Q&A with Devi Sahny, Founder and CEO of Ascend Now

Devi Sahny is the Founder and CEO of Ascend Now, a Singapore-based tutoring startup. Devi worked at Goldman Sachs from 2014 to 2017 in Global Banking and Markets (formerly known as Investment Banking) in New York.

1. How did you start your career at Goldman Sachs and what was your path at the firm? What did you learn during your time here that helped you in the next phase(s) of your career?
I joined Goldman Sachs as a summer Intern following my junior year in college. I was a Philosophy and Economics major at Georgetown University at the time. After a very productive and inspiring summer, I received a full-time offer and I went on to work in the M&A group for almost three years. 

Today, I head a five-year-old education business called Ascend Now. I am certain that I wouldn’t have been able to start it without the formative lessons I learned at GS. I learned how to work hard, how to be disciplined, how to be a culture carrier, and how to be a leader. I also mastered how to articulate my thoughts clearly and confidently. My bosses at the time always encouraged me to speak up at meetings and to take decisive action, despite my limited experience. They pushed me beyond my comfort zone, and they answered any questions that I had. I continue to look up to them as role models as I manage my own employees. Having worked at GS, I feel and understand my employees better. 

2. After you left the firm you founded Ascend Now, a Singapore-based tutoring startup, in 2018. Tell us about what inspired you to start this business and about your journey from the inception of the idea to now.
I moved to Singapore in 2018 after three years as an investment banker to start Ascend Now. My goal was to help encourage students to develop both a joie the vivre - (in French, “joy of living”) and a joie d’apprendre (“joy of learning”). I chose Singapore because of its renowned education system: my 23-year-old brain said, “If you can succeed here, you can succeed anywhere!”. Ascend Now currently supports almost 10,000 students, as well as 13 international schools. We offer both one-on-one synchronous academic tutoring sessions and entrepreneurship sessions for kids, aged 6-18. Many of our students are children of GS parents, actually! For kids aged 12-18, we also offer courses on self-learning and soft skills – networking, resume writing, stress management, negotiation, and resilience.

3. How do you differentiate Ascend Now from other tutoring products and companies in the market? How did you build your following?
Someone said “endurance is patience concentrated” - this couldn’t be truer in ed-tech today, and especially for Ascend Now. We started in 2018, long before Covid-19, with a student-first and customer-and-profit-first mentality. That remains unchanged, and I am pleased to say that we have grown our student base by over 400%. Students come to Ascend Now because they truly want to learn - whether it's about how to launch their own businesses, or to get into their dream universities, or simply to realize their academic potentials.  

4. What are your aspirations for Ascend Now’s future?
Ascend Now continues to grow. My team works hard, we review our performance everyday, and most importantly, we always plan for the future.

Our soft-skill platform, known as the “Life Readiness Playbook”, is tailored for students aged 12-17, and is being introduced to schools, educational foundations, and governments. Through extensive interviews with over 1,000 students, parents, and hiring managers, we gained deep insights into the challenges teenagers face and the essential skillset needed in the workforce. By combining our research with renowned skills frameworks like CASEL, Power Skills, SkillsFuture, and others, we created a comprehensive and holistic model.

With a student-focused approach, we utilize engaging videos, gamification, and data tracking to help students monitor their progress effectively. Our platform goes beyond fundamental skills, offering resources on entrepreneurship and facilitating internships.

Why do we emphasize ‘skills’? The answer is simple yet profound. In our five years of experience, we've witnessed firsthand how enhancing skills such as communication, agency, and self-efficacy can profoundly impact a student's life. As AI and disruptive technology continue to advance, skills like leadership and empathy, which machines cannot replicate, become increasingly valuable. Given the demanding and competitive landscape students face today, our focus on soft skills not only promotes resilience but also cultivates self-awareness, which is an essential aspect of happiness.

5. What advice do you have for others who are interested in building a startup?
My advice is to have a positive relationship with failure. That is single-handedly the most important skill. In building any startup, making mistakes is inevitable, but you become successful by learning, unlearning, and re-learning.

6. Have you leveraged your GS network since leaving the firm? If so, how?
It’s been a long time since my time at GS, but the people I worked with still remain in my life. I am still in touch with my mentor, who was assigned to me when I was a summer Analyst in IBD Industrials. She’s a phenomenal person. She always encourages me to stay true to my character and to be ambitious – a rare balance! She has seen the journey I have taken over the past eight years, from Intern to Analyst to CEO, and we have developed a deep trust with each other. Goldman Sachs is a special place. You can leave GS, but GS never leaves you.