Business Development Lead - Cycles Protocol

Business Development Lead - Cycles Protocol

Full Time

Remote (Canada, US, UK)

About the Cycles Team

The Cycles team at Informal Systems is part of a very early stage startup effort within the company that is changing the landscape of payments and credit and enabling DeFi to connect into the real world. While DeFi has primarily focused on mechanism design, Cycles represents a visionary leap towards redefining monetary policy and the fundamental structure of payment systems. Cycles delivers financial software solutions that improve businesses’ sustainability through reducing their cash flow needs and working capital costs. Our team consists of world leaders in liquidity-saving payment solutions for real businesses and the underlying science that makes this liquidity-saving possible.

About the Role

We are seeking a Business Development (BD) Lead to spearhead partner activation, go-to-market strategies, and overall growth. In this role, you will be responsible for cultivating relationships with key payment partners, addressing operational needs, facilitating onboarding processes, and managing day-to-day requirements. Our potential partners span various segments driving the on-chain finance revolution, including crypto payments, crypto accounts payable, private credit protocols, and more.

As the BD Lead, you will forge enduring partnerships with leading Web3 companies in these segments, providing strategic business guidance, fostering creativity, and aligning shared objectives for mutual success. The ideal candidate will possess an in-depth understanding of the current DeFi landscape and demonstrate a keen interest in transitioning financial use-cases onto blockchain technology.

What sets us apart

Informal Systems has a strong, collaborative, remote-first culture that prioritizes delivery of results, innovation and ownership. The Cycles business unit has deep economic, product development and software engineering experience. The company has deep theoretical and practical distributed systems experience outside of the business unit.

What your primary responsibilities will be:

• Lead the business development lifecycle, including strategy/planning, pipeline development, prospecting, outreach, terms negotiation, contract drafting, and implementation.

• Manage a pipeline of inbound and self-sourced leads to identify, engage, and develop relationships with potential partners and clients, including opportunity tracking, calls, and follow-up.

• Hold revenue accountability across designated go-to-market channels, driving performance and maximizing user growth.

• Collaborate closely with product and marketing leaders, serving as a trusted thought leader to inform and influence business strategies. This includes identifying customer pain points, addressing key product gaps, and exploring new commercial models to enhance overall business performance.

What we look for in a successful BD Lead:

• 5+ years of BD experience.

• 2+ years of BD experience working for a DeFi protocol, an exchange, or crypto payments provider.

• Demonstrated success in cultivating relationships with strategic partners and engaging with senior management within target organizations.

• Proven expertise in negotiating intricate partnership deals, assuming overall responsibility for navigating product, go-to-market, commercial, and legal dimensions of agreements.

• Sound comprehension of blockchain technology and DeFi.

• Entrepreneurial drive and enthusiasm for contributing to a dynamic, early-stage company.

• Exceptionally self-motivated, capable of operating both independently and collaboratively within a team environment.

• Strong communication skills, adept at presenting to senior executives internally and externally across diverse settings.

Some of our benefits include:

• A unique, caring and friendly culture (learn more about how we work here)

• 25 days (5 weeks) of paid vacation annually, plus 3 Spiritual Days

• Company closure from December 25th to January 1

• Annual Lifestyle benefits (reimbursements for gym memberships, fitness equipment, etc)

• A remote-first, flexible work environment

• A home-office stipend to set you up for success

• Annual company retreats

• Paid parental leave

• ….. and many more!

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity in our organization. We are committed to equal employment opportunities and encourage applications from people of all race, religion, color, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.