Director of Sales, Startale Japan
About Us
In partnership with Sony and SBI — two of Japan's largest companies — we are building the infrastructure to bring the world's assets on-chain: Strium, a next-generation DeFi L1 powered by a fully on-chain orderbook exchange, and Startale App, a consumer super-app. Distributed across Tokyo, New York, and Singapore; English-operating; built to a world-class standard.
Position Overview
- Establish institutional sales strategy of Startale products in Japan
- Identify new business opportunities for Startale in Japan
- Execute commercial agreements with Japanese financial institutions and enterprises for Startale Onchain Finance Kit
- Formulate strategic partnerships with leading Japanese financial institutions and enterprises for adoption and expansion of Startale’s product suites
What the First Months Demand
- Fully understand product suites, including but not limited to Startale App, Startale App SDK, JPYSC, Soneium, Strium, and Startale Onchain Finance Kit
- Identify target clients, market opportunities, and sales strategies/requirements
- Reach out to target clients to start building relationships and discover demands
- Establish partnerships with external service providers that can accelerate the development, delivery and adoption of Startale products and services
- Deliver “the first commercial agreement” for Startale Onchain Finance Kit
Why This Role Matters
Onchain finance is no longer a thesis — it is becoming market infrastructure. Led by the United States, stablecoins, tokenized assets, and onchain capital markets are expanding into a global movement, and Japan is emerging as one of the most important frontiers of this shift.
Startale stands at the center of it. With a proven track record in Japan and a product suite already trusted by leading enterprises and institutions, we hold a decisive first-mover position in one of the world's largest financial markets. The opportunities ahead of us are enormous — and they will be won on the frontline.
This role is that frontline. You will drive sales with Japan's most ambitious enterprises and financial players, translate customer needs directly into our product roadmap, and turn market leadership into revenue. You won't just sell what we've built — you will shape what we build next, and own the growth that follows.
Team and Stakeholders
- Reports to CBO of Startale Group.
- Daily collaboration with Japan and global sales/BD team, product team, developer relations and marketing team.
Requirements
- 8+ years of professional experience in traditional finance (preferably sales & trading) and/or management consulting, and/or enterprise B2B sales, business development, or strategic partnerships
- Proven ability to originate and close new business, rather than primarily managing existing accounts
- Demonstrated success managing long enterprise sales cycles involving multiple stakeholders
- Experience selling complex technology or infrastructure solutions into large enterprises
- Track record of building trusted relationships with senior business and technology stakeholders, including executive decision-makers — and of influencing decisions through consultative engagement rather than price or product features alone
- Native in Japanese, and conversational in English
- Strong network with top financial institutions in Japan
- Genuine interest in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies; working experience at a blockchain infrastructure company is a plus
- Comfortable working in an early-stage, fast-moving environment with significant autonomy
- Exceptional work ethic and a winning mindset
Location, Engagement, Compensation
Tokyo · Independent contractor.
Compensation aligned with our Global Salary Standard plus equity. Benefits: unlimited time off, stock options, annual workations (recent: Seoul, Tokyo, Croatia, Turkey, Belgium, Singapore), premium tooling from machine to AI agents.
Why Join Us
- The scale of the bet. We're aiming at a global, category-defining outcome only a handful of startups ever reach — Nasdaq/NYSE scale — building onchain financial infrastructure with Sony and SBI behind us.
- An early stage without the fragility. A $63M Series A and tier-1 Japanese partners — yet ~70 people, pre-PMF, early enough that what you build shapes the company. Plus early equity in a company chasing an outcome this size.
- Open culture, real Winning Mindset. Information is shared in the open; we don't run on politics or inter-team turf wars. People here are betting their careers on winning — and act like it.