Account Executive (Southern California)

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE — SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Hi there!

We’re Sweed [link for members] a product-driven startup building an all-in-one cannabis retail platform. We’re looking for an Account Executive to help us grow our presence across Southern California.

ABOUT US

At Sweed, we’re reimagining how cannabis retailers operate. Our enterprise-grade platform combines POS, payments, eCommerce, marketing, analytics, inventory management, delivery, and automation into a single, seamless solution—eliminating the need for multiple disconnected tools.

We believe in simplicity, efficiency, and innovation. That’s why we build for scalability and performance, making life easier for cannabis retailers while helping them drive sustainable business growth.

WHY WE’RE DOING THIS

At Sweed, we believe in the medicinal potential of cannabis. It has been shown to help with chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and many other conditions. Despite the lingering stigma, we see cannabis as a powerful tool for improving lives.

The industry is evolving rapidly, and we’re here to help drive that transformation—making cannabis retail more efficient, accessible, and customer-friendly.

WHERE WE ARE NOW

We’ve been on the market since 2018, continuously growing and refining our product.

Our focus is on earning customer trust, which means constantly improving our delivery processes and rolling out new features. At the same time, we navigate the complex legal landscape of the cannabis industry, ensuring our platform remains compliant and future-proof.

TEAM STRUCTURE

Our total team size is over 200 people.

Our development team is distributed globally and organized into cross-functional product teams. These teams typically consist of front-end and back-end developers, QA specialists, analysts, and other product professionals.

Meanwhile, our CEO, Sales, Account Management, and Customer Success teams are based in the USA, working closely together to align product development with business and customer needs.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Account Executive will own the full sales cycle for new dispensary customers and locations within an assigned Southern California territory.

This is a true 360 sales role with a strong focus on net-new business. You’ll be responsible for generating pipeline, developing relationships, conducting discovery, demonstrating the product, building business cases, negotiating contracts, and closing new customers.

You’ll receive support from sales leadership and partner closely with Marketing, Product, Customer Success, and Implementation. However, this is not a role where a complete pipeline is handed to you. Successful AEs at Sweed are comfortable creating their own momentum through outbound prospecting, events, referrals, partnerships, and territory development.

Sweed is a premium challenger product. We’re looking for someone who can demonstrate value through business outcomes and ROI—not someone who depends primarily on relationships or discounting to close business.

Our customers range from independent dispensaries to multi-state operators, with our core segment typically consisting of cannabis retailers with approximately 10–40 locations. Deal sizes can range from approximately $25K to $250K+ in annual SaaS value, with an average sales cycle of around three months.

Success in this role is measured through closed ARR, onboarded door count, pipeline generation, territory growth, and forecast accuracy.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Develop and execute a territory plan focused on high-potential cannabis retailers and multi-location operators across Southern California

• Generate new pipeline through outbound prospecting, industry events, referrals, partnerships, and local relationship-building

• Maintain at least 4× quota pipeline coverage in HubSpot, with clear next steps for every active opportunity

• Build relationships with dispensary owners, operators, retail leaders, finance teams, and executive decision-makers

• Conduct discovery to understand each customer’s technology, operational challenges, business priorities, and reasons for considering a change

• Deliver tailored product demonstrations that connect Sweed’s capabilities to the customer’s specific needs

• Build ROI-focused business cases that demonstrate financial and operational value

• Explain why a customer should switch platforms, why they should act now, and what maintaining the status quo may be costing them

• Position Sweed as a premium, outcome-driven solution rather than competing primarily through price

• Navigate multi-stakeholder buying processes across retail, operations, finance, technology, and executive teams

• Negotiate pricing and commercial terms while protecting the long-term value of the partnership

• Manage the sales process from initial outreach through contract execution and customer handoff

• Maintain accurate deal stages, notes, action plans, and forecasts in HubSpot

• Provide weekly commit, best-case, and upside forecasts

• Partner with Marketing, Product, Customer Success, and Implementation on campaigns, strategic deals, and customer launches

• Share customer feedback, market trends, and competitive intelligence to help improve our product and go-to-market strategy

• Represent Sweed at customer meetings, industry events, regional roadshows, and other territory activities

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

• 3+ years of quota-carrying B2B sales experience with a demonstrated track record of success

• Full-cycle sales experience, including prospecting, discovery, demonstrations, proposals, negotiation, and closing

• Experience generating a meaningful portion of your own pipeline

• Experience selling SaaS, fintech, POS, payments, restaurant technology, retail technology, eCommerce, or another consultative business solution

• Ability to connect product capabilities to measurable financial and operational outcomes

• Experience selling through value and ROI rather than relying primarily on relationships or discounting

• Confidence communicating with business owners, operators, and executive stakeholders

• Experience navigating multi-stakeholder sales processes and complex negotiations

• Strong understanding of quota, conversion rates, pipeline coverage, sales cycles, and forecasting

• Experience managing pipeline and sales activity through HubSpot, Salesforce, or another CRM

• Familiarity with structured qualification and sales methodologies such as BANT, MEDDICC, Sandler, or Challenger

• Strong communication skills and high emotional intelligence

• Ability to build natural, credible customer relationships without sounding overly corporate

• Comfort working independently in a fast-moving environment where processes are still developing

• A proactive, accountable, and outcome-oriented approach to sales

• Residence within Southern California

• Willingness to travel approximately 25–50% for customer meetings, industry events, and regional activity

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience selling cannabis technology or working directly with dispensary operators

• An established network within Southern California cannabis markets

• Experience selling POS, payments, eCommerce, loyalty, marketing, or retail operations software

• Experience working with multi-location retail or restaurant groups

• Success selling a premium or challenger product against larger incumbents

• Experience working in a startup or high-growth technology company

• A combination of inside and outside sales experience

• Experience building a territory or introducing a product into a new market

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• You develop a clear territory plan and begin building key relationships during your first 90 days

• You create new opportunities consistently rather than waiting for leads to be assigned

• You understand the pipeline coverage and activity required to achieve your target

• Your opportunities move forward with clear next steps, identified stakeholders, and a compelling business case

• Your discovery and demonstrations focus on customer outcomes rather than generic product features

• You can clearly explain the financial and operational value of switching to Sweed

• You maintain accurate CRM data and provide reliable forecasts

• You take ownership of the complete sales process while collaborating effectively with internal teams

• Within six months, you’re progressing and closing new business while contributing to ARR and onboarded-door targets

WHAT WE VALUE

• Hunter mentality — You’re comfortable creating opportunities and opening doors rather than relying on an established book of business

• Business acumen — You understand how technology affects revenue, costs, labor, efficiency, and customer experience

• Consultative selling — You diagnose the customer’s problem before presenting a solution

• Value orientation — You can justify a premium product through measurable business outcomes

• Pipeline discipline — You understand the activity, conversion rates, and coverage required to achieve quota

• Emotional intelligence — You can adapt your communication style to different customers and stakeholders

• Critical thinking — You can challenge a customer’s assumptions constructively and explain the cost of maintaining the status quo

• Adaptability — Our company and industry are evolving quickly, and we need people who perform well in changing environments

• Accountability — You take responsibility for your territory, forecast, commitments, and results

WHY JOIN SWEED?

• Competitive base salary plus uncapped commission

• Accelerated earning potential for overperformance

• Remote-first flexibility

• Medical, dental, vision, and additional health insurance options

• Paid parental leave

• Generous PTO and paid company-observed holidays

• Regional travel and participation in industry events

• Real ownership of a high-potential territory

• Opportunities to grow as we continue expanding our sales organization

Sweed is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.