← MinIO
MinIO role-play cheat sheet
For the mock cold call at the end of most SDR interviews.
What they sell, in one line
Software that stores huge amounts of data for AI and analytics, so models and agents can use company data.
Who you'd be calling
VPs and directors of data, AI/ML, platform engineering and infrastructure at large enterprises.
Your opener
“Hi [Name], this is [You] from MinIO. I know I'm interrupting your day. We help data and AI teams keep their data in one fast storage layer that AI tools can actually use. Is getting data ready for AI something your team is working on?”
Problems you solve for them
- AI projects stall because data is scattered across systems and hard to reach
- Storage that can't keep pace with training and inference slows expensive GPUs
- Cloud storage costs and vendor lock-in get out of hand at large scale
Discovery questions to ask
- Which AI or analytics projects are you running or planning this year?
- Where does your data live today, and how hard is it to get to for those projects?
- What happens when storage can't keep up with your data or AI workloads?
Objections they'll throw at you
“I'm busy right now.”
→ No problem, I'll be brief. I'm just curious who handles storage for your AI projects. Could I ask you that and let you go?
“We're not interested.”
→ Fair enough. Is that because storage is already solved, or because AI data isn't a focus right now?
“We already use something for storage.”
→ That makes sense, most teams do. We often get called in when AI workloads push the old setup to its limits. How's your current storage holding up with those?
“Just send me an email.”
→ Sure thing. To make it relevant, are you more focused on training models, running them, or analytics?
Competitors worth knowing
Ceph, NetApp, Pure Storage, VAST Data, Dell Technologies
Interview tips for this company
- Learn what object storage is (a way to store files and data at huge scale, like Amazon S3) in one simple sentence.
- Prepare to sound comfortable talking to technical buyers: ask questions and admit what you don't know instead of faking it.
- Read their homepage on AIStor so you can describe it as storage built for AI, not just generic storage.
Written from public information about MinIO to help you practice. Ask an insider what their role play looked like; it's the best prep there is.