Growth Enterprise Account Executive - Austin
Kong · Remote · US
Open 1 day
New Business + Account Growth: you win new customers and grow existing ones.
- Pay (base or OTE?)
- $250K–$320K
- OTE
- Not disclosed
- Quota attainment
- Not disclosed
- Posted
- 2d ago
Why it matters: OTE tells you what you could earn. Attainment tells you how realistic it is.
Ask: “What percentage of fully ramped reps hit quota last year?”
Still open · checked 2h agoon Kong's careers page
The job
- What you'd do
- Find and win new customers at big companies with 1,000+ employees, and sell more to existing ones, based in Austin. You'll do your own prospecting, from first call to signed deal.
- What you'd sell
Helps companies connect and secure their apps and AI tools
When a big company links its apps to AI tools, it usually wires each connection up by hand. The problem is, every hand-wired link has to be checked and locked down, and one weak link lets strangers in. Kong routes all that traffic through one checkpoint, so the company can secure it without fixing each link alone.
In plain English, from their own job posts. Something wrong? Tell me · More Developer & IT tools companies →
- Who you'd sell to
- Not stated in the posting.Ask: “Who's the economic buyer, and who else is in the deal?”
- Where deals come from
- Mostly you. Expect a lot of outbound: cold calls, emails and LinkedIn.
The Braun Read
Worth a lookSolid on the basics. Use the first call to fill in the gaps.
- Pay
- Base is listed but not OTE. Ask what the variable is and how many people hit it.
- Transparency
- Says nothing about quota, attainment, deal size, territory or sales cycle. Ask about all five.
- Time on market
- Brand new.
- Company hiring
- Ramping up: posted 19 sales roles in the last 30 days. That many open roles can also mean churn. Ask how many reps are still there from last year.
Red lights
None spotted.
Yellow lights
- Base or OTE? Ask. They posted a number but didn't say if it's base salary or total pay with commission. It's high for a base, so ask which it is.
Green lights
- Pays more past quota. Higher commission rates once you pass quota. Overperformance actually pays.
Questions to ask on the first call
Built from what this posting leaves out. How they answer tells you as much as what they say.
- 1.
What percentage of fully ramped reps hit quota last year?
OTE is what you could earn. This is how likely you are to earn it.
- 2.
What percentage of reps on the team have been here more than 18 months?
Tenure shows whether people stay long enough to get paid.
- 3.
Has the comp plan changed in the last 12 to 18 months? What changed?
A plan that changes every year means the goalposts keep moving.
- 4.
Who sits with reps and reviews calls each week?
Coaching is often what's behind a good or bad attainment number.
- 5.
Before You Apply
Find out where you fit, and where you don't, before you hit submit.
Why I built it this way ↓
Most résumé tools try to make you look like a match. I'd rather help you find out if you are one.
Nothing made up.
Nothing goes on your résumé that you didn't do. If a line would need a number you didn't give me, I ask. I don't guess. On Braun Board it's checked in code, not just promised.
Curiosity before conclusions.
If the job wants something your résumé doesn't show, I ask before I assume. Plenty of sellers have done the thing and just never wrote it down.
Sorting, not selling.
Some jobs won't line up with what you've done. Finding that out before you apply isn't a loss. It's an hour back, spent on a job that fits.
No score.
A match score tells you how well you copied their words. It doesn't tell you whether you'd be good at the job, or happy there.
It's the same way I teach selling. We don't control who says yes. We do control where we spend our time, and whether everything we say is true.
Josh
More on this1 Is the job worth it?
Worth a look. Solid on the basics. Use the first call to fill in the gaps.
No red lights. 2 things the posting doesn't say, worth asking on the first call.
See the full Braun Read2 Where you fit
Upload once, see where you fit on any job.
Sign in and add your résumé. I'll show you where you line up, ask before I assume, and never add anything you didn't do.
Sign in →What people say about working at Kong ↓
Got an offer from Kong? Not sure about it?Ask me. I read every message myself. · JoshAsk Josh
Rather talk it through? Call or text me: 954-695-0844 (text)
Full posting
Are you ready to unlock intelligence?
If you don’t think you meet all of the criteria below but are still interested in the job, please apply. Nobody checks every box - we’re looking for candidates that are particularly strong in a few areas, and have some interest and capabilities in others.
About the role:
We are seeking a committed Enterprise Growth Sales Executive with a successful background in sales and account management, ideally within open source or similar enterprise software environments. In this role, you will be a key driver of our growth strategy, directly impacting the stability and expansion of our recurring revenue. This position is ideal for a sales professional who has experience in landing new clients, retaining existing customers, and driving account expansion for early-stage enterprise products in a dynamic, entrepreneurial setting.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Own the full sales cycle, from prospecting to closing complex enterprise deals.
- Drive new logo acquisition, account expansion, and revenue growth.
- Build relationships with C-level executives and key decision-makers.
- Develop territory strategies, manage pipeline, and consistently exceed quota.
- Collaborate with Sales Engineering, Marketing, and Customer Success to deliver customer value.
- Maintain accurate forecasting and CRM reporting.
WHAT YOU'LL BRING
- 5+ years of enterprise sales experience selling to organizations with 1,000+ employees.
- Proven success closing complex, multi-stakeholder SaaS or enterprise software deals.
- Strong prospecting, consultative selling, negotiation, and executive engagement skills.
- Consistent track record of meeting or exceeding sales quotas.
- Experience managing enterprise territories and driving new business.
- Knowledge of APIs, open-source, cloud, or infrastructure software is a strong plus.
- Hunter mentality, strategic mindset, and ability to thrive in a high-growth environment.
Why top sellers join Kong
- Category leader. Gartner Leader, with strong adoption and a product that keeps moving.
- Uncapped upside. Competitive base and variable pay, accelerators, and equity.
- President’s Club. Top performers earn a spot every year.
- Low bureaucracy. Autonomous and fast, built for builders and closers.
- Great place to work. 4x Great Place To Work Certified™, with 95% employee satisfaction.
- Benefits that cover life. Health, wellness, retirement, parental leave, and generous time off, tailored by region.
About Kong:
Kong Inc., the AI Connectivity Company, is building the connectivity layer of AI. Trusted by the Fortune 500® and AI-native startups alike, Kong’s unified API and AI platform enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI traffic — on any model, any cloud. For more information, visit www.konghq.com http://www.konghq.com.