Edwin — Founding BDR

Type: Full-time | On-site | Santa Monica, CA Compensation: $70,000–$85,000 base + uncapped commission (~$30K variable target, no cap; ~$100K–$115K OTE) + competitive founding-team equity Hiring count: 2 Visa sponsorship: None available — must be authorized to work in the US Reports to: Head of Go-to-Market (name not disclosed; second round is with a co-founder)

About Edwin

Edwin builds a SaaS platform for finance and treasury teams at local governments — covering reconciliation, reporting, cash flow forecasting, and AI-powered financial insights — with a long-term vision of becoming the one-stop shop for financial services for public agencies. The company has raised $7M in total funding, is past the pilot stage with five live customers, and is targeting 15 clients by year end. The founding team brings deep fintech and government-finance experience, with ex-finance directors as both advisors and team members.

Founded: 2025 | Team size: 1–10 (Seed) | Total funding: $7M Industry: FinTech (GovTech / public-sector fintech) Website: edwingov.com Office: Santa Monica, CA

Why Candidates Should Join

• Seat one and two on the sales team: These are the first two founding BDR hires, working directly alongside the head of go-to-market to build the outbound motion from scratch.
• Clear path to AE: Upward mobility is tied to hitting activity and meeting targets, not a fixed tenure clock — the BDR who earns it moves into an account executive role.
• Uncapped upside: $70K–$85K base plus uncapped commission targeting ~$30K variable, no cap, with negotiable founding-team equity.
• Mission with teeth: Making public money work harder for government agencies — a tangible, public-sector impact rather than another SaaS vertical.
• Momentum: Backed by $7M, five live customers already, scaling from California to the broader Western US.

Intake Call Summary

• No intake call transcript was included on the page. An Intake Video is present on the Contrario role but is not transcribed here — flagging so key points can be pulled directly if useful before sourcing.

The Role

Edwin is hiring two Founding BDRs to open doors and build the top-of-funnel pipeline powering growth across California and, eventually, the broader Western US. These are the first two seats on the sales team, working directly with the head of go-to-market on cold calls, email, and LinkedIn to generate qualified meetings with finance and treasury leaders at local government agencies.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own top-of-funnel outreach via cold calls, email, and LinkedIn to finance and treasury teams at local government agencies
• Generate qualified meetings for the head of go-to-market, ensuring prospects show up and conversations are substantive
• Build and maintain relationships with government-agency contacts — moving beyond transactional outreach to genuine relationship development
• Manage pipeline activity and follow-through in the CRM, keeping outreach cadences consistent and organized
• Collaborate directly with leadership to refine messaging, targeting, and outreach strategy as the motion scales from California to the Western US and beyond

Client's stated must-haves (from the role description): true grit and willingness to put in the reps (no existing playbook); strong written and verbal communication with real follow-through; genuine interest in the mission of making public money work harder, demonstrated via cover letter or clear articulation of fit; US work authorization (no sponsorship); based in or willing to relocate to Santa Monica for in-person work five days a week.

Tech stack: CRM and outbound sales tooling (specific stack TBD).

Requirements

• 0 to 3 years sales or GTM experience, or strong transferable grit signal
• LA in-person 5 days, relocation support available
• GovTech or public-sector fintech background a strong plus
• High follow-through and relationship-building, not just activity metrics

Green Flags

• Athlete or high-performance competitive background
• Genuine mission alignment with public sector impact
• Prior sales internship or GovTech exposure
• Relationship-builder, not just a smiler and dialer

Red Flags

• Applying purely for the compensation, no evident mission alignment
• Poor follow-through or inconsistent communication during the process
• Sets meetings that do not convert to substantive conversations

Role Details

• Salary — $70,000–$85,000 base
• OTE — ~$100K–$115K (uncapped commission, ~$30K variable target, no cap)
• Equity — Competitive founding-team equity (negotiable)
• On-site policy — In-person, Santa Monica (LA), 5 days a week; relocation support available
• Visa sponsorship — None available; must be US-authorized
• Employment type — Full-time
• Location — Santa Monica, CA
• Openings — 2

Screening Questions

1. Walk me through a time you had to build something from zero with no existing playbook — what did the grind actually look like day to day?
2. Why the public sector / government finance mission specifically? What draws you to it beyond the comp?
3. Give an example of a relationship you built and nurtured over time (professional, athletic, or otherwise) versus a one-and-done transaction.
4. Are you genuinely able to be in-person in Santa Monica five days a week? If relocating, what's your realistic timeline?

(No formal screening questions were listed on the Contrario page — these are drafted to probe the Requirements, Green Flags, and Red Flags. Adjust to preference.)

Interview Process

Stage 1 — Pending Approval — Candidate awaits initial approval. Stage 2 — Initial Screen with Head of Go-to-Market — High-level fit conversation. Stage 3 — Second Round with Co-Founder — Deeper background and alignment discussion. Stage 4 — 30-60-90 Day Plan Presentation — Candidate prepares a deck showing their understanding of the role and how they'd approach the first three months; ideally in person, Zoom if remote. Stage 5 — Final Round — Meet the team in person if not already done; final calibration. Stage 6 — Offer ExtendedStage 7 — Candidate Hired — Candidate accepts and starts.

Ideal Companies & Backgrounds

Updated Aug 11, 2026GovTech / public-sector software (companies that sell to local governments) — OpenGov, ClearGov, Tyler Technologies, Oracle (public sector) Academic / non-traditional backgrounds signaling public-sector affinity or grit — economics, political science, business, or government majors; collegiate athletics; campaign or political-office activity

Ideal Candidate Profiles

For reference only — do not source these specific profiles.Sergio O'Dell — LinkedIn URL not captured on the page (LinkedIn link present but no href in the copied HTML); headline and location not shown. Listed under "Ideal Candidates — DO NOT CONTACT."