Being the Founding SC with Alex Margolis

Alex Margolis joins the show with cohosts Jack Cochran and Mathew James to share his experience as a founding sales engineer, pulling back the curtain on what it's really like to be the first SE at a startup. Alex discusses his deliberate decision to target founding SE roles as a way to fast-forward his career after six years at a company with limited growth opportunities, expecting to build processes and lead strategically from day one. Instead, he found himself supporting eight AEs and an equal number of BDRs, running five demos a day in a high-velocity sales environment that left little time for the strategic work he'd been promised.

Follow Us

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/ 

• Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/ 

• Connect with Alex Margolis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexnmargolis/ 

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack 

• Presales Collective Podcast: https://www.presalescollective.com/podcast 

Key Topics Covered

1. Motivations for seeking founding SE roles and fast-forwarding your career

2. The sales assistant trap: expectations vs. reality of strategic involvement

3. Supporting eight AEs plus BDRs as the only SE in a high-velocity environment

4. Setting boundaries and tracking workload to prioritize effectively

5. Cross-functional relationship building as the company "facsimile"

6. Interview questions to ask when evaluating founding SE opportunities

7. Who the right fit is for high-volume founding SE roles

8. Finding company culture fit and working with good people