Business Development Manager

About Tapstitch

Tapstitch is a fast-growing fashion-on-demand platform powering the next generation of apparel brands, creators, agencies, and communities. With premium apparel, global fulfillment, custom branding capabilities, and a technology-first platform, we help brands launch and scale apparel without the inventory risk, upfront investment, or complexity of traditional manufacturing.

As we continue to grow, we're looking for a highly motivated Business Development Manager to help drive net-new customer acquisition and expand Tapstitch's presence across the apparel, creator, agency, brand, and enterprise ecosystem.

Role Overview

This is a hunter-focused business development role for someone who loves opening doors, building relationships, and turning new opportunities into revenue.

Reporting to the Director of Business Development within the sales and marketing org, you will be responsible for identifying, developing, and closing new business for Tapstitch. You'll build relationships with apparel brands, creators, agencies, organizations, and businesses that can generate meaningful and scalable GMV on the platform.

You'll own opportunities from initial prospecting and outreach through relationship development, pitch, negotiation, and close, while partnering closely with Marketing, Customer Success, Onboarding, and other internal teams to ensure a successful transition after the deal is won.

This is an opportunity to join a rapidly growing company and play a direct role in expanding Tapstitch's customer base and developing new areas of growth. This role is best suited for someone who has existing commercial relationships that fit the Tapstitch ICP as well as being comfortable building a pipeline from scratch. You'll be expected to operate with autonomy and will be measured against tangible commercial outcomes.

This is not an account management or customer success role. The primary mandate is net-new customer acquisition.

Responsibilities

New Business Development

- Identify, prospect, and acquire net-new customers for Tapstitch.
- Build and manage a strong pipeline of high-potential accounts across Tapstitch's priority customer segments, including apparel brands, creators, agencies, merchandise companies, organizations, and enterprise partners.
- Conduct proactive outreach through LinkedIn, email, cold outreach, networking, referrals, events, and strategic introductions.
- Develop targeted prospecting strategies for high-value accounts and customer segments.
- Generate qualified meetings, opportunities, and new business that translate into meaningful GMV.
- Own opportunities through the sales cycle, from initial outreach and discovery through proposal, negotiation, and close.
- Qualify opportunities based on revenue/GMV potential, strategic fit, business model, operational feasibility, and likelihood to convert, prioritizing time toward the highest-value opportunities.
- Build strong relationships with key decision-makers and become a trusted resource for prospective customers.

Pipeline & Sales Management

- Maintain a healthy and active pipeline of qualified opportunities.
- Consistently follow up with prospects and move opportunities through the sales funnel.
- Maintain accurate prospect, activity, and opportunity tracking within CRM.
- Provide regular updates on pipeline health, opportunities, expected revenue, and key next steps.
- Develop proposals and presentations tailored to prospective customers' business needs.
- Partner cross-functionally with Marketing, Customer Success, Onboarding, Product, and Operations to support successful launches and customer growth.

Events & Relationship Building

- Represent Tapstitch at industry conferences, trade shows, networking events, and community activations.
- Build relationships with founders, creators, agencies, brands, and other industry stakeholders.
- Turn event conversations and introductions into qualified opportunities and long-term business relationships.
- Support Tapstitch-hosted customer, networking, and industry events.
- Proactively build and leverage your network to create new opportunities for the company.

New Market Opportunities

- Identify promising customer segments and verticals where Tapstitch can expand.
- Test new prospecting approaches, partnerships, and business development channels.
- Surface market feedback and opportunities to leadership based on conversations with prospects and customers.
- Stay current on trends across apparel, ecommerce, the creator economy, corporate merchandise, licensing, sports, education, and other adjacent markets.
- Partner with the Director of Business Development to identify and evaluate promising customer segments and verticals where Tapstitch can expand.
- Test new prospecting approaches, partnerships, and business development channels in alignment with broader BD strategy.

Success Metrics

Success in this role will be measured primarily by:

- Net-new GMV and revenue generated
- Net-new customers activated and closed
- Qualified pipeline generated
- Conversion of qualified opportunities into active customers

Additional leading indicators will include qualified meetings and opportunities created, outbound activity, event-sourced pipeline, CRM discipline, and consistent follow-through.

Ultimately, success means opening doors, closing business, and bringing high-potential customers onto the Tapstitch platform.

Requirements

- 3+ years of experience in business development, sales, partnerships, account acquisition, or a related growth role.

- Demonstrated ability to generate net-new business and build a pipeline from the ground up.
- Comfortable with outbound prospecting and proactive relationship development.
- Experience with LinkedIn outreach, email prospecting, cold outreach, networking, and referrals.
- Strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills.
- Comfortable presenting, pitching, negotiating, and communicating with founders and senior decision-makers.
- Strong commercial judgment and ability to evaluate opportunity size, customer economics, deal structure, and potential barriers to close.
- Highly organized with strong follow-up and pipeline-management discipline.
- Self-starter with an entrepreneurial mindset, sense of urgency, and strong execution skills.
- Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, high-growth environment.
- Experience in apparel, ecommerce, creator economy, SaaS, agencies, promotional products, corporate merchandise, or related industries is a plus.
- Existing relationships within relevant industries are a strong plus.

Benefits

Why Join Tapstitch?

- Join a high-growth company changing how apparel brands are created and scaled.
- Work directly with executive leadership and have a visible impact on company growth.
- Sell a differentiated platform with premium products, global fulfillment, and significant market opportunity.
- Build relationships across fashion, streetwear, ecommerce, creators, agencies, sports, and other growing industries.
- Operate in an entrepreneurial environment where strong performers can take on increasing ownership and responsibility.
- Help shape the future of how brands create, launch, and scale apparel.

If you're a natural hunter who loves building relationships, opening doors, and turning opportunities into business, we'd love to hear from you.