Seven Questions With...

Location: Alameda, California

Role at SentiLink: Strategic Account Executive

Previous role: Head of Customer Acquisition, Blend

"Strategic" accounts earn that distinction for a reason: They are extremely important to a fast-growing start-up. William Goh joined SentiLink one year ago, bringing the sort of well-honed skillset necessary to engage, build trust, and close deals with the most distinguished financial institutions in the country. In action, Will strikes that delicate yet critical balance of confidence, expertise, empathy and joviality necessary to win over the A-list of financial services.

A love of fast cars and passion for fatherhood and youth sports round out the full package that we are lucky to have on the team.

What's your typical day like at SentiLink?

Since I’m an early riser, I typically start my day with a quick workout or meditation.? This helps me get the endorphins going and the mind clear.? Then I usually read through industry updates related to fraud and risk so I can understand the latest challenges or topics that may be top of mind for SentiLink’s partners.? After that, I focus on preparing for the partner & prospect meetings I will be supporting that day.? I review data from our restrostudies, I research interesting cases we’ve come across that are relevant to them, and I build presentations or write emails to partners in an effort to share important insights we learn from our work together.? I really enjoy investigating cases since it gives me a better sense of what our partners experience every day and how SentiLink helps them fight fraud.? All of this work helps me prepare for partner meetings and share data with them - where I spend the majority of my day.

At the end of the SentiLink work day (if I’m not traveling seeing partners), I’m usually running off to take my two sons to one of their many basketball or soccer practices.? SentiLink provides me a healthy work life balance to stay involved at home which is important to me and my family.

How did you get started in your field of expertise?

I started in Sales as a Sales Engineer.? I’ve always enjoyed the technical aspect of sales, and I’ve always loved becoming a consultative partner & trusted advisor through the process.? Sales Engineering gave me an opportunity to combine those passions and work with partners & prospects on finding solutions to help their businesses succeed and address their challenges.? Eventually, I became an Account Executive because I wanted to own more of the sales process end-to-end, and I wanted to be closer to my partners.

Also, as an athlete through high school (where I played football, ice hockey, and lacrosse), I’ve always been competitive - being an Account Executive gave me the opportunity to work hard in a competitive environment, and win in collaboration with a larger team.

What's the most interesting thing (project, case, etc.) you've worked on at SentiLink?

Wow, that’s a tough one!? I’ve already worked on a lot of interesting projects with our partners & prospects.? If I had to choose one, I’d say our Fraud Intelligence Team training which was a part of my onboarding process.? A huge emphasis for our onboarding centers around learning about fraud by reviewing actual partner cases.? You investigate cases and assign them labels like an actual fraud analyst.

Basically, the training helped me learn more about the industry, our products, and how we help our partners tackle fraud.? I didn’t come from a fraud or risk background, but now I jokingly tell others that I could be a successful fraudster if I ever wanted to choose a new career path.

What's your Employee Superpower, a valuable skill you've carried throughout your career that contributes to your success at SentiLink in support of our partners?

Being a good listener.? While it seems so simple, being a good listener allows me to truly understand our partners’ goals, challenges, and initiatives.? I once had a mentor tell me: “There are people who are truly listening, and there are people who are just waiting to talk.”? I always remind myself of that, both professionally and personally, so I can continue to use my listening skills to help SentiLink’s partners.

What do you consider the biggest professional accomplishment of your career?

I was the second Sales hire at my last company and I closed a lot of their early strategic wins.? I was really proud to contribute to the company’s revenue growth, which eventually led to me leading a large team of Account Managers and Account Executives.? While there were so many people involved in the company’s success, I believe our team’s success and revenue contributions helped the company go public in 2021.? Walking the floor of the NYSE during our IPO was an accomplishment I had dreamed of from the first day I started there - it was a surreal moment and professional accomplishment I will never forget (but, hopefully, be able to experience again!).

What's your hidden talent, something that can't be found on your LinkedIn profile?

Since I coach both of my son’s AAU basketball teams, I’d like to say coaching.? They may disagree, but I hope they think so too.? I played sports my entire life growing up, and since my mother was an immigrant, working widow, she didn’t have time to take me to sports activities.? I was always with my coaches.? As a way to give back, and thank everyone who supported me, I do my best to offer the same support to my players.? On most days, I have four kids in my car, shuttling them to our events.? It makes for a fun carpool and I do my best to tell a dad joke when I can (I can hear my kids sighing as we speak!)

Shout out to your mentor, a person who has had an outsized role in helping you professionally. Who are they, and what about them made such an impact on your career?

I’ve had a lot of mentors over my career, but Brian Kneafsey and Nima Ghamsari had the most outsized role during my time at Blend.? Both of them taught me how to hustle in a startup environment, and how to work with executives (both internally and externally).? I wouldn’t have had the success I did without their support, nor would I have learned to challenge the status quo of selling to executives - even when that means having difficult conversations and saying no when it’s in the best interest of the partner.? They also had enough confidence in me to become a sales leader, and I truly appreciate them for that!