Benjamin Encz

Yo, have you heard of Benjamin Encz? The dude is the real deal in the startup world. He’s a YC W19 alum, so he jumped into the scene a few years back and has been crushing it ever since.

Benjamin started in the tech trenches as an iOS engineer at PlanGrid, which was blowing up back then. Dude didn’t stay there long, he quickly moved into engineering management, leading big teams and focusing on hiring like a boss. That experience? Total big change. It showed him how to build teams that actually move fast and stay original, especially during crazy growth phases. And yeah, PlanGrid got snapped up by Autodesk, so he saw firsthand what scaling and exit success look like.

Before all that, he was building software for artists in the Visual Effects world. That’s where he learned about creativity, ownership, and making stuff that people actually care about. It’s like he’s always been about building products that are both strong and user-friendly, blending art with tech.

In 2018, he took all that hustle and started Ashby, a recruiting platform backed by YC. This guy saw a problem in high-growth companies struggling to hire fast and effectively. So he built Ashby to be the smart, intuitive recruiting software that actually works for scaling businesses. And get this, under his leadership, Ashby hit rapid growth. They raised a massive $30 million Series C in 2024, and now they’re serving over 1,300 big-name clients, including some of the biggest enterprises out there.

What’s wild about Benjamin? He keeps his team super tight, small but mighty, and he’s all about a culture of innovation and autonomy. The kind of leader who believes you don’t need a billion people to build something effective; just the right people, with the right mindset.

His whole story? It’s about hustle, focus, and a deep passion for building things that matter. From making art tools to managing engineering teams at a scale that’s insane, then jumping into startups and leading them through crazy growth, he’s the guy who’s always been about pushing limits and making it happen. No bullshit, just pure startup energy. That’s Benjamin Encz.