Sales Development Representative (Internship)

Ameelio has quickly established itself as the future of prison communication and virtual learning. We were recently chosen as one of Fast Company’s 2021 World-Changing Ideas and received a New York Times Good Tech Award.

*Please note we are an early stage startup. The ideal candidate is comfortable with ambiguity and strategy, bringing a sense of flexibility and urgency to the role as the organization evolves.*

In brief

Ameelio Connect is the nation’s first free prison video conferencing platform currently operating in Iowa, Colorado and Maine. We’re seeking a sales development representative who can leverage their expertise to effectively communicate our value proposition to corrections agencies across the country through outbound and inbound sales. You’ll work closely with Ameelio’s growing operations team to ensure the successful adoption of Ameelio’s services and onboarding of new facilities, families, and DOC stakeholders.

What we're looking for:

• 1+ years of professional experience in a related role/environment.
• Responsibilities include:
  • Working closely with the Senior Sales Manger, and completing all allocated tasks.
  • Conducting research, or gathering information through surveys or by speaking to clients and staff.
  • Attending and participating in meetings, workshops, events, and exhibitions.
  • Liaising with clients alongside Senior Sales Manger.
  • Researching potential clients, connecting with and educating prospects alongside manager.
  • Updating documents and sales records.
  • Reviewing sales performance against sales targets.
  • Observing and assisting with sales processes.
  • Identifying potential weaknesses and offering improvement suggestions.
  • Assisting manager with negotiations.
  • Keeping a log of everything learned and delivering presentations to staff and other stakeholders.
  • Supporting Program Directors in guiding qualified prospects through the sales funnel with the ultimate goal of signing on new partners.
  • Providing user support where necessary and ensuring Ameelio’s customer success standards are met.
  • Participating in user exploration and user testing for a comprehensive understanding of pain points and gaps in current technology.

Why you'll love us:

• A welcoming and collaborative environment with people who are dedicating their lives to fighting the commercialization of incarceration.
• Experience working closely with users who rely on our products to stay in touch with their loved ones.
• An environment for rapid experimentation and ownership.
• Ownership of systems and features that deliver society-changing impact.
• Contributing to the foundation and culture of a young and growing organization.
• Experience working cross-functionally and exposure to a variety of business functions.
• An incredibly high bar for the quality of your work.
• Flexible and remote working environment.
• Compensation: $3,000 / month (3 months total)

About Ameelio

Ameelio is a nonprofit technology company that builds free technology to accelerate the creation of a more humane and rehabilitative justice system. We were recently chosen as one of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas. Our tools will enable 27 million Americans to communicate with their incarcerated loved ones for free, organizations to scale their social services, and educators to empower incarcerated people through virtual learning. We are a technological bridge that reconnects incarcerated people with their families and vital resources — for free. Our tools will help improve post-release outcomes, lower recidivism rates, and help America safely reduce the size of its prison populations.

We’re backed by Schmidt Futures, Mozilla Foundation, the Robin Hood Foundation, Google.org, and Fast Forward accelerator. Our funders also include Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and Square, and Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and the founder of Khosla Ventures. Our work has been covered by Forbes, TechCrunch, Fast Company, The Washington Post, Business Insider, and others.

Company History

Ameelio was an all-volunteer effort until late-2020. Since, we've built an A-team that brings together technical and criminal justice expertise, participated in Mozilla's Spring MVP Lab (won 1st place), Fast Forward Accelerator, Robin Hood BRL program, and Visible Connect's Accelerator. We’re backed by Schmidt Futures, Mozilla Foundation, the Robin Hood Foundation, Google.org, and Fast Forward accelerator. Our funders also include Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and Square, and Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and the founder of Khosla Ventures.

• Website: www.ameelio.org
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/teamameelio

External References:

• Bloomberg: Nonprofit aims to disrupt pricey prison telecom industry
• Fast Company: This app is making it free for incarcerated people to make video calls
• Forbes: The Prison Communications Nonprofit Backed By Twitter’s Jack Dorsey And Former Google Chief Eric Schmidt
• Washington Post: Let inmates talk to their families for free
• Tech Crunch: Ameelio wants to take on for-profit, prison-calling rackets after starting with free letters to inmates
• Fast Company: This app bypasses the absurdly high cost of making phone calls to prison by converting texts to snail mail

Problem We're Solving

The $1.4 billion prison communications industry generates obscene profits by charging extortionate prices to the incarcerated and their loved ones. Families spend up to $500 a month to stay connected to their loved ones inside. A 15-minute phone call runs as steep as $25. Our work has never been more important. Because of COVID, prisons have shut down all in-person visitation. Low-income families have few options to communicate with loved ones.

Exclusive contracts leave prison telecommunications companies unchecked by competition: former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn called the industry “the clearest, most glaring type of market failure I’ve ever seen as a regulator”.

Poverty and incarceration are viciously tied: over 50% of incarcerated people had no income eight years preceding their arrest. For-profit prison companies entrench this cycle. One in three families with incarcerated loved ones is forced into debt ( $13,000, on average) by the cost of maintaining contact.

This is a social and moral disaster.

The Solution

A suite of free prison communications and virtual learning tools that connect the incarcerated with their loved ones, service networks, and colleges, which will improve post-release outcomes.

Connect: Video Conferencing, eMessaging, Voice Calls

Reconnecting the incarcerated with their loved ones and supporting the next generation of remote prison programming.

Learn: Virtual Learning

Enabling the incarcerated to access a wealth of digital educational resources, earn college degrees, trade certifications, and chart their own path to successful reentry.

Letters for Families

App that bypasses the absurdly high cost of making phone calls to prison by converting texts, photos, games & news to snail mail. We currently have over 1,200,000 users in all 50 U.S. states, and in 42 countries.