alumni

Jason worked at Salesforce for almost seven years. We asked Jason what he was most proud of when he looked back at his time with the company. He told us, “I am most proud of my ability to experience so much within somewhat of a short period of time. Seven years seems like a lot in a career, however, in life it is relatively short. I got to work with and learn from the brightest people while assisting incredible customers. Working at Salesforce was a life-changing experience for me.”

In 2020, Jason made the difficult decision to leave Salesforce to focus on a hobby that slowly turned into a full-time job. “When it made sense to chase after my entrepreneurial dreams full-time, I left Salesforce and pursued my first company, OptionsSwing ,” said Jason. OptionsSwing is a financial education company that aims to teach individuals how to invest in the stock market. Jason told us, “In 2019, we had some runway to build up our brand and create rapport with the public. Then when the pandemic hit in 2020, the stock market crashed and everyone began looking for education around how to invest. We were positioned perfectly to be a good frontrunner and our business exponentially grew during that time.”

We asked Jason what advice he had for people looking to invest in the stock market. He said, “One of the most knocked on things is paper trading because people know it is not ‘real money.’ The rebuttal is if you don’t know how to manage your own paper trading account, how are you going to do it with real money? Individuals throw huge chunks of money into the market and do not know how to properly manage risk. Build your trade confidence first and then you can put in real money to continue that momentum.”

Starting one successful company wasn’t enough for Jason. With his first company in full (option) swing (see what we did there), he set out on another new venture and founded Ternary Developments in 2020. Using his knowledge from Salesforce, he built his own B2B SaaS platform for the Creator Economy.

So what advice does Jason have after founding two successful companies? He told us, “To founders, make sure to start small and focus on the core of your business. Build slowly and see what doesn’t.” We also asked when do you know it’s the right time to pursue your business full-time and he replied, “I like to use the Tarzan metaphor of swinging from vine to vine. Instead of releasing one vine to get to the other, hold on to the first one until you grab the second one. When the time is right, the universe will tell you as well. Take the leap and see where you land. I haven’t looked back since.”

With almost seven years of Salesforce experience under his belt, you can imagine that the company had a lot of influence on what Jason was able to create with OptionSwing and Ternary Developments. “One thing I really loved about Salesforce was how it was able to go beyond work. The camaraderie and the culture are amazing. Culture is the first thing I wanted to infuse into my two companies. Anyone can create a company, build a product, and find some customers. However, not everyone can build a successful culture.

We asked Jason how he gets through tough days? “By incorporating fun into work and giving people the ability to connect,” said Jason. He continued, “One of the biggest advantages I had during my time at Salesforce was that I worked in a ton of different business segments — emerging small business all the way to enterprise. From a solution engineering perspective, I really learned how Salesforce solved a lot of everyday business challenges. We use Salesforce at both of my companies and I am a big believer in how much productivity the platform creates. I have the ability to solve issues before they even happen and I don’t have to run into scalability issues. OptionsSwing went from zero to $1.7 million annual recurring revenue while using Salesforce to automate the business.”

As you can imagine, running two different companies does not leave a lot of time for Jason to focus on himself. We asked him how he manages his personal wellbeing while trying to grow two companies simultaneously. He said, “That's probably one of the hardest things I’m still trying to figure out today. Since both companies are very different, they each come with different sets of challenges making me always have to think critically on how best to navigate the next step. I sometimes can get into this cycle where days blend into weeks because it’s hard to separate work/life balance, especially during a pandemic,” said Jason. He went on to say, “Getting outside has been very important because it allows for a change of scenery, a break in my day, and a breath of fresh air. It’s also important to remind myself why I'm doing things and to do them with purpose. As my parents always say: stand tall, work hard, and do your best.”

Jason has been a part of the Salesforce Alumni Network for just over a year now and we asked him what he most enjoys about it. He told us, “I love that the Salesforce Alumni team spends the time highlighting past employees. I think it’s so easy to forget about people when they leave a company and it’s easy to miss all of the great things people accomplish. The fact that Salesforce chooses to highlight their alumni post-Salesforce shows the beauty and support of the entire community beyond the technology. I also love seeing what Alumni are up to and what exciting things are happening back at the company. I get to stay connected and it feels amazing.”

Want to learn more about Jason’s career journey? Connect with him on LinkedIn! Or, if his story has piqued your interest in careers at Salesforce, go ahead and explore open roles today.