Sales And Marketing Intern

Role: Sales & Marketing Intern (Business Development & Growth)

Company: Purple Business

Stage: Early-stage AI startup (Pre-Launch)

Compensation: Performance-based incentives (No fixed stipend)

Location: Remote / Flexible

About Purple Business

Purple Business is an AI-powered business growth platform designed to help restaurants, cafes, local businesses, and small to medium enterprises grow smarter and faster. Our vision is to make powerful marketing, customer acquisition, business intelligence, branding, and growth strategies accessible to every business through AI. We are in the pre-product launch stage, building our platform while actively exploring the market, understanding customer needs, establishing relationships, and developing our go-to-market strategy.

We are seeking ambitious, proactive, and entrepreneurial Sales & Marketing Interns to gain hands-on experience in building the sales and growth engine of an AI startup from the ground up. This role offers the opportunity to experiment with sales strategies, engage with real businesses, understand market challenges, and contribute directly to customer acquisition.

Key Responsibilities

• Outbound Sales & Business Development

• Identify and research potential customers: restaurants, cafes, retail stores, service providers, and other small businesses.

• Conduct consistent outbound prospecting through cold emails, LinkedIn outreach, phone calls, Instagram DMs, and other channels.

• Build and maintain a pipeline of potential customers.

• Connect with business owners, founders, managers, and decision-makers to understand their marketing and growth challenges.

• Develop personalized outreach messages, cold-email sequences, follow-ups, and sales pitches.

• Schedule discovery calls, product demonstrations, and introductory meetings.

• Follow up systematically with prospects to convert qualified opportunities into pilot and paying customers.

• Sales Strategy & Sales Cycle Development

• Understand and help develop the complete B2B sales cycle: prospecting, lead qualification, discovery, pitching, objection handling, negotiation, closing, and follow-up.

• Experiment with different outreach approaches, sales scripts, value propositions, and customer segments.

• Develop compelling sales pitches tailored to different business types and their challenges.

• Identify common customer objections and develop strategies to address them.

• Help establish repeatable sales processes, lead qualification frameworks, CRM workflows, and follow-up systems.

• Monitor key sales metrics: outreach volume, response rates, qualified leads, booked meetings, conversion rates, and pipeline progress.

• Inbound Marketing & Social Media Growth

• Contribute to Purple Business's inbound marketing strategy to attract customers organically.

• Develop and execute social media growth strategies across Instagram, LinkedIn, and other relevant platforms.

• Brainstorm content ideas, campaigns, reels, carousels, and business-focused educational content.

• Identify opportunities to generate inbound leads through content marketing, communities, referrals, partnerships, and organic discovery.

• Collaborate with visual design and motion design teams to develop marketing creatives and advertisements.

• Explore SEO, lead magnets, landing pages, and other inbound lead generation strategies.

• Product Understanding & Market Research

• Develop a strong understanding of Purple Business, its vision, capabilities, target customers, and competitive advantages.

• Research how restaurants and small businesses currently handle marketing, customer acquisition, branding, advertising, and business growth.

• Identify customer pain points, unmet needs, and opportunities.

• Gather feedback directly from business owners and share actionable insights with the founding and product teams.

• Analyze competitors, market trends, pricing models, and emerging AI-powered business solutions.

• Help validate product positioning, pricing assumptions, and potential use cases.

• Pre-Launch Growth & Go-to-Market Execution

• Help Purple Business build its initial customer pipeline before product launch.

• Identify early adopters for discovery interviews, product feedback sessions, and pilot programs.

• Experiment with different positioning statements, customer acquisition channels, and go-to-market approaches.

• Assist in developing the company's initial marketing and sales playbook.

• Create strategies to convert early interest into product trials, pilot partnerships, and paying customers.

• Work directly with the founding team to identify effective strategies and refine the growth strategy.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with confidence in approaching business owners and decision-makers.
• Genuine interest in sales, marketing, entrepreneurship, business development, and startup growth.
• Comfortable with cold outreach, prospecting, follow-ups, and initiating conversations.
• Understanding of basic sales concepts: lead generation, sales funnels, qualification, conversion, and customer acquisition.
• Interest in both outbound sales and inbound marketing strategies.
• Familiarity with social media platforms, digital marketing trends, and content-driven growth.
• Ability to understand a product, identify its value proposition, and explain it convincingly.
• Willingness to research industries, analyze competitors, and experiment with customer acquisition approaches.
• Ability to track leads, manage outreach records, and organize follow-ups using spreadsheets or CRM tools.
• A proactive, independent, and results-oriented approach to work.
• Comfortable working in an early-stage startup environment where strategies, product offerings, and priorities may evolve.
• Previous sales experience is not mandatory. Initiative, curiosity, communication ability, and willingness to learn are valued over academic qualifications.

Who We're Looking For

• Enjoy talking to people, building relationships, and persuading others through genuine value.
• Not afraid of cold calling, cold emailing, or handling rejection.
• Can independently find business opportunities rather than waiting for instructions.
• Think creatively about how to attract, engage, and convert potential customers.
• Curious about why businesses succeed, why customers buy, and how sales strategies work.
• Have an experimental mindset and are comfortable testing different sales and marketing approaches.
• Want to understand how a startup acquires its first customers.
• Enthusiastic about AI, business growth, marketing, and entrepreneurship.
• Want to work closely with startup founders and contribute meaningfully during the earliest stages of building a company.

Compensation & Performance-Based Incentives

This internship does not offer a fixed stipend or guaranteed earnings. Purple Business will offer performance-based financial incentives linked to successful business development and customer acquisition outcomes. Eligible achievements may include:

• Successfully acquiring new paying customers.
• Converting qualified business prospects into confirmed commercial deals.
• Securing eligible paid pilot engagements or partnerships.
• Achieving predefined sales and customer acquisition milestones.

The incentive structure, qualifying conditions, payment timelines, and eligibility requirements will be communicated in writing before commencement. As Purple Business is in its pre-launch stage, commercial conversion opportunities may initially be limited. No minimum earnings or guaranteed conversion opportunities are promised.

What You'll Gain

• Direct Founder Collaboration: Work closely with the founding team on sales, marketing, product positioning, and business growth challenges.
• Real-World Sales Experience: Learn to approach customers, conduct discovery calls, handle objections, build pipelines, and develop sales strategies.
• Startup Building Experience: Experience the journey of taking an AI product from pre-launch to its first customers.
• Marketing & GTM Exposure: Gain practical knowledge of outbound prospecting, inbound marketing, customer acquisition, positioning, and go-to-market execution.
• AI & Business Knowledge: Understand how AI-powered solutions can help businesses improve their marketing and growth.
• Performance-Based Earning Opportunities: Become eligible for incentives based on agreed structure and qualifying outcomes.
• Professional Portfolio: Build documented experience in customer research, campaign execution, lead generation, and sales performance.
• Mentorship & Career Development: Receive feedback on communication, sales strategy, marketing, business thinking, and professional development.