Manager, Business Development

About Wellspring

Wellspring is the leading provider of software tools to manage R&D and technology commercialization. Our suite of web-based software manages the transformation of scientific discoveries into real world products. We work with clients to accelerate the pace of innovation at premier research universities, R&D groups at Fortune 500 companies, and leading medical institutions. Wellspring also operates Flintbox®, the largest online marketplace for inventions emerging from research labs around the world.

If you have a passion for software and technology in general, enjoy and thrive in an agile, fast-moving, ever-changing startup environment, welcome and take on challenges of all shapes and sizes, have excellent interpersonal skill and sense of humor and enjoy rolling up your sleeves and jumping in, then read on! 

This role is U.S. based and is remote work. Applicants MUST be authorized to work in the U.S.

Role Summary

The Manager of Business Development will lead Wellspring’s BDR function with a dual mandate: drive high-quality pipeline creation and own the systems, data, and processes that power scalable outbound and inbound conversion.

This role goes beyond traditional BDR leadership — it requires a hands-on operator who can optimize data infrastructure, implement new tooling (AI + outbound systems), and enforce pipeline accountability across Sales and Marketing.

Core Responsibilities

1. BDR Team Leadership & Performance

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Business Development Representatives (BDRs) to achieve pipeline and SQL targets 

• Drive accountability on daily/weekly activity execution (calls, emails, LinkedIn, sequencing) 

• Act as a player-coach, stepping into discovery, messaging, and deal qualification when needed 

• Remove roadblocks and continuously improve team performance through coaching and process refinement 

2. Pipeline Creation & Multi-Threaded Outbound

• Own outbound pipeline generation across defined ICP accounts using a structured, multi-threaded approach 

• Guide BDRs in identifying key personas (champion, economic buyer, influencers) and executing targeted outreach 

• Partner with AEs on discovery calls and early-stage qualification 

• Ensure strong follow-up and conversion of inbound leads (events, webinars, trials, campaigns) 

3. Pipeline Accountability & Opportunity Progression

• Own visibility into meeting-to-opportunity conversion and pipeline integrity 

• Audit meetings and opportunities to ensure they are properly qualified and advanced 

• Proactively challenge Sales leaders and AEs on stalled or unconverted opportunities 

• Identify gaps in pipeline progression and drive corrective action 

• Serve as a key enforcer of pipeline discipline across Marketing → BDR → Sales handoffs 

4. Data Management & Contact Strategy Optimization

• Lead initiatives to clean, segment, and optimize contact data (~700K contacts across systems)  

• Define and enforce rules for: 

• Marketing vs. non-marketing contacts 

• Persona assignment and validation 

• Contact activation/deactivation to optimize cost (e.g., HubSpot tiers) 

• Identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary spend through better data governance 

• Partner with RevOps/Marketing to improve data quality, enrichment, and usability 

5. Systems & Tooling Ownership (Pos