team: partnerships (fashion brands, commerce, growth)

why this role exists

polopan is building the discovery layer for fashion.

the products already exist.
the brands already exist.
the shoppers already exist.

our job is to connect all three in a way that creates value for everyone involved.

this role exists because partnerships aren’t sales targets.

they’re long-term relationships built on trust, mutual growth, and understanding what makes a brand successful.

we care less about signing the most brands, and more about becoming a partner brands genuinely want to work with.

what you’ll be responsible for

1. bringing great brands onto polopan

identify and build relationships with fashion brands that belong on the platform
understand how each brand thinks about merchandising, growth, and customer acquisition
guide merchants through onboarding and help them launch successfully
be the person founders trust when deciding whether polopan is worth betting on

2. owning merchant success

ensure every partner sees measurable value after joining
proactively identify problems before merchants notice them
collect feedback, close the loop with product, and improve the merchant experience continuously
turn successful merchants into long-term advocates for the platform

3. representing the voice of brands internally

understand why merchants say yes, why they hesitate, and why they leave
translate conversations into product decisions instead of feature requests
help product and engineering prioritize what actually matters to merchants
reduce the distance between what brands need and what we build

4. building the partnership function from zero

design onboarding playbooks that scale
define how we qualify, onboard, educate, and support merchants
experiment with acquisition channels, agency partnerships, and ecosystem relationships
create systems that continue working as the company grows

what we care about (more than numbers)

we don’t measure this role by:
number of cold emails sent
meetings booked
brands signed this week

we measure it by:
how many merchants become genuinely successful
how many brands recommend us to other founders
how much trust exists between polopan and our partners
how often merchants choose to grow with us instead of simply staying with us

sometimes ambitious targets will exist—not to maximize activity, but to help us focus on the partnerships that matter most.

what we’re looking for

you’ll likely resonate if you:
enjoy building relationships that last years, not quarters
are naturally curious about how businesses operate
can simplify complex products into conversations anyone understands
care about solving a merchant’s problem more than closing a deal
listen more than you speak
are comfortable with ambiguity and excited by building something from scratch

experience that helps (not all required):

working with Shopify merchants or ecommerce brands
partnerships, account management, customer success, or founder-led sales
experience in fashion, commerce, marketplaces, or SaaS
comfort working directly with founders and decision makers
strong written and verbal communication
you do not need years of experience.
good judgment, ownership, and genuine curiosity matter more.

what this role is not

not high-volume transactional sales
not a commission-only closing role
not customer support
not a role where success means convincing people to buy something they don’t need
this is a foundational business role.
the relationships you build early will shape the marketplace for years to come.

how success looks (first 90 days)

high-quality fashion brands are consistently joining the platform
our onboarding process becomes predictable and repeatable
merchant feedback directly influences product improvements
our first group of partner brands actively recommends polopan to others
founders spend less time chasing merchants and more time building the product

final note

we’re building this company deliberately.
we believe partnerships are earned, not sold.

if you’re excited by helping great brands grow, enjoy working directly with founders, and want to build a category-defining fashion platform from the beginning, we’d love to talk.