Pre-Sales Pathways is a podcast that showcases highly successful pre-sales professionals and the career paths they've taken. Find out how they got into pre-sales, what their roles involve and what's driven their career success so far. Pre-Sales Pathways is hosted by Chris Clark. Having had a successful career as a Solutions Engineer at companies like Slack, Salesforce and Glean, Chris now helps other pre-sales professionals do the same through coaching and mentoring. You can follow Chris here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-james-clark/
Zig-zag your way across GTM roles | Chapman Swaine, Ashby
Lots of SEs are considering a move into sales. Chapman Swaine did the reverse, twice.
At Slack, he went from enterprise sales to building out the value consulting team.
Then he joined Ashby as its second sales hire, before building out the SE function from scratch.
Today, he works on special projects across Ashby’s GTM org, reporting directly into the VP of Sales.
Every move in his zig-zag career has been intentional, rooted in his values and what he wanted from his career.
In our conversation, we get into:
Why time spent selling builds skills you can’t fake
How to handle your ego when you step from leadership back into an IC role
How he earned the right to shape his current role, and why company stage matters
If you're weighing up a lateral move in GTM, this one's for you.
12 Oct 2026
Land your next SE role at a start-up | Arvi Carkanji, Elite Talent Recruiting
Do you like the sound of new tech, a bigger scope and more equity upside? If so, you’ll want to hear how to land an SE role at a start-up.
Arvi Carkanji, CEO and Founder of Elite Talent Recruiting, has spent the last three years helping candidates do exactly that, at start-ups ranging from seed through to Series C.
She has a great read on the market, including what hiring managers look for and what disqualifies candidates at different stages.
In our conversation, we get into:
The number one reason candidates get rejected
How to prove you’re start-up ready from a big company
The outreach step fewer than 10% of candidates take
If you’ve been eyeing a move to a start-up, this one’s for you.
5 Oct 2026
OpenAI's Hee Jin Cho: Turn your side project into a full-time role
What if you could turn a side project you love into your full-time role? Hee Jin’s done it not once, but twice, most recently as an SE at OpenAI.
It all started with a holiday in Korea, where she offered to meet local customers. That led to helping US colleagues with their Korean accounts and, eventually, a formal rotation.
Since then, Hee Jin's helped OpenAI launch in Korea, Australia, India and Brazil, in a role that has kept her customer-facing throughout.
In our conversation, we get into:
How to avoid ending up with two jobs, by being honest with your manager about what needs to come off your plate
Why you can't be precious about your work when building something new, as much of it will end up being thrown away
And last, but not least, why demos matter more than ever at AI-native companies, where so many of the use cases are still being defined
If you've got a side project you'd love to turn into your day job, this one's for you.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Contact Pre-Sales Pathways
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Pre-Sales Pathways?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
