Four languages, many cultures: Yan's journey into enterprise sales at Wolt

Four languages, many cultures: Yan's journey into enterprise sales at Wolt

Yan Moukori Christensen has spent most of his life adapting to new places, people and cultures. Born in Tenerife, he lived in Egypt, France and England before moving to Norway as a teenager. Today, he speaks four languages, trains for triathlons and works with some of Norway’s biggest retailers as a Retail Enterprise Sales Manager at Wolt.

Looking back, it's almost the perfect background for enterprise sales.

Yan sat down to share how growing up between cultures prepared him for the role, why he believes quick commerce is only getting started, and what it's like helping build an entirely new retail category at Wolt. It’s a whirlwind ride.

Hey Yan 👋 Could you tell us a little about yourself.

Sure! I’m Yan, I’m 26 years old and I’m based in Norway. I was born in Tenerife to a Norwegian father and a Cameroonian mother, and after that we moved around quite a lot. I lived in Egypt, France and England before moving to Norway, where I’ve now been for around 14 years. Along the way, I learned four languages: Norwegian, English, French and Spanish.

Outside work, I spend a lot of time training for triathlons, travelling and doing photography. I recently came back from a trip through Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, and I’m also planning to compete in a triathlon in China. I think I’ve always liked experiences that push me into something new, whether that means another country, another language or another challenge.

How did you find your way to Wolt?

After high school, I focused on building my sales experience through different retail roles, including working in clothing and electronics. Later, I moved into phone sales and sold everything from pizzas to mobile subscriptions while studying travel and tourism management.

Then COVID happened, which made studying tourism feel much less motivating. At the same time, I was progressing in retail and eventually became a store manager. Wolt had actually contacted me several times about different roles, but I turned them down because I did not really understand what the company was yet or what the opportunities might look like.

That changed once I started using Wolt myself. I liked the brand, the company seemed interesting, and when they approached me again about a sales role, I became curious about what sales at Wolt would actually involve. 

I was never interested in taking just any sales job, and I do not really think of myself as a traditional salesperson. What made this role feel right was that it connected with what I had already been doing throughout my life: adapting to new environments, meeting different people, making friends and learning to understand different cultures. Enterprise sales is not so different. You need to understand the person in front of you, adjust your approach and find a way to connect your solution to what matters to them.

What does Retail Enterprise Sales at Wolt actually involve?

Our ambition is to help revolutionize quick commerce in Norway and across Scandinavia. That is the goal I think about every day. We want to make it easier for local businesses to reach local customers quickly, instead of always losing that demand to bigger companies based elsewhere. Why buy from abroad if you can get it locally now? 

I often describe what we are building as a digital shopping centre. Why should someone wait 2 to 5 business days for a product if the shop already exists in their city and the item could be delivered in 30 minutes? The physical infrastructure is already there. What we are doing is helping retailers connect that existing network to a new kind of customer experience.

A big part of my role is helping retailers understand why this matters. One of the biggest frictions in online shopping is still delivery speed, and that can mean lost sales. Some companies are already thinking about quick commerce, while others are only starting to consider it. My job is to show them the opportunity and make the case for why instant delivery should become part of their business.

What does a typical day look like?

There is no completely typical day. Of course, I have routines and structures, and I am also using AI more and more to automate repetitive tasks. That gives me more time to speak with partners, learn more about their businesses, improve my sales skills and focus on the conversations where I can add the most value.

I might have three customer meetings in one day and pitch the same product in three completely different ways. In the morning, I could be speaking with a pet supply company. In the afternoon, it might be a pharmacy, and later in the day, a grocery retailer. The product might be similar, but the needs, challenges and language of each business are completely different.

That means you have to learn quickly. One day I am understanding how pet retailers expand into northern Norway, the next I am learning about pharmacy regulations, and after that I am deep in the grocery market and its competitive landscape. To do the job well, you need to become knowledgeable about every retail category you work with. That constant learning is one of the things I enjoy most.

