BD/Sales & Partnerships Lead

The Role

You will own ABK Labs' outbound sales pipeline and partnership development. That means generating a consistent, high-volume flow of qualified prospect conversations, closing strategic partnerships across crypto and AI, and activating ecosystem relationships to build pipeline and gather intelligence. You will inherit a sales motion and ICP framework developed by the founding team and formalize it into a repeatable, scalable pipeline. You report to the CEO and VP of Strategic Initiatives.

What You Will Do

• Build and run a repeatable outbound prospecting motion that delivers 10-20 qualified prospect conversations per week, owning the full workflow from target identification through booked meetings
• Deploy AI agents and automation to handle outbound ops -- list building, sequence management, CRM hygiene, meeting scheduling -- so your time is spent on conversations and relationship building
• Identify, pursue, and close 3-5 meaningful partnership or design partner agreements with companies in the crypto/AI ecosystem
• Manage the full partnership lifecycle from first contact through signed agreement or active integration, prioritizing partnerships that produce real PMF signal
• Activate your crypto/AI network to generate warm pipeline, attend or host 2+ community events per month, and keep a pulse on ecosystem trends
• Build the sales playbook from Day 1: outreach templates, objection handling, ICP definitions, pitch narratives, pipeline reporting -- all documented so additional hires can ramp quickly

Who You Are

• You have genuine, active relationships in the crypto and/or AI ecosystem -- not just LinkedIn connections. You can get warm intros to founders and decision-makers in your first week
• You know how to find, approach, and convert cold prospects into engaged conversations. You are comfortable with rejection and have a repeatable outbound system you have used before
• You can learn technical products quickly and discuss them credibly with technical buyers -- you are not an engineer, but you can read docs, understand APIs, and earn respect from builders
• You follow through on commitments. When you say "I'll send the follow-up by EOD," it arrives by EOD. You do not let relationships go cold through neglect
• You write clearly and concisely -- a compelling cold email, a partnership proposal, and a weekly pipeline update with equal quality
• You treat negative signal as data, adjust the approach, and keep going. You have a track record of grinding through ambiguous, early-stage sales work
• You use AI agents and automation tools to handle outbound ops so your time is spent on actual selling and relationship building. The bar is not "has used ChatGPT" -- it is "deploys AI agents to run your outbound engine"
• (Bonus) You have built outbound pipeline from zero at an early-stage startup before
• (Bonus) You have closed partnership or design partner agreements in crypto or AI

Salary and Benefits

Base salary: USD $80,000-$120,000

Compensation may vary based on experience, location, and scope of the role.

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Unlimited PTO
• Equipment stipend for your ideal setup
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Coworking or office stipend
• Learning and conference budget
• Travel covered for team meetups
• AI agent plans and tokens

For international hires, we offer equivalent benefits through our contractor or EOR arrangements.

ABK Labs is open to candidates globally, excluding OFAC-sanctioned countries. We have optional hubs in California and New York City.