B2B Sales Manager - Japan

About us

Our mission is to reinvent the way people learn, starting with language. We begin by teaching the next billion people English, Spanish, and French.

English is the global language of business, culture, and communication, and over 1.5 billion people around the world are actively trying to learn right now. Others dream of communicating with the half-billion native Spanish speakers across the globe. The problem is that it's nearly impossible to learn to speak a language without constant access to a speaking partner. Grammar and vocab apps don't really help – you need to actually converse with someone.

Speak is on a journey to fix this. We're creating an AI-powered experience that replicates the flow of a conversation, without needing a human on the other end. The goal is to make it radically more accessible to be able to have conversations in a foreign language and eventually help hundreds of millions of people gain fluency who otherwise wouldn't be able to.

We started on this journey over five years ago and we've still got a long ways to go. We're thoughtfully adding new team members only when we think they can truly play a big role in our mission.

Speak launched first in South Korea where we have quickly grown to become the top grossing education app in the country. We have now delivered this winning product to more than 40 countries globally and are continuing to expand to more markets in the coming months. The company is well funded, and as of December 2024, we've reached a $1B valuation with our Series C round, through key partners like Accel, OpenAI, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, Lachy Groom, Josh Buckley, and more. We’re a team of more than 90 based throughout San Francisco, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, and Ljubljana.

About This Role

Speak is expanding its B2B efforts, and Japan is a core focus for this growth. As our first dedicated Sales Manager in Japan, you’ll play a pivotal role in establishing our B2B presence, helping us engage top Japanese companies, and adapting our approach to fit the market. This role combines high-level strategy, hands-on execution, and foundational relationship-building. You’ll be the go-to person for driving Speak’s B2B growth in Japan, collaborating with cross-functional teams to tailor our solution to Japanese businesses and ensuring we build a scalable and impactful presence.

What you’ll be doing

• Developing and owning a strategy for engaging, securing leads and converting key customers.
• Building a relationship-focused, sales playbook for the Japanese market, adapting insights from other markets while refining for local needs.
• Supporting and managing B2B partnerships, working with internal teams to deliver customized solutions for Japanese customers.
• Acting as the voice of the Japanese customer, providing insights to product and marketing teams to drive improvements and targeted efforts.
• Taking on operational tasks to ensure smooth sales execution, especially as we establish systems and processes for B2B growth.
• Collaborating with teams to develop sales tools (e.g., pitch decks, proposals) customized for Japanese customers.

What we’re looking for

• 5+ of years of experience in Sales with proven experience selling to enterprise customers, ideally within L&D or employee benefits spaces.Comfortable operating in a startup environment without established processes and willing to handle operational tasks.
• Able to analyze market data, adapt strategies, and contribute to sales and operational success.
• Willing to help build sales infrastructure from scratch and take on generalist tasks as necessary.
• Strong understanding of Japan’s business landscape and ability to bridge cultural gaps in communication and practice.
• Fluency in business English; communicating with the global team at Speak on a daily level should not be a blocker to get things done

Why work at Speak

1. Join a fantastic, tight-knit team at the right time: we're growing very quickly, we've most recently raised our Series C from some of the top investors in the valley, and we've achieved product-market fit in our initial markets. You'd join at a magical time when a single person could significantly change the course of the company.
2. Do your life's work with people you’ll love working with: we care strongly about our craft and want every person at Speak to feel like they're growing every day. We believe in the idea that working with people you both enjoy and have respect for makes everything better. We hire thoughtfully and only work with people we admire deeply.
3. Global in nature: We're live in over 40 countries and launching in a number of new markets soon. We have dedicated offices in San Francisco, Ljubljana, Seoul, and Tokyo, and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to users in each of these regions on a regular basis as well as travel.
4. Impact people's lives in a major way: Learning a language is one of the single most life-changing skills one can learn, and right now 99% of people never achieve their goal because the process is broken. We’re helping millions of people achieve their goals and improve their lives.

Speak does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.