Business Development Partner, GTM Technology Network, Japan

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz (aka a16z) is a venture capital firm that backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology. We are stage agnostic. We invest in seed to venture to growth-stage technology companies, across AI, bio + healthcare, consumer, enterprise, fintech, frontier, games, and companies building toward American dynamism. a16z has $100B+ under management across multiple funds.

We’ve established a team that is defined by respect for the entrepreneur and the company-building process; we know what it’s like to be in the founder’s shoes. We’ve invested in companies like Anduril, Airbnb, Coinbase, Cursor, Databricks, Deel, Figma, GitHub, Roblox, SpaceX, and Stripe. Our team is at the forefront of new technology, helping founders and their companies impact and change the world.

The Role 

As the Business Development Partner, Technology, on our GTM Technology Network at a16z, you will build and cultivate direct, high-trust relationships with technical and product leadership (VP/Head of Engineering, Head of AI, CPO/VP Product, etc) at leading digital native and growth technology organizations, including top infrastructure, consumer technology, SaaS, and other important technology sectors. 

In this role, you will play a pivotal role in building credible, trusted relationships with senior leaders by understanding and delivering a meaningful value exchange between a16z and the network. This includes providing access to relevant insights, thought leadership, peer connections, and exposure to innovative companies across our ecosystem. By establishing a16z as a valuable and trusted partner, you will enable high-quality connections with our portfolio companies that support company building and go-to-market efforts over time.

As part of the a16z Go-to-Market team, you will bring your expertise, rolodex, and knowledge of the technology industry market dynamics. You will have an opportunity to advise a16z portfolio companies on how to navigate, partner with, and sell to these organizations. By doing this you will play a crucial role in helping accelerate their go-to-market efforts and time to revenue.

This role requires an in-office presence 3-4 days a week in our Toyko, Japan office. 

To join our team, you should be excited to: 

• Build and cultivate strategic, positive relationships for the firm with a network of technology decision makers, understanding their business challenges and connecting them to portfolio companies and partners to help them solve these challenges 
• Develop and continuously refine an approach to building access and trust with key technical leaders, aligned to portfolio company GTM priorities
• Lead efforts to build these key relationships through creative engagements. This may include hosting dinners, receptions, and industry-focused events to bring together our corporate network, firm, and portfolio
• Develop long-term relationships with portfolio companies and connect a16z portfolio companies to the technology network through introductions, meetings, corporate briefings, events, and conferences 
• Collaborate cross-functionally with internal teams to align on business development initiatives and other firm-wide goals
• Stay abreast of a16z investment areas, industry trends, portfolio investments, and leverage insights to drive business opportunities 

Minimum Qualifications 

• 15+ years in roles that required building and maintaining relationships with senior technical leaders in the digital native and growth tech companies. This can include business development, sales, ecosystem or related role in a technology company
• Experience working in or closely with digital native and growth tech companies (infrastructure, AI, data, or SaaS), with exposure to engineering or product leadership
• Strong understanding of how technology buying decisions are made (top-down and bottom-up), with a track record of building trusted, enduring relationships
• Working knowledge of modern technology stacks (infrastructure, cloud, AI, data, security) and applications.
• Exceptional communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills, with a focus on detail and executive presence 
• Ability to discern industry needs and trends, effectively communicating insights to investment partners 
• Established executive relationships within the technology sector, with a strong ability to independently manage those relationships 
• Proven ability to self-start, operate autonomously, manage multiple priorities, independently contribute, ability to deal with ambiguity, and execute consistently in a dynamic environment 
• Low ego, high empathy, and the capacity to collaborate effectively with diverse teams
• You are an analytical thinker, able to seek and understand data to build a strategy around and execute against