Case Study - Scaling

Scaling AI SaaS Company

Overview
In April 2023, an AI SaaS company specializing in document workflow automation and computer vision, faced significant challenges transitioning from Product-Led Growth (PLG) to a structured sales strategy. The company's Founders struggled to integrate sales and marketing into their growth strategy, resulting in leadership turnover and operational inefficiencies.

To drive sustainable revenue growth, Konverge Expert was brought in to refine the company's go-to-market (GTM) approach, particularly in partnerships and alliances. His expertise in scaling SaaS businesses helped overcome systemic challenges and build a foundation for success.

Key Challenges

• Sales Leadership Turnover: No sales or marketing leader had lasted more than a year due to conflicts with the founders.
• Unrealistic Targets: Account Executives consistently missed quotas due to poor target setting and account allocation.
• Partner Strategy Misalignment: Channel-led prospects were deprioritized compared to direct-led opportunities, limiting partner success.
• Lack of International Expansion: No structured approach to global scaling.
• Operational Inconsistencies: Pricing, contracts, and compensation misalignment led to employee dissatisfaction and attrition.
• Weak Sales Operations: Inadequate CRM hygiene hindered scale-up potential.
• Execution and Implementation
• The Expert took a structured approach to address the challenges, beginning with a strategic focus on partnerships and alliances. His key initiatives included:

Refining Partner Strategy:

• Engaged Cloud Providers (AWS, GCP) for marketing exposure.
• Strengthened alliances with Tech Partners (NVIDIA, Databricks, TaskUs) to enhance digital solutions and pipeline