ElevenLabs VP warns sales candidates
A vice-president of sales at ElevenLabs publicly warned applicants to expect 20x quotas and long hours, telling candidates who want balance not to join the company, according to The Next Web. The statement frames hiring expectations explicitly in terms of high-intensity performance targets at the $11 billion voice-AI startup. (thenextweb.com)
An ElevenLabs sales executive said candidates should expect punishing quotas and long hours before they accept an offer. (thenextweb.com) Carles Reina, ElevenLabs’ vice president of sales and an early employee, said on the Twenty Minute Venture Capital podcast that he tells every hire the company will be “extremely difficult” and require “full commitment.” The episode was published on April 11, 2026. (podcasts.apple.com) In a separate Twenty Minute Venture Capital episode published on February 14, 2026, Reina described the quota math in blunt terms: a salesperson paid $100,000 in base salary is expected to carry a $2 million quota. He said most reps hit target and that missing quota means “you’re out.” (podcasts.apple.com) ElevenLabs is not a small startup making a niche tool. The company said on February 4, 2026 that it raised $500 million in a Series D round at an $11 billion valuation after finishing 2025 with more than $330 million in annual recurring revenue. (elevenlabs.io) That growth has turned voice artificial intelligence into a major enterprise software market. ElevenLabs says customers including Deutsche Telekom, Square, Revolut, and the Ukrainian government use its tools for customer support, training, commerce, and public services. (elevenlabs.io) Reina said he is still expanding the team despite the warning. Business Insider, in a report carried by Yahoo Finance, said he plans to double his sales organization this year and uses the warning to screen out candidates who want more predictable hours. (finance.yahoo.com) The company is hiring broadly beyond sales. ElevenLabs’ careers page says it has roles open across more than 45 countries, and its jobs board listed dozens of openings this week. (elevenlabs.io) Reina has framed the approach as a deliberate operating model, not an offhand remark. The February podcast episode was titled around the company’s “20x sales comp plan,” and a related video summary described monthly performance reviews and public callouts for underperformance. (thetwentyminutevc.com, youtube.com) The remarks land as artificial intelligence startups are under pressure to convert fast growth into durable revenue. ElevenLabs’ own funding announcement said investors including Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, and Iconiq backed the latest round, putting more weight on execution inside teams like sales. (techcrunch.com, elevenlabs.io) For applicants, the message from ElevenLabs’ sales chief was unusually direct: the company is hiring, but only for people willing to accept a quota set at 20 times base pay and a job he says comes with a “huge amount of hours.” (thenextweb.com, finance.yahoo.com)
