Who we are About Stripe Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies—from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups—use Stripe to accept payments, grow revenue, and unlock new business opportunities. Our mission is to increase the GDP of the internet. There is an enormous amount of work ahead, and an opportunity to do some of the most meaningful work of your career. About the team The Funded Startups team partners with the most promising venture-backed startups across EMEA. We combine deep knowledge of Stripe’s products with strong relationships across the startup ecosystem to help founders build, monetize, and scale their businesses globally. Our work brings the next generation of high-potential businesses to Stripe and helps them create sustainable growth—directly advancing Stripe’s mission to increase the GDP of the internet. What you’ll do As an Account Executive on the Funded Startups team, you will build partnerships with some of Italy’s most innovative and fast-growing venture-backed startups. You will help founders and operators understand how Stripe’s financial infrastructure can support their growth ambitions, unlock new revenue streams, and create an advantage in their markets. You will own a high-velocity sales motion from prospecting through close, while developing a strong understanding of each user’s business, technical environment, and priorities. You will identify opportunities for users to adopt more of Stripe’s product suite, create and execute campaigns that build new pipeline, and partner cross-functionally to set users up for long-term success. Responsibilities - Identify and qualify high-potential venture-backed startups through inbound leads and proactive outbound prospecting. - Own the full sales cycle, from first engagement to closing - Build and execute territory and account plans that drive new business, product adoption, and sustained user value. - Develop a deep understanding of users’ business models, technical environments, and pain points; recommend the Stripe solutions that best meet their needs. - Create pipeline through research, networking, targeted outreach, cold calling, and territory campaigns. - Represent Stripe in the Italian startup ecosystem and help expand our local presence through founder, investor, and community engagement. - Develop and work with a network of international and local Parters - Partner with the Investment Partnerships team on venture-capital portfolio analysis and founder-focused events. - Collaborate with in-country go-to-market teams and our Dublin headquarters on shared initiatives and regional events. - Coordinate with Solutions Architects, SDRs, Marketing, Product, Risk, Operations, and other partners to deliver a seamless user experience. - Bring user feedback and complex needs to internal teams to help improve Stripe’s products and go-to-market approach. - Deliver a thoughtful, high-quality experience in every interaction, regardless of deal size. Who you are You are a strategic, commercially minded seller who enjoys building trusted relationships and operating with pace. You can manage high-velocity deal cycles while navigating technical conversations and coordinating a diverse set of internal stakeholders. You are curious about ambitious businesses and the problems they are solving. You combine strong sales judgement with a solution-oriented mindset, adapt quickly in ambiguous environments, and take ownership of moving work forward. You are motivated by helping founders build and scale, and by developing your own craft along the way. We encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every preferred qualification. The minimum requirements are the baseline for consideration; preferred qualifications are a bonus. Minimum requirements - 5+ years of experience in a closing sales role; comparable experience in a product-focused commercial role will also be considered. - Professional fluency in Italian and English. - Experience working with venture-backed startups in Italy, with an established network across founders, investors, accelerators, and the broader Italian startup ecosystem. - A track record of consistently achieving or exceeding ambitious sales targets. - Experience managing a full sales cycle in a complex or technical environment. - Ability to understand technical ecosystems and build credibility with technical and business stakeholders. - Strong analytical judgement and the ability to manage multiple priorities across complex sales cycles. - Experience building territory plans that identify the highest-impact activities and opportunities in a market. - Experience leading cross-functional projects and coordinating input from a range of internal teams. - Strong relationship-building skills with internal and external stakeholders. - Ability and motivation to succeed in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment. Preferred qualifications - Experience in payments or financial technology. - Experience in a sales or customer-facing role at a high-growth technology company. - Experience working with venture-backed startups in Italy, with an established network across founders, investors, accelerators, and the broader Italian startup ecosystem. - Interest in business models, monetization, and the challenges of scaling a company internationally.