About this episode

Jack Cochran and Matthew James discuss the non-traditional paths into presales with guest Adam Bauman, emphasizing the value of technical backgrounds.

In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James sit down with Adam Bauman, Staff Solutions Engineer at Kong, to challenge the myth of the "traditional" path into presales. Adam shares his journey from nearly 20 years in software engineering and management into solutions engineering, exploring why technical backgrounds can be powerful entry points into presales. The conversation also tackles practical advice for both sides of the hiring equation: how candidates without presales experience can demonstrate their value in interviews, and how hiring managers can look beyond traditional backgrounds to find great talent. Follow Us Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/ Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/ Connect with Adam Bauman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjbauman/ Links and Resources Mentioned Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack Sol/Con 2026 (Chicago, August 2026): https://www.presalescollective.com/solcon-2026 Presales Collective Unscripted: https://luma.com/pscunscripted Key Topics Covered What Defines a "Traditional" Path to Presales and Why Most Paths Are Non-Traditional…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jack Cochran, Matthew James

Guest: Adam Bauman

Topics covered

• traditional path to presales
• technical backgrounds in presales
• hiring practices in presales
• solutions engineering
• candidate value demonstration
• interview strategies

Keywords

• presales
• solutions engineering
• technical backgrounds
• hiring managers
• candidate interviews
• software engineering
• career transition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kong, Presales Collective, Presales Collective Slack, Presales Collective Unscripted

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