When you look at Tom Bassett’s journey in the Salesforce ecosystem, it’s hard not to be inspired.
Today, he’s a Senior Solution Architect at Vera Solutions, a community leader, a podcast host, and a fresh Salesforce MVP. But it all began in 2018 with a nonprofit role that changed the course of his career.
How It All Started
Tom’s Salesforce story began at Samaritans, a UK nonprofit offering emotional support to anyone struggling to cope, with a focus on preventing suicide.
“I was kind of thrown into the world of Salesforce admin… and eventually decided Salesforce was my home. It was the place I wanted to be.”
From there, he moved into consulting and worked his way up to Senior Solution Architect. Along the way, Tom became deeply engaged with the Trailblazer Community, answering questions, speaking at events like Dreamforce, and running the London Architect Community Group.
“I started out by just answering a couple of questions here and there, and then I started to grow my confidence, and I spoke at a virtual event during COVID as well.” Tom shared.
A Typical Day at Work
No two days are the same in Tom’s life.
At Vera Solutions, Tom works with clients using AMP Impact, a Salesforce-based solution that helps organizations measure the outcomes of their projects.
“They might be running a project in many different geographies, and perhaps they want to record the number of people that they’ve educated or the number of people that they’ve been able to provide fresh water too. My company’s solution enables our clients to do that.”
His role blends client relationship management with hands-on solution design.
“My role is very much around the relationship with the client and making sure that the client is happy and we’re on the same journey together. And then the other part of the role is the technical bit, which I really love, which is about designing the solution.”
Becoming a Salesforce MVP
In 2025, Tom’s contributions were recognized with one of the highest honors in the ecosystem: Salesforce MVP.
He reflected on how his initial contributions via the Trailblazer Community have grown since he started out helping others.
“Ultimately, my contributions to the ecosystem have kind of snowballed and evolved since then, and I think I’m kind of at a point now where I’ve got, like, 20,000-plus answers on the Trailblazer community.”
The “Be More” Podcast
What started as a passion project has grown into a platform for inspiring others.
“The concept behind the podcast is ultimately about inspiring people to be more of every role within the Salesforce ecosystem… be more proud or be more authentic… it’s enabled me to make new connections and connect with people that I kind of only ever knew before via LinkedIn.”
The podcast features a mix of voices from across the ecosystem, including our very own Luke White, Sales and Operations Director at PDF Butler. In this episode, Tom and Luke dive into the world of document generation and its role in the Salesforce ecosystem. Luke shares his perspective from leading operations at PDF Butler, an ISV on Salesforce, and they explore the different roles and responsibilities involved in using and implementing doc-gen.
Check out the episode below:
Advice for Newcomers to the Ecosystem
For those just starting out, Tom’s advice is simple: get involved early.
“One thing that I kind of wish I did sooner was attending my local user groups and being part of that in-person experience… I’ve made some great friends that way.”
And if you’re heading to Dreamforce or a major event for the first time, Tom suggests finding your people.
“Salesforce run lunch buddy and concert buddy systems… All it would have taken is for me to have a lunch buddy or a concert buddy, and I would have been fine.”
Beyond Salesforce
While Salesforce plays a huge role in Tom’s life, he’s intentional about making time for himself.
“Right now I’m on a mission to do more for myself because he does a lot for other people, and he does stuff at work as well for other people. I started to go to the gym about a year ago now… Until this point last year, that was a concept that was very alien to me. I was doing everything for everybody else, but at the same time doing nothing for myself.”
His story shows that the Salesforce ecosystem isn’t just about technology; it’s about the people, the connections, and the shared goal of making an impact.
Thanks for reading Tom’s journey; we’ll keep sharing more stories from across the ecosystem!
