Account Executive

Who we are

Ancora is building the AI-native accounting and tax service for Italian SMEs: one fixed monthly price, answers in hours instead of weeks, a technology platform built from scratch and accounting firms operated directly by the group. Everything the traditional firm is not.

We are a Milan-based startup, backed by some of the best Italian early-stage investors. The people who join today write the playbook for everyone who comes after.

The role

We are looking for our first Account Executive: the person who takes Italian founders from first call to signature. Milan hybrid, €55,000-70,000 OTE (base plus uncapped variable), stock options.

The sale here is consultative and delicate: you are asking an entrepreneur to hand over the most critical, most regulated part of their company, and to leave a professional they may have worked with for years. You win with perceived competence, clarity and zero pressure: never with the discount.

Short sales cycle (weeks, not quarters), contained deal values, high volumes: it is a job of method and trust. In technical situations our commercialisti sit next to you: you run the commercial process, they bring the fiscal depth when it is needed.

What you'll do

• Consultative discovery. You run the first calls with entrepreneurs: accounting situation, complexity, frustrations with the current firm. You build the case for change. When the case calls for fiscal depth, you bring in one of the group's Accountant and coordinate the joint discovery call: you decide when to involve them, brief them on the context, and keep the conversation anchored to the client's needs and to the decision to switch. The commercialista brings the technical depth; the commercial thread stays yours.

• Proposal and closing. You prepare clear fixed-fee proposals, handle the classic objections (the cost of switching, the fear of the handover, the loyalty to the long-time professional), and take deals to signature.

• A clean handover to onboarding. Every signed client reaches the onboarding team with correct expectations and complete information: what you promise in the sale is what the client receives.

• Feedback to product and pricing. You are the company's ear on the market: recurring objections, competitor pricing, win and loss reasons come back to the team every week.

• The playbook. You are our first Account Executive: scripts, materials, objection handling and sales process, you write them with us.

What we're looking for

Must have

• 3-6 years of consultative B2B sales to small businesses or founders, with short cycles and high volumes.

• A measurable track record: quota, win rate, numbers you can walk us through, interview in hand.

• Native-level Italian, spoken and written: the sale happens in Italian, in call and on paper.

• Service sales, not just product. If you have sold recurring services (tax, payroll, HR, fintech, insurance) you start ahead: you know you are selling trust and execution.

• Excellence in calls and in writing. Proposals and written follow-ups weigh as much as the calls.

• The ability to learn the domain. You don't need to be an accountant: you need to become commercially credible on accounting and compliance within a few weeks.

Nice to have

• Direct experience selling tax, accounting or payroll services: if you come from this world, you already know the sales cycle ahead of us.

• A network in the Italian startup and SMB scene.

• Familiarity with automation and AI tools.

Why this role is interesting

• Warm leads and a strong brand. A large share of opportunities comes from investor and partner referrals, with our first BDR keeping the pipeline full: real consultative selling, with well-disposed counterparts.

• A product that keeps its promises. You sell a service the delivery team makes real: no smoke to defend afterwards.

• First on the commercial team, not last in line. The playbook carries your signature, and the team's growth runs through you.

• A mandatory, recurring market. Accounting is required by law, forever, for every Italian company. Every client you sign stays for years: your work compounds.

What we offer

• €55,000-70,000 OTE: €40,000-50,000 base depending on experience, plus uncapped variable tied to the clients you sign and their annual value, with accelerators above target.

• Stock options under the favorable Italian startup tax regime: if Ancora grows, so do you.

• €10/day meal vouchers and a €1,000/year welfare budget.

• Milan, with hybrid flexibility.

• Team: you work side by side with the founders and the group's commercialisti, with a BDR feeding your calendar.

• Growth: as the commercial team scales, the senior and team-lead paths run through the people who arrived first.

Hiring process

1. Intro call with Andrea, CEO (20 minutes)

2. Interview with Andrea, COO (45 minutes

3. Final conversation/case with both founders (30 minutes)

Yes, we are both called Andrea. No, it is not a requirement.

We we commit to reply to everyone, even when the answer is no.

Ancora is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and encourage applications from people of every background.