From Ministry to the Sales Floor - Max Herman
Or listen wherever you podcast!
Episode Description
On this episode of the On The Rise Podcast's Faith Driven Leaders series, host Nick Stromwall reconnects with his friend Max Herman — a Salesforce account executive and co-founder of Catapult Careers. Max traces an unlikely path: a disqualified Air Force dream, coming to faith through Campus Outreach, and a winding climb through tech sales. He shares how he makes big decisions, why he built a personal "board of directors," and the origin of Catapult Careers after applying to 228 jobs. The heart of the episode is a watershed moment as the last-place seller at Sprout Social, when a coworker prayed over deals by name and reminded him: you are not the provider. A rich conversation on faith, work, and legacy.
Summary
A career can unfold by faith, one step at a time.
Max's path — a disqualified Air Force plan, coming to faith through Campus Outreach, then tech sales and eventually Salesforce — wasn't planned. Each move was made with the best intentions at the time, trusting that it would look wise three to five years out.
Test big decisions for reversibility, and gather many perspectives.
Before a major move, Max asks whether it can be undone and how risky it truly is. He'll pose the same question to two or three dozen people — and, drawing on Charlie Munger, "inverts" the decision to see it from every angle.
Build a personal board of directors.
Max prayed for all-in friendships after a move and unexpectedly found two neighborhood dads who became his informal board. Nick adds a framework: surround yourself with sages a season ahead, peers at your level, and people you're pouring into.
Catapult Careers was born from painful job-hunt lessons.
Max applied to 228 jobs in eight months with roughly a 1% first-round-interview rate. A stranger's advice flipped his approach: narrow to a dozen target companies and "be a BDR" breaking in through relationships — you have to slow down to speed up.
Relationships beat cold applications.
When Max narrowed to ~20 companies and networked his way in, he landed interviews at about 12 — including Google and Deloitte — seats he'd never have gotten applying cold. Catapult now packages that process; of 37 clients, 35–36 landed roles within 90 days.
Think in decades, and honor real responsibilities.
Max keeps Catapult a side passion because his long-term calling is enterprise sales, where he believes he can impact the most lives — and because providing for his family practically supersedes any move to something that simply sounds fun.
"You are not the provider."
As the last-place account executive at Sprout Social, Max spiraled — until a believing coworker reframed the work ("I do care about helping these people"), prayed over customers by name, and shared a Maverick City prison concert. Watching inmates worship with joy, Max wept at his desk and reoriented his whole approach to work around trusting God.
Financial discipline and a written values statement shape legacy.
Max's father-in-law made taking Dave Ramsey's course a condition of marriage, and that structure helped Max and his wife save and invest well from nearly nothing. They also wrote a family values statement — now framed in their dining room — to steward what God's given generously.
Resources
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxdherman/