The role also goes far beyond sitting in the office and calling partners. I have been involved in city launches, retail conferences across Norway, local partner events and an in-house social media crew. Sales is still the core of my job, but there is a huge variety of projects around it, which makes the role much more interesting and fulfilling.

What are some of the moments you’re most proud of?

I started as a Sales Associate in January 2024, and only two weeks later I was given the opportunity to help launch Wolt in a new city. At that point, I had barely learned the product or how to sell it, but we were asked to make the launch happen within a month.

I said yes to the challenge, and together with a colleague, we managed to launch the city in three and a half weeks. At the time, that was a record for Wolt Norway. It was intense, but it also gave me my first real understanding of what working at Wolt could be like. You might think you are joining to do one thing, and then suddenly you are trusted with something much bigger and more exciting than you expected. You have to adapt quickly, but you are also given the support you need to succeed.

What stays with me most, though, is not only the speed of the launch. It is seeing the impact afterwards: small businesses reaching out to thank us for helping them grow, courier partners moving around a city where Wolt had only just launched, and being able to physically see the result of the work we had done. That was incredibly meaningful, and it is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

On a personal level, I am also proud of how far I have come in Norway. When I first moved here, my Norwegian was extremely basic. Now I am speaking with some of the biggest retail companies in the country and leading conversations about how their businesses could grow. That progression means a lot to me.

What are the biggest challenges in the role?

Quick commerce moves fast, and customer needs can change just as quickly. In some companies, priorities might shift over a month or a year. At Wolt, they can change within a day. You need to be comfortable adjusting your focus, learning new things and responding quickly when the situation changes.

Retail also brings a very specific operational challenge. Wolt is a digital platform, but the service still depends on what happens inside a physical store. A device has to be added, employees need to notice incoming orders and the store has to treat the customer ordering through Wolt with the same importance as the person walking through the door.

Many retailers already have some of the right habits through click-and-collect, but instant delivery still requires a shift in mindset. Some companies ask why they should change their routines when things already seem to work. That is where the sales conversation becomes less about the product itself and more about helping them understand what customer expectations could look like in the future.

Businesses once had similar doubts about the internet, and many are now asking similar questions about AI. I believe quick commerce is another shift like that. The companies that understand it early and begin experimenting with it will be in a stronger position than those that wait.

What is the team and culture like?

The culture is one of the biggest reasons I enjoy working here. Even during the interview process, Wolt felt professional but also warm, funny and down to earth. That first impression has stayed with me.

What stands out most is how people collaborate. I have worked in several companies, and it is still surprising how consistent the mindset is across Wolt. People are helpful, compassionate and genuinely willing to learn from one another. Even when everyone has a lot on their plate, there is still a shared desire to support each other and move things forward.

The work is highly cross-functional. I have regular contact with my team lead, onboarding, key accounts, marketing, operations and communications. We sit together in an open office, and there is a very low threshold for asking someone for support. You never feel like you have to solve everything alone.

The international environment is another big part of it for me. I can speak all four of my languages in the Norway office because the team is so diverse. Every day, I meet intelligent and interesting people from different backgrounds, both inside Wolt and among the partners I work with. That mix of perspectives makes the work more energizing.

Who would thrive in Enterprise Sales?

You need to be adaptable, humble, down to earth and willing to work hard. You also need to be passionate about what you are building and compassionate in how you work with people.

Enterprise sales is not only about being persuasive. You need curiosity, because every retailer operates differently. You need patience, because changing mindsets takes time. And you need to enjoy solving problems, because the work rarely unfolds exactly as planned.

Most importantly, you need to believe in the direction the business is going. When you buy into the vision and are willing to keep learning, there are a lot of opportunities to grow.

Ready to help shape the future of retail? Explore our open Sales roles at Wolt and see where your next challenge could take you. 🚀