Head of Business Development (Decibel)

About Decibel

Decibel is a high-performance, fully on-chain trading platform built in collaboration with Aptos Labs and the Decibel Foundation. Designed to match the speed of high performance trading, Decibel offers spot, perpetuals, and yield products through a unified, self-custodial interface. The platform runs on the Aptos blockchain, leveraging its sub-20ms block times and parallel execution to support real-time settlement, cross-margining, and modular vault strategies. Decibel aims to serve as the execution layer for the Aptos global trading engine, empowering traders, developers, and institutions with scalable, composable financial infrastructure.

About Decibel

Decibel is a high-performance, fully on-chain trading platform built in collaboration with Aptos Labs and the Decibel Foundation. Designed to match the speed of high performance trading, Decibel offers spot, perpetuals, and yield products through a unified, self-custodial interface. The platform runs on the Aptos blockchain, leveraging its sub-20ms block times and parallel execution to support real-time settlement, cross-margining, and modular vault strategies. Decibel aims to serve as the execution layer for the Aptos global trading engine, empowering traders, developers, and institutions with scalable, composable financial infrastructure.

Position Overview

The Head of Business Development (Decibel) is a senior leadership role responsible for driving liquidity acquisition, strategic partnerships, TVL growth and VIP trader onboarding for our crypto trading platform. This individual will leverage deep industry connections to secure high-value collaborations with DeFi protocols, institutional traders, liquidity providers, and influencers. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in crypto/DeFi BD, with a proven track record in exchange integrations, yield strategies, and capital raising.

Key Responsibilities

1. Initial Liquidity Onboarding - Day 1

• Ensure that we have $50m of TVL on Day 1 of Decibel’s launch.
• Institutional Liquidity Onboarding:
• Secure $20M-$30M in initial liquidity via partnerships with prop trading firms, liquid VCs, and family offices.
• Establish relationships with high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and Web3 whales.
• Prop Trading & Market Making:
• Negotiate and close deals with top quant funds, funding arbitrate traders, market makers.

2. Influencer & Community-Driven Growth

• KOL & Community Leader Activation:
• Identify, onboard, and empower crypto-native influencers, traders, and thought leaders.
• Develop referral & affiliate programs to incentivize organic promotion.
• Content & Virality:
• Drive platform visibility through podcasts, Twitter Spaces, and panel discussions.
• Collaborate with marketing to leverage influencer endorsements.

3. Institutional & Venture Capital Relations

• VC & Liquid Fund Engagement:
• Foster relationships with crypto-focused VCs, liquid funds, and family offices.
• Structure strategic investment rounds (if applicable).
• Help to gather interest for future token OTC rounds (if applicabel).
• Pitch Development:
• Tailor pitches for different segments (yield farmers, basis traders, degen traders).
• Clearly communicate platform advantages, fee structures, and incentives.

4. Product & Liquidity Feedback Loop

• Whale & Trader Insights:
• Gather feedback from HNWIs, prop traders, and whales to influence product roadmap.
• Ensure key requested features are prioritized by the product team.
• Liquidity Optimization:
• Work with trading teams to design LP incentives, rebates, and market-making strategies.

5. Automation & Scalable BD Workflows

• AI & Agentic Workflows:
• Implement automated lead generation, follow-ups, and CRM tracking.
• Use data-driven insights to optimize outreach and conversion.
• Affiliate & Broker Networks:
• Identify and onboard affiliates, introducing brokers (IBs), and white-label partners.

6. Event & Conference Strategy

• Strategic Networking:
• Represent the company at key industry conferences (Token2049, DevCon, DCENTRAL).
• Organize private meetups and liquidity summits.

Required Experience

• 5+ years in crypto/DeFi business development (exchanges, derivatives, yield strategies).

Proven track record in:

• Liquidity partnerships (market makers, prop shops, LPs).
• DeFi integrations (lending, stablecoins, perps).
• Institutional capital raising (VCs, family offices).

Established network with:

• Traders & Whales (degen communities, CT influencers).
• Funds & VCs (Jump Crypto, Pantera, Polychain, etc.).
• DeFi protocols (Ethena, Pendle, Aave, etc.).

Technical & Market Knowledge

Deep understanding of:

• DeFi primitives (yield strategies, stablecoin arbitrage).
• Derivatives trading (perpetuals, options, basis trading).
• Liquidity dynamics (LP incentives, market-making models).

Personality & Skills

• Hustler Mentality: High agency, thrives in fast-moving environments.
• Negotiator: Strong deal-closing skills with institutional players.
• Networker: Natural at building relationships with traders, funds, and KOLs.
• Data-Driven: Uses CRM & analytics to optimize BD workflows.

Our Benefits

• Insurance premium coverage 
• Flexible vacation time
• Competitive Salary
• Protocol Token Grants

Decibel Foundation is committed to diversity in the workplace, and we’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not hire on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, parental status, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by local, state or federal law. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need.