Head of New Categories

sun.store is the biggest B2B marketplace for solar and energy storage components in Europe — ranked #1 fastest-growing startup in Europe by Sifted's Future 50 in 2024.

Launched in October 2023, we already process €100m+ GMV annually, serve 45,000+ B2B users across 40+ countries, operate as a truly pan-European platform (90% of transactions cross borders), and are backed by leading VC investors.

We are now expanding into adjacent product categories beyond solar panels and batteries. The Head of New Categories will be the person who goes and builds that future.

Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Prioritisation : Define which new product verticals sun.store should enter and in what sequence. Build the business case for each: market size, supplier fragmentation, competitive landscape, and strategic fit with the platform.

Supplier Recruitment & Onboarding : Identify, approach, and sign the key manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers for each new category. Own the go‑to‑market motion end‑to‑end — from first outreach to live listings generating GMV.

Demand Activation : Generate early traction on the buyer side. Design and run experiments, validate product‑market fit signals, and scale what works.

Assortment & Pricing : Build competitive, data‑informed assortment strategies. Set and optimise pricing frameworks. Own category GMV targets, conversion metrics, and margin performance.

Cross‑functional Execution : Coordinate with Product, Sales, and Operations to ensure new categories launch with the right infrastructure, content quality, and logistics support.

Market Intelligence : Monitor trends in adjacent energy verticals — cables, EV charging, heating, grid infrastructure. Identify emerging categories before they become obvious and translate insights into category roadmap decisions.

AI‑First Operations : Champion automation‑first thinking across category workflows. Leverage AI tools, data pipelines, and no‑code/low‑code solutions to scale category management without proportional headcount growth.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in category management, merchandising, or commercial development — ideally at a B2B marketplace, e‑commerce platform, or technical/industrial distributor.

Proven track record of building or scaling a product category from scratch — you know how to go from zero to revenue.

Strong commercial instincts: supplier negotiation, assortment curation, pricing strategy, and B2B sales mechanics.

Analytical mindset — comfortable working with GMV, conversion, margin, and CAC data to make prioritisation decisions.

Readiness to work in a hybrid model from our office in Warsaw, Poland.

Fluency in English (C1+) — the working language of the company.

Background in technical B2B goods (energy, electrical equipment, construction materials) is a strong asset.

Familiarity with AI‑assisted workflows, no‑code tooling, or growth experimentation frameworks is a plus.

Candidate Profile & Mindset

Builder over bureaucrat : This role has no playbook. You will write it. We need someone who is energised by blank pages — capable of defining strategy and immediately executing against it.

Startup spirit : Readiness to thrive in a dynamic, fast‑moving environment and build processes from zero. We look for someone who wants to test and apply novelties daily — this mindset matters more than any industry background.

AI‑First operator : We are a lean organisation that scales through automation, not headcount. Candidates motivated primarily by managing large teams are not the right fit. We need someone who builds high‑output, technology‑driven systems.

Commerce intuition : Practical understanding of B2B commerce, marketplace mechanics, and supplier dynamics is important. We are looking for a candidate who intuitively "feels" digital commerce and multi‑side platform economics.

Team Structure & Evolution

Current state : Initially, this role acts as the strategic orchestrator of category expansion, leveraging our central execution teams (Marketing, Sales, SDR, and Merchant Success) to drive results without a large direct team from day one.

Future scaling : As new categories scale, there is significant potential to build dedicated category squads. Functional roles may report directly or have a dual‑reporting line to the Head of New Categories over time.

Compensation

Performance bonus tied to BU GMV, margin, and supplier growth KPIs.

Potential ESOP package .

Open compensation policy: we will not disqualify strong candidates based on salary expectations. Our priority is to find the right talent and mindset first.

If this sounds like the kind of challenge you're looking for, we'd love to talk!