Kobalt Labs — Account Executive

Type: Full-time | On-site | New York City, NY Compensation: Base $150,000–$160,000 + OTE $300,000–$320,000 (50/50 base/commission, uncapped) + Competitive equity Hiring count: 3 Visa sponsorship: No — None Available Reports to: Founding team (CEO: Kalyani)

About Kobalt Labs

Kobalt Labs is the AI-native TPRM and compliance platform built for financial institutions. It eliminates the manual steps from third-party reviews of vendors and fintech partners — extracting critical evidence and highlighting gaps in supplied documentation within minutes, always in sync with evolving state and federal regulations. Trusted by customers from community banks to $100B+ institutions, including Chime, it serves the community, regional, and super-regional bank segment ($1B–$250B in assets) across the U.S. The company announced its Series A in December 2025, grew from $1M to $2M ARR in two months, and is scaling its go-to-market motion with a lean team of seven.

Founded: 2023 | Team size: ~7 (Series A, 1–10) | Total funding: Series A (amount not stated) Industry: TPRM / compliance / risk automation for financial services Website: kobaltlabs.com Office: New York City, NY

Why Candidates Should Join

• Hot, proven traction: Series A closed December 2025; ARR doubled from $1M to $2M in just two months.
• High earning ceiling: $300K–$320K OTE at a 50/50 split with uncapped commission above a $1.5M ARR quota.
• Ground-floor ownership: Full-cycle ownership with no SDR support, working directly with founders to shape the sales playbook, pricing, and GTM on a seven-person team.
• Fast cycle, big deals: $150K average ACV on a ~3-month sales cycle — significantly faster than the 6–7 month industry standard.

Intake Call Summary

No intake call transcript was included on the role page (an intake video is present but not transcribed). Points below are drawn from the role body and key metrics.

• Full-cycle, outbound-heavy AE role — sourcing through close — with no SDR support.
• Primary channels: conferences, LinkedIn, cold calling, customer referrals.
• $150K average ACV; ~3-month sales cycle; $1.5M ARR annual quota, uncapped above.
• Ramp: first 90 days measured on meetings booked (MBO); ARR quota begins after ramp.
• 20–30% travel for conferences, on-site customer meetings, and industry events.
• Must be available full-time, in-person in NYC (Nomad).

The Role

Own the full sales cycle — from sourcing to close — selling AI-powered compliance and risk automation to banks, credit unions, and fintechs. Outbound-heavy with no SDR support; you source, demo, pilot, negotiate, and close.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own the full sales cycle end-to-end: source, qualify, demo, pilot, negotiate, and close deals with banks, credit unions, and fintechs
• Build pipeline through conferences, LinkedIn, cold calling, and customer referrals (outbound is the primary motion)
• Navigate multi-stakeholder buying processes across procurement, compliance, legal, and executive teams
• Travel ~20–30% for conferences, on-site customer meetings, and industry events
• Work directly with founders to refine the sales playbook, pricing strategy, and GTM motion
• Hand off closed deals to implementation and maintain customer relationships to drive referrals and expansion
• Hit $1.5M ARR annual quota, with the expectation of significantly exceeding it

Tech stack: N/A (sales role)

Requirements

• 2–6 years full-cycle AE experience, has closed deals independently
• Experience selling into financial services, banks, credit unions, or fintechs
• Hunter, builds outbound pipeline through conferences, LinkedIn, and cold calling
• Relationship-driven — builds trust with bankers and compliance buyers
• Available full-time in-person in New York City

Green Flags

• Background at a fast-growing startup selling into financial services — Zest AI, Posh, Treasury Prime, Savvy AI, or similar
• Existing network in community or regional banking — can name-drop and generate warm introductions
• Has closed $100K+ ACV deals independently at a startup with no SDR support
• Conference-heavy seller — knows how to turn a post-conference drink into a signed deal
• Thrives in ambiguity — excited by evolving pricing and playbook, not scared by it

Red Flags

• Only sold at large legacy vendors where the product sells itself — no ingenuity required
• Director-level or above — too senior to get hands dirty and build pipeline independently
• Relies on BDR or SDR support — cannot source and run the full cycle alone
• No financial services experience — lacks the literacy and relationship instincts to sell to bankers
• Uncomfortable with pricing ambiguity or startup-stage selling — needs a fully defined playbook before starting

Role Details

Salary (base)$150,000–$160,000OTE$300,000–$320,000 (50/50 base/commission, uncapped)EquityCompetitiveOn-site policyFull-time in-person, NYC (Nomad); 20–30% travelVisa sponsorshipNone AvailableEmployment typeFull-timeLocationNew York City, NY

Screening Questions

None provided on the role page.

Interview Process

Stage 1 — Pending Approval — Candidates awaiting initial approval. Stage 2 — Intro Call with Kalyani (CEO) — First conversation with the CEO. Stage 3 — Call with Co-Founder — Conversation with the co-founder. Stage 4 — Call with First AE — Conversation with the company's first Account Executive. Stage 5 — Meet the Team — Broader team meeting. Stage 6 — Reference Checks — Reference verification. Stage 7 — Offer Extended Stage 8 — Candidate Hired — Candidate accepts and starts.

Ideal Companies & Backgrounds

From the role page — 12 companies listed, no truncation. Glia · Posh Virtual Receptionists · Zest AI · Eltropy · interface · Coverbase · Alloy · Bretton AI · Unit21 · Bretton · PerformLine · Ncontracts

Ideal Candidate Profiles

None provided on the role page.

Rejected Candidate Feedback

None provided on the role page.