In an era where startups rush to hire seasoned executives to fast-track growth, Vasanthan Ramakrishnan made an unusual choice: he didn’t hire a single CXO. Not because he couldn’t, but because he believed leadership could be nurtured from the inside.
“I wasn’t looking for resumes. I was looking for roots,” says Vasanthan, the founder of Ascend HSI Advisory Partners and author of the bestselling book “Success DNA: Mastering Persistence in Leadership and Life.”
Today, his team of over 60 professionals, 90% of whom joined straight from college, are running one of the most well-regarded high-skilled immigration advisory firms, with clients across ten countries and multiple Fortune 100 companies.
The Case for Internal Growth
Most founders feel pressured to bring in outside leadership when scaling. But Vasanthan took a radically different approach.
“At Ascend, we hired freshers, trained them, and trusted them,” he explains. “It wasn’t just about saving on executive salaries. It was about building loyalty, agility, and a culture that scaled with us.”
Nearly 15% of Ascend’s team now holds managerial or leadership roles, and every single one of them was promoted internally. This intentional structure created not only a highly cohesive culture but a leadership bench that understands the company’s mission from day one.
The Emotional Investment
Vasanthan acknowledges that this approach wasn’t easy. “For many of our early team members, Ascend was their first job. That meant I had to be more than a manager, I had to be a mentor, a sounding board, and sometimes even a support system outside of work.”
The result? A tightly-knit organization where decisions are made quickly, compassionately, and with shared ownership.
No Bottlenecks, Just Belief
Instead of command chains and hierarchical approvals, Ascend runs on trust. Team members are encouraged to make decisions independently and take initiative.
“That’s the paradox,” Vasanthan explains. “By not centralizing leadership in a few high-paid roles, we distributed it. And that’s made us stronger.”
This internal-first leadership model has been central to Ascend’s growth, contributing to 50% quarter-over-quarter client growth while maintaining a 0% customer acquisition cost.
A Lesson in Persistence
In “Success DNA,” Vasanthan writes that “leadership isn’t a title, it’s a decision, made daily, often in silence, and always in service of others.” That belief has powered not just the hiring strategy at Ascend, but the company’s culture of mentorship and mutual accountability.
Leadership for the Long Haul
What happens when you train your own CXOs instead of importing them? You get a team that owns their outcomes, understands their clients deeply, and carries the mission forward with conviction.
“It’s not the shortcut,” Vasanthan admits. “But it’s the sustainable path. And in today’s world, sustainability in leadership is the rarest commodity of all.”
Written in partnership with Tom White
