Insurance is a $10T industry still running on PDFs, email threads, and manual reconciliation. Ascend is changing that. We built the first and only complete financial operations platform purpose-built for insurance — combining AI-powered accounting automation, payments, and premium financing in a single vertically integrated solution. In five years, we've become the market leader: over 4,000 businesses, including more than half of the 50 largest brokers in the country, trust Ascend to bring clarity to complex accounting operations — from collection to close.
How We Do ItAscend automates the financial operations that insurers, MGAs, and agencies run every day — and embeds directly into the transactions where money actually moves.
AI is driving the cost of software toward zero. The companies that win won't just sell tools — they'll capture value at the point of the transaction itself. Ascend is built for exactly that moment. Our customers don't just adopt software; they unlock measurable efficiency with a proven 5–7x return on investment.
Our 70+ person team, based in San Francisco and Columbus, brings together deep expertise in insurance, fintech, and AI to build infrastructure the industry has never had.
Why We Do ItThe insurance industry intermediates trillions of dollars — and almost none of that infrastructure was built for the modern era. Legacy systems aren't just inefficient; they're a ceiling on what the industry can become.
Ascend's mission is to become the leading financial automation platform for insurance by 2030 — powering the financial operations of the entire industry and transforming the way trillions of dollars move. We're not building another point solution. We're building the financial backbone of insurance.
As a Senior Sales Development Representative, you’ll be a driving force behind Ascend’s growth and at the forefront of our go-to-market efforts. You’ll help shape our sales development strategy as we expand into new products and customer segments, and play a critical role in executing and scaling what comes next.
We’re looking for someone with a proven history of effective cold calling, a strong drive for continuous improvement, and a creative approach to outreach. As an early member of the SDR team, you’ll be instrumental in defining what “good” looks like and upleveling our SDR function as we scale.
Please note, this role is in-person at our San Francisco office.
Responsibilities Will IncludeObjective #1: In your first 30 days, you will onboard and get up to speed on Ascend, our processes, and our market (and begin generating pipeline):
Develop a deep understanding of the problems our customers face, how Ascend solves them, and how to communicate that value to prospective customers
Learn and ask questions about how we operate as an SDR team, as a GTM function, and as a business more broadly
Jump into prospecting, cold calling, cold emailing, and booking demos with guidance and coaching from other team members
Objective #2: In your first 60 days, you will establish the key habits and processes needed to drive predictable and repeatable results:
Work with your manager on a strategic initiative that you will own, build, and implement across the team (for example: defining new enterprise-specific outreach strategies or building dashboards in Salesforce)
Identify and establish a repeatable process to meet weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals, and build structure around your workflows to ensure consistency
Experiment with different outreach strategies, messaging, cadences, and channels, and attend industry events
Objective #3: In your first 90 days, you will have in-depth conversations with prospective customers and perform alongside the other members of our SDR team:
Collaborate with marketing and the broader GTM function to identify new opportunities and push the team forward
Leverage data and reporting to find areas for improvement and optimization, both individually and across the sales development function
Give feedback to, and receive feedback from, other team members to ensure consistent learnings, and mentor new SDRs as they join
Some proven experience: 9+ months of SDR experience in SaaS is preferred (but open to ambitious people who break that mold and are eager to grow in their sales career)
Strong communication skills: comfortable speaking on the phone, clear in writing, and able to adapt messaging to the moment
A learner’s mindset: self-motivated, resourceful, and excited to learn new strategies, messaging, and tools
A creative thinker: eager to experiment with new outreach ideas and constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency and impact
Flexible and agile: excited by the pace of a startup environment and able to adapt quickly to shifting priorities
The ultimate team player: you thrive in collaboration and are energized by team wins above all else
Experience with Salesforce, Outreach, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, or Clay
Exposure to startup environments and comfort with navigating ambiguity
Ping pong skills. Yes, ping pong skills – ask us about this in your initial interview!
Benefits
- Meaningful equity
- 100% health premiums covered for you and your dependents
- 401k with employer matching options
- A fast growing team with an emphasis on promoting from within 80% of all hires in the last 12 months have already been promoted!
- Unlimited PTO
- Company paid commuter benefits
- Parental and family leave
- Lunch everyday
- Dog-friendly office!
We are committed to equal opportunity employment and embrace diversity within our organization. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
We encourage candidates to apply even if their experience doesn't precisely match this opportunity. We value diversity and are dedicated to equal opportunity employment.
Skills Required
- Proven history of effective cold calling and outbound prospecting
- Experience booking demos and managing outreach cadences (cold email, calls)
- Strong phone and written communication skills
- Self-motivated, resourceful, learner's mindset and ability to experiment with outreach
- Ability to own and implement a strategic initiative across the SDR team (process, dashboards, outreach)
- Comfort working in a fast-paced startup and adapting to shifting priorities
- Team-player mentality and willingness to mentor new SDRs
- Onsite presence at San Francisco office five days per week
- 9+ months of SDR experience in SaaS
- Experience with Salesforce, Outreach, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, or Clay
What We Do
Ascend is the first modern insurance payments platform that provides automated, all-in-one financing, collections, and payables. We help distributors sell more by eliminating labor intensive processes and providing customers with the great online checkout experience they expect. We’re hiring across GTM, engineering and business functions - email us at [email protected] if you're interested in learning more.
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