Head of Business Development

Summary

Join Oaken, a rapidly growing B2B SaaS startup revolutionizing farmland management, as their Head of Business Development. This pivotal role involves developing and executing a comprehensive sales strategy, building the sales team from the ground up, and driving customer acquisition. You will work closely with the CEO and CTO, shaping the sales organization and contributing to the overall go-to-market strategy. The ideal candidate possesses extensive B2B SaaS sales experience, ideally in an early-stage startup, and demonstrates strong leadership, strategic thinking, and customer-centric selling skills. This is a hands-on, high-impact role offering a unique opportunity to shape the future of Oaken's sales strategy and make a significant contribution to the company's growth. The position offers competitive compensation, equity, and a flexible remote-first work environment.

Requirements

• 5+ years of B2B SaaS sales or business development experience, with at least 2 years in a leadership role
• Strong strategic thinking combined with a hands-on, action-oriented approach to sales execution
• Deep understanding of customer needs and pain points in the agriculture or real estate sectors
• Ability to build relationships and sell complex solutions to diverse stakeholder groups (farmers, landowners, financial institutions)
• Experience building and leading a sales team, with a focus on developing talent, fostering a high-performance culture, and driving results
• Familiar with using CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and other sales tools to track performance, forecast sales, and optimize processes
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to pitch, negotiate, and close deals at all levels of an organization
• Able to thrive in a startup environment where resources may be limited, and priorities can change rapidly
• Comfortable taking initiative and solving problems creatively

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive sales strategy to drive revenue growth, including lead generation, pipeline management, and closing deals
• Define sales processes, tools, and best practices to ensure scalability and efficiency
• Identify and target key market segments, including farmers, landowners, and potential institutional partners
• Lead the charge in building a robust pipeline of prospects and converting them into customers
• Help build out a high-performing sales team, including hiring, mentoring, and developing future sales professionals
• Establish a sales culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Serve as a key voice of the customer internally, providing valuable feedback to the product and marketing teams to help refine our offerings and positioning
• Track, analyze, and report on key sales metrics (e.g., pipeline growth, conversion rates, revenue forecasts)
• Use data to optimize sales performance and align with company goals
• Work closely with the CEO and CTO to ensure alignment between sales, marketing, and product teams
• Contribute to shaping the overall go-to-market strategy
• Represent Oaken at industry events, conferences, and other networking opportunities to raise brand awareness and generate new business opportunities

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at an early-stage startup is highly desirable, especially in the agriculture, fintech, or real estate sectors
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where priorities can shift rapidly

Benefits

• Competitive base salary + commission plus equity
• Benefits package
• Flexibility of a remote-first work environment
• Opportunity to travel approximately 4-5 times to events and customer engagements