Jan Luca Ernst

VP Finance & Operations

Zürich Metropolitan Area

About

Numbers guy by title, storyteller by choice. I am the Finance Lead at Archlet, where we are building sourcing software that even suppliers enjoy using (yes, that is possible). My job: keep us ambitious and solvent - a balancing act I secretly enjoy. Think of me as the translator between finance jargon, SaaS metrics, and actual human language. For me, startup finance is not about saying “no,” it’s about enabling the right “yes.” I turn KPIs into decisions, align growth with runway, and help an exceptional team push procurement forward. Startup life means wearing many hats: fundraising strategist, process builder, risk watchdog, contract negotiator - and, when needed, part-time therapist. Big picture: build a company customers love, employees are proud of, and investors want to back. Fun fact: I can read a company’s life story from its ARR chart - and when I’m not doing that, I am busy with our family restaurant (my wife is the real boss there). Off the field of finance, you will often find me playing soccer with my son. And through it all, I look to Christ as my compass.

Experience

  • Archlet (Full-time · 4 yrs 9 mos)
    • VP Finance & Operations
      Mar 2026 - Present · 4 mos

    • Head of Finance
      Jul 2022 - Apr 2026 · 3 yrs 10 mos

    • Growth Manager (equivalent to Chief of Staff)
      Oct 2021 - Jun 2022 · 9 mos

  • Co-Owner of Gastro Ernst GmbH at Gastro Ernst GmbH
    Sep 2024 - Present · 1 yr 10 mos

    - 'Adler Berlingen', a family-owned restaurant: www.adler-berlingen.ch - 'SeeBar Steckborn', a summer bar in Steckborn at Untersee (part of Lake Constance): www.seebar-steckborn.ch

  • Bühler Group (2 yrs 1 mo)
    • Operational Excellence Manager
      Sep 2020 - Sep 2021 · 1 yr 1 mo

      - Managing an improvement project in South Africa (locally and remotely) including appropriate stakeholder communication, process optimization, establishing management systems & routines, and improving warehouse practicability - Process reengineering (methodologies: SIPOC & Makigami) to highlight improvement potentials - Developing of a group-wide efficiency KPI (overall labour efficiency - OLE) in context of a business excellence framework (EFQM) - Conducting of strategic analysis (PEST, Porter's 5 Forces, VRIO, Competency matrix), data analysis (OLE) and on-site observations (SIPOC, Makigami, Activity structure analysis)

    • International Management Trainee - Assistant to MD BA Value Nutrition
      Sep 2019 - Aug 2020 · 1 yr

      - Responsible for designing, analyzing and implementing an efficiency program for VN (600 million business) - Support Group’s overall strategy for product management (M2M BEC CT PM) - Relaunching and initiating a PM Community (PM Knowledge Exchange Session & PM Online Community) - Supporting the mid-term strategy process for VN 2025 - Co-creating the cultural change process for the management of VN due to the reorganization

  • Self Employed Consultant at Loift.biz
    Jul 2018 - Dec 2020 · 2 yrs 6 mos

    - Development of a corporate guide for startup collaboration opportunities - Startup scouting for a Swiss non-profit organization with more than 350 mCHF turnover - Business model development / engineering for a Swiss company in the automotive industry - Consulting for the establishment of an intrapreneurship program (internal idea generation)

  • Student Consultant - Mercedes-Benz Product Portfolio Strategy 2030+ at Daimler AG
    Feb 2019 - Jun 2019 · 5 mos

    Recommendation regarding strategic key characteristics of product portfolio in 2030+ for Gen Z. - Design thinking approach linked with market research, case studies & surveys to define future car key characteristics - Design sketches of future car concepts - Contextualizing mega trends such as sustainability, e-mobility, sharing economy in future market demand