From Technology Leader to Business Builder

Over the last few months, one of the biggest changes for me has not been AI, tech, or even launching Pivotal Foundry. It has been learning to think differently.

For most of my career, I was the person evaluating vendors, approving budgets, negotiating contracts, and deciding who we partnered with. I sat on the other side of every sales conversation. I was the one being pitched to, the one making the calls on where the money went. That was my comfort zone, and I was good at it.

Now I am the one building relationships, introducing myself, following up, and learning what it really takes to grow a business from the ground up.

A New Kind of Work

That shift has been humbling, honestly. When you spend years as the decision-maker, you develop a certain way of thinking about business relationships. You evaluate. You compare. You negotiate. And then you move on to the next vendor or the next contract.

Building something of your own flips all of that on its head. Suddenly you are not evaluating. You are earning. Earning trust, earning attention, earning the right to even have the conversation in the first place. Nobody owes you their time, and nobody is waiting around for you to show up.

I had to learn how to show up differently. Not as the person with the budget, but as the person with the value. That is a very different position to operate from, and it took some adjusting.

What Sales Actually Looks Like

I have a completely different appreciation for people in sales than I did six months ago. It is not just about making calls or sending emails. It is about earning trust, being patient, understanding someone's business, and realizing that sometimes the right answer is simply, "not right now."

Early on, I think I approached business development the way I approached everything else in my career: systematically. Build a list, make the calls, send the emails, follow up on a schedule. And that stuff matters. But what I did not fully appreciate until I was doing it myself is how much of it comes down to genuine human connection.

Some of the best conversations I have had over the past few months had nothing to do with selling anything. They were about understanding what someone was dealing with, sharing what I have learned, and seeing if there was a way to help. Sometimes there is, and sometimes there is not. Both are fine.

The patience piece was new for me. In technology leadership, you are used to making decisions quickly. You evaluate the options, you pick the path, and you execute. In business development, that urgency can actually work against you. People need time. They need to see consistency. They need to trust that you are going to be around next month and the month after that.

The Power of Networking

I have also realized how important networking really is. Not networking in the "hand out business cards at a conference" sense, but the real kind. Showing up, being curious, asking good questions, and genuinely caring about what other people are building.

Some conversations have turned into opportunities. Some have turned into friendships. And some have simply taught me something I did not know before. Honestly, I have enjoyed all three.

One thing that surprised me is how generous people are with their time and knowledge when you approach them with sincerity. I have had experienced founders and business owners share lessons with me that probably would have taken me years to figure out on my own. That generosity has shaped how I want to show up for others as Pivotal Foundry continues to grow.

Still Learning

I am still learning every day. Every conversation, every new client engagement, every networking event teaches me something. And I think that is probably the biggest lesson of all: building a business is not something you figure out and then coast on. It is a continuous process of learning, adjusting, and getting a little bit better each time.

The technology background gives me a foundation. The operational experience gives me a framework. But this new chapter is teaching me the things that no amount of technical expertise can replace: how to connect with people, how to be patient, and how to build something that lasts.

I am grateful for the journey so far, and I am looking forward to what comes next.