Activations Manager, Startups

Vercel · New York City · $280,000 - $330,000 · hybrid We are seeking a leader to build and grow the Startups Activations team at Vercel. As the voice of Vercel to the earliest-stage startups, you will help founders make great infrastructure decisions from day one and land on Vercel before they ever need to migrate. You will hire and develop up-and-coming talent from a wide range of backgrounds, including former founders, developers, and early-career sellers, and turn them into trusted advisors for technical founders. You will build a high-velocity, repeatable motion that uses AI, automation, and product signals to reach thousands of early startups at the right moment. Responsibilities: Hire & Grow Talent: Recruit, onboard, and ramp a diverse team of former founders, developers, and early-career sellers. Coach & Develop: Run 1:1s, call reviews, and skill-building sessions that turn new sellers into credible, technical advisors for founders. Build the Activation Machine: Design a high-velocity motion that combines outbound, product-led signals, community, and ecosystem partners to get early startups deployed on Vercel. Be the Voice of Vercel to Startups: Ensure every early founder understands how Vercel's platform and Agent Stack help them build, ship, and scale. AI, Automation & Playbooks: Use AI and automation to multiply team impact, spot patterns in usage and signups, and turn winning plays into repeatable motions. Pipeline & Execution: Own activation, conversion, and bookings targets. Forecasting & Performance Management: Inspect pipeline health, own forecast accuracy, and manage performance against activity, conversion, and quota. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Marketing, Product, Growth, RevOps, Solutions Engineering, and the Greenfield and Install Base teams. Requirements: 5+ years of experience in SaaS sales or startup go-to-market, including 2+ years managing quota-carrying sellers. A track record of hiring and developing early-career talent and people from non-traditional backgrounds into top performers. Experience building or running a high-velocity sales motion with volume, speed, and discipline. Comfort talking with technical founders about architecture and tradeoffs. Real curiosity about AI-native development and the tools shaping how startups build and ship. A builder's mindset: you like creating systems, not just running them, and you balance strategy with hands-on execution. A growth mindset, resilience, and strong shared ownership. Nice to Have: Experience as a founder, early-stage operator, or developer. Built a team or motion from zero inside a high-growth company. Experience with startup ecosystems: accelerators, VCs, founder communities, or developer communities. Sold developer tools, infrastructure, or AI products to startups. Compensation & Benefits: Competitive compensation package, including equity. Inclusive Healthcare Package. Learn and Grow - we provide mentorship and send you to events that help you build your network and skills. Flexible Time Off. Gear and WFH budget for your space as needed.