Hiring Account Executives in Europe

Strive build world-class Go-To-Market teams for some of the most disruptive, Venture Capital Backed tech companies, all over the world.

Why is Hiring Account Executives in Europe difficult?

1. Europe Presents a Diverse and Highly Competitive SaaS Hiring Market

Europe’s SaaS market has grown rapidly in recent years, creating strong demand for experienced Account Executives across major technology hubs such as London, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, and Dublin. Businesses are competing not only with local SaaS vendors, but also with US companies expanding internationally. This has made attracting proven commercial talent increasingly challenging across the region.

2. Compensation Expectations Vary Significantly Across Regions

Hiring SaaS Account Executives across Europe requires careful consideration of regional salary expectations, commission structures, and benefits. Compensation can vary substantially between markets, while candidates are also placing greater emphasis on flexibility, equity, and career development. Companies need a clear understanding of local market conditions to remain competitive when hiring internationally.

3. Language Skills and International Experience Are Increasingly Valuable

Many European SaaS businesses are looking for Account Executives who can operate across multiple markets and manage international sales cycles. Candidates with multilingual capabilities and experience selling across EMEA are particularly sought after. As SaaS companies expand internationally, the ability to navigate cultural and regional differences has become a major advantage.

4. Employer Brand and Flexibility Influence Hiring Success

Candidates across Europe are increasingly evaluating company culture, leadership, remote working policies, and long-term growth potential before accepting new opportunities. SaaS vendors with strong employer brands and flexible working environments are often better positioned to attract top commercial talent, particularly in competitive markets where candidates have multiple options available.

5. Hiring Processes Need to Be Fast and Well-Structured

Experienced SaaS Account Executives remain in high demand across Europe and are often progressing through several interview processes simultaneously. Businesses with lengthy hiring cycles or inconsistent communication risk losing candidates to more organised competitors. Companies that succeed in hiring are typically decisive, aligned internally, and able to clearly communicate progression opportunities and business vision throughout the process.

How Strive has helped hire AEs in Europe

Av Time to Hire
200+Roles Filled
6 : 1CV to Hire Ratio
Case Studies Available

After our Series B fundraise, we needed a recruitment partner who truly understood the pace, complexity and standards required to scale a high-performing GTM organisation across both EMEA and the US.

Strive came highly recommended by both our lead investor, HV Capital, and a member of our team who had worked with them previously — and they exceeded expectations from day one.

They quickly became a genuine extension of our Talent function: understanding our high bar for recruiting, challenging us where needed, and consistently delivering candidates who brought the skills, mindset and values we were looking for. Their ability to operate at speed without compromising quality made a huge difference during an intense growth period.

Strive has been a trusted partner throughout this next phase of our journey, and I’d recommend them to any SaaS business looking to scale GTM teams the right way.

Candice Capelle,
Talent Acquisition Lead

Working with Strive has been an absolute pleasure!

Being complete GTM Hiring Specialists, they were able to understand our business and our candidate requirements quickly - giving us confidence that they were the correct external Talent Partner to represent our brand in the market.

We were impressed with not only the quality of candidates submitted to us, but also the thoroughness of the pre-screen information sent with each candidate. We especially liked that they even highlighted ‘red flags’ we might want to investigate - giving us trust that this was a true recruitment partnership.

As a result of the successful relationship, we hit our hiring goals for the period - something we would have struggled to do without them.

Andrew Ermogenous,
GM EMEA

Nearly anyone who has been hiring people with the help of a recruitment firm will have faced the same dilemma: will they put as much or more effort into finding the right candidates for the role I have open as they put into getting me as a client?

This is where the team at Strive truly stand out.

Yes, they work hard to earn your business which is great. But they work even harder to get you the right candidates, not just once as a lucky shot but consistently.

And it’s not down to a single individual in the Strive team, it’s the culture in their team which makes their approach and handling of candidates and customers alike so effective, professional and pleasant.

Since we started our engagement with Strive, it has been easy on me to cut off calls from other recruiters (sorry guys), the partnership we have with Strive is too valuable to us and brings us the results that we are looking for.

We always ask our candidates for their opinion on the interaction with the recruiter. And all of them give Strive an unconditional thumbs-up which is an important metric for employer reputation I believe.

Strive, keep on doing the great work you’re doing for us with your team - highly appreciate it.

Wim Van Campen,
VP of Sales, EMEA

"The team at Strive were introduced by our VC partner, Dawn Capital, to help us build out our EMEA go-to-market team.

Right from the off set, the team were pro-active and had a very thorough approach to understanding our company value proposition and culture. They were able tell the CluedIn story in a way that really engaged and prepared the candidates well for our interview process. Their ability to deliver in a timely manner was vital for us.

They were able identify and engage with a niche talent pool within the data space, which enabled us to be very selective with the individuals we hired. Over and above their candidate quality, something I found invaluable was their detailed market reports, this gave us a greater understanding of the talent pool and an in-depth insight into how we were perceived in the marketplace.

I would have no reservations about recommending the team at Strive if you are looking to build your go-to-market teams."

Jeppe Grue,
Chief Operating Officer

Adam Richardson

Founder and CEO

Meet Adam. Adam is our Founder and CEO at Strive, running all global operations.

Iwan Robertson

Global Business Development Manager

Meet Iwan. Iwan is a Global Business Development Manager and has worked at Strive for two years.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What types of roles do you recruit for?

Strive build Go-To-Market teams for VC backed tech companies - all over the world.

Just so we're speaking the same language here, we mean Marketing, Sales and Customer Success!

Working with the likes of Sequoia, Dawn Capital, Battery Ventures, HV Capital, HG Capital and Insight Partners, to name a few, Strive has helped scale their portfolio of B2B SaaS companies, placing key hires within the Go-To-Market Function.

Whilst we cover the whole of GTM, the most common roles we recruit for are:

Sales Leaders
Customer Success Leaders
Marketing Leaders
Sales / Business Development Representatives (BDRs / SDRs)
Account Executives (AEs)
Account Managers (AMs)
Customer Success Managers (CSMs)
Sales Engineers (SE) / Pre-Sales Engineers

2. How do you find and vet candidates?

We use a combination of targeted headhunting, our extensive talent network, and AI-powered sourcing to find high-quality candidates. Every candidate goes through a rigorous vetting process, including:

Resume & background screening
Behavioral & competency-based interviews
Sales performance evaluation (quota attainment, deal sizes, etc.)
Culture and company fit assessment

3. How long does it take to fill a role?

On average, we fill roles within 4 - 8 weeks, depending on the seniority and complexity of the position.

4. What industries do you specialize in?

Whilst we can be agnostic when it comes to your Tech, typical sectors we support are:

Cybersecurity
AI & Machine Learning
DevOps
Data
BizApps
Martech / Adtech
FinTech

5. What’s your pricing model?

We offer flexible pricing structures, including:

Contingency Recruiting – Pay on successful hire.
Retained Search – Part upfront payment, followed by a success fee.
Embedded Talent Solutions – Monthly fixed cost, unlimited hires

See more about our Solutions, here!

6. Do you offer guarantees on placements?

Yes! We provide a replacement guarantee if a hired candidate leaves within the agreed-upon time frame. Our goal is to ensure you find the right long-term fit.