Director, Business Development – Private Equity

Job description

Some of 829's best client relationships started the same way: a private equity sponsor brought us into a portfolio company, we delivered, and the story spread. We're now turning that pattern into a channel of its own — and we're looking for the person to build it. As Director of Business Development – Private Equity, you'll work directly with our CEO and founder, and alongside our capital partners at AEA, to open the PE market for 829. You'll help decide who we go after, what we offer them, and how we show up. Then you'll go do it: building relationships with sponsors, operating partners, and value-creation teams, getting introduced into their portfolios, and generating a steady monthly flow of qualified opportunities. When an opportunity is real, you'll team up with our sales leaders to carry it through to a signed program. **Your scoreboard is simple: pipeline.** Your job is to open doors and fill the top of the funnel with sponsor-backed companies that need what 829 does. You'll carry a monthly pipeline goal, and your commission is tied to it. Closing is something we do together — sourcing and opening is yours. If you've spent years in a quota seat inside someone else's motion and want to build one — with a founder who'll give you room, a capital partner who'll open doors with you, and a clear way to know you're winning — this is that role. **What You'll Do** **Build a new channel with the CEO and AEA** - Sit with our CEO and founder to shape the ideal customer profile, pricing, packaging, and program design for sponsor-backed companies — and keep sharpening them based on what you hear in market - Work hand in hand with AEA to tap their network for warm introductions, refine how we position 829 to sponsors, and make our wins visible across the PE ecosystem - Build genuine relationships with partners, operating partners, value-creation leads, and portfolio-operations teams at a focused set of target firms - Make 829 the marketing partner sponsors bring into their portfolios — part of value-creation plans, preferred-vendor lists, and portfolio reviews - Be the face of 829 at PE and industry events **Generate pipeline** - Carry a monthly goal for new qualified opportunities from PE firms and their portfolio companies — and own hitting it - Open doors at scale: earn introductions to portfolio-company CEOs, CMOs, and CFOs through your sponsor relationships, and go direct through outbound (email, phone, LinkedIn, events) to the sponsors and portfolio companies we haven't reached yet - Learn what sponsors and their portfolio companies actually need — growth targets, operating pressure, exit timelines — and connect 829's offering to it - Qualify opportunities so the sales team picks up well-scoped deals, and keep a clear view of what's working by partner and by channel **Partner with sales to get deals done** - Team with our sales leaders on the opportunities you source — join discovery and scoping, keep the sponsor engaged through the cycle, and help clear whatever stands between us and a signature - Bring the sponsor's context into every deal: who the operating partner is, what the value-creation plan calls for, and how our program maps to it - Work with our delivery leaders so the programs you bring in become the reference stories that earn the next portfolio company **Enable partners and write the playbook**Turn 829's existing wins with sponsor-backed companies into proof points and partner-facing materials that open doors - Teach partners what 829 does well enough that operating partners refer opportunities without you in the room - Keep a regular cadence with each partner firm, run joint pipeline reviews, and watch for new platform and add-on acquisitions to time your outreach - Document what works so the channel can scale beyond you and shape the hires that follow **Use AI as a force multiplier** - Lean on modern AI tooling for portfolio research, personalized outreach, repeatable workflows, and pre-call prep — it's how one person covers a market this big **What Success Looks Like** - You pick up the existing target list of priority PE firms and the warm paths already open into them, and partner with the CEO and AEA's GTM lead to turn those into early pipeline - You know 829's sponsor-backed wins cold and can tell them in a way that opens doors - You build your own motions to open doors — outbound, events, referrals — so pipeline isn't dependent on the introductions you inherited - You're hitting your monthly pipeline goal, with a growing share coming from sponsor relationships you developed - The first deals you sourced have closed alongside the sales team, and programs are live inside sponsor-backed companies - You can say which partners, messages, and channels produce pipeline — and which don't - Sponsors are advocating for 829, references are earned, and you're expanding into adjacent portfolio companies - The PE channel produces a predictable monthly stream of qualified pipeline, and you've written the playbook for how 829 scales it **What You'll