Business Development Representative

Listenlabs

New York, NY

On-siteCareer-pivot friendly

Who this role is best for

Geared toward extroverted, resilient candidates comfortable with cold outreach and networking in a fast-growing AI startup environment.

Best fit for

Extroverted individuals who thrive on building relationships and grinding through rejection.
— “You genuinely enjoy meeting new people and building rapport”
Self-starters who proactively identify and pursue leads without waiting for direction.
— “You don’t wait to be told what list to call or who to email”
Early-career professionals eager to prove themselves and grow into higher roles.
— “You want to prove yourself, grow fast, and earn your next role”

Things to consider

Frequent travel required for attending conferences and industry events.
— “Willingness to travel for conferences and events”
Must be comfortable with high rejection rates and long event days.
— “You’re okay with rejection, long days at events”

How to stand out

Demonstrate creative lead generation tactics beyond standard cold calls.
— “Proactively source leads via outbound email, LinkedIn, cold calls, referrals, and creative channels”
Highlight past experiences where you built processes from scratch.
— “shape processes from scratch, and grow alongside the company”
Showcase your ability to network and turn contacts into pipeline.
— “Network aggressively - spark conversations, build relationships, and follow up to turn interest into pipeline”

Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · TeamLevel · Junior

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

Build and own your own prospect lists
Attend conferences, industry events, dinners, and meetups
Run initial discovery calls to qualify inbound and outbound leads
Work closely with AEs, Research, Marketing, and Product

Typical background

1-3 years of experience in business developmentExperience in lead generation and prospectingComfortable with rejection and long days at events

Skills & requirements

Required

Lead-generationProspectingOutbound-emailCold-callingReferralsCreative-channelsAccount-researchPersonalized-outreachEvent-attendanceNetworkingBrand-ambassadorDiscovery-callsInbound-handoffsCross-functional-collaborationMessaging-refinementEvent-strategyGtm-motion

Preferred

Ai-integrationEarly-stage-company-shaping

Stack & domain

Business DevelopmentLead GenerationProspectingEventsConferencesRelationship BuildingCrmOutbound EmailLinkedinCold CallsReferralsCreative ChannelsInitial Discovery CallsQualificationOutbound MessagingEvent StrategyGtm MotionCommunicationLeadershipCollaborationProblem-solvingTeamworkResourcefulnessProactivityCuriosityAmbitionResilienceSalesAIEnterpriseSaas

About the role

Original posting from Listenlabs via Ashby

TL;DR: Our Business Development team is growing to help fuel Listen Labs’ next phase of growth. This is not a traditional “dial-for-dollars” BD role. You’ll be building your own lead lists, showing up at conferences and events, developing real relationships, and helping shape how Listen Labs is viewed by the market.
If you’re hungry, extroverted, resilient, and excited to grind in a highly visible role at an early-stage startup- this is for you. Top performers will have a clear path to an Emerging AE or other Growth roles.
Background
Listen Labs is an AI-powered research platform that helps teams uncover insights from customer interviews in hours — not months. We help customers analyze conversations, surface themes, and make faster, smarter product decisions.
Company highlights — entirely product-led:
World-Class Team: Founded by serial entrepreneurs (previous AI exit), former co-founders, and talent from Jane Street, Twitter, Stripe, Affirm, Bain, Goldman Sachs, and many more Sequoia-backed startups (plus IOI/ICPC backgrounds).
Hypergrowth: We’re a 40-person team backed by Sequoia, growing from $0 to a $14M run-rate in under a year. We move fast, care deeply about craft, and love working with people who take ownership.
Traction: Rapid growth across segments with enterprise wins at Google, Microsoft, Nestlé, and P&G.
Performance: Industry-leading win rate driven by a highly differentiated product.
Market Validation: Consistently winning customers across all segments with over six-figure lands that lead to quick expansions.
Viral Product: Interviews are shared with tens of thousands of viewers, fueling PLG, organic expansion, and daily inbound from Fortune 500s.
What You’ll Do
Lead Generation & Prospecting
Build and own your own prospect lists - identifying target companies, personas, and buying signals
Proactively source leads via outbound email, LinkedIn, cold calls, referrals, and creative channels
Research accounts deeply to personalize outreach and create thoughtful first touches
Events, Conferences & Relationship Building
Attend conferences, industry events, dinners, and meetups to represent Listen Labs
Network aggressively - spark conversations, build relationships, and follow up to turn interest into pipeline
Act as a brand ambassador: be “on,” be curious, and make people excited to talk to Listen
Qualification & Early Sales Motion
Run initial discovery calls to qualify inbound and outbound leads
Clearly articulate Listen’s value and identify strong handoffs to AEs / leadership
Maintain clean notes and updates in the CRM to support downstream closing
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Work closely with AEs, Research, Marketing, and Product to refine messaging and targeting
Share learnings from the field: objections, patterns, ICP insights, and competitive intel
Help improve outbound messaging, event strategy, and overall GTM motion
Who You Are
Hungry & driven: You want to prove yourself, grow fast, and earn your next role
Extroverted & personable: You genuinely enjoy meeting new people and building rapport
Comfortable grinding: You’re okay with rejection, long days at events, and doing what it takes
Strong communicator: Clear, confident, and compelling - both written and verbal
Resourceful & proactive: You don’t wait to be told what list to call or who to email
Requirements
1–3+ years of experience in business development, sales, consulting, or a similarly outbound-heavy role
Comfortable with cold outreach, networking, and live conversations
Willingness to travel for conferences and events
Strong organizational skills and follow-through
Life at Listen Labs
Competitive Compensation: We’re backed by world-class investors, including Sequoia Capital, Conviction, AI Grant, and Pear VC, and offer competitive compensation packages with meaningful equity ownership.
Over $30B in market cap has been created in adjacent industries (Medallia, AlphaSense, GLG, Ipsos, Kantar). Our Sequoia partner, Bryan Schreier https://www.sequoiacap.com/people/bryan-schreier/, was the first investor in Qualtrics—a $12B company tackling similar problems to ours.
Benefits that Support You: Comprehensive healthcare and dental coverage, flexible time off to recharge, and an environment that values balance and trust.
Room to Grow: As an early member of the team, you’ll have the opportunity to take on new responsibilities, shape processes from scratch, and grow alongside the company. We value people who want to stretch beyond their role and build something lasting.

Source: Listenlabs careers (Ashby)