Vektor recruits founding AEs and early sales talent for VC-backed Seed through Series D+ startups. Candidates run structured pre-screens and live mock cold calls selling your product before submission. Fees are 20–33% of first-year base (20% floor) on your Order Form with no fee until the candidate starts, and a 90-day replacement guarantee. Typical fill is 2 to 3 weeks.
Most firms that recruit have never sold at a startup. We have.
Pay $0 until start · 90-day replacement guarantee
Not looking for sales hires? Look here
Live mock cold call
Live transcript
Client product brief
Selling to a skeptical VP Ops
Scored on discovery depth, objection handling, next-step crispness
Our talent gets placed at startups like
$0
Until your candidate starts
Pay on start
90-day
Replacement guarantee
If they miss ramp
2–3 wks
Typical fill
Our timelines
How we’re different
Most recruiters never carried a sales quota for a tech startup. They specialize in a niche and send resumes. We've sold in this space before we recruited, so the mock calls and screens look like real selling.
01
Every candidate sells us on your product live. You see how they prospect, discover, and handle pushback before they ever get on a call with you.
02
The same scored question is set for every candidate before submission. There's no polite interviewers who look sharp in interviews but can’t sell to new customers.
03
We call their last sales manager and ask what they actually closed, not what the resume says. A bad senior hire can cost you a quarter of runway and six months of pipeline you don’t have time to rebuild. We front-load that risk check so you don’t discover it three months into their ramp.
04
If they don’t hit your quota within 90 days, we’re happy to replace them at no cost. Most firms guarantee against a candidate quitting. We guarantee the thing you’re actually paying for, revenue, not a warm body who shows up every day.
Submission packet
Pre-screen scorecard
What you get in 14 days
A short hiring path built around mock cold calls on your product and scored screens before anyone hits your calendar.
Day 1–2
Lock founding vs scale AE, ACV, outbound vs inbound, and what good looks like.
Day 3–8
Structured pre-screens, then candidates sell your product on a live mock cold call.
Day 9–11
You meet a short list that already cleared discovery, objections, and motion fit.
Day 12–14
References on quota, then an offer. Pay $0 until they start.
Client stories
Grangou
“We hired two SDRs through Vektor during a period when we needed to scale fast. The team was responsive, organized, and genuinely listened to our feedback to keep improving the candidates they sent our way.”
Ella D.
Recruiter @ Grangou · Two SDRs hired while scaling fast
Gamestock
“I rely on them to quickly help me go zero to one, building a high-quality reliable funnel. Things are always moving quickly at an early-stage startup and we think about them as a core part of building a world-class team.”
Easton D.
Co-Founder @ Gamestock · Zero-to-one sales funnel support
PocketPal
“The consistency is what sets Vektor apart. We get a steady pipeline of high-quality candidates that no single recruitment firm could match. Vektor has become the backbone of how we scale our team.”
Asghar G.
Founder @ PocketPal · Steady high-quality candidate pipeline
Referral program
Send them our way. If we place someone on their team, you earn $2,000. Just make the intro and we’ll handle the rest.
Pricing
Fees are 20–33% of first-year base salary, with a 20% floor, negotiated on each Order Form. Pay $0 until your candidate starts.
$0
Until start
90-day
Replacement
2–3 wks
Typical fill
Contingency search
Founding AE and early sales seats, stress-tested on your product before they hit your calendar. Final fee is set on your Order Form.
Role levels we fill
For multi-seat or post-raise sales hiring spikes
We recruit for teams filling several GTM seats after a raise: weekly operating cadence, prioritized pipeline, and one accountable owner. Fee structure is set on your Order Form.
Estimated placement fee
$27,500
25% of $110,000 base · Pay $0 until start
Estimate only. Final fee is set on your Order Form.
Speed vs. market
Pick a role level and annual quota. We compare our published 2–3 week fill to the published traditional 6–10 week range. Quota is your input. No blend factors.
Our published fill
2–3 weeks
Midpoint 2.5 wks
Traditional range
6–10 wks
Midpoint 8 wks
Pipeline at the seat sooner
~$29K
5.5 wks earlier × weekly quota
Vektor weeks use the midpoint of our published 2–3 week fill (2.5). Market weeks use 8, the midpoint of the published traditional 6–10 week range. Formula: (annual quota ÷ 52) × weeks earlier.
Talent Pool
Browse early sales talent, unlock contacts when you need them, and post roles without booking a full search with us.
Founding AE
5 yrs selling · US West
SDR / BDR
2 yrs selling · US South
Mid-Market AE
6 yrs selling · US West
Free download
Base, OTE, and equity bands for founding AE, SDR, and Head of Sales at Seed through Series D+. Read the full guide online or grab the PDF.
Founding AE preview
| Stage | Base | OTE | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | $70K-$90K | $140K-$180K | 0.25%-0.75% |
| Series A | $80K-$100K | $160K-$200K | 0.15%-0.40% |
| Series B | $90K-$110K | $180K-$220K | 0.08%-0.20% |
| Series C | $100K-$120K | $200K-$240K | 0.03%-0.10% |
| Series D+ | $110K-$135K | $220K-$270K | 0.02%-0.08% |
Figures are market estimates for planning. They are not offers, guarantees, or Vektor placement data.
Quick check
Four questions. A plain verdict. Then a call if you want one.
Question 1 of 4
Guides and data
Market Data
Offer calculator and sales comp ranges by stage.
Read more →Sales hiring guide
Founding AE timing, fees, vetting, and GTM sequencing.
Read more →Resources
Comp benchmarks, scorecards, and hiring templates.
Read more →Curious who runs the searches? Meet the team.
FAQs
Mock calls, fees, timelines, and who we work with.
Most firms that recruit never did the job. They just find a niche. We have. Every early sales candidate runs structured screens and a live mock cold call selling your product before they hit your calendar. You pay nothing until they start, and every hire has a 90-day replacement guarantee.
Sales hires for VC-backed startups: founding AE, early AE, SDR/BDR, and sales leadership as you scale. Seed through Series D+: the seats that turn runway into pipeline.
Contingency placement fees are 20–33% of first-year base salary, with a 20% floor, negotiated on your Order Form. You pay $0 until your candidate starts, then invoice is Net 90. No retainers for a standard search. For multi-seat or post-raise spikes, ask about Hiring Partner terms on a separate Order Form.
If your hire leaves for performance or fit within 90 days of their start date, we run a replacement search at no additional placement fee. You still only pay when a candidate starts.
Typical fill is 2–3 weeks by role level. First stress-tested finalists usually show up within days.
We partner with VC-backed startups from Seed through Series D+ that need founding AE or early sales talent: big enough to have real GTM budget, focused enough that sales hiring is a primary growth lever.
Yes. Our Talent Pool is self-serve. Browse founding AE and early sales profiles, unlock contacts when you need them, and post roles on your own. If you want us to run the search, book a call.
No retainer, no fee until your hire starts. 90-day replacement guarantee if the hire leaves for performance or fit.
We keep a limited number of active searches open at a time.
Want to do the search without us? Check out our Talent Pool.
