Founding Business Development Lead

About the role

This role involves leading all partnership activities for Rift's multichain trading protocol. The primary responsibility is to manage the entire customer integration lifecycle, from initial pipeline sourcing to relationship building and ongoing support for live integrators. This includes conducting a high volume of external calls and meetings weekly to foster these relationships.

The successful candidate will work directly with the CEO to develop and execute deal-closing strategies. As the first business development hire, this individual will serve as the main company representative for most external interactions, requiring a charismatic and energetic approach to engage with potential partners.

Rift has developed a multichain trading protocol that aims to provide superior rates and asset selection compared to existing centralized and decentralized solutions. The protocol uses multichain smart contracts running in TEEs to enable native asset trading across chains. Having recently secured seed funding and launched on Ethereum and Base, the company is expanding to other major chains and is looking for this role to drive further adoption through integrations.

The listed salary range for this full-time role is between $150,000 and $215,000 USD.

Skills that matter here

• Building relationships with decision makers at DeFi and TradFi companies: This skill is crucial for sourcing and securing partnerships with key industry players.
• Explaining a protocol’s unique benefits vs competitors simply: The role requires articulating Rift's advantages to potential integrators to drive adoption.
• Maximizing your productivity with the latest AI tools: This skill supports efficient management of a high volume of calls and partner interactions.
• Crypto native: Familiarity with self-custody and popular protocols provides an understanding of the target market and user needs.

Who this role suits

• A person who thrives on initiating and nurturing professional relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Someone who can clearly and concisely communicate complex technical advantages to diverse audiences.
• An individual who is highly driven and self-motivated, capable of managing a demanding schedule of external engagements.
• A candidate who is deeply immersed in the crypto space and understands its operational nuances.

From the employer

As our first Business Development hire, you will lead partnerships at Rift.

• Own the entire customer integration lifecycle: from sourcing a pipeline, to building relationships and supporting once they’re live.
• Work directly with the CEO to strategize and close deals.
• Be the primary company representative for the majority of interactions.
• Conduct 20+ external calls/meetings per week.

You must be elite at:

• Being a charismatic, high energy representative of the company.
• Building relationships with decision makers at DeFi and TradFi companies.
• Explaining a protocol’s unique benefits vs competitors simply.
• Maximizing your productivity with the latest AI tools.

Bonus points if you’re:

• Crypto native - self custody crypto and regularly use popular protocols.
• A high school or college dropout.
• The most locked in person you know.