Over 6 months, Ascend centralized premium travel for a venture capital firm, cutting costs while improving speed and flexibility for busy partners.
Total saved
$127,000
Across 47 bookings
Average discount
32%
Business + first fares
Time saved
27h
Redirected to deal-making
Bitkraft is a globally recognized venture capital firm specializing in backing high-growth companies across industries that demand frequent international travel.
Their partners and executives are constantly on the move, traveling between the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East to meet with founders, attend industry events, and oversee key investments.
Executive travel had become expensive, fragmented, and distracting from core work.
Last-Minute Premium Travel Drove Structurally Higher Costs
Speed and availability were prioritized over price predictability.
Partner Time Became the Bottleneck
Booking, changes, and coordination consumed time better spent with founders and on deal execution.
Speed Required Distributed Booking
Executives booked independently to avoid friction and delays.
Flexibility Was a Hard Requirement
Frequent itinerary changes required immediate, high-judgment responses.
Software Lacked Senior-Level Fit
Existing tools couldn’t accommodate urgency, nuance, or real-time decision-making.
Spend Was Managed Post-Hoc
Finance time went into reconciling travel spend after execution.
Ascend became an embedded partner — compressing time, lowering effective cost, and absorbing travel complexity end-to-end.
Seamless concierge via WhatsApp
A single message to book, change, or get recommendations
24/7 Concierge, One Thread
A single WhatsApp message handled booking, changes, and recommendations — anytime.
Flexibility, by Default
Last-minute changes, seat optimization, and lounge access were handled in real time.
Unified Visibility Without Added Friction
Spend and travel activity were centralized without introducing process overhead.
Institutional Access to Premium Inventory
Preferred access to global premium fares materially lowered the cost of last-minute travel.
Ascend price
$3,639
41.7% Saved
Retail
$6,241
Madrid → JFK
Business Class
Ascend price
$5,737
55.5% Saved
Retail
$11,822
Frankfurt → SFO
Business Class
Ascend price
$4,075
30.2% Saved
Retail
$5,842
Frankfurt → LAX
Business Class
Ascend price
$760
47.1% Saved
Retail
$1,118
Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
Per Night
Ascend provided Bitkraft with:
$127,000
In savings across 47 premium bookings
32%
Average discount on business and first-class fares
27
Hours reclaimed, redirected to deal work
18
Last-minute itinerary changes resolved in under 30 minutes
6
Frequent-flying partners, capturing the majority of value
Following the results, Bitkraft standardized on Ascend for executive travel. What began as a tactical engagement evolved into a long-term operating partnership — one that consistently reduces cost, absorbs complexity, and protects partner time.
The impact has extended beyond the firm itself. Several Bitkraft portfolio companies now use Ascend for founder travel, lowering burn while improving the day-to-day experience of being on the road.
As one portfolio CFO put it,
“the easiest expense line to defend.”
Naomi Einhorn
Investor at Visionary Ventures
