Sales Account Executive (Ads and Sponsorships)
Venture5 Media, San Francisco, CA USA
Salary: Monthly retainer: $3,500/month, plus uncapped commission with accelerators. On-target earnings (OTE): Approximately $120K annually. Structure: Starts as a 1099 contract role, with the potential to transition to W-2 later in the year (based on your performance).
Salary min: $40,000.00
Salary max: $150,000.00
Level: Experienced
Duration: Full Time
👋 About Us
Venture5 Media, founded by John Gannon, delivers over 1.4 million page views annually and reaches 50,000 founders, funders, and operators each month through our weekly newsletters, webinars, research reports, live events, and the largest and longest running venture capital job board in the world. Our 300+ sponsors and advertisers have included industry leaders like AWS, Zendesk, Fidelity, Carta, The Information, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Samsung.
Venture5 Media is part of a broader ecosystem that includes Venture5 Capital and Venture5 Studio, extending our impact through investments, education, and innovative company launches.
📈 Why we’re hiring for this role
We’re on a mission to triple revenue in 2025, building on our momentum from nearly doubling revenue YoY in 2024. To achieve this, we need a creative, results-driven salesperson who thrives on crafting custom client experiences and driving impactful partnerships.
This role isn’t just about selling newsletter ads—it’s about helping our sponsors and advertisers succeed through innovative campaigns, bespoke activations, and a deep understanding of the startup and VC ecosystem.
❇️ Key Responsibilities
Drive Revenue & Build Relationships:
- Identify, pitch, and close deals with new advertisers and sponsors, while growing existing relationships to maximize long-term value.
- Act as a trusted partner to clients, offering creative solutions tailored to their goals.
Keep an In-Person Presence in the Ecosystem:
- You’ll need to get out of your home office and in front of potential sponsors in NY or SF (depending on where you live). Our founder attends multiple events per week, and we have seen his event attendance directly translate into sales. We would expect the same for you.
Innovate & Build the Business:
- Craft custom activations and innovative campaigns (here’s an example from April Fools 2024) that go beyond traditional ads, working cross-functionally to ensure success. For example, a potential sponsor may say “We’re looking to reach seed and Series A founders focused on AI. How can you help us reach them?” and you’ll need to work with them and our internal team to meet that need through our online and offline channels.
- Contribute to Venture5 Media’s growth by improving processes, sharing insights, and helping lay the foundation for a scalable sales function.
Player-Coach with a Long-Term Perspective:
- Focus on scalable growth that supports Venture5 Media’s future success.
- Take opportunities to mentor and help shape the growing sales team.
📝 Skills and Qualifications
- Experience in BDR or account executive roles, with a proven track record of hitting or exceeding quotas
- Demonstrated success and network in startup/VC-focused media, ad sales, or event sponsorships
- Data driven, with strong CRM skills and comfort with tools like Zapier & Clay to optimize workflows
- A deep understanding of the startup and VC landscape and a demonstrated ability to network within the ecosystem
- Excellent collaboration skills internally and with clients
- An experimental mindset
🗓️ What Your 1st Year Will Look Like
- Take ownership of learning our audience, media products, and CRM tools.
- Begin prospecting and pitching to potential sponsors while shadowing existing sales processes.
- Close your first deals and start building a strong sales pipeline.
- Present initial ideas for custom activations tailored to client goals.
- Exceed your sales goals for the first half of the year.
- Outside of establishing a strong “run rate” business, collaborate with the team to launch 3 innovative sponsored campaigns or activations.
- If performing at a high level, step into a player-coach role, leading both sales strategy and execution.
- Exceed company full year sales goals
- Help shape the future of Venture5 Media’s sales function by hiring and mentoring team members, refining processes, managing key accounts, and driving scalable growth.
- Lead the charge on creative, high-impact activations that set a new standard for what sponsorships can achieve within our ecosystem.
3️⃣ Reasons to Join Venture5 Media
💼 Compensation
- Monthly retainer: $3,500/month, plus uncapped commission with accelerators.
- On-target earnings (OTE): Approximately $120K annually.
- Structure: Starts as a 1099 contract role, with the potential to transition to W-2 later in the year (based on your performance).
📩 How to Apply
- Submit your application by January 17th, 2025.
- Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early submissions are encouraged.
- Selected candidates will be invited to complete a short, compensated assignment designed to showcase relevant skills.
- Finalists will participate in interviews with the Venture5 Media team, including our founder.
About Venture5 Media
Venture5 Media, founded by John Gannon, delivers over 1.4 million page views annually and reaches 50,000 founders, funders, and operators each month through our weekly newsletters, webinars, research reports, live events, and the largest and longest running venture capital job board in the world. Our 300+ sponsors and advertisers have included industry leaders like AWS, Zendesk, Fidelity, Carta, The Information, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Samsung.
Venture5 Media is part of a broader ecosystem that includes Venture5 Capital and Venture5 Studio, extending our impact through investments, education, and innovative company launches.