Head of Business Development

Location: Oaken is headquartered out of Indianapolis, Indiana. We are open to candidates from anywhere in the continental United States.

Oaken is a rapidly growing B2B SaaS startup on a mission to simplify farmland management, transition, and financing for everyone. We’ve created an innovative platform that digitizes $30B in annual lease payments between farmers and landowners, streamlining the complex paperwork, communication, and financial processes that have long hindered the agricultural sector. Our platform empowers farmers to manage their land partnerships, find new landowners, and even access financing—all from within a single, user-friendly interface.

We are funded by Purdue DIAL Ventures and the Halderman Group and a part of the High Alpha Innovation portfolio. You can read more about us at www.oaken.ag. 

As Oaken continues to grow, we are looking for an ambitious, strategic, and dynamic Head of Business Development to join our founding team. This is a key role in shaping our sales strategy, building out our sales organization, and leading customer acquisition efforts at a critical stage in our company’s development.

As the first sales hire at Oaken, you will play a pivotal role in driving the growth of our business. You will work closely with the CEO and CTO to define and execute a scalable sales strategy that targets both farmers and landowners across the agricultural sector. This is a hands-on, high-impact role that requires a combination of strategic thinking, operational excellence, and customer-centric selling.

The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in B2B SaaS sales, ideally within an early-stage or startup environment, and will be comfortable wearing multiple hats 

Key Responsibilities:

• Sales Strategy & Execution: Develop and implement a comprehensive sales strategy to drive revenue growth, including lead generation, pipeline management, and closing deals. Define sales processes, tools, and best practices to ensure scalability and efficiency.
• Customer Acquisition: Identify and target key market segments, including farmers, landowners, and potential institutional partners. Lead the charge in building a robust pipeline of prospects and converting them into customers.
• Team Building: As the first sales hire, you will help build out a high-performing sales team, including hiring, mentoring, and developing future sales professionals. Establish a sales culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Market Feedback & Product Input: Serve as a key voice of the customer internally, providing valuable feedback to the product and marketing teams to help refine our offerings and positioning.
• Sales Metrics & Reporting: Track, analyze, and report on key sales metrics (e.g., pipeline growth, conversion rates, revenue forecasts). Use data to optimize sales performance and align with company goals.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with the CEO and CTO to ensure alignment between sales, marketing, and product teams. Contribute to shaping the overall go-to-market strategy.
• Thought Leadership & Networking: Represent Oaken at industry events, conferences, and other networking opportunities to raise brand awareness and generate new business opportunities.

Requirements

• Proven Experience: 5+ years of B2B SaaS sales or business development experience, with at least 2 years in a leadership role. Experience at an early-stage startup is highly desirable, especially in the agriculture, fintech, or real estate sectors.
• Strategic & Hands-on: Strong strategic thinking combined with a hands-on, action-oriented approach to sales execution. Comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where priorities can shift rapidly.
• Customer-Centric: Deep understanding of customer needs and pain points in the agriculture or real estate sectors. Ability to build relationships and sell complex solutions to diverse stakeholder groups (farmers, landowners, financial institutions).
• Leadership & Team Building: Experience building and leading a sales team, with a focus on developing talent, fostering a high-performance culture, and driving results.
• Data-Driven: Familiar with using CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and other sales tools to track performance, forecast sales, and optimize processes.
• Excellent Communicator: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to pitch, negotiate, and close deals at all levels of an organization.
• Adaptable & Resilient: Able to thrive in a startup environment where resources may be limited, and priorities can change rapidly. Comfortable taking initiative and solving problems creatively.

Benefits

• Mission-Driven: Be part of a company that is making a real impact on the agricultural sector by digitizing and streamlining farmland management, making it easier for farmers and landowners to work together and grow their businesses.
• Early-Stage Opportunity: As the first sales hire, you will have a unique opportunity to shape the future of our sales strategy and organization, with a direct impact on Oaken’s growth trajectory.
• Collaborative Team: Work closely with the founding team, including the CEO and CTO, in a fast-paced and collaborative environment where your input will be valued and acted upon.
• Competitive Compensation: Competitive base salary + commission plus equity, and benefits package.
• Flexibility: Enjoy the flexibility of a remote-first work environment, with opportunity to travel approximately 4-5 times to events and customer engagements.