Top 5 Criteria for Hiring Your First Account Manager in a Growing Startup

Nissim Ohayon
Aug 21
2 min read

Hiring your first Account Manager (AM) is a critical step for any startup that’s starting to scale. Done right, the AM role ensures customers are onboarded successfully, nurtured, and expanded into long-term revenue streams. Done wrong, it creates gaps between client expectations and delivery. Here are the top criteria to consider:

1. Timing: Are you ready?

Bring in an AM when your customer base requires consistent relationship management beyond what founders or sales leaders can provide.
If you’re still in founder-led sales with only a handful of clients, it’s too early. If you’re juggling multiple accounts and can’t keep up with onboarding, support, and upsell opportunities, the time is right.

2. Role Design: Who defines it?

Don’t expect your first AM to figure out the job from scratch unless you’re hiring a senior leader (and before they need to handle actual customers).
If you’re well-funded, bring in someone experienced in setting up AM & Client Success GTM motions.
If managing a lean, mean growing machine, your Head of Sales (or your fractional head of sales or perhaps a founder that's been through this on the commercial side in a previous startup) should define whether the AM role covers onboarding, technical guidance, or pure commercial expansion.

3. Technical vs. Commercial Split

Some SaaS solutions require industry-specific or highly technical knowledge. These may need a specialized Customer Success Manager or Solutions Engineer for onboarding.
In most cases, your AM should focus on commercial growth: expanding account footprint, identifying upsell opportunities, and generating referrals.

4. Industry Knowledge: How critical is it?

If your product serves a highly specialized market (healthcare, fintech, biotech), hiring an AM with direct industry background can save you from having to hire a separate person for Client Success. You can also plan to provide deep training on your industry so that they truly 'get' clients’ world.
For less specialized tools, prioritize relationship skills and commercial acumen over industry expertise.

5. Growth Mindset: Beyond Retention

Retention is table stakes. The real value of an AM is account expansion.
A great AM proactively seeks ways to grow existing accounts. —whether that’s selling into other departments, cross-selling new features, or getting introductions to peer companies.

Bottom line: Your first AM is not just a relationship manager. They’re a bridge between your product, your customer, and your growth engine. Get the timing right, define the role clearly, and hire for a mix of customer empathy and commercial drive.