Director - Capital, Partnerships & Business Development

Craftels | India · South goa district, India

We are building an unconventional portfolio across destination hospitality, breweries, land and real estate, sustainability, agriculture, creative production, media and public-interest initiatives.

Some projects need capital. Others need customers, strategic partners, buyers, brands, lenders or operators.

Your job is to find the right people, reach them, excite them and move conversations towards closure.

You will build your career in South Goa—working on ambitious businesses close to nature, culture and a growing community of entrepreneurs and creators.

You will work inside the Founder’s Office, closely with the Founder, Head of Founder’s Office and Finance Controller.

You must understand each project well enough to answer:

• What are we building, and why should anyone care?
• Who could make money or gain strategic value by participating?
• Who should we approach, and how?
• What would make them say yes?
• What is preventing the deal from closing?

Then you will make those conversations happen.

This role combines business development, capital raising, sales, partnerships, dealmaking and entrepreneurial problem-solving. You will receive direct mentorship and exposure to strategy, finance, negotiation, operations and venture building.

• Identify investors, lenders, family offices, HNIs and strategic investors.
• Build a targeted pipeline for each project rather than sending generic mass messages.
• Initiate conversations through calls, email, LinkedIn, events, referrals and unconventional outreach.
• Qualify prospects before involving the Founder.
• Coordinate pitch decks, financial models, data rooms, site visits and due diligence.
• Follow every serious conversation until it closes or receives a clear rejection.
• Maintain accurate records of conversations, commitments and next steps.

• Identify brands, operators, landowners, developers, institutions and strategic collaborators.
• Develop propositions that create measurable value for both sides.
• Generate leads for hospitality, property, creative and other portfolio businesses.
• Build relationships that unlock capital, customers, capabilities or market access.
• Negotiate commercial terms within an approved framework.
• Turn promising conversations into structured opportunities.

• Understand the business model, economics, risks and competitive advantage of every project you represent.
• Explain complex opportunities simply and persuasively.
• Adapt your pitch for investors, lenders, buyers, brands and operating partners.
• Answer questions confidently without exaggerating or inventing numbers.
• Know when to push, listen, redesign an offer or walk away.
• Bring the Founder into a conversation only when it materially improves the probability of closure.

• Research markets, comparable businesses, investors and partnership models.
• Work with Finance to test project economics and develop credible structures.
• Diagnose why deals are not moving and recommend changes to pricing, positioning or terms.
• Track conversion rates, sales cycles, objections and reasons for rejection.
• Turn market conversations into useful intelligence for business decisions.

You will learn by working on real projects and real commercial conversations.

You will receive:

• Direct exposure to the Founder and senior decision-makers.
• Practical mentorship in fundraising, sales, negotiation and financial thinking.
• Regular feedback on outreach, pitches, pipeline and execution.
• Access to high-stakes commercial discussions.
• A front-row view of how ventures are conceived, financed, launched and scaled.

Demonstrate curiosity and ownership, and your exposure will extend far beyond a narrow job description.

You will be measured on:

• Qualified opportunities created.
• Capital and revenue actually received.
• Strategic partnerships completed.
• Pipeline quality and conversion.
• Speed and discipline of follow-up.
• Accuracy of communication and documentation.
• Founder time saved through proper qualification.
• Commercial intelligence generated from the market.

Meetings, messages and introductions are activity—not outcomes.

We are looking for someone who:

• Is ambitious, commercially sharp and hungry to build an extraordinary career.
• Can sell without sounding desperate, manipulative or scripted.
• Enjoys speaking with founders, investors and senior decision-makers.
• Is comfortable starting conversations from zero.
• Understands margins, cash flow, returns and basic financial modelling.
• Can quickly identify what makes a business commercially attractive.
• Writes and speaks clearly.
• Follows up relentlessly without becoming irritating.
• Operates well with incomplete information and limited supervision.
• Uses AI and research tools intelligently.
• Wants responsibility earlier than a conventional career normally offers.
• Is excited to live and work in Goa while building serious businesses.

Exceptional early-career candidates are welcome. Capability, hunger and evidence of action matter more than age, degree or years spent in an office.

You could come from enterprise sales, startups, a Founder’s Office, fundraising, investment banking, venture capital, hospitality, real estate, wealth management, strategic partnerships, transaction advisory, implementation-focused consulting—or your own failed or successful venture.

A prestigious MBA, conventional career path, particular accent or elite college is not required. Evidence that you can learn, persuade, sell and execute is required.

High performers may progress into:

• Founder’s Office leadership.
• Project-linked participation in exceptional cases.

Progression will depend on what you build, close and take responsibility for—not simply time served.

• You expect someone else to provide all your leads.
• You enjoy preparing decks but avoid asking for the deal.
• You disappear after one follow-up.
• You measure success through meetings rather than closures.
• You need detailed instructions for every action.
• You exaggerate returns or conceal risks.
• You dislike maintaining records and CRM discipline.
• You want a prestigious title without measurable accountability.
• You are attracted to Goa only for the lifestyle.

• Fixed compensation: Approximately ₹12–18 LPA, depending on capability.
• Performance incentives: Linked to capital received, revenue collected and strategic transactions completed.
• Long-term opportunity: High performers can lead capital, partnerships or a portfolio venture and may earn project-linked participation.
• Mentorship: Direct access to experienced business leaders and real commercial decisions.

Rewards are based on real value creation—not introductions, promises or vanity pipeline numbers.

This is a full-time, primarily on-site role in South Goa, with travel where deals require it. It is not a remote lead-generation position.

You will visit projects, understand what is being built and represent opportunities you genuinely understand.

South Goa offers a rare combination: serious work, an entrepreneurial and creative ecosystem, and the space to think clearly. Build partnerships and raise capital during the day; end it near the sea, hills, food, art and culture that make the region distinctive.

Do not send a generic cover letter.

Send:

• Your résumé or LinkedIn profile.
• A two-to-three-minute video introducing yourself and pitching something you believe in.
• A one-page answer:

“You have been asked to generate ₹5 crore of capital for an unconventional destination hospitality project. You have no existing investor list. What exactly would you do during your first 30 days?”

• One example of something difficult you sold, negotiated, raised, initiated or closed. If you have not closed a formal deal, show us something you started from nothing and pushed into reality.
• Your current and expected compensation, willingness to work from South Goa, and why the location appeals to you.

We are not searching for the person with the safest résumé.