Career Path Of A Financial Strategist At A Seed Stage AI Startup
Nikolas's career began with a part-time accounting role at Dr. Krono, a SaaS electronic health record company, where "coding specific expenses" unexpectedly became a key skill. This experience led to a full-time position and ultimately a move to an AIaaS startup, coinciding with their MBA pursuit at UCLA Anderson, where they played a pivotal role in securing the startup's initial funding.
Finance, Accounting, AIaaS, Startup, Corporate Strategy
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Nikolas Win
ThoughtfulGPT, LLC
Seed-Stage AIaaS Startup
San Jose State University
UCLA Anderson FTMBA (Class of 2025)
Business Management & Admin, Finance
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Technology
Business Strategy
Video Highlights
1. Nikolas' part-time role at a SaaS EHR company, Dr. Krono, gave him hands-on experience in accounting and customer success, skills transferable to many fields.
2. His proactive learning of coding to improve his financial analysis skills demonstrates initiative and a commitment to self-improvement, valuable attributes in any career.
3. Nikolas' involvement in securing seed funding for a new AIaaS startup showcases his ability to contribute strategically to a company's growth, a key aspect of many roles beyond just finance.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Do you have any internships or jobs you had before your current role?
When I was studying finance at San Jose State, I received a part-time position at a SaaS electronic health record company called Dr. Krono. There, I was responsible for basic accounting procedures like accounts receivables and certain customer success roles.
In order for me to develop the skills necessary to become a better financial analyst, I needed to learn the coding for each of the different expenses. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take intermediate accounting because it was an impacted course. Many of the Big Four accounting firms recruited out of San Jose for audit and assurance.
If you weren't on that track, they told you no, you couldn't take the course. But I had the opportunity to work on similar types of work, where I was responsible for coding specific expenses. This eventually led to my full-time position there and my role as a GL staff accountant at Ever Commerce.
About a year after I graduated, I left that company for a new one. A couple of C-suite executives left Dr. Krono after it was acquired and started an AI-as-a-service startup. Prior to me joining or enrolling in UCLA Anderson's MBA program, I helped them receive their first round of funding.
That was pretty cool. Most importantly, understanding the different expenses and being able to explain that and communicate that to people who aren't as well-versed in financial statements is extremely important if you want to move into corporate strategy.
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