One of the reasons I write is to try to draw together the various threads of my life.
I’ve loved history almost as far back as I can remember and I suspect I always will. As I grew up, I decided to start my career as a lawyer, largely because I loved public speaking. I switched to the tech sector and became a salesperson so I could be at the center of the action.
I currently serve as Principal at P.S.I. Selling, a consultancy I founded to help early-stage SaaS companies sell value at scale. Previously, I founded the Mid-Market Sales Team at Coursera, a public ed-tech company. At Coursera, I was a key player in growing our enterprise business from ~$3M ARR to ~$180M ARR and was named Manager of the Year. I also served as the VP of Sales at a Series A SaaS company, leading a team of account executives and SDRs.
My aspiration is to combine the best of both parts of my career: the action orientation of a salesperson and the thoughtfulness of an attorney.
It’s been an interesting journey and I like to think it helps me add something different to the teams I’m a part of.
I got my J.D. from Yale Law School and my B.A. in History from Williams College. My full professional profile is here.
You can get a sense of my thoughts on sales by checking out my video on building a startup sales process. For a sense of my thinking on history, check out my article on medieval castles.
When I’ve made my mark on the business world and am ready to take a step back, I plan to find a high school with talented students and teach history and coach debate.
My favorite history books are Postwar by Tony Judt, which covers Europe since the end of the Second World War, and SPQR by Mary Beard, which chronicles the rise of Rome. Both authors excel at spotting the driving forces of change and laughing at the ironies of momentous events.
My favorite race car is the late-1960s Lotus 49. Race cars have gotten faster and, thankfully, much safer. But they haven’t become more beautiful.
