Commercial Lead

**About Estendio**:
We are a mission-driven accessibility start-up dedicated to transforming the way the 1 billion disabled and neurodivergent people in our world work, learn and live.

Since launching our first product, Present Pal, in 2018, Estendio has supported students across over 150 universities in the UK and US to communicate with confidence. Building on that success, we’ve now launched Tailo—an AI-powered reading platform that creates a personalised reading experience for every mind.

As we scale into new markets, we are seeking to redefine accessibility—not just as a legal standard, but as an empowering and intuitive experience for all. This is your chance to join our team of 25 at a pivotal moment: Tailo has excellent early traction in our core market, our team is growing, and the world is waking up to the importance of inclusive tech.

**Role Overview: Commercial Lead - Academic Success**:
Are you a commercially focused, driven individual looking to make an impact? We are seeking a **highly motivated Commercial Lead** to play a pivotal role in executing the sales strategy under our go-to-market strategy for **Tailo**, our AI-powered EdTech platform that supports more equitable learning experiences.

Since launching Tailo over 1 year ago we now have stable traction in our core market, supporting disabled students via the Disabled Students Allowance in UK higher education. We’re now expanding into a new vertical: Higher Education, targeting both the **UK and US universities**. As the **first sales leader dedicated to this new market** you will have a chance to shape the commercial approach from the ground up. You'll be responsible for building the sales engine from scratch — defining the strategy, developing the team, and ultimately driving us toward achieving product-market fit in these new markets.

This is a **dynamic and evolving role** that spans everything from process design and prospecting to running demos, managing efficacy pilots, and closing sales. You’ll be the key driver behind the success of our pilots and converting those into paying customers in our new verticals.

You’ll work across a **multi-market funnel (UK and US)**, adapting hours as needed to engage partners in both time zones.

**Key Responsibilities**:
**Sales & Pipeline Management**
- Build and manage a full sales funnel from scratch across both UK and US Academic Success markets
- Prospect, qualify, demo, and close new pilot partnerships
- ** Create outbound and inbound workflows that scale**

**Customer Validation & Insight**
- Conduct early validation calls to uncover customer needs, test messaging, and continue to evaluate market potential
- ** Informing Product, Marketing, and the New Markets team to shape strategy, pivot messaging, adapt the sales approach, and feed into roadmap decisions**

**Pilot Enablement & Success**
- Support pilot onboarding, training, and relationship management
- Ensure pilot success and lead conversion efforts to long-term paid customers
- ** Track pilot metrics and outcomes aligned to real institutional impact**

**Go-To-Market Collaboration**
- Collaborate on sales materials, messaging, landing pages, and campaign concepts
- Adapt sales approach as insights evolve and new product features launch
- Be the commercial voice in cross-functional planning and retrospectives

**About You**:
You’re motivated by building something from the ground up.

You’re not just a seller—you’re a listener, experimenter, and strategic thinker.

You care about outcomes and impact, and you're excited by the challenge of launching in new markets.

**Must-Haves**:

- 4+ years of experience in sales, business development, or partnerships—preferably in EdTech or B2B SaaS Startups
- Experience building and managing end-to-end sales cycles, including cold outbound and closing
- Track record of working in pre-product-market fit or early-stage commercial environments
- Comfortable running discovery calls, demos, and consultative sales
- Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
- A proactive and adaptable self-starter who thrives in fast-paced, ambiguous environments
- Experience managing a sales team
- ** Ability to work across multiple time zones (UK/US) with flexible hours**

**Bonus**:

- Experience selling into UK or US Higher Education
- Familiarity with the assistive tech or accessibility space
- Knowledge of sales tools (e.g., HubSpot, RocketReach)
- Comfortable synthesising customer insight into actionable strategy

**Why Join Us?**:
**Competitive salary with EMI share options
33 days holiday (including public holidays)
9-day fortnight
Remote-first with team meetups
Personal development budget
Work on something that matters - building inclusive tech for every mind

**Location**:Remote (UK based)**:
(Please Note: You must be UK-based, with the right to work in the UK & be able to travel to Scotland on a quarterly basis for company meet ups)