Business Development Lead

About Branch

Branch is shaking up the $46B office furniture industry to create work experiences for the 21st century: easy, flexible and smart so you can sit down (or stand) and get to work.

We’re based in NYC and backed by the investors behind household brands and products like Peloton, Feastables, Eight Sleep, Caraway and Venmo. We’re an ambitious group of problem solvers innovating across design, software, health and logistics, and we’re looking for entrepreneurial teammates who like a challenge.

The Opportunity

When we launched Branch in 2019, our original mission was making it easy for teams of all sizes to furnish a corporate office with the speed and cost of a big box store, but the ease, ergonomics and quality of high‑end contract furniture. During COVID, we put that mission on hold to support the millions of new remote workers creating workspaces at home.

Now the world is changing again. Over the past two years, we’ve had a front‑row view as many organizations have returned to the office, with more adopting a hybrid approach. Branch is uniquely positioned to become the partner of choice for companies that want to create inspiring and ergonomic workspaces anywhere their team works, whether remote, hybrid, or in the office full‑time—all without breaking the bank.

We’re already doing it: our office products have achieved rave reviews from startups and landlords to F500 companies and institutions like Google, Shopify, LVMH, SpaceX and MIT. We’ve built Branch Business to eight figures of annual revenue, and it’s time to take it to the next level, driven by partnerships in the commercial real estate ecosystem.

The Role

We’re hiring a Business Development Lead in Chicago to drive revenue growth through commercial real estate brokerage and office designer communities. This is a new role at Branch and a critical one: you’ll be our in‑market lead for building relationships with commercial real estate professionals and turning trusted local networks into repeatable referral engines. You’ll play a key role in how we grow our presence in Chicago, and how we win the trust of the people shaping today’s return‑to‑office landscape.

The ideal candidate thrives in fast‑paced environments, knows how to open doors with a cold email, a warm handshake, or a great breakfast roundtable, and ideally has experience in commercial real estate, office furniture, or proptech. You’re energized by the idea of spending your days out in the field, co‑creating sales kits with the team, tracking broker engagement and running monthly pipeline reviews to keep the flywheel spinning. You’ll build the referral programs, talk tracks, and local playbooks that help Branch turn great conversations into qualified pipeline.

If you’re equal parts relationship builder, go‑getter, and strategic thinker, we’d love to hear from you!

Day‑to‑day

• Engage with the local commercial real estate community, meeting with brokers, designers, and other influencers in the office furniture purchase decision
• Map the local commercial real estate ecosystem and track progress vs. goals in HubSpot (e.g. number of brokers engaged within target brokerages)
• Run daily outreach across multiple channels (ie phone, email, LinkedIn, direct mail etc)
• Activate a quarterly field calendar (breakfasts, events etc)
• Co‑create broker & A&D kits (one‑pagers, case studies) to drive referrals
• Launch and optimize a broker referral program (tiers, talk tracks, incentives, deal registration process)
• Run monthly market pipeline reviews, identifying opportunity areas, risks and action plans
• Co‑create thought leadership activities that drive attendance and build relationships

What we’re looking for

• Proven cold outreach success and experience with in‑person field/event activation
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills
• Excitement to build relationships in person - this is a full time, in‑market position
• Willingness to work outside of the traditional nine‑to‑five, engaging clients over morning coffees and evening dinners, as needed
• Ownership mindset and bias toward action—you’re comfortable rolling up your sleeves in a lean, fast‑paced environment to get things done
• Excels in cross‑functional collaboration and thrives in ambiguity
• “Hunter” personality; persistent and resilient, with a track record of overcoming obstacles to get the job done

Bonus points

• 1‑3+ years in commercial real estate sales or account management (brokerages, A&D or proptech)
• Deep understanding of commercial real estate principles and market dynamics. Fluent in the ‘language’ of commercial real estate.
• Existing Chicago broker or A&D relationships
• Experience in commercial furniture, interiors, or workplace strategy—particularly with buyers involved in design, tenant improvement, or workplace planning
• CRM proficiency: lists, sequences, deal reg discipline
• A love for design, wellness, real estate and the built environment