SMB Account Executive

Overview

You sell SimpleClosure's startup dissolution service to founders shutting down their companies. Most leads are inbound—founders who found SimpleClosure through Google, referrals, or their investors. Your job is to qualify them quickly, walk them through pricing and process, handle objections about cost vs DIY, and close them before they ghost or try to handle it themselves. You're dealing with people in a tough emotional spot who often just want the pain to be over.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Series A ($20.5M raised, $15M Series A led by TTV Capital in 2025)

Size: 38 employees

Growth: Rapidly expanding—1,000+ startups served, hiring across multiple teams. Market tailwinds as ZIRP-era startups wind down.

Market Position: Category leader in startup dissolution services. Main competitor is LegalInc (also Stripe Atlas partner). Carta abandoned their shutdown product and invested in SimpleClosure instead.

GTM Reality

Pipeline Sources:

• 70-80% Inbound - Founders googling "how to shut down a startup", referrals from VCs/investors, Stripe Atlas partnerships, law firm referrals. These are warm but often price-sensitive.
• 15-20% Outbound - Following up on website visitors, reaching out to portfolio companies of VC partners, warm intros from accountants/lawyers.
• 5-10% Referrals - Previous customers, investor networks, accelerator partnerships.

SDR/AE Structure: Likely self-sourcing or light SDR support (small team at Series A). You'll work leads directly.

SE Support: No technical SE—you'll handle all demos and process walkthroughs yourself. Product is straightforward (dissolution services, not software).

Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors: LegalInc (Stripe Atlas partner), traditional law firms, DIY dissolution via state filing sites

How They Differentiate: Integrated platform + in-house legal team. Faster than law firms, more compliant than DIY, better tech than LegalInc. They've done 1,000+ dissolutions so they have the playbook down.

Common Objections:

• "This seems expensive—can't I just file the paperwork myself?"
• "My lawyer said they can do this for less"
• "I'm not sure we have the budget for this right now"
• "We might pivot instead of shutting down" (stall tactic)

Win Themes: Speed, compliance, founder-friendly process, peace of mind. VCs recommend them because DIY shutdowns create liability issues later.

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Inbound Qualification (35%) | Active Deal Management (40%) | Outreach/Follow-up (15%) | Internal/Admin (10%)

Key Activities

• Inbound Lead Qualification: Screen 20-30 inbound leads per week. Quick discovery calls (15-20 min) to understand company structure (Delaware C-corp, LLC, etc.), investor situation, timeline urgency, and budget. Many will be tire-kickers or not ready yet.
• Demo/Process Walkthrough: Show them the SimpleClosure dashboard, explain the step-by-step dissolution process, review what docs they need, set timeline expectations. This isn't a flashy product demo—it's explaining legal paperwork and filing requirements in plain English.
• Objection Handling & Pricing: Justify the cost vs DIY (which founders underestimate). Handle "let me think about it" stalls. Chase founders who ghost after the first call because dealing with shutdown is depressing.
• Deal Closing & Handoff: Get contracts signed, payment processed, hand off to the dissolution ops team. You'll have 15-25 deals in flight at various stages—some move in 3 days, others drag for weeks.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• Emotional Buyers: You're selling to founders who are shutting down their dreams. Some are angry, some are numb, some just want it over with. It's not a celebratory buying process.
• Price Sensitivity: Even funded startups balk at spending $5-25K on dissolution when they're trying to conserve remaining cash. You'll hear "can we do this cheaper?" constantly.
• Ghosting & Delays: Founders say they want to move forward, then disappear for weeks. Shutdowns aren't urgent until tax season or investor pressure kicks in. Your pipeline will have lots of "maybe next quarter" deals.
• Short Sales Cycle = High Volume: You need to close 8-12 deals/month to hit quota. That means constant qualification, follow-up, and pipeline management. It's not intellectually complex, but it's high-velocity.

What Success Looks Like

• Close 10-15 deals per month with average deal size $5-15K
• Keep qualification tight—don't waste time on founders who won't spend money or aren't serious about shutting down
• Fast response times (inbound leads go cold fast)
• High win rate on qualified opps (60-70%+)

Who You're Selling To

Primary Buyers:

• Startup Founders/CEOs (often solo or with co-founder)
• VC-backed founders (investors pushing them to shut down properly)

What They Care About:

• Speed: "How fast can this be done?" (They want it over with)
• Compliance: "Will this actually protect me from liability?" (They're scared of messing up state/IRS filings)
• Cost: "Is this worth the money vs doing it myself?" (They're trying to stretch remaining funds)
• Simplicity: "Do I have to deal with lawyers and paperwork or do you handle it?" (They're exhausted and want someone else to take the wheel)

Requirements

• 2-4 years of SMB or transactional sales experience (SaaS, legal tech, fintech, or services)
• Comfortable with high-velocity sales (multiple deals closing per week)
• Empathy for difficult conversations—you're selling to people in a tough spot
• Strong qualification skills (need to spot tire-kickers vs real buyers fast)
• Self-starter who can manage a high-volume pipeline without hand-holding
• Bonus: Experience selling to founders, familiarity with startup/VC ecosystem