Her Story
About Ashlee
Ashlee Starr is an Enterprise Account Executive whose career reflects resilience, adaptability, and a consistently high-performance approach to sales. She began her professional journey in automotive sales immediately after graduating high school early and completing an Associate of Arts degree. With no formal sales training or prior corporate experience, she entered a commission-only environment and quickly learned the fundamentals of selling through observation, repetition, and disciplined self-education. This early experience shaped her ability to thrive in high-pressure, metric-driven roles and established the foundation for her long-term success in revenue generation.
Building on her early achievements in automotive sales, Ashlee transitioned into the tech industry, joining her first startup, Car Lease, where she was introduced to SaaS sales and startup go-to-market environments. From there, she expanded her expertise across several early-stage companies, consistently taking on full-cycle sales responsibilities including prospecting, outbound strategy, discovery, demonstrations, and closing. She has played a key role in building pipeline from the ground up, refining sales processes in ambiguous environments, and contributing directly to revenue growth in organizations where structure and systems were still being developed.
In her current role at a fast-growing tech startup, Ashlee operates as an Enterprise Account Executive while balancing the demands of motherhood and building a parallel presence as a content creator. Her work blends hands-on sales execution with storytelling that reflects real-world buyer conversations and revenue challenges. She is especially known for her ability to generate pipeline through authentic outreach, adapt quickly to evolving sales motions, and bring a practical, experience-driven perspective to go-to-market strategy. Proud of building her career without a bachelor’s degree, she attributes her success to grit, continuous learning, and years of experience navigating complex, high-growth sales environments.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ashlee
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to persistence and an unwillingness to give up when things are difficult. I’ve learned to stay consistent through challenges, treat setbacks as feedback rather than failure, and keep improving my approach until I achieve the outcome I’m working toward. Over time, that mindset has helped me build resilience, adapt quickly, and perform in high-pressure environments where consistency and follow-through matter most.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve ever received is, “If you want to develop people skills, just be human.” It’s a reminder that strong communication and relationship-building don’t come from scripts or techniques alone, but from showing up with authenticity, empathy, and genuine curiosity. In practice, it means listening first, treating people with respect, and focusing on understanding rather than performing skills that have been foundational in every stage of my sales career.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering the industry is to be intentional about where you start and who you learn from. Look for small tech startups that are building or selling into an industry you’re passionate about or have unique knowledge of, as that context will help you ramp faster and stand out early. At the same time, prioritize building your network both in person and digitally, because relationships play a major role in creating opportunities in this field. Stay curious, be consistent, and don’t be afraid to put yourself in environments where you’re learning quickly, even if they feel uncomfortable at first.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest opportunity in my field right now is keeping up with AI and rapidly evolving technology while still preserving the human element in sales. As automation and data-driven tools become more embedded in the sales process, the real differentiator is the ability to stay authentic, build trust, and communicate in a way that feels personal rather than transactional. The challenge is finding the right balance between leveraging technology for efficiency and ensuring that relationships and genuine human connection remain at the center of every interaction.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values in my work and personal life are remembering to pause and authenticity. Taking intentional pauses allows me to stay grounded, think clearly, and respond rather than react, especially in high-pressure environments like sales. Authenticity ensures that I show up as my true self in both professional and personal settings, building genuine relationships, trust, and long-term connections with the people I work with and care about.
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