Founding Growth Lead

Job Description

Job Description

Our client is a venture-backed, seed-stage startup that is building autonomous AI systems to operate factories. Their AI agents learn specific factory operations, identify root causes of downtime, and deliver real-time corrective actions directly to production teams.

We are seeking an entrepreneurial, self-directed Founding Growth Lead with 2 to 6 years of experience to own the entire top-of-funnel go-to-market (GTM) motion from scratch. As the first dedicated GTM hire, your primary, #1 KPI will be putting qualified meetings on the calendar with operations leaders, manufacturing executives, and C-suite buyers. You will dynamically navigate complex, consultative conversations with factory operators to uncover pain points around downtime, yield loss, and margin.

What You Will Do:

• Own Top-of-Funnel Pipeline: Drive lead generation through an experimental mix of outbound campaigns, product-led growth (PLG) marketing, and field events.
• Conference & Field Mastery: Travel 1–3 times per month to represent the company at multi-day manufacturing trade shows, industry conferences, and on-site customer visits to build face-to-face relationships.
• Experimentation: Build and run your own outbound tooling stack (sequencing, CRM, targeting lists) without requiring dedicated operations support.
• Scale the GTM Motion: Lay the foundational groundwork for the sales process, with a clear path toward owning post-sales and eventually building out the growth team.

Key Requirements:

• Experience: 2–6 years of experience across top-of-funnel B2B sales, business development, or go-to-market at an early-stage startup, OR a background in management consulting, investment banking, or private equity.
• Event-Led Growth: Proven track record of directly sourcing meetings and pipeline from physical events, conferences, or trade shows.
• Autonomy & Tooling: Ability to independently set up and operate an outbound sales stack (CRM, sequencing, targeting).
• Communication Skills: Exceptional ability to quickly synthesize complex operational problems and think on your feet during ambiguous, high-stakes conversations.
• Travel Flexibility: Willingness to travel 1–3 times a month for multi-day events and client site visits.
• Nice-to-haves: Early-stage startup experience (seed/pre-seed) as an AE, BDR, or Growth Lead; exposure to PLG/self-serve motions; familiarity with manufacturing or hardware industries.