Suggestions
Sam Zoll
VP, User Experience Design Lead at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Professional Background
Sam Zoll is a highly skilled designer and developer with a remarkable ability to blend creativity with technical expertise. With a solid foundation in architecture, complemented by extensive experience in user experience design and software development, Sam passionately crafts products that prioritize user interaction and satisfaction. Currently, Sam serves as the Vice President and User Experience Design Lead at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he is responsible for driving innovative design solutions and enhancing the overall user experience across digital platforms. His ability to lead design initiatives is a testament to his strong leadership skills and commitment to excellence in design.
Before his current position, Sam held the role of Senior Design Technologist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he further honed his skills in crafting user-centric solutions that address complex problems in a fast-paced environment. Sam’s diverse career includes being a Full Stack Engineer at the Bay Area News Group, where he developed robust web applications that improved customer engagement and satisfaction. As the Lead Product Designer and Co-Founder of Purple Gator, he demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit and creativity, contributing significantly to the company's growth and direction.
Education and Achievements
Sam's educational background plays a crucial role in his multifaceted skill set. He began his academic journey with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the prestigious University of Michigan, known for its rigorous program and emphasis on design thinking. This architectural training provided him with a strong aesthetic sense and an understanding of spatial dynamics, both of which are invaluable in his current design work.
In addition to his architectural studies, Sam pursued further education in software development at Hack Reactor, a prominent coding bootcamp known for its immersive full-stack program. This experience equipped him with the technical skills necessary to bring his design visions to life, allowing him to bridge the gap between designers and engineers—an essential capability in an increasingly digital world. Sam's continuous pursuit of knowledge and skills reflects his commitment to professional development and excellence in all endeavors.
Notable Projects and Contributions
Throughout his career, Sam has contributed to numerous projects that showcase his skills as a designer and developer. As a Research Assistant at the UM3D Lab at the University of Michigan, he was involved in cutting-edge projects that explored advanced design techniques and innovative technologies. His internships at notable organizations such as Scrollmotion and Kehoe Designs further enriched his experience, allowing him to apply his academic knowledge in real-world situations.
Sam's career path demonstrates a pattern of growth, where he consistently assumes roles that challenge his creativity and technical skills. Whether as a Software QA and Marketing Intern or an Architecture Intern at Bob Brobson Inc., he has always found ways to add value and enhance the projects he works on.
Personal Philosophy and Approach to Design
Sam Zoll believes in crafting experiences from start to finish, embracing a holistic approach to design that encompasses every aspect of the user journey. He fosters a design process that begins with foundational sketches and mockups, flowing seamlessly into the development of polished final products. This meticulous approach ensures that each product he designs is not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional and user-friendly. His passion for meaningful user experiences drives every project, as he strives to create solutions that resonate with users and facilitate their interactions in a meaningful way.
Sam's portfolio is a testament to his dedication to creating beautiful and impactful designs. With a variety of projects showcased on his website, he invites prospective clients and collaborators to explore his work and witness the quality of his craft firsthand. His desire to leave a positive impact on the world through design is evident in every project he undertakes.
Commitment to Community and Industry Growth
Beyond his professional endeavors, Sam Zoll actively contributes to the design and tech communities. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge and insights with emerging designers and developers, offering mentorship and guidance wherever possible. His dedication to fostering a collaborative environment speaks volumes about his character and commitment to uplifting those around him.
Sam’s engagement with organizations and initiatives aimed at advancing design and technology underscores his belief in lifelong learning and professional growth. He strives to stay informed about the latest trends and developments in user experience design, ensuring that his work remains at the forefront of innovation.
In summary, Sam Zoll is an exemplary figure in the realms of design and technology. With a rich educational background and a proven track record in various high-impact roles, he embodies the qualities of a thoughtful and innovative designer. From his deep-rooted passion for creating meaningful user experiences to his commitment to community engagement, Sam’s journey continues to inspire others in the industry and beyond.
Location
People also viewed
Related People
Clay is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Clay centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.