FOUNDER

Jessica Kentch is a fintech executive and data strategist with deep expertise in cloud accounting, financial APIs, and enterprise growth. After spending six years at Intuit QuickBooks, where she helped scale the QBO ecosystem to over $1 billion in annual revenue, Jessica left in 2024 to launch Ablaze Collective—a boutique fractional data firm specializing in API analytics for CPA firms and fintech founders.

Prior to founding Ablaze, Jessica led enterprise teams at Intuit, Wolters Kluwer (CCH), and Ceridian HCM, where she developed a strong track record in go-to-market strategy, partner enablement, and digital transformation in the accounting space. Her work demystifying advisory services for CPA firms led to close collaborations with tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Tableau, Qlik, and IBM, pushing the limits of what financial APIs could unlock.

Through deep analysis of anonymized API data from over 500,000 Canadian QBO users, Jessica uncovered the core performance indicators of high-growth firms—insights that now power Ablaze Collective’s proprietary data models. The result: an app that aggregates and visualizes hidden API data from systems like QuickBooks, Xero, and Plaid, giving firms access to enterprise-grade analytics once reserved for the Big Four.

Since launch, Ablaze Collective has proven to be a game-changer for Cloud Accounting Services (CAS) and M&A readiness. Every firm that used the app during beta was acquired by a Big Four or large national firm within 18 months, showcasing the platform’s impact on valuation and buyer appeal. Today, Jessica and her team help CPA firms and tech founders productize their financial data, operationalize insights, and accelerate growth through API intelligence.

When she’s not leading strategy at Ablaze, you’ll find Jessica exploring the Alberta wilderness with her CTO—hiking, skiing, and unwinding with an IPA in Canmore, staying grounded in the bold, founder-first values that drive the Collective.

FRACTIONAL CTO

Viktor Shevchenko is the visionary architect behind Ablaze Collective’s next-gen analytics platform, built to transform how CPA firms mine and monetize their cloud accounting data. As our fractional CTO, Viktor blends deep technical mastery with strategic foresight—bringing the kind of data infrastructure once exclusive to the Big Four into the hands of everyday founders and financial professionals.

Viktor holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the National Technical University of Ukraine (Kyiv Polytechnic Institute), where he focused on distributed systems and data security. His academic research laid the groundwork for his future specialization in cloud architecture and API infrastructure.

Before joining Ablaze, Viktor led analytics engineering for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) in Ukraine, where he developed scalable data systems and pioneered innovations in cloud-native architecture. His leadership helped major enterprise clients unlock real-time insights, even in complex and volatile environments. After relocating to Silicon Valley, Viktor became a sought-after expert in financial APIs, partnering with high-growth startups to turn backend complexity into a competitive advantage.

At Ablaze, Viktor has designed our core product using atomic computing architecture, enabling secure, high-frequency mining of financial APIs—including Intuit, Xero, Plaid, and beyond—without the need for custom dev work per client. His approach to duplicating API calls across portfolios has redefined speed, scalability, and insight delivery in financial data.

Outside of building the future of fintech, Viktor spends his downtime building drones, fine-tuning his 3D printing rigs, and contributing to open-source machine learning projects. A mentor in the tech community, he also coaches up-and-coming engineers at coding bootcamps. On weekends, you’ll often find him paddleboarding on Lake Louise or hiking through Banff with a camera slung over his shoulder—chasing the perfect landscape shot.

DATA ENGINEER

Mohammed Khan is a skilled Data Engineer at Ablaze Collective, where he designs and maintains scalable data infrastructure to support analytics, automation, and advanced reporting. With a strong background in the computer software industry, Mohammed brings deep expertise in data warehousing, ETL development, DevOps, and cloud architecture.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and a Master’s in Computer Science from PUCIT (Punjab University College of Information Technology). Mohammed is certified in AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty, AWS Solutions Architect – Associate, and Microsoft Azure Fundamentals, ensuring he stays at the forefront of cloud-native data solutions.

At Ablaze, he leads the backend engineering for our proprietary data analytics platform—transforming financial data from QuickBooks Online, Xero, and other cloud systems into clean, queryable datasets. His work supports the real-time insights and machine learning models that help CPA firms and founders make smarter, data-informed decisions.

Fluent in English, Urdu, and Punjabi, Mohammed brings a collaborative spirit and automation-first mindset to the team. He is passionate about building robust, adaptive infrastructure that evolves with the pace of our clients’ needs.

JUNIOR DATA ANALYST

Yaroslav Kovalchuk is a Junior Data Analyst at Ablaze Collective, where he contributes to data mining, financial modeling, and dashboard development for a range of client portfolios. Originally from Lviv, Ukraine, Yaroslav holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Calgary, where he concentrated on econometrics and data systems.

Before joining Ablaze, Yaroslav worked on economic forecasting research and assisted in building machine learning models for academic and nonprofit projects. At Ablaze, he specializes in working with cloud accounting data from systems like QuickBooks Online and Xero—cleaning, structuring, and visualizing complex datasets to help CPA firms and founders uncover actionable insights.

Yaroslav brings a thoughtful, detail-oriented approach to his work, rooted in both analytical rigor and a deep belief in the power of data to drive better business decisions.