ZHQ Technologies (RC8708270) is building technology rails to help businesses (especially manufacturers, producers, and resellers) participate more effectively in structured and connected commerce across Africa and beyond.
We are looking for a Founding Business Development Lead to take ownership of ZHQ's early commercial development.
This is not a conventional business development role. We are not looking for someone whose primary responsibility is making calls, sending messages, generating leads or filling a sales pipeline.
We need someone who can identify real commercial opportunities and turn them into revenue for the business.
You will have significant freedom to determine how to create revenue for ZHQ. This may involve selling ZHQ's technology capabilities, securing paid development or implementation engagements, developing paid opportunities around our existing partnerships, or identifying other commercially viable opportunities.
You will not be restricted to a predefined sales script or a single ZHQ product. Your job is to find the fastest legitimate path from ZHQ's existing capabilities and commercial assets to revenue.
Who We're Looking For
We are looking for someone who:
- Has demonstrated B2B business development, sales, partnerships or commercial experience
- Can create opportunities without relying on an established brand or marketing machine
- Has an established network, relationships, or other practical means of reaching businesses and decision-makers
- Thinks commercially and understands how to turn customer problems into revenue
- Is highly proactive and comfortable operating with significant autonomy
- Can sell, negotiate and move opportunities toward financial commitment
- Is genuinely interested in building an early-stage company, not simply filling a job
- Is resourceful enough to find unconventional routes to revenue
ZHQ is currently operating with extremely limited financial resources and has no dedicated marketing or business development budget. The successful candidate must therefore be highly resourceful and capable of creating commercial opportunities without relying on company-funded lead generation or an established sales infrastructure.
What Success Looks Like
The primary objective is to find and execute the fastest viable path to revenue, with the expectation that this should result in actual revenue within the first 30 days wherever commercially feasible. We are deliberately not prescribing exactly what you must sell, who you must sell to, or how you must generate the revenue. We want someone capable of looking at what ZHQ has today, figuring out where the fastest commercial opportunity lies, and getting the revenue in.
To be clear:
Calls are not success.
Meetings are not success.
Leads are not success.
Proposals are not success.
A customer saying “we're interested” is not success.
Money received by ZHQ is success.
The strongest candidates will be able to demonstrate not only that they can generate activity, but that they can convert commercial opportunities into actual financial results.
Compensation
This is currently an equity-based founding role, and until ZHQ begins to generate revenue sufficient to accommodate a salary, there will be no salary. The successful candidate will be eligible for 3% equity in ZHQ Technologies, vesting over four years.
If your strength is creating business rather than simply creating activity, we'd like to hear from you.