Head of Business Development

Head of Business Development

Zenblen is hiring its first Head of Business Development to help define and scale our B2B go-to-market engine.

This is a critical, founder-facing role for someone who understands what it takes to stand up and manage a proven end-to-end process for securing new business

As Zenblen’s first dedicated business development hire, you will work closely with the CEO and leadership team to shape how we grow from a small but proven operating footprint into a repeatable sales engine across Chicago and beyond. You will be the megaphone for Zenblen in the market—educating potential partners, refining our sales motion, helping define what makes a successful location, and turning early traction into a scalable playbook.

This role is ideal for a highly motivated, entrepreneurial seller who thrives in ambiguity, has a successful prospecting background, enjoys high-activity outbound selling, and knows how to drive deals forward even when the product, process, and messaging are still evolving.

What You’ll Do

Build Zenblen’s Go-to-Market Playbook

• Partner closely with the CEO and leadership team to define and refine Zenblen’s ICP & B2B expansion strategy
• Build the foundational playbook for how Zenblen identifies, qualifies, pitches, and closes location partners
• Translate field feedback, sales learnings, and operating performance into a more repeatable GTM process
• Help define the messaging, sales materials, and commercial approach that will support future expansion

Own Pipeline Development in Chicago

• Build and manage a high-volume pipeline of prospective location partners across Chicago
• Lead prospecting, outreach, qualification, pitching, follow-up, negotiation, and close
• Create waitlist and demand for future kiosk placements across priority markets
• Operate as both strategist and executor—developing the motion while running it day to day

Refine Zenblen’s Ideal Site Criteria

• Help define what makes a high-performing Zenblen location
• Evaluate prospective sites based on foot traffic, customer fit, building use case, operational feasibility, partner alignment, and economic potential
• Work cross-functionally with leadership, operations, and data to continuously improve location selection criteria
• Use performance insights from existing kiosks to help optimize where and how Zenblen wins

Develop Strategic Partnerships

• Build relationships with key decision-makers including property managers, operators, enterprise partners, and other strategic stakeholders
• Support the CEO on larger long-term partnership opportunities and national account conversations
• Help identify expansion pathways with partners that can drive scalable location growth over time
• Represent Zenblen externally in a compelling, polished, and highly credible way

Help Lay the Foundation for the Future Sales Team

• Create systems and processes for pipeline tracking, CRM usage, follow-up discipline, and deal forecasting
• Work closely with leadership to identify what future sales hiring should look like as the company scales
• Help build the commercial foundation that a broader sales team can later grow on

What Success Looks Like

In the first 6–12 months, success in this role may include:

• Building a strong backlog of qualified location opportunities within Chicago, including signed LOIs, pilot commitments, and other high-conviction pathways to deployment
• Refining Zenblen’s GTM process into a clearer and more repeatable sales motion
• Developing stronger lead qualification and site selection criteria
• Helping optimize existing partner relationships and kiosk placements within current buildings 
• Contributing to longer-term partnership development alongside the CEO
• Establishing the early playbook and commercial infrastructure that can support future hiring and expansion

Priority Verticals

Zenblen’s initial focus includes locations that sit naturally within our target customers’ daily routines, including:

• Hospitals and healthcare environments
• Universities
• Residential buildings
• Office and corporate settings
• Fitness and wellness environments

Who Will Thrive in This Role

• You are energized by building from scratch rather than inheriting a mature system
• You enjoy high-activity selling and are comfortable owning the full process from first touch through close
• You know how to sell in imperfect environments and can operate effectively even when every answer, process, or asset is not yet built
• You think commercially and operationally at the same time
• You want to work closely with founders and leadership, not sit several layers away from decisions
• You are excited by the opportunity to help shape a company’s growth story,

What We’re Looking For

Required Qualifications

• 3–5 years of relevant successful experience in business development, sales, partnerships, or market expansion 
• Experience working in a startup, early-stage, or other high-ambiguity environments where you had to build while executing
• At least 3 years of quota-carrying or direct revenue-generating experience
• Track record of success in high-activity outbound or full-cycle sales environments
• Experience owning the end-to-end sales process rather than operating in just one segment of a larger organization
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to earn and maintain the trust of a wide range of stakeholders
• Strong organizational skills, follow-through, and bias toward action
• Willingness to work closely across functions and spend time with the operational realities of the business

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience selling into or partnering with hospitals, universities, residential operators, office environments, fitness/wellness operators, or other location-based businesses
• Experience evaluating or selling location-based opportunities where site quality materially impacts performance
• Experience helping shape an early GTM playbook or commercial process
• Familiarity with CRM tools and data-informed pipeline management
• History of top performance, such as President’s Club or equivalent recognition, is a plus

What This Role Is Not

This role is not a traditional large-company partnerships job where you inherit a mature brand, a big support team, and a narrowly defined scope.

It is also not a people-management role on Day One.

This is a hands-on builder role for someone who wants to be in the market, help shape the playbook, work closely with leadership, and eventually help build the sales function over time.

Why Join Zenblen?

• Help build the commercial engine of a venture-backed robotics startup at a pivotal stage of growth
• Work directly with the CEO and leadership team on a core strategic priority
• Play a defining role in how Zenblen expands across Chicago and into future markets
• Join a fast-moving, mission-driven company building a new layer of food distribution around people’s daily routines and making health & wellness more accessible for everyone
• Receive a compensation package that includes competitive base salary, commission, and equity upside

About Zenblen

Zenblen is building a new way for people to access fresh, healthy food in the places they already spend their time. Our robotic smoothie kiosks blend smoothies fresh to order and are designed for high-traffic environments like hospitals, universities, residential buildings, and office settings.

We believe healthy food should be more convenient, more accessible, and more seamlessly integrated into people’s daily lives. Our mission is to make that possible through technology, thoughtful operations, and a product experience people love.

About Our Culture

Zenblen is an early-stage company where every team member leaves a real imprint on the business. We value ownership, speed, humility, creativity, and people who are excited to build.

We are ambitious, collaborative, and deeply committed to helping each other grow. We hold ourselves to a high bar, but we also believe startups are built by close-knit teams who trust one another, learn quickly, and enjoy the process together.
 

Media & spotlights of our journey:

• Video of our innovative product experience
• Member spotlight by mHUB Chicago, mid-west biggest hardtech incubator
• Featured spotlight by University of Chicago’s Polsky Center of Entrepreneurship
• Zenblen’s partnership with the Illinois Institute of Technology Design Program