Business Development Associate
Ottawa, Canada | Full-time, on site, with international travel | Competitive base + 10% uncapped commission | Expected first-year earnings: C$160,000–C$290,000
Why This Role
Most sales jobs ask you to push something nobody has heard of. Ours has the opposite problem: when the right people see a demo, about half of them buy. What we need is a magnetic, polished person who loves meeting people and gets those demos on the calendar.
You open the doors. Our president and analysts run the demos. You earn 10% of every deal you bring in, with no cap. Our data products have no capacity limit, so your earnings are limited only by how many relationships you start.
This isn’t a seat on a big sales floor. You’ll be our first dedicated business development hire. Your ideas shape how we sell, your wins show up directly in the company’s growth, and you’ll represent us at the most important IP and licensing conferences in the United States and around the world, in the room with people making multimillion-dollar decisions.
Our clients include law firms, patent owners, licensing companies, investors, and global technology businesses.
What You’ll Do
- Book qualified demos. This is the heart of the job. You research prospects, reach out by email, LinkedIn, phone, and in person, and get decision-makers into a short demo with our team.
- Build real relationships with patent attorneys, licensing executives, and IP investors, starting with patent prosecution firms and the clients they advise.
- Travel to the world’s top IP conferences, including the LES Annual Meeting, IPBC Global, IPBC Europe, LESI meetings, the IP Dealmakers Forum, and the IPO Annual Meeting. You book meetings before you land, work the floor and the receptions, and follow up the same week.
- Be visible where our clients are. You build a strong LinkedIn presence for yourself and FIN IP Group and turn that attention into conversations and demos.
- Help shape our marketing, including email campaigns, conference materials, case studies, and social content.
- Spot the right moment. You watch for new lawsuits, licensing programs, and portfolio deals that signal a prospect needs us now.
- Set up every demo to win and keep our pipeline current, so we know which activities lead to deals.
What Success Looks Like
- Month 1: You build a target list of 200+ prospects and hold at least 4 qualified demos.
- Month 2: You hold at least 8 qualified demos.
- Month 3 and beyond: You hold 12 to 15 qualified demos a month, and about half of them become clients.
- By month 12: You’ve worked the biggest IP conferences in the US and abroad, and you’re the person everyone in the room wants to meet.
How You’ll Be Paid
- A competitive base salary, based on your experience.
- 10% uncapped commission on all revenue you bring in, from your first deal, paid quarterly.
- Expected first-year earnings of C$160,000–C$290,000, with no ceiling for top performers.
- Benefits start after three months.
Who You Are
- People gravitate to you. You’re warm, quick-witted, and genuinely curious. Strangers open up to you in minutes.
- You’re polished. You’re as comfortable at a law-firm reception as on a cold call with a general counsel.
- You love to travel. Airports, new cities, and a conference hall full of strangers sound like a great week.
- You hit goals. In sales, hospitality, events, recruiting, fundraising, or anywhere else, you’ve set or been given a target and beaten it.
- You follow up, persistently and graciously.
- You write excellent English and make every message personal and relevant.
- You know how to get noticed online and have used LinkedIn, social media, or marketing to build an audience or a pipeline.
- You want to learn a specialized field. You don’t need to be a patent or finance expert; we’ll teach you.
- You live in Ottawa and want to be in our office five days a week when you’re not travelling.
- You’re ready to travel internationally. You hold a valid passport and can travel to the United States for business without needing a visa.
Bonus points for experience in sales, business development, or marketing; in or selling to the legal world; or turning conference introductions into lasting relationships.
Why Join FIN IP Group
- Uncapped earnings on products that sell once people see them
- See the world at the IP industry’s most important events, and build a global network that will serve your whole career
- Real impact as our first dedicated business development hire, with a path to lead the function as the team grows
- Mentorship from the top. Learn directly from our president, a patent licensing veteran whose career includes WiLAN, BlackBerry, and Rockstar.
- A great team to come back to: an entrepreneurial, collegial Ottawa office with catered lunches and social events
How to Apply
Apply through LinkedIn. Shortlisted candidates start with a 15-minute phone conversation. This is a relationship job, so we want to hear how you connect.
- We do not use artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants. We will tell every candidate we interview the outcome within 45 days of their last interview. FIN IP Group is an equal opportunity employer, committed to accessibility and inclusion. Accommodations are available on request.
