Ascend is transforming the $10 trillion global insurance industry by combining AI automation with embedded fintech.
While insurance represents 7.2% of global GDP, outdated financial infrastructure like PDFs, emails, and manual reconciliation continues to slow the industry down. Ascend is the first and market-leading finance automation platform built specifically for insurance, driving the industry’s rapid digital transformation.
In just three years:
Trusted by thousands of insurance businesses nationwide
Processes billions in transactions annually, growing 200%+ per year
Built a world-class team of 50+ across San Francisco and Columbus
Ascend automates the entire insurance financial lifecycle—from collections and accounting to reconciliations and disbursements—helping businesses streamline operations and increase profitability.
In the AI era, software alone is no longer enough. For decades, software costs have declined, and with AI, they’re now in free fall. As both software buyers and builders, we fully embrace this shift—it makes technology more powerful and accessible. However, businesses must also maximize monetization, and the future belongs to those that embed themselves into financial flows rather than simply selling SaaS.
That’s why AI + fintech is our edge—seamlessly integrating financial automation into transactions to create real, lasting value. Customers don’t just buy software; they unlock powerful financial efficiencies with a 5–7x ROI.
Why We Do ItInsurance is a $10 trillion-plus industry running on legacy systems. AI alone won’t fix it, but AI-powered automation embedded into payments and transactions will.
Ascend’s mission is to become the leading financial automation platform for insurance by 2030—powering the entire industry’s financial operations while transforming the way trillions of dollars move.
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
Competitive base salary and meaningful equity in a fast-growing company
100% health premiums covered for you and your dependents
401k with employer matching options
Unlimited PTO
Monthly company-paid commuter benefit options
Parental and family leave
Lunch provided when in office
Dog-friendly office!
Join Ascend and be part of our mission to revolutionize the insurance industry and contribute to global financial modernization. Your leadership can make a significant impact on improving the $1T+ insurance industry.
Equal Opportunity
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.
Top Skills
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.
