Scott swore he would never end up in tech. His dad worked for TI, and he grew up with his hands on a lot of new, exciting technology — so naturally, he imagined a drastically different path for himself. After college, he started his first business running a paintball field, and was content to be doing anything but tech for a while, until one of his customers made an enticing offer for him to come work with her at Dell.

After working his way up into a management position, Scott ended up heading a team of 30 in a customer support center, which he enjoyed — with a few caveats. “Being with a large organization like Dell was a great experience, but it kind of drove me away because it wasn't a people experience. It was more of this giant running machine,” Scott said. So, he decided to part ways with technology once again and start his own construction company, which he spent the next five years of his life running.

As much as Scott enjoyed his time in construction, he felt as though he was doing the same thing he had done before with his paintball company, and it was time for something a little more stable. He thought he could utilize some of his childhood computer savvy in a new way, and at the age of 31, started his career from scratch.

He started out repairing laptops, then moved on to domain migrations, desk support, and infrastructure architecture. Eventually, he got recruited to the sales side at Mimecast, and it clicked instantly. With his background in support and running infrastructure, it felt like the perfect fit. “I love the opportunity to kind of be that middle overlay — not being the smartest guy in the room, but smart enough to be able to convey complex information, relay those messages back to engineering, and just continually learn and grow and build those muscle memories,” Scott said.

He wanted to continue building his new career in this direction, and was immediately drawn to Abnormal Security as he began looking for his next opportunity. The company stood out to him because of the unique vision, drive, and challenge. “Everybody else was talking about five years down the road, or as soon as we get the biggest offer we're gonna sell out,” Scott recalled. “That wasn't really what I wanted to do. I wanted to build. I wanted to be with the smartest people in the world and see if we could do something magical.”

Now a significant sales and culture staple at Abnormal, Scott is consistently excited by the company’s continual growth — not just the technological growth, or the internal growth, but how Abnormal has managed to get its name out there and become known. And growth is a big focus for Scott personally, as his own development at Abnormal has been the most rewarding aspect of joining the company. “As a senior sales engineering manager, my path of growth affects everybody,” Scott said. “ To be able to help individuals find the best ‘them’ and apply the knowledge I’ve learned to help them carry the organization to the next level gets me up every single morning.”

That passion for helping other people is what drives Scott’s customer obsession — both in his role and across the company. “When I think about my customers, it’s anybody who can reach me on Slack, or email or my phone. It’s not just who’s paying our bills, but everybody in the entire organization,” Scott said. That customer obsession has created quite an expansive network for Scott, and he often draws on those connections to find the best fit for open roles at Abnormal. He’s managed to bring in 12 referrals in the last two years, and used the referral bonuses he gathered to donate $30,000 to charity.

Giving back has always been integral to Scott. When he wasn’t able to give back with his money, he would dedicate his time and labor by volunteering at soup kitchens and rebuilding houses. Now, he finds himself on the other side, with less time to offer but more money to give. “If we’re out there trying to fight cyber crime and save the world, there’s more than one way to do that,” Scott said. Most of his referral earnings were donated to the Battered Women’s Shelter of Dallas, his favorite organization in the area. “Being able to collect money and help them with even the small stuff, like putting paint on one wall, just watching their eyes light up is worth every single moment that I could ever give,” Scott said.

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