Liza Shulman helps technology companies win customers, build partnerships and grow accounts. Over the past six years, she has worked across high growth startups, global companies and government entities, leading business development, go to market and account management across fintech, AI, digital assets and emerging technology, including managing relationships across hundreds of projects.
With a background in computer science and experience across Europe, the Middle East and the US, Shulman brings a technical lens to commercial growth. Her expertise is in understanding what customers actually need, finding the right commercial angle and turning early opportunities into long term business relationships.
Liza, your path runs from founding your own consumer brand to building commercial functions in digital assets, investment technology and government led economic development. What is the one principle about how businesses actually grow that has held true in every one of those worlds?
For me, it comes down to understanding the problem and making the value clear. When you really listen to a customer, understand what they are trying to solve or achieve, and position the product around that, the conversation becomes much easier. You are showing them how your product can solve a problem, help them grow, save time, reach a new audience, or achieve something they already care about. Trust comes from that too: listening first, being clear about the value, and doing what you said you would do.
Business development is one of the most loosely defined roles in tech: at some companies it means partnerships, at others it is sales under a different title. What do most companies get wrong about BD, and what separates BD that creates conversations from BD that creates revenue?
BD is often measured by potential leads, the size of the database, meetings or how many new accounts you add. It is a numbers game to a point, and you do need enough opportunities in the pipeline. But once you have enough high-value leads, it’s time to stop chasing the number of emails or new leads every day and put your attention where the value is.
I think you always have to be partly an account manager, too. Know your clients, understand what matters to them and stay close to them throughout their journey. Even after you hand an account to someone else on the team, keep in touch. That long-term attention is what turns a lead into revenue, and a transaction into a real business relationship.
Partnership announcements are everywhere, yet few of them ever move a business metric. When you sit down with a potential partner for the first time, what tells you whether the deal will create real value or just a press release?
I want to understand how the partnership will actually work in practice. What are the steps of the integration? What does the conversion path look like on both sides? Who owns each step, and how are we going to activate both communities? Those questions tell you very quickly whether there is a real commercial plan behind the partnership. I also like to start with something measurable, see where the friction is, and then expand it. A partnership can sound great on paper, but the value comes from getting both sides to take action and creating a clear path to results.
You have brought emerging technology companies together with globally established brands, including in luxury, where heritage and exclusivity are everything. What does it take to convince a brand with decades of reputation to bet on a younger, digital native partner, and how do you negotiate when you are the smaller party at the table?
Established brands have a lot to protect, so the conversation has to start with respect for what they have built. In my experience, they are open to new technology when they can see a clear benefit for their clients and feel their brand is in safe hands. That means speaking their language, keeping the first project focused, and being very clear about how the brand will be represented. As the smaller party, I do not try to compete on size. What you can offer is speed, flexibility and a deep understanding of an audience they want to reach. It is also important not to undervalue what you bring. A partnership works best when both sides feel they are getting something meaningful.
You have been the person brought in to build the commercial function from scratch. In those first months, when there is no playbook, no clean data and every account looks like a priority, what do you build first, and what do you deliberately leave for later?
The first thing I do is listen. I talk to customers, to the product team, and to risk and operations, to understand where value really comes from and where things get stuck. Then I build a strategy around what I learn. I test the narrative, A/B test the messaging, prioritize what gets traction, and double down on what works. Once people understand the product and the core value, then I expand into more advanced or complicated features. I want the message to be simple, very value driven and targeted at first. I never want to overcomplicate the product or the process or overwhelm the customer with too many options. Prove the core value first, then build from there.
When you manage a large portfolio of partner and client accounts, you cannot give everyone equal attention. How do you decide where your time goes, and what early signals tell you an account is about to grow, or about to churn, before it shows up in the numbers?
I use AI agents now to track my clients, their updates and anything they launch that could be relevant to us. That helps me see the moment when there is a real reason to reach out, rather than just following up because a certain number of days has passed. At the same time, you always have to prioritize the clients with the largest value, whether that is brand, revenue, volume, exposure or new users. Once you know what matters most to the business right now, you can create a clear system of priorities and evaluate every account against it. I also want AI to track the personal journey of each client, so I can see what has changed and know when the timing is right to follow up, offer something new or help them with the next stage of growth.
Most companies celebrate new logos, but the real economics of a business sit in retention and expansion. How do you grow revenue inside an existing relationship without the customer ever feeling sold to?
It starts with delivering on what was promised. I want to make sure I am offering something that actually helps the client solve a problem or achieve a goal, and for me that starts with listening. I keep the relationship very trust based, and I bring up a product, expansion or new opportunity when I genuinely think it could create value for them. Sometimes that means being transparent and saying that something is not relevant right now. They will remember that. If you keep pushing things that do not make sense for the client, you lose trust, and that hurts the relationship in the long run. The goal is for the client to know that when you reach out, there is a good reason for it. That is what creates long term relationships and eventually more revenue.
Digital assets have been through a full hype cycle and a hard correction, and the buyers look very different now: treasury teams, payment operators, fintech product leaders and institutions rather than retail enthusiasts. How has that shift changed what great go to market and business development look like in this industry?
I worked in partnerships during the peak of the hype and through the downturn, and the change has been significant. Back then, many deals were driven by excitement and announcements. Today buyers are more careful. Institutions, payment companies and fintechs want reliability, compliance, clear reporting and proof that something works. For business development, that means longer and more thoughtful sales cycles, more people involved in each decision, and a stronger focus on long term value. The people who do well now have to understand both digital assets and traditional finance, and build trust across both sides of the business.
You have worked closely with investor communities, affiliate networks and creators around product launches. Across more traditional industries, how do you tell the difference between a real community that will support a product and an audience that is simply renting out its attention?
I look at what happens after people arrive. An audience sees a post and moves on. A community comes back, asks questions, uses the product and stays through the quieter periods. When I work with creators, I care more about the trust they have with their audience than about its size. A smaller creator who truly understands the space can often bring better results than a much bigger one. I also prefer to treat creators and investors as long term relationships, with regular check ins and honest communication, rather than one off campaigns. That is how you build something that lasts rather than just getting attention for a moment.
You have helped international companies enter new markets and built relationships across very different business cultures, from Europe to the Gulf states. What do companies most underestimate when they expand into a new region, and how does the way trust is earned change from one culture to the next?
Companies often underestimate how much they are starting from zero. The reputation you have at home does not automatically carry over, so you have to build trust again. They also underestimate how long it takes. In the Gulf states, for example, relationships and presence matter a lot. Showing up in person, being consistent and showing long term commitment can make a big difference. More broadly, I think you have to adjust how you listen in every market. You need to understand how people communicate, how decisions are actually made, who needs to be involved, and what signals commitment. The same pitch can land very differently depending on the business culture, so I spend a lot of time understanding that before trying to move a deal forward.
With a background in both computer science and business, you see AI in sales from both sides. Some software companies have already replaced large parts of their sales teams with AI agents. Which parts of sales, BD and account management will AI genuinely own, and which will become more valuable precisely because they are human?
AI will take over much of the preparation work: research, first drafts, notes, CRM updates and follow ups. That is a good thing, because it frees people for the parts that matter most. I also use AI to track the progress of every client, their updates and the signals that tell me when it is the right time to follow up, check in, upgrade something or even create a new launch together. What becomes more valuable is what AI cannot do well: understanding a client situation, building trust, handling complex negotiations and making judgment calls. The better the AI gets at preparation and tracking, the more time people can spend on those human parts of the relationship.
Stablecoins are moving into mainstream payments, real world assets are being tokenized, and digital asset infrastructure is being repurposed for AI compute; the lines between fintech, crypto and AI are blurring. Where do you see the biggest commercial opportunities over the next few years, and what kind of companies do you want to help scale next?
I am most interested in where finance, digital assets and AI meet. Stablecoins are becoming part of everyday payments, more real world assets are being tokenized, and the energy and computing infrastructure built for crypto is increasingly being used for AI. I am also interested in tokenization because it can make certain assets and financial opportunities more accessible to a much more diverse population around the world. In most of these areas, the technology is already there. The harder part is trust and adoption: helping banks, businesses and users feel comfortable, and building the right partnerships to get there. That is where my expertise is, and what I enjoy doing most: helping companies build the partnerships and relationships that turn great technology into real adoption.
