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 the world's fastest AI research platform, built so every company can understand what their customers want, why, and what to do about it. Our AI conducts in-depth interviews, analyzes conversations, and delivers executive-ready insights in hours, not weeks. Born out of a Harvard research project, Listen is trusted by teams at leading brands like Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, Perplexity, Sweetgreen, Replit, and Nestlé to bring real customer voices into their biggest product, marketing, and growth decisions.
Company highlights — entirely product-led:
World-Class Team: Founded by serial entrepreneurs — Alfred (Bemlo, YC W22) and Florian (IOI medalist, ICPC World Finalist) — and built with talent from Google, Meta, Tesla, Amazon, Jane Street, and X, alongside Bain, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Sequoia-backed startups like Applied Intuition, Scale AI, and Rippling. Over 30% of our team are former founders, and multiple are competitive programming medalists.
Hypergrowth: Since launching, Listen has grown annualized revenue 15x and completed over 2 million interviews — backed by $100M in total funding led by Ribbit Capital, with Sequoia, Conviction, and Pear VC participating.
Traction: Already serving 15% of Fortune 100s. Enterprise wins and expansions across Anthropic, Microsoft, Nestlé, Perplexity, Sweetgreen, and more — with teams telling us research that used to take six to eight weeks now happens in days.
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
Health, covered: Full medical, dental, and vision. FSA/HSA and life insurance are available too.
Competitive compensation: Backed by world-class investors including Sequoia, Ribbit Capital, Conviction, and Pear VC — we hire the best and treat them accordingly, with meaningful equity ownership.
Annual Learning Stipend: Books, courses, conferences, coaching, language lessons — almost anything that makes you sharper.
Annual Wellness Stipend for your health and headspace: Gym memberships, race fees, massages, ergonomic gear, and more.
Monthly Stipend for AI tools: A dedicated budget for the software and GPU credits that make you faster.
Fed, daily: A private chef serves lunch and dinner in our SF office; NYC and London teams get daily meal credit.
Flexible time off: A take-what-you-need vacation policy.
We celebrate together: Company offsites (Hawaii this Summer!) and events like our annual holiday party — every win is a team win.
Room to grow: As an early member of the team, you'll own end-to-end processes from scratch and grow alongside the company.
Skills Required
- 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
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
What We Do
Listen is an autonomous market researcher that makes research simple and fast. Share your business question, and our AI handles everything - designing the interviews, finding the right participants, and analyzing responses. Whether you're testing products or exploring new markets, Listen is a skilled researcher that works 24/7, delivering insights in hours instead of weeks. Listen is trusted by Google, Microsoft, SKIMS, Nestlé and hundreds of enterprises to unlock customer understanding at scale.
