Partnerships and Business Development Manager

Partnerships and Business Development Manager · Full-time · New York, with four days per week in the office. This is a hands-on individual contributor role. You will report initially to Juan, our CEO, and then to the Head of Sales. Travel is primarily for industry conferences.

About Fence

Fence is building the infrastructure for instant financing of new assets. Asset-backed finance still depends on bespoke credit agreements, SPVs, servicers, agents, asset tapes, reporting calendars, and manual controls. Fence turns those workflows into live systems that can verify, control, finance, and distribute assets faster.

Our software helps originators and capital providers move from one-off facility execution to repeatable financing infrastructure. We are building for the point where new assets can become financeable without months of bespoke operational setup.

Why this role exists now

Building relationships and following up on market opportunities still depend too heavily on our founders. We are hiring a hands-on business development operator to create a consistent pipeline of lender-and-borrower opportunities and expand it beyond our existing network. You will build trust, understand transactions taking shape in the market, and identify where Fence can make financing faster and easier to operate.

What you will own

• Build and maintain a target list of lenders, borrowers and relevant market relationships. Research accounts, open conversations, refine your pitch and run product demos.

• Develop trust with lenders and stay close to transactions where a lender and borrower are already connected or in discussion. Make introductions when useful; creating the lender-borrower match is not the core of this role.

• Document the lender and borrower, the concrete transaction, the financing need or operational friction, the relevant interested contact and an agreed next step.

• Develop opportunities until Sales accepts them for commercial execution. Sales owns the accepted deal through pricing, closing and the kickoff of onboarding; you maintain the broader relationship and support the deal where you add value.

• Keep a current pipeline with clear owners, next steps and disciplined follow-up. Turn conference conversations into ongoing relationships and concrete opportunities.

• Share market feedback with Sales, Marketing and Product, and build new relationships so results do not depend on your starting network.

Sales directly manages two to three major capital providers; you will coordinate around these relationships.

First 30 / 90 / 180 days

In your first 30 days, understand what Fence sells, build a target list, refine a credible pitch and learn to run product demos.

During days 30–90, work toward at least two opportunities accepted by Sales per week while building disciplined follow-up and independent prospecting.

During days 91–180, work toward three to four accepted opportunities per week and build a strong pipeline beyond your existing network. Quality and Sales acceptance matter alongside volume.

What must be true

• You can build relationships and earn trust, especially with lenders, using curiosity, clear communication and reliable follow-through.

• You can explain your personal contribution to generating and advancing opportunities, with specific examples of what you did and what changed.

• You learn quickly, act with initiative and keep commitments and pipeline records organized while working without a finished playbook.

Asset-backed finance experience and an existing network are useful. Candidates with less financial experience can succeed if they learn quickly. Product knowledge, pitch and demos can be learned at Fence.

What makes this role hard

Trust takes time, market conversations can look promising without producing a real transaction, and your starting network will only take you so far. You will need to stay persistent, distinguish facts from assumptions and build new relationships. Juan sets a demanding standard for initiative, learning, judgment, organization and results.

You may find this role frustrating if your strongest work is maintaining an established book rather than opening new relationships, if you rely on introductions without persistent follow-up, or if you need a finished playbook before taking action.

How we work

We are a small team building in a complex market. We value direct ownership, clear writing, fast learning, and high precision. We move quickly, but not casually: the work touches financial workflows where correctness matters.

People who do well here tend to be high-agency, low-ego, and comfortable working across product, finance, operations, and customers.

Location and process

New York, four days per week in the office. Travel is primarily for conferences.

Our process has four stages: an introduction with Margot; a conversation with Chivi; a live relationship, opportunity strategy and working-process case with Chivi and Juan; and a final conversation with Juan plus references. There is no take-home exercise.

Compensation

$140,000 annual base salary, plus $400 per sufficiently mature opportunity accepted by Sales for closing work. Equity is included. Variable compensation is uncapped, with accelerators. Equity grant details and accelerator mechanics will be discussed during the process.