“Design Thinking tools in the hands of sales professionals is like putting Miracle Grow on plants - it’s amazing what happens!”
Our Story
Combining their years of experience in sales, and Design Thinking, Ashley Welch and Justin Jones created Somersault Innovation to put the tools and practices of Design Thinking into the hands of sales professionals. The Sell by Design™ methodology not only reduces the time it takes to get the first meeting, build pipeline, and increase deal size, it also fosters creativity and drives deeper human connection in an era of automated response.
Ashley Welch
Ashley is curious–endlessly curious to understand the “why” behind people and their ideas.
Her curiosity has led her into all sorts of adventures, many of which have included traveling and living in foreign lands. It has also helped her succeed in both sales and innovation. She has spent most of her 20-plus- year career in sales working with global companies to inspire collaboration and innovation. She is always thinking of new ways to solve a problem or create something captivating: whether leading local high schoolers to deliver knock-out TEDx Talks, convening Boston-area thought leaders around a dinner table, or helping global technology firms delight their customers. Ashley holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan. She is the founder and co-leader of TEDxYouth@Wayland to inspire dialogue and understanding within the community. She lives outside of Boston with her husband, two daughters, two Mexican street dogs, and three cats. She is always up for a great conversation or a journey to somewhere new, but no more pets please.
Justin Jones
Justin is happiest helping people navigate complex problems.
Whether it’s tech sales professionals seeking to coax the world’s largest companies toward digital transformation, or a group of engineers extending the life of nuclear reactors as part of a carbon-neutral play to save our planet, he enjoys helping teams step outside of their status quo into insight and breakthrough.
He finds the methods of Design Thinking particularly compelling because of its human-centered principles, which recognize that we all simultaneously crave our comfort zone and the thrill of novelty. His wheelhouse is helping others find their footing in navigating that paradox, and that’s why he co-founded Somersault Innovation with Ashley Welch. Their work is elevating the capacity of sales and problem solving teams, mostly within the Fortune 500.
He studied English and French Literature for his undergrad at Cornell College because he’s enamored by the stories we tell ourselves in any language. And he later completed a Master’s degree at the University of Denver in Organizational Leadership and Communication, studying how people in organizations most effectively thrive. For the last 25 years he has worked with hundreds of leaders and teams across the globe as an HR leader, Leadership Consultant and Innovation Catalyst.
He recently returned to his native San Juan mountains in southwest Colorado where he enjoys climbing trails on foot or mountain bike, skate skiing and sharing it all with his husband Jeff.
“Justin and Ashley have this really great knack for getting people to think outside the box. They get teams thinking about problems and potential solutions in a fresh way that always surprises me”
Elizabeth Lathers, PhD, EMD SERONO
Learn more about Sell by Design™ and how our design-thinking approach to sales leads to enhanced relationships and stronger sales results.
