Confluent Champion: Niki Kapsi’s Journey From SDR to Commercial Account Executive

For Niki Kapsi, commercial account executive at Confluent, it’s the “entrepreneurial” aspect of her role that she’s the most excited about.

Let’s learn more about how Niki got to Confluent—and how the company fosters a culture of learning and growth that keeps her driven and motivated.

Tell us about your path to Confluent and what got you here? Tell us about your team and what role do you play? 

I joined Confluent more than three years ago, at a time when I was looking for a change in my career. I had recently moved from Paris to Palo Alto and started looking for a way to move into tech and consultative sales.

A few conversations later with Confluent’s sales and engineering teams, I decided to turn down job offers from bigger companies and take a step back in my career to join Confluent as a Sales Development Representative (SDR). Between some visa issues and a couple of back-and-forths between the U.S. and Barcelona, I’m now an Account Executive in the EMEA region based in Barcelona, focusing on our relationships with companies based in Greece, Cyprus, and the Balkans.

What made you interested in working here? What was the deciding factor?

The potential of the technology. I knew nothing about Kafka at the beginning, but the fact that it can disrupt companies in every possible industry across the world really got my attention. I couldn’t understand the technical piece but I believed in the business impact it could drive—and I was right.

What does a typical day look like as a Confluent Account Executive? And what do you enjoy most about your current role?

What I truly love about my current position is the entrepreneurial side of my role—essentially I have to serve as the “CEO” of my territory. That means working on everything around identifying new customers, organizing local events and marketing activities, identifying partners, and working on local co-selling activities and managing our relationships with existing customers.

A typical day starts with forecasting and planning, account research and prospecting, setting up customer meetings and follow-up calls, as well as doing some administrative tasks. I really like to read about every company before I reach out to them, personalize my messaging, and explain how we help similar companies.

Now that you’ve worked here for several years, how would you describe Confluent’s company culture?

What I personally value the most in my career is a place that gives me the place to learn, grow and express my creativity—all while helping me stay motivated, challenged, and respected by my managers and colleagues. This is exactly what I have found at Confluent within multiple teams between the U.S. and Europe.

What’s one thing you would want to see Confluent do differently?

How about opening an office in Greece?