Numbers that check out
Quota, attainment and deal sizes that a former manager will confirm without a pause.
Account executives whose numbers hold up.
Every AE was 140% of quota last year. We ask the people who set the quota, then watch them sell.
When startups make this hire.
Usually when the founders have closed the early customers themselves and can’t keep doing it alongside everything else. Rush it and you hire a big-brand AE who has never sold without a marketing team, a playbook and a famous logo behind them.
What great looks like.
Has sold the unknown
They’ve closed deals where nobody had heard of the company. That’s your situation.
Builds the playbook
Founding AEs write the process as they go: discovery questions, pricing objections, the lot.
Runs a clean pipeline
Their forecast matches what actually closes. You’ll want that before your next board meeting.
How we vet this role.
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Quota, confirmed
We confirm quota attainment, deal sizes and pipeline with their former managers. Commission statements and similar documents come in if the candidate agrees to share them.
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A live sales role-play
A realistic discovery call or demo, with one of us playing a sceptical buyer. Our anti-cheat checks the interview, and any flag becomes a follow-up question, never a verdict.
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A deal, taken apart
In the same interview we pick one of their big wins and walk through it: who signed, why, and what nearly killed it.
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The standard checks
ID and right to work, employment history, and references confirmed through work email. Done before you meet anyone.
What it costs in the UK.
OTE (base:variable) at venture-backed startups. Draft figures, pending Jono’s sign-off.
| Level | London | Rest of UK |
|---|---|---|
| AE (SMB) | £60k-£80k OTE · 50:50 | £50k-£70k OTE · 50:50 |
| AE (mid-market) | £80k-£110k OTE · 50:50 | £70k-£95k OTE · 50:50 |
| Founding AE | £100k-£150k OTE · 60:40 | £85k-£125k OTE · 60:40 |
| Enterprise AE | £120k-£170k OTE · 50:50 | £100k-£145k OTE · 50:50 |
Questions, answered.
Should our first sales hire be a founding AE or a head of sales?
Almost always a founding AE. You need someone who closes and writes the playbook, not someone who needs a team to manage. We’ll pressure-test it with you at the Define step.
How do you check quota attainment?
We ask their former managers directly. Commission statements and similar documents come in when the candidate agrees to share them, never otherwise.
What’s a typical OTE?
It depends on deal size and location. Our salary guide has draft ranges, and we benchmark your package with you before we start.
How much does it cost to hire an account executive through Candit?
Our fee is fee and payment terms. With Pay as they stay you can spread it across your hire’s first months, so your runway stays yours.