I read this morning on Martin McKeay’s blogthat he has resigned as Product Evangelist for Cobia, StillSecure’s open source (yes I consider it open source) networking platform. Martin does a good job describing the frustration many face in going from an engineering / tech role to a marketing or sales role. Let’s face it, every product has problems or shortcomings and I’m sure that Cobia is no different. It can be difficult when you know what those issues are but cannot openly discuss those with potential customers, press, analysts, VC’s , etc. It’s even more frustrating when a someone zero’s in on one of those shortcomings during a conversation or pitch. The first time I remember that happening was when I was an SE for a PKI company. My heart jumped up into my throat when I heard the sales person bring up a “feature” in the product that wasn’t there yet. I knew we were headed down a rat hole with that one.
I have felt your pain on more than one occasion since then. Best of luck to you Martin. I am sure you will have no problem finding your next opportunity.
–Chris
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