Commercial Co-Founder for AI-first SaaS company

Shortlists is an AI-first recruitment CRM built for solo recruiters, boutique agencies, and small-to-medium teams. We have a live product, paying customers, and approximately 50 active customer conversations per month. The founding team has validated the product through deep customer discovery and a sales-led outbound motion — now it's time to hand the commercial wheel to someone who wants to own it.

We are part of Bifrost Studios, a venture studio and fund that builds and buys companies. We build and validate new AI-first startups globally across a number of industries. As the commercial co-founder of Shortlists, you’ll become part of our growing US/European-based community of top entrepreneurs and operators, where you’ll be able to leverage our extensive shared knowledge and capabilities.

This is not a sales job. This is a co-founder seat at a venture with real traction, a functioning product with revenue, and a team that has already done the hard work of validation and early customer acquisition.

You will come in as a Commercial Co-Founder with a clear path to CEO as the business scales. The technical and product side is handled — your job is to own growth: every demo, every deal, every dollar of MRR. You bring the commercial understanding and the founder mindset that will take this company to the next level.

Drive Revenue

• →Own the full sales cycle: outbound prospecting, demos, onboarding, and closing
• →Run an account-based motion targeting solo recruiters and small boutique agencies
• →Extend demo calls to include hands-on onboarding (calendar, Chrome extension, email) to reduce drop-off between demo and activation
• →Establish a repeatable, documented sales playbook from day one

Build Brand Presence & Pipeline

• →Be the face of Shortlists — visible, credible, and present in the recruitment community
• →Build a personal LinkedIn presence that drives both brand awareness and inbound leads
• →Source deals at relevant conferences and industry meetups
• →Lay the early foundations of an SEO and content strategy to support future growth motions

Think Like a Founder, Not a Sales Rep

• →Build commercial strategy, pricing, and positioning as the business evolves
• →Work closely with the product team to translate market feedback into roadmap input
• →Take the lead on future fundraising rounds
• →Prepare the groundwork for adding new acquisition channels such as partnerships and paid promotions

Must-Haves

• Proven SaaS sales experience — ideally small-to-mid ticket B2B ($75-$400+/month per seat)
• Native-level English — you will be selling into the US and UK markets
• Comfortable working US-friendly hours, including evening calls
• Entrepreneurial mindset — you see this as your company, not just a job
• Willing and able to go all-in with startup-level intensity for 6–12 months
• Track record of closing: moving prospects from demo to signed deal

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience selling into or from the US market from the UK or Europe
• Background in recruitment, HR tech, or familiarity with the recruiting industry
• Prior experience at an early-stage startup or in a co-founder/commercial lead role
• Has been through a 1-to-10 growth journey before — ideally more than once
• Some exposure to fundraising or investor conversations is a bonus

You've spent time in B2B SaaS sales — maybe as an AE, a sales lead, or a first commercial hire — and you've been good at it. But you're hungry for more ownership. You want your name on the door, not just your quota. You might be a former recruiter who crossed over into tech, or someone who's done the early-stage thing before and is ready to do it again, this time with AI tailwinds and a product that already works.

You're not looking for a cushy 9-to-5. You're looking for the chance to build something real.

• Initial conversation with our Talent Lead to explore fit and background
• Interview with founding team focused on your commercial approach and founder mindset
• Business case and psychometric assessment
• Final interview with core stakeholders from Shortlists or Bifrost Studios