Yan Kessler is the Head of Sales and Startups at Aspire, an all-in-one financial OS for modern businesses. Yan built the entire team from scratch and manages over 30 sales reps across SEA today.

Passionate about sales, startups and helping businesses grow, Yan is involved in most startups and entrepreneur communities in the region.

👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

Helping companies to increase visibility and control of their spending by automating their financial processes

🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I flew with a small private plane a few times without having a license.

🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Being promoted to Head of Region for an insurance company at age 27, covering seven countries and being the top performer across all regions for the company

🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?‍

More focus on how to spend funds/find product-market fit rather than scaling at all costs. Founders are spending more on understanding metrics with profitability as their north star.

Raising a new round at a crazy valuation is probably over, but lots of new early-stage startups will emerge in the next 12-18 months.

💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

Be curious and passionate about what you do.

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🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

Sales!

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

I don't watch TV. Sorry, I am an old-school book addict!

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🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?‍

Caramel