (holiday and year-end season)
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2. CUSOTM BUILDS Goal: Qualified pipeline of brand and agency opportunities, with at least one pitch developed and delivered.
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3. PARTNER PROGRAM Goal: Take the program to 10 qualified prospective partners. Sign first partners and give us a clear read on what to adjust in 2027.
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4. REPORTING Goal: Weekly pipeline view reconciled against the current operating model for financial planning & accounting.
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At the end of the quarter, we review results together and set the structure going forward.

WHO YOU ARE

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• 4–8 years selling experiential, event services, sponsorships, AV/production, or brand partnerships. You've closed five-figure event deals and know the buying cycle cold.
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• Comfortable in front of commercial, advertising, and marketing clients — you can hear what a brand is really asking for and help shape a pitch around it.
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• A working rolodex of event producers, conference organizers, experiential agencies, and corporate event buyers, ideally LA-centered.
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• Channel instincts: you've sold with or through partners, and you understand how to navigate sensitivities around relationship-management with partners.
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• Startup-fluent and happy wearing many hats: you write your own decks, run your own CRM, and like being close to how the experience actually gets made.
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• Social-media savvy: you're willing to hunt down leads through LinkedIn, Instagram, and wherever else event and brand people gather.
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• An eye for collateral: you can look at a deck, one-sheet, or rate card and say what's working, what's missing, and make light edits using AI yourself.
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• Genuine enthusiasm for immersive tech, embodiment, and creating wonder in rooms full of people.
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ENGAGEMENT & COMMISSION

This is a one-quarter contract on a retainer plus commission, with the structure revisited together at the end of the quarter.

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• Retainer: $5,000/month for the Sales/BD scope above
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• Commission: 10% of net revenue on deals you source and close
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• Term: One quarter from your start date, with a review at the end
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• Time commitment: Half-time (~20 hrs/week) for the first quarter, with the goal of growing into a full-time role in 2027.
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• Additional scope: If any other opportunities arise beyond Sales/BD — e.g. production or producing work on an activation — we'd discuss it, scope and quote it separately
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HOW TO APPLY:

Send your resume, LinkedIn, and a short note to View email address on ziprecruiter.com. In the note, please tell us two things: 1) three accounts you'd call in your first month and why, and 2) one event or experiential deal you've closed end to end. You're welcome to share other relevant context you'd like us to know as well.

What happens next: We read everything that comes in and reply either way within a week. Then 2-3 calls and interviews (30-60 min each): we'll get to know each other, go over the role, compensation, and targets, and get a sense for how you'd approach the opportunity.