Most US software companies go international the same way: a board member says "go conquer the world," somebody gets shipped to Singapore, and everyone hopes for the best. Bhavik Vashi has watched that movie twice — and he says the problem starts with the word "playbook." APAC is more than fifty sovereign countries, each with its own tax code, its own laws and its own buyers. There is no APAC playbook.

Bhavik spent a decade at Anaplan — joining in 2013 with the actual title "Model Building Guru" and leaving as general manager of Asia, through the 2018 IPO and the $10.4B Thoma Bravo take-private. Then he built Carta's international business from zero across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Earlier this year he walked away from all of it, moved his family from Singapore to New York, and became Chief Revenue Officer at Siro, the AI sales performance platform for in-person sellers.

In this conversation with LeanScale founder Anthony Enrico, Bhavik breaks down reversible versus irreversible career doors, the two things US companies miss abroad (shared experience and unit economics), why the best partners won't take your call yet, and his thesis that AI will be incremental for digital go-to-market but transformative for the real economy — home builders, dealerships, home services, medical aesthetics and the trades.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

Why "the APAC playbook" is a misnomer — and how 50+ countries with different laws change your entry plan

The reversible vs. irreversible doors framework Bhavik used to leave Singapore for New York

Why AI will be incremental for digital GTM and transformative for the real economy

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Intro: from KPMG accountant to "Model Building Guru" to CRO

01:40 — Walking away from APAC: reversible vs. irreversible doors

07:45 — The two things US companies miss: shared experience and unit economics

11:07 — Regulation and 50 countries: there is no APAC playbook

19:20 — "Something Big Is Happening" — why he moved to New York

23:47 — AI in go-to-market: incremental for digital

26:20 — …transformative for the real economy: overlapping adoption curves

51:25 — Wrap-up

ABOUT THE GUEST

Bhavik Vashi is Chief Revenue Officer at Siro, the AI sales performance platform for in-person sales teams across home services, home building, dealerships, multifamily, senior living and medical aesthetics. He started his career as an accountant at KPMG, joined Anaplan in 2013 and spent a decade there — through the 2018 IPO and the 2022 Thoma Bravo take-private — leaving as general manager of Asia. He then spent four years at Carta as Managing Director for Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, building the international business from zero with full P&L ownership. In 2026 he moved from Singapore, his home of ten years, to New York to join Siro.

ABOUT THE LEANSCALE PODCAST

The LeanScale Podcast is the show for GTM operators building the next generation of revenue teams. Hosted by Anthony Enrico, founder of LeanScale — a RevOps and GTM infrastructure partner for the fastest-growing companies in tech.

▶ Subscribe for new episodes

▶ LeanScale: https://www.leanscale.team

▶ Anthony on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyenrico/

▶ Bhavik on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavikvashi/

▶ Siro: https://www.siro.ai

KEYWORDS / TAGS

RevOps, GTM, International Expansion, APAC Go-to-Market, APAC Expansion, Asia Pacific Sales, Singapore, International GTM Strategy, Localized Pricing, Unit Economics, Channel Partnerships, Chief Revenue Officer, CRO, AI Sales, Sales Performance, Field Sales, In-Person Sales, Real Economy, Home Services Sales, Sales Coaching, Call Recording, AI Transformation, AI Agents, Anaplan, Carta, Siro, Thoma Bravo, B2B SaaS, LeanScale, Anthony Enrico, Bhavik Vashi

HASHTAGS

#RevOps #GTM #AI #LeanScale #LeanScalePodcast #InternationalExpansion #APAC #CRO #AISales #FieldSales #InPersonSales #B2BSaaS #Anaplan #Carta #Siro

There Is No APAC Playbook: Going International, Then Walking Away | Bhavik Vashi, CRO at Siro

The LeanScale Podcast with Anthony Enrico

There Is No APAC Playbook: Going International, Then Walking Away | Bhavik Vashi, CRO at Siro