Kristoffer

Say hello to Kristoffer Wist, our Business Developer (BD) for Norway! With an international background spanning business, finance and scale-up growth, Kristoffer brings hands-on experience and a fresh, entrepreneurial perspective to our Nordics team. Want to know what it's really like to drive new business at BrightAnalytics, how his background as a financial controller helps him understand client bottlenecks, and why he believes you should join us and "become your own pioneer"? Dive into his story below!

To start at the beginning: What did you study, and how did you first cross paths with BrightAnalytics?

I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Business & Finance in Edinburgh, followed by a Master’s in International Business at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). BrightAnalytics actually popped up on my LinkedIn feed one day. I decided to proactively send a direct message to a team member and the interview process kicked off right from there!

When you first stepped into the Business Developer role, what was something about the day-to-day work that surprised you?

What surprised me the most was just how entrepreneurial the role actually is. It really feels like running your own business because you are completely driving new business and finding your own prospects.

I quickly realized how much the role relies on soft skills. You need an interest in AI, automation, and financial reporting, and there is honestly an endless ceiling on how good you can get at this. Before this, I worked in asset management, banking, and insurance as a financial controller. Now, being on the other end of the table at BrightAnalytics has helped immensely. Having had hands-on experience with how manual some of these processes are, I deeply understand the daily struggles and bottlenecks our prospects face.

Building the foundation: How did BrightAnalytics support your onboarding and initial growth as you settled into the BD team?

The onboarding process was structured incredibly well. It was essentially divided into two parts: honing those essential sales soft skills right out of the gate, and then continuously learning the deeper mechanics of financial reporting as you go along.

My proudest milestone so far has definitely been my growth on the product side. I’ve become highly knowledgeable to the point where I can now confidently take a complex financial platform and explain it in simple, clear terms to prospects who might not be familiar with it at all. It gives you the perfect balance of immediate confidence and room for continuous growth.

BrightAnalytics deals heavily with financial data, consolidation, and forecasting. How do you see your role impacting the bigger picture, and did you always have a passion for finance?

As a BD, my core focus is bringing in high-quality new leads for our Account Executives (AEs). To do that effectively, you have to truly understand the prospects' pain points, their specific markets and what triggers their interest. You learn an incredible amount about different industries.

I’ve always had a strong interest in finance, but that passion definitely deepens on the job as you learn more. Interestingly, I actually did my Bachelor’s thesis on AI, so working here feels like coming full circle as we work hands-on with cutting-edge AI features. As a student, you learn how to adapt quickly, and that exact mindset carries directly into working life here.

What makes the culture at BrightAnalytics unique to you, and what is it like collaborating with teams spread across Europe?

The openness and flat culture stand out immediately. You can easily spar with and learn from your colleagues any time and everyone is open to sharing knowledge. As a SaaS company that is constantly expanding, you feel like an active part of the growth. In other traditional companies, you often join a small, isolated department and don’t get the same rapid opportunities to evolve.

Working in an international environment like BrightAnalytics is a great way to see how different countries operate and learn how to make a cross-border impact. Staying connected happens naturally through weekly meetings across Europe to discuss different markets and celebrate success. Daily updates via Slack also make it easy to transfer insights across the whole company, though the connection with the Nordics team is especially close since the market trends are so similar."

What trait or mindset must a new colleague bring to the table to succeed here, and what would you tell a new graduate hesitating to hit "apply"?

You have to genuinely want to help people solve their finance and AI struggles It takes a mix of being adaptable, especially when handling objections in a fast-paced environment, and being a sharp problem solver who can understand a client's challenges and map out a plan. You really have to enjoy digging into people's pain points.

If you’re a young graduate hesitating to apply, my advice is simple: just go for it. Working for a fast-paced, international scale-up gives you a unique opportunity to make an impact from day one, which is pretty rare in the traditional Norwegian corporate world.

Apply here and become your own pioneer!