Founding Head of Sales / GTM Lead

About YGO

YGO is creating the AI infrastructure layer for travel. Travel planning and booking are moving away from fragmented, search-led journeys toward highly personalized experiences powered by AI. Most travel businesses were not designed for this transition: their systems are fragmented, difficult to connect, and not ready for modern AI use cases. YGO closes that gap with a modular AI platform that includes AI Search, Recommendations, Packaging, Content Automation, Customer Service, and AI Assistant Integration. The platform helps travel companies improve customer experiences without replacing their core systems.

The company already supports well-known travel brands across Europe such as Condor, DER Touristik, Secret Escapes, and Kurzurlaub. Backed by Caesar Ventures and the founders of FlixBus, HomeToGo, and GetAway Group, YGO has recently completed its Series A and is now focused on building a scalable go-to-market engine for enterprise growth.

The opportunity

This is YGO’s first senior, dedicated GTM hire. At present, the founders lead sales themselves: they create prospect lists, handle outreach, run discovery calls, deliver demos, shape the product through customer conversations, produce sales collateral, and close enterprise opportunities. That approach has already delivered strong traction with complex enterprise customers.

Your mandate is to convert that successful founder-led motion into a repeatable enterprise sales engine while still selling directly. You will partner closely with the founders on priority accounts, study what makes deals win, sharpen the ideal customer profile and messaging, build a stronger funnel, professionalize the sales process, and eventually recruit the first GTM team. This is a player-coach position: you will stay very hands-on early on across outbound, calls, and deal execution, then move into building and leading the team over time.

What you will own

Phase 1

• Participate in founder-led sales conversations and learn the current selling motion in detail.
• Analyse active and won opportunities to identify buyers, buying triggers, and deal blockers.
• Define the ICP, buyer personas, qualification framework, and account prioritisation logic.
• Set up a structured enterprise sales process with clear pipeline stages and forecasting discipline.
• Raise the quality of discovery, demos, follow-up, and proposals.
• Independently manage selected opportunities.
• Launch the first structured outbound approach for target accounts.

Phase 2

• Develop a first version of the sales playbook covering discovery, messaging, objections, demos, POCs, pricing, and procurement.
• Build repeatable motions for core segments such as tour operators, OTAs, airlines, and agencies.
• Work with Product to turn customer input into sharper positioning and roadmap input.
• Expand outbound efforts beyond the founders’ networks.
• Help shape and hire the next GTM roles, including Sales Engineer, SDR, PMM, and AE.
• Continue to close strategic deals.

Phase 3

• Recruit and onboard the first GTM team.
• Design territories, quotas, onboarding, and performance management structures.
• Build toward a scalable enterprise GTM organisation.
• Own pipeline health, conversion, forecasting, and new ARR.

Candidate profile

YGO is looking for someone who has spent at least 8 years in B2B SaaS sales, ideally in enterprise or complex mid-market environments. The ideal background includes early-stage GTM or sales ownership at a Series A or B company, plus experience building or resetting a sales motion rather than simply operating inside an existing one. A track record of closing six-figure or seven-figure enterprise deals is important.

You should be comfortable selling in English and have strong professional German, with the confidence to lead customer conversations in German. The role calls for experience selling to C-level stakeholders as well as teams in Product, IT, E-Commerce, Marketing, and Procurement. You will need to work in a structured way without losing speed, and you should be strong in writing, discovery, demos, negotiation, and closing. This is a hands-on role for someone who is willing to do the work personally and is motivated to build and lead a GTM function from scratch.

What this role is not

This is not a traditional VP Sales position with an existing team, pipeline, and playbook already in place. It is also not a pure account executive role focused only on closing qualified inbound leads. YGO is specifically looking for someone who can sell, structure, build, hire, and lead in that order.

Benefits

• Founding GTM seat at a Series A company operating in a large global market.
• Real enterprise traction and direct access to leading travel brands.
• Close collaboration with the founders on strategic opportunities.
• End-to-end ownership of building the GTM organisation.
• Competitive compensation with equity.
• Hybrid working model in Berlin with travel across Europe.
• The chance to help shape the AI infrastructure category for travel.
• Practical benefits including top-tier hardware such as a MacBook Pro or equivalent, a home office setup allowance, Urban Sports Club membership, Deutschlandticket, a learning and development budget meant to be used, and a clear travel and expense policy.

Hiring process

The selection process includes an introductory call, an in-depth conversation with the founding team, a working session, reference checks on both sides, and a final discussion. The company aims to make a decision within 3–4 weeks.