In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James sit down with Micah Joel, GTM leader and demo engineering pioneer, to explore what it means to build a dedicated demo engineering function from scratch. Micah shares his journey from theater kid to SE to leading Salesforce's legendary Q Branch, and unpacks why demo engineering might be the most underutilized lever in presales today. They cover the difference between deal-focused and infrastructure-focused demo engineers, how to structure the team, why blended teams fail, and how a mature demo engineering org can swim upstream into product strategy to reduce time-to-revenue. This is part one of two. Part two will focus on measuring and proving the value of a demo engineering team.

Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/
Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/
Connect with Micah Joel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micahjoel/

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack
SoulCon 2026 (Chicago, August 2026): https://www.presalescollective.com/solcon-2026
Presales Collective Podcast: https://www.presalescollective.com/podcast

Key Topics Covered

Micah's Background: From Theater to SE to Demo Engineering
What Is Demo Engineering and How Is It Different from Being an SE?
When Does an Organization Need a Demo Engineering Team?
The Two Sides of Demo Engineering: Deal Support vs. Infrastructure/Scale
How to Hire and Structure the Team
Demo Engineering as a Talent Pipeline and Retention Strategy
Swimming Upstream: Demo Engineering's Role in Go-to-Market Strategy
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome

02:48 Intro Micah Joel

05:42 Demo engineering definition

08:33 When do you need a DE team?

11:13 Deal side vs. infrastructure/scale side

15:48 Demo engineering as SE retention

23:55 Swimming upstream

27:11 Final advice

Building a Demo Engineering Team with Micah Joel - Part 1