Jake Nielson

Commercial Executive | Building Revenue Engines from Zero | Qualtrics · ClickUp · Ember

Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area

About

My career has been defined by finding the best founders leading the best companies who chase the biggest problems and backing them relentlessly. That's what took me to Qualtrics during its run from $1B to a $21B IPO, to ClickUp as a founding executive of their BD function at $1B on the way to a $4B Series C, and to Ember where I've spent four years building the commercial function for an entirely new asset class in real estate. I join companies to drive revenue and scale. New markets, new deals, new categories — I've built commercial engines from zero and scaled them across SaaS and proptech, always with one goal: close deals that move the business. I'm passionate about fly fishing, skiing, and dirt biking in Utah. Best state in the country!

Experience

  • Ember ()
    • Chief Business Officer
      Feb 2025 - Present · 1 yr 6 mos

      Built and leads Ember's commercial function from zero, establishing the full sales motion from market identification and developer outreach to deal structuring and close. Target and close multi-year deals with large-scale resort developers and capital partners, creating a repeatable model that has meaningfully scaled revenue from zero and grown enterprise value. Own the operating infrastructure that drives performance across the entire portfolio.

    • SVP, Growth
      Jul 2022 - Apr 2025 · 2 yrs 10 mos

      Joined Ember as an early commercial leader and built the revenue function from zero — originating the company's first resort developer partnerships, establishing outbound pipeline infrastructure, and scaling contracted inventory across the Mountain West. Developed the BD playbook, CRM-based pipeline systems, and partner onboarding frameworks that now underpin Ember's growth model.

  • VP, Business Development at ClickUp
    Jul 2021 - Aug 2022 · 1 yr 2 mos

    Founding member of ClickUp's Business Development function, joining at a $1B valuation and contributing to the commercial growth that supported a $4B Series C. Built ClickUp's first GTM partner programs — Solution, Affiliate, and Startups — generating $5M+ in partner-influenced revenue and establishing the distribution infrastructure for both product-led and sales-assisted growth motions.

  • Director, Corporate Strategy / Business Development at Qualtrics
    2016 - 2021 · 5 yrs

    Built and scaled Qualtrics' global partner-led GTM engine during the company's hypergrowth from $1B valuation to its $21B IPO — structuring enterprise alliance motions that drove $20M+ in incremental ARR and expanded distribution through the world's most influential professional services firms. Created new revenue verticals in the Contact Center ecosystem by embedding Qualtrics XM platform SKUs directly into leading technology providers, accelerating enterprise adoption across high-growth experience and service markets. Architected a partner-delivered services model that unlocked operating leverage at scale — shifting 80%+ of global implementations to certified partners while improving professional services profitability by 15%+. Expanded international GTM execution through a LATAM shared delivery infrastructure, increasing capacity, removing delivery constraints, and enabling rapid global scaling in a capital-efficient model.

  • Management Consultant at PwC
    2014 - 2016 · 2 yrs

    Served in PwC's Financial Effectiveness practice, partnering with CFOs and finance organizations on large-scale transformation engagements. Contributed to a Hyperion Planning implementation for Verizon Wireless, an end-to-end financial blueprint for a major power and utilities company, and a mortgage lookback and remediation project for US Bank.

  • Financial Analyst Internship at Goldman Sachs
    2013 - 2013 · Less than a year

    Internship in Goldman Sachs' Wealth Management division, supporting portfolio analysis and client outreach strategy.