Open role · United States
Founding Enterprise Account Executive.
Build Hikari Blue's commercial presence in the United States, alongside the founder.
The mission
Turn the American market into clients, learning and method.
Create and convert enterprise opportunities in the United States, initially focused on Texas. You work directly with the CEO, build executive relationships, lead complex sales cycles and help create our U.S. commercial method.
The founder's letter
The fifth name.
Hikari Blue was born in 2016, on the European side of the Atlantic. We are four partners: Rémi, Xavier, Gilles and me. Between us: five companies founded, four exits, twenty-five years building and operating technology at scale. Every engagement we sign carries one of our names. That is our definition of seriousness: operators, not consultants.
In 2025, the house moved to Texas. Headquarters in Austin, offices in Strasbourg and Osaka. Six engagements are in production across three regulated sectors, in the United States and Europe: finance, healthcare, luxury. A network of more than 450 senior experts covers AI, agentic systems, software, data and security.
Our conviction fits in three sentences. AI models commoditized faster than anyone forecast. The value moved to the architecture around them: the governance, the audit trail, the kill switch, the operator on call. That layer cannot be bought from a hyperscaler: it has to be built, and we build it.
One person is missing. The American market responds to us, but nobody works it full time. This role is our first dedicated U.S. commercial hire. You will be the fifth name on the founding team: the person who builds the American commercial method, with me, in Austin.
I am not asking you to join an imaginary startup or bet on a vague promise. I am offering you the chance to build a U.S. business from proven expertise, with real autonomy, direct access to decisions and one clear obligation: turn the market into clients, learning and method.
If this letter makes you want to build, write to us. I read every application.
Franck Ohrel
Founder & CEO · Hikari Blue · Austin, Texas
- 2016
- House founded · a Texas trademark since 2025
- 4
- Exits behind the leadership team · 5 ventures founded
- 450+
- Senior experts in the network · AI, software, data, security
- 3
- Offices: Austin, Strasbourg, Osaka · five markets
The role, plainly
What you do. What we look for.
What you will do
- identify and prioritize relevant accounts and partners;
- generate opportunities through prospecting, networking, referrals and targeted events;
- lead discovery, qualification, business case, proposal, negotiation and closing;
- coordinate client and Hikari Blue stakeholders;
- build credible, profitable proposals with delivery teams;
- maintain reliable CRM data and forecasts;
- represent Hikari Blue in Austin and across Texas;
- document objections, messages, buying signals and learning.
What we are looking for
- demonstrated complex B2B selling to executive buyers;
- ability to self-generate pipeline without mature sales infrastructure;
- experience with procurement, legal, security and multi-stakeholder decisions;
- clear communication, commercial judgment and integrity;
- interest in AI, data, software and organizational transformation;
- Austin presence preferred. Texas and occasional U.S. travel.
A credible proposition, without inflated promises
What we offer. What we expect in return.
What we offer
- performance-weighted compensation: a measured base, an uncapped variable above market rate, per the written plan;
- potential equity or stock options, subject to profile and approvals;
- direct CEO access and real influence on commercial strategy;
- high autonomy within clear objectives and decision rules;
- an opportunity to build a role and trajectory through demonstrated results.
What the house expects in return
- an individual contributor posture: open, qualify, propose, negotiate and close;
- the ability to work with incomplete information without hiding risk;
- CRM, forecasting and documentation discipline;
- sober, credible representation of the brand in the Austin ecosystem;
- immediate transparency on obstacles, losses and assumptions.
How we decide
A short, structured, evidence-based process.
Five stages, and a candidate who always knows where they stand. We do not waste the candidate's time. We do not waste ours.
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01
Screen with the co-founder & CTO
30 minutes. Motivation, location, package and minimum proof. You leave with a clear go or no-go.
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02
Career and deals
60 minutes. Chronology, exact role, results, pipeline and references.
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03
CEO interview
60 minutes. Judgment, working fit, ambition and transparency.
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04
Work sample
75 minutes plus preparation. A discovery-led first meeting with a fictional regulated Texas company: structure, precision, collaboration and a credible next step.
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05
References and final
Three calls plus a final conversation. We validate results, behavior and success conditions, then decide.
The AI-in-application policy and the candidate-data commitments on the Careers page apply to this role in full.
Before you apply
Three screening questions.
Answer them in the application form. Concise beats long: amounts, cycles, your exact role, results.
- What is the most meaningful contract you personally sourced or signed? State amount, cycle, role and result.
- Describe a pipeline you built without a dominant brand or strong lead generation.
- Why join a company of our size in Austin, today?
Application
Write to us. The founder reads every application.
Apply through the form: your LinkedIn profile stands in for the résumé at this stage, and the free-text step carries your three answers. Hikari Blue evaluates candidates on job-related criteria and complies with applicable equal employment opportunity requirements.