Bring** - You've built pipeline before. You've personally carried and hit a monthly or quarterly pipeline or sourcing number, and you can tell us exactly how you did it. - 8+ years in business development, partnerships, or sales — ideally selling marketing or professional services through the private equity channel. - Real relationships in private equity. Operating partners, value-creation leads, portfolio-operations teams — you could sketch a target list with warm paths into each firm today. - A hunter's instinct. You're comfortable generating pipeline from scratch through cold outbound and by activating a network. Opening doors energizes you; managing inherited accounts doesn't. - A builder's mindset. You want to shape a new channel with a founder and a capital partner, not step into a finished motion. Ambiguity doesn't slow you down — you create structure rather than wait for it. - Marketing fluency. You understand the marketing industry, ideally from selling marketing services, and can hold a credible first conversation with a CMO. - Executive presence. You communicate, negotiate, and present with confidence in front of CEOs, CFOs, and operating partners, and you represent 829 the way we'd want to be represented. - A team player. You hand off cleanly, stay close to sales through the deal cycle, and remain coachable. - Prior experience at a PE-services or value-creation advisory firm is a plus - Boston or New York strongly preferred; remote candidates considered, but proximity to PE hubs is a real advantage - Proficiency with Google Workspace, HubSpot Sales Hub, ZoomInfo, and modern AI tooling **Benefits and Perks We Provide** - **Remote Workplace.** You have the option to work at our office in Boston or remotely in one of these states: AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, ID, IL, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MO, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, SC, OH, OK, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA. - **Paid Time Off.** Receive generous paid vacation benefits that increase each year you’re with us, 14 Company Holidays, and Summer Fridays from Memorial Day through Labor Day. - **401K + Match.** 401K plan with 4% Safe Harbor employer match after one year of employment and financial literacy services provided through our retirement provider. - **Life Insurance Benefit.** No-cost coverage to ensure peace of mind for your family. - **Short Term Disability Benefit.** We've got you covered if you need to be OOO with an illness or injury that keeps you out of work. - **Healthcare.** Choose from several competitive healthcare plans for you and your family with 80% employer coverage for all medical and dental premiums, 100% employer coverage for vision, and the option to participate in the FSA program. - **Commuter Benefits.** Allocate pre-tax funds towards your commute to save up to 40% per year in transportation expenses. - **Continuing Education.** Access to monthly team-led webinars, exclusive 829-cohort based learning, digital course platforms, and funding opportunities to attend national conferences and events. **What We Believe** At 829 Studios, we boldly embrace diversity, inclusivity, and equal opportunity. Our goal: a team rich in backgrounds, perspectives, and talents. Why? Because inclusivity powers our brilliance and client success. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, religion, creed, color, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, disability, mental illness, age, ancestry, genetic information, military service, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local laws. **Who We Are** 829 Studios is a Boston-based integrated digital marketing agency with a mission to propel organizations to unlock their full potential and accomplish their most ambitious goals. We harness the power of logic with magic – a balance of data-driven strategy and brand-focused creative. We partner with diverse organizations across various industries and our client list encompasses venture-backed start-ups, publicly traded companies, non-profits, and more. By committing not only to our growth as a company, but the development of our employees and teams’, we have created a collaborative environment that fosters ingenuity and promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging values within our community. 829 has been recognized as one of the nation’s top agencies by the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Privately Held Companies, Adweek 100 Fastest-Growing Digital Agencies, Boston Business Journal's Fast 50 (Massachusetts' 50 Fastest-Growing Private Companies), HubSpot's Top Digital Agencies list, and a we are and employee-certified Great Place to Work. **Salary Range:** $120,000-$150,000 + commission We determine compensation based on experience, demonstrated skills, and current market conditions at the time of hire to ensure fairness and consistency across roles. Actual compensation will depend on experience and may be adjusted based on skills, qualifications, and alignment with the scope and impact of the role.