Craig Kaplan

Pioneer
DISC Type : DSI

Executive Vice President, Business Growth at Zenlayer

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, United States

Overview

As Executive Vice President for Americas & EMEA at Zenlayer, Craig Kaplan drives international business growth. He has a track record of building teams at five high-growth startups, specializing in go-to-market strategy and customer-centric culture. People often describe him as a valuable GTM leader and a fantastic resource.

Outside of his corporate role, Craig is deeply invested in fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He founded the StartupGrind-Manhattan Beach chapter to connect and support local leaders in the South Bay community, reflecting his passion for mentoring and community-building.

He has been a key team builder at five high-growth startups in emerging markets, contributing to three successful exits.

Personality Overview

Friendly But Fast

Dynamic But Sincere

Decisive But Friendly

They have the unique ability to win both love and respect from their team (or outsiders)  They combine a unique set of diverse traits where they are fast and friendly but can slow down to be thorough when needed If they are convinced, they can become very strong champions for your product

Topics They Care About

Go-to-Market Strategy
Specializes in building and scaling GTM efforts for high-growth tech companies, focusing on sales, partnerships, and customer success.
Startup Mentorship
Actively advises seed and series A/B startups and founded the StartupGrind-Manhattan Beach chapter to support local entrepreneurs.
Global Infrastructure
His role at Zenlayer and recent webinars focus on scaling compute and network infrastructure for enterprises across global markets, including AI workloads.

Media Appearances

Craig has no verified media appearances

Work History

1-2025
Executive Vice President, Business Growth at Zenlayer
8-2023 - 2-2025
Senior Vice President of Sales at Zenlayer
1-2023
CEO Advisor for GTM B2B SAAS at StartupGrind-Manhattan Beach
1-2018
Venture Partner at NextGen Venture Partners
3-2020 - 12-2022
Chief Customer Officer at Virbela

Education

BA from UCLA
Education details unavailable from Bellarmine College Preparatory

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 7 Location : Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Executive Vice President, Business Growth at Zenlayer
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Insights For Selling To Craig

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Mostly stick to your standard pitch and qualifying script, but add some stories or anecdotes to it
  • Use phrases like ‘your decision will’, ‘you will impact’ etc.
  • During followups, use calls or text if needed, they should be fine

DONT's

  • Don't lean very heavily into providing too much information, sharing whitepapers etc.
  • Don’t be too verbose or overly friendly; a little bit, however, is fine
  • Don’t hesitate from asking questions or pushing them, but take a formal approach

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Craig is

  • Nothing less than a strong combination of proof of results, relationship and high levels of professionalism is effective with them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Craig

  • They can say no while staying friendly, but can also be pursuaded to reconsider

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Craig move?

  • They are generally fast movers and can take quick decisions
  • Can Craig take some risk or not?

  • They have high risk-appetite but can get ahead of themselves once in a while. Observe carefully

You And Craig

Personality Compatibility


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