I applied through a recruiter. It took about a day to set up the phone interview. The recruiter told me Stratoscale is super-successful; I was skeptical because I have played in this space for years & I have never heard of this company from end-users or reseller partners. First, about what I bring to the table. I have a multi-decade career of successfully selling pre-IPO storage technologies & I have shoebox full of W-2 to verify it. The recruiter scheduled a phone interview with a high-ranking person at the company. Stratoscale picked the time & the recruiter informed me I needed to modify my schedule for him (remember I’m not standing on the unemployment line - but the recruiter told me I will not regret it). The person called me 20 minutes late (second red flag - good salespeople are never late). He starts off by saying he does not want to discuss what I’m doing now, rather he wants to start in the beginning; specifically around the jobs I had in college. That’s an excellent question - if I’m a recent graduate. However, I just don’t remember too much about where I bagged groceries 30 years ago. BTW - My college jobs are not on my resume. We spoke for 11 minutes about college jobs and my first “real job” decades ago. Then he abruptly ended the phone call. I am grateful I did not travel to meet this person otherwise I would be upset for wasting my time. The most valuable asset any salesperson has is time (we only have <40hr in a week). I write this because this so funny/stupid/bizarre, as a consolation prize it makes an amazing cocktail hour story. Think about it. You’re a small software company. Everyday is a battle. You must find qualified prospects, push them through the funnel & keep the VCs content. Finding qualified, experienced, economically successful field sales people is not easy and THEN you need to convince them to join your team. The person who is accountable for revenue finds a qualified prospect, calls in 20 minutes late to his own appointment & wants to discuss college jobs not relevant to finding qualified prospects. The Stratoscale person has no interest in discussing my success in the storage market with pre-IPO companies over the last few decades. Maybe I would have been a good fit OR maybe not - we'll never know. All the Stratoscale person wanted to discuss is bagging groceries 30 years ago. I do not understand this individual’s decision making process & fortunately I don’t need to. In sales, nothing else matters other than the numbers. I have no idea if Stratoscale will become a diamond or a lump of coal. Based on the 31 minutes I wasted with the person accountable for revenue - I’m confident I’m in a significantly better place.