Founding Account Executive

About Cerve
At Cerve, our mission is to power a digitally-enabled global food system. We believe that creating a sustainable and resilient food system hinges on making data accessible and transparent. By democratising data and fostering connectivity, we empower organisations to build solutions that reduce waste, improve food security, drive growth and optimise operational efficiency.

About the role
We’re seeking a proactive and ambitious Founding Account Executive with 5 years of quota-carrying experience within B2B startups and expertise in selling API‐empowered solutions to drive the next stage of growth for Cerve. You’ll be integral to executing our go‐to‐market strategy, managing sales cycles from lead generation to close, and working collaboratively with the founder and CCO. This role requires a hands‐on approach to customer engagement, shaping technical discussions and helping prospects understand what they can build on our platform.

What You’ll Do
As a Founding Account Executive, you’ll be at the forefront of Cerve’s market expansion, working directly with technical decision‐makers, from CTOs to engineering leads, across the food industry’s most innovative enterprises. You’ll shape how new markets adopt and build on our platform, turning technical curiosity into commercial success.

• Own the full sales cycle with technical stakeholders across the food industry.
• Build and qualify a strong pipeline through creative, self‐directed sourcing.
• Lead discovery and navigate complex, multi‐threaded technical deals.
• Position Cerve as the API platform of choice for food industry developers.
• Consistently exceed revenue goals while delivering technical credibility.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Marketing to align GTM and roadmap.
• Explore new verticals and use cases to drive Cerve’s market expansion.

You Are
Entrepreneurial, wanting to make a difference within a scale‐up business with a vision to change the world. Competitive and have drive and desire to win, hitting targets and exceeding objectives. Resilient and comfortable dealing with ambiguity and challenging situations. A natural and talented communicator, comfortable delivering presentations to diverse and large stakeholder groups, alongside an empathetic approach to 1‐2‑1 discussions. A lifelong learner with a thirst for knowledge, always looking to improve best practices. Commercially aware, able to speak with confidence and clarity around complex concepts in a way anyone can understand. Detail‐oriented, with a natural understanding of technical solutions, and commitment to getting stuff done correctly and on time. A natural Networker, adding contacts daily to your portfolio of potential business introducers.

You have
Early‐stage AE experience at a tech startup. 5 years of total sales team experience in B2B SaaS, with a strong track record of closing deals with a technical audience. Proven track record of proactively self‐sourcing pipeline. Strong analytical and organisational skills, with an ability to leverage data to inform strategies and drive decision‐making. Exceptional communication and relationship‐building skills, thriving in a fast‐paced, high‐growth environment. Previous experience selling API or data solutions. Software engineering experience.

We Offer
Salary: Competitive
Discretionary Bonus: Potential of company‐wide annual payment
Flexible Vacation: 25 days, Bank holidays and Special days
Flexible hours: Choose your working hours around core hours (9:30 ‒ 15:30 GMT)
Stock Option: Become an owner of Cerve with significant wealth creation potential
Pension: Auto‐enrolment into our pension scheme
Death in Service: annual salary cover
Hybrid Workspace: Hybrid working from our office in London
Best Tech and Equipment: Macbook and whatever else you need to be the best

We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome and valued. We believe that diversity of thought and experience is essential to our success, and we are particularly interested in candidates who can bring a different perspective to our team, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or career status.