Kollegio — Account Executive: Higher Education Partnerships

Type: Full-time | Hybrid (3 days in-office, Times Square) | New York City, NY Compensation: $90,000 base + $90,000 variable ($180K OTE, 50/50 split), uncapped commission at 10% of quota attainment (no accelerators) + competitive early-stage equity Hiring count: 1 Visa sponsorship: Yes — H-1B, O-1, OPT; full sponsorship support Reports to: Kollegio sales leadership (no named contact provided)

About Kollegio

Kollegio is an AI-native platform democratizing access to college counseling — guidance historically reserved for families who could afford it. Roughly 74% of students never receive professional counseling support, and Kollegio is changing that. For students, it's a free AI college counselor helping them navigate admissions, scholarships, and opportunities. For colleges and universities, it's a modern student recruitment and enrollment platform with reach into an engaged, high-intent audience.

Traction: 250K+ students across 190 countries, 25 institutional partners and growing, strong net revenue retention with zero logo churn, and a $2 blended CAC. Backed by Reach Capital (lead), JFF Ventures, ECMC Group, Tuesday Capital, and Indus Valley Capital. Selected for OpenAI's ChatGPT Futures Class of 2026.

Founded: 2023 | Team size: 1–10 | Stage: Seed Industry: Education / EdTech / AI Website: kollegio.ai Office: New York City (Times Square)

Why Candidates Should Join

• First dedicated closer with GTM influence: One of the first dedicated AEs on the team, replacing the founding AE (transitioning to Head of Partnerships) — real influence over go-to-market strategy.
• Fast, warm sales motion: Two SDRs feed the pipeline; average sales cycle is under two weeks; relationship-based selling in a small, tightly networked space turns deals into something closer to warm referrals than cold pitches.
• Backing, mission, and traction: Reach Capital–led, selected for OpenAI's ChatGPT Futures Class of 2026, 250K+ students across 190 countries, zero logo churn, $2 blended CAC.
• Strong package: $180K OTE (50/50), uncapped commission, competitive early-stage equity, platinum Blue Shield health (100% coverage, no deductible), 401(k), full visa sponsorship.

Intake Call Summary

• An intake video is present on the Contrario role page, but no transcript was provided — no intake-call summary is captured here. If additional scoring signal is needed, pull key points from the intake video directly.

The Role

Kollegio is hiring an Account Executive to own new business acquisition across higher education, replacing its founding AE (transitioning to Head of Partnerships). This is a full-cycle role — sourcing, discovery, demo, negotiation, and close — as one of the first dedicated closers, with real influence on GTM.

The motion: two SDRs generate outbound/inbound leads; the AE runs a first demo call and a second call focused on proposal and contract signing. Average sales cycle is under two weeks. The edge is relationship-based selling — because higher-ed admissions and enrollment is a small, tightly connected world, an AE who has worked in that world often already knows the buyer, making the sale closer to a warm referral. Average contract value runs $20–25K, with recent deals reaching $36–50K.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own the full sales cycle for new institutional business, from first demo through proposal and signed contract
• Build and manage a pipeline of colleges and universities, targeting admissions, enrollment, and recruitment decision-makers
• Run consultative discovery that connects each institution's enrollment goals directly to Kollegio's value
• Negotiate pricing and partnership terms, closing deals that set partners up for strong retention
• Represent Kollegio at conferences and events (~25% travel)

Company's Stated Qualifications (from role description)

Must-Have

1. Direct experience working in admissions and enrollment at a college or university (not adjacent roles like teaching or research — specifically admissions and enrollment)
2. Proven Account Executive experience closing deals, ideally at an early-stage (seed–Series A) startup, with concrete results (e.g., grew ARR by a specific amount over a defined period)
3. Comfort selling to senior decision-makers and navigating multi-stakeholder buying processes
4. Strong consultative instincts: listens first, then connects a buyer's goals directly to the product
5. Excellent written and verbal communication; able to make a data-driven case and tell a mission-driven story

Nice-to-Have

• Familiarity with the AI or edtech landscape
• An existing network of relationships across college and university admissions and enrollment offices
• Fluency with HubSpot or comparable CRM and sales tooling (learnable if not already in place)
• Prior partnership-style role blending relationship management with closing

Requirements

• Higher ed admissions/enrollment experience required
• Proven AE (not SDR) experience, ideally at a seed-stage startup with results
• NYC hybrid, 3 days in-office (Times Square)

Green Flags

• Direct admissions or enrollment experience at a college or university, ideally in a leadership capacity
• AE experience at a seed to Series A startup with a specific, quantifiable result (for example, grew ARR by a defined amount over a defined period)
• Genuine existing relationships across the admissions and enrollment world, since the space is small and tightly networked
• Builder's mindset: thrives in an early-stage, fast-moving environment without needing to be told what to do
• Track record of consistently hitting or exceeding quota

Red Flags

• No direct admissions or enrollment experience (teaching, research, or other higher-ed-adjacent roles do not count)
• SDR-only background without demonstrated AE-level closing experience
• Cannot point to a specific, quantifiable sales result from a prior role
• Needs to be told what to do rather than driving the process independently
• Comes from a purely follower-style sales role rather than one requiring leadership and ownership of the sales motion

Role Details

Visa sponsorship: H-1B, O-1, OPT; full support

Employment type: Full-time

Location: New York City, NY

Experience: 3+ years

Travel: ~25% (conferences/events)

Screening Questions

None specified on the Contrario role page. (An intake video exists but was not transcribed; screening questions may be surfaced there or added by David.)

Interview Process

Stage 1 — Pending Approval — Candidates awaiting initial approval. Stage 2 — Behavioral Screen (30 min) — Behavioral screen with sales leadership. Stage 3 — Mock Sales Call — Live sales exercise. Stage 4 — Culture Fit Round — Meet the team. Stage 5 — Offer Extended Stage 6 — Candidate Hired — Candidate accepts and starts.