Founding Account Executive—Distribution Channels

About Aqua

Aqua is the operating system for wealth channel alternatives. We are building the platform for independent broker-dealers (IBDs) and independent financial advisors (RIAs) to invest in alternative assets. We are on track to process $5B in new transactions for 2025, with customer logos including some of the largest RIAs/BDs in the nation and asset managers including Blackstone, Apollo, JLL, Blue Owl, etc. 

About the Role

We are seeking a driven Founding Account Executive—Distribution Channel to lead sales of our investor portal and platform into the Independent Broker-Dealer (IBD) and independent financial advisor (RIA) channels. Our platform enables firms to centralize data, streamline operations, and enhance visibility across all alternative asset investments.

The Founding Account Executive will own the full sales cycle—identifying prospects, building relationships with senior IBD/RIA decision-makers, and driving deals to close. Success in this role requires a mix of enterprise sales skills, understanding of RIA and broker-dealer operations, and the ability to position our platform as a strategic solution in a highly regulated industry.

What You’ll Do

Sales & Business Development: Own the entire sales cycle for broker-dealer prospects, from prospecting through close; build and manage a robust pipeline of opportunities with mid-sized to large BDs; engage with C-suite, product, operations, and compliance stakeholders to uncover needs and align solutions; negotiate contracts, pricing, and terms to secure long-term partnerships.

Market Development: Represent the company at industry events, conferences, and BD networking forums; collaborate with marketing on campaigns and thought leadership tailored to BDs.

Internal Collaboration: Partner closely with Sales Engineers for demos and technical deep dives; work with Customer Success to ensure smooth onboarding and expansion of BD relationships; provide structured feedback from the field to inform product roadmap and feature prioritization.

Who You Are

• 5–8+ years of B2B enterprise sales experience, ideally within financial technology, SaaS, or investment/wealth management solutions.
• Proven track record selling into broker-dealers and RIAs.
• Strong understanding of BD workflows—compliance, operations, advisor distribution, and investment data.
• Consultative selling style, able to build trust and manage multi-stakeholder sales cycles.
• Exceptional presentation, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.

Compensation

$350-400k OTE