About Me

Pre-sales is
what I was
built for.

I'm Sam — a Pre-Sales Engineer and Solutions Consultant based in Tampa, FL. I've spent my career sitting at the intersection of how things work and why people buy them. This is the longer version of that story.

Quick Facts
📍
Based in
Tampa, FL · Open to Remote
🎓
Education
BA Graphic Design & UX + BA Sports Marketing · Indiana Wesleyan University
💼
Current Role
Solutions Consultant (UX & Pre-Sales) · Neuraflash / Accenture
🐴
Weekend title
Proud Horse Show Husband
✈️
Recent travels
Scotland · London · Hawaii

I graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with two degrees that don't obviously go together: Graphic Design & UX and Sports Marketing. In hindsight, they tell you everything about how I think — half visual problem-solver, half competitive strategist who wants to win.

My career started in design. At Ashley Furniture, I was deep in omnichannel UX — mapping journeys across e-commerce, mobile, and in-store kiosks, and translating data into cleaner, faster experiences. From there, Ideal Image gave me my first real taste of working at the intersection of business operations and user behavior — designing scheduling flows that had to work for both the customer and the business.

Then came Neuraflash (now Accenture), and everything clicked. Pre-sales turned out to be exactly where my skillset lived. Discovery, solution design, narrative demos, architecture diagrams, stakeholder communication — it's all design work. You're just designing a path to a decision instead of a path through an app.

I became the primary technical resource for enterprise SaaS and AI deals, partnering with AEs to qualify, shape, and close. I've worked across Salesforce, AWS, and AI tooling, and I contributed to a product that shipped to AWS Marketplace. Today I bring the same UX instincts to every discovery call — I'm thinking about the buyer's experience before they even open the demo.

01
Discovery before everything
I never build a demo before I understand the pain. Real discovery changes everything — the narrative, the solution, the likelihood of winning.
02
Complexity is a design problem
A confusing solution isn't a technical problem — it's a communication problem. My UX background means I treat every demo and doc as something that needs to be intuitive.
03
Outcomes over features
Nobody buys software. They buy faster processes, reduced risk, and confident decisions. Every platform capability I show has to map to something the buyer actually cares about.
04
Built to collaborate
I've spent my career between product, engineering, sales, and customers. I work best as a connector — the person who makes sure everyone is aligned before it's too late to course-correct.
05
Curious by default
Whether it's a new AI tool, a new recipe, or a new country — I lean in. That curiosity shows up in how I learn new platforms fast and bring fresh angles to tired problems.
06
Competitive, not combative
I want to win — for the team, for the deal, for the customer. But winning in pre-sales means the customer feels understood, not pressured. That balance matters to me.
The stuff that
actually shapes me.

Work is where I apply my skills. Everything outside of it is where I build them — curiosity, attention to detail, and the drive to bring ideas to life in unexpected ways.

🐴
Horse Show Husband
My wife is the real rider in the family — I'm just the very proud, very dedicated support crew. Horse shows have taught me more about patience, preparation, and showing up than almost anything else.
🏆
Sports (maybe too seriously)
I'm tall, competitive, and maybe a little too invested in fantasy football. Whether I'm watching or playing, sports sharpen the same instincts I use at work — reading the situation, adapting fast, and finishing strong.
🍳
Cooking Something New
My go-to is coconut jasmine rice with mango salsa — which tells you I cook the way I design: layer flavors, tweak until it's right, and make it look better than it has to.
🌍
Exploring New Places
Scotland, London, and Hawaii have been recent favorites. Traveling resets how you see things — new environments, new people, and new problems to notice. I always come back with better questions.
"Grounded in curiosity, attention to detail, and a drive to bring ideas to life in unexpected ways."
— Sam McCracken · Pre-Sales Engineer / Solutions Consultant