About the Account Executive Role at Speak

Speak is building a human-level, AI-powered language tutor and has become the number one language learning app in South Korea since launching in 2019. This role sits inside Speak for Business (S4B), Speak's enterprise arm, which helps employees get comfortable speaking the languages their business depends on. S4B has already grown to hundreds of logos globally and Speak is now investing heavily across Engineering, Product, Content, and Go-to-Market to make B2B one of its biggest growth engines. As an Account Executive based in Tokyo (Shibuya, hybrid), you would join the founding team of Speak Japan's B2B effort in a genuine 0-to-1 moment inside a company that has already scaled.

The role owns the full sales cycle: building a territory plan, generating pipeline from inbound and outbound, running disciplined discovery and value-selling with executive buyers, and closing complex enterprise deals to drive new ARR and expansion. Speak wants someone with 5+ years closing new and upsell business in HR, L&D, or adjacent B2B SaaS, especially into companies with 5,000+ FTEs, who can multi-thread at the senior level, manage 3 to 12 month sales cycles, and communicate fluently in business English with a distributed global team.

Quick Stats

* Typical process: 4 to 5 rounds, roughly 3 to 5 weeks

* Format: Recruiter phone screen, video interviews with the hiring manager and cross-functional partners, plus a live sales presentation or mock; some in-person given the Tokyo hybrid setup

* Core focus: Full-cycle enterprise closing, pipeline generation, value-selling and discovery, multi-threading to executives, HR/L&D domain, business English

* Difficulty: Hard. You must show a quota track record into 5,000+ FTE accounts, a clear methodology, and comfort thriving in a fast-changing 0-to-1 environment

What Speak Looks For

* 5+ years closing new and upsell business in HR, L&D, or adjacent B2B SaaS, selling to companies with 5,000+ FTEs

* A consistent track record of self-generated pipeline and hitting net-new targets

* Ability to manage complex 3 to 12 month cycles end to end (outbound, SDR alignment, trials, business cases, proposals, negotiation, upsell)

* A clear sales methodology plus fluent business English and comfort with a modern AI sales tech stack

Round 1: Recruiter Screen (~30 minutes)

What to Expect

A recruiter or B2B hiring team member will run a first call to confirm the fundamentals: your enterprise closing background, whether you have sold into HR/L&D or adjacent SaaS buyers, quota history, business English fluency, and your interest in a 0-to-1 role in Tokyo. Expect a quick pitch of who you are, why Speak, and why enterprise language learning. They will also confirm logistics like the Shibuya hybrid setup and work authorization in Japan.

Example Questions

* "Walk me through your last three years of quota and how you performed against it."

* "What kinds of companies and buyers have you sold to, and how large were the accounts?"

* "Why Speak, and why the B2B language learning space specifically?"

* "This is a founding-team, 0-to-1 role in Tokyo. What draws you to that kind of environment?"

Tips

* Have crisp numbers ready: quota attainment, average deal size, sales cycle length, and how much pipeline you self-sourced.

* Connect your motivation to Speak's mission and the S4B growth story rather than giving a generic "I like sales" answer.

* Rehearse this quick-pitch mix with Nora's Standard Mode so your background, quota story, and "why Speak" land tightly inside 30 minutes.

Round 2: Hiring Manager Interview (~45 to 60 minutes)

What to Expect

This is the core round with the B2B sales leader. Expect a deep dive into how you build a territory plan, generate pipeline from inbound and outbound, and run discovery and value-selling with executive buyers. They will want concrete stories of complex deals you have owned end to end and how you multi-thread at the senior level. This is where the offer is largely won or lost, so bring detailed, metrics-backed examples.

Example Questions

* "Walk me through the most complex enterprise deal you closed, from first touch to signature."

* "How do you build a territory plan and prioritize accounts with 5,000+ FTEs?"

* "Describe a time you multi-threaded across several senior stakeholders to move a deal forward."

* "Tell me about a deal you lost. What signals did you miss and what changed after?"

Tips

* Use STAR structure and quantify outcomes: ARR closed, cycle length, number of stakeholders, and expansion after the initial land.

* Name your sales methodology explicitly (MEDDIC, Command of the Message, or similar) and show how it creates value for the customer.

* Drill these full-cycle and multi-threading stories with Nora's Behavioral Mode until each one is tight, specific, and outcome-driven.

Round 3: Sales Presentation / Mock Discovery (~60 minutes)

What to Expect

For a full-cycle enterprise AE, expect a working session where you demonstrate the craft directly. This is often a mock discovery call with an HR/L&D "buyer," a mock demo or pitch of Speak for Business, or a short deal-strategy presentation. Interviewers will assess your discovery questioning, how you frame value for a 5,000+ FTE org, how you handle objections, and how you propose next steps like a trial or business case.

Example Questions

* "Run a discovery call with me as a Head of L&D at a 10,000-person company. Where do you start?"

* "Pitch Speak for Business to me and tie it to a business outcome I care about."

* "I like the product but the budget is frozen this quarter. How do you keep this alive?"

* "How would you structure a trial and business case to get executive sign-off?"

Tips

* Research S4B on Speak's B2B landing page and be ready to articulate the value of speaking practice for a global workforce.

* Lead with discovery, not features: uncover priorities, quantify the pain, then map Speak to a measurable outcome before proposing next steps.

* Practice the live mock with Nora's Technical Mode to sharpen discovery questioning, objection handling, and a clean, value-first close.

Round 4: Cross-Functional and Values Fit (~45 minutes)

What to Expect

Speak emphasizes partnering closely with CSMs, SDRs, Marketing, and Product, and hiring "people we admire deeply." Expect conversations with cross-functional partners and possibly a founder or senior leader. They will probe how you collaborate to move deals, how you thrive in fast-changing environments, and whether you fit the tight-knit, high-craft culture. Given the distributed global team, business English communication will be assessed throughout.

Example Questions

* "How do you work with SDRs and Marketing to build and qualify pipeline?"

* "Tell me about a time you partnered with Product or CS to close or expand an account."

* "Describe a moment when strategy shifted fast. How did you adapt your approach?"

* "How do you land and then expand within an enterprise account over time?"

Tips

* Show that you treat cross-functional partners as teammates, not support staff, with a specific story of shared credit and a shared win.

* Emphasize adaptability and ownership, which map directly to the 0-to-1 founding-team framing in the posting.

* Use Nora's Behavioral Mode to practice collaboration, land-and-expand, and "thriving in ambiguity" stories in clear, natural business English.

Round 5: Offer and Compensation (~30 minutes)

What to Expect

If successful, you will discuss compensation with the recruiter or hiring leader. For an enterprise AE, this typically covers base, variable/commission structure, quota, accelerators, and possibly equity given Speak's Series C stage. Expect to align on ramp expectations and territory as part of the conversation.

Example Questions

* "What are your base and on-target earnings expectations?"

* "How do you think about the split between base and variable for this role?"

* "What quota and ramp have you succeeded with in prior enterprise roles?"

* "What would make this offer an easy yes for you?"

Tips

* Anchor with market data for enterprise SaaS AE roles in Tokyo and know your total comp target, not just base.

* Ask clarifying questions about quota, territory maturity, and accelerators before negotiating, since this is a 0-to-1 territory.

* Rehearse the back-and-forth with Nora's Salary Negotiation Mode so you can defend your number calmly without underselling yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1) How many rounds are there?

Expect roughly 4 to 5 rounds: a recruiter screen, a hiring manager deep dive, a live sales presentation or mock discovery, a cross-functional and values-fit round, and a compensation discussion. Speak does not publish its exact process, so treat this as the realistic structure for a full-cycle enterprise AE at a company of this stage rather than a guaranteed sequence.

2) What topics are most common?

* Full-cycle enterprise selling: pipeline generation, discovery, value-selling, multi-threading, negotiation, and land-and-expand

* Your quota track record, sales methodology, HR/L&D domain knowledge, cross-functional collaboration, and business English fluency

3) How long does the process take?

Typically about 3 to 5 weeks end to end, depending on scheduling across Speak's distributed team and how quickly the live presentation round can be arranged with the Tokyo team.

4) How should I prepare?

* Study Speak for Business on the B2B landing page and prepare a clear point of view on selling language learning to HR/L&D buyers at 5,000+ FTE companies.

* Quantify your track record: quota attainment, self-sourced pipeline, deal size, cycle length, and expansion results.

* Prepare a mock discovery and pitch, and name your sales methodology explicitly so you can show how it creates customer value.

* Practice with Nora AI: Standard Mode for the recruiter screen, Behavioral Mode for full-cycle and collaboration stories, Technical Mode for the mock discovery and demo, and Salary Negotiation Mode for the offer conversation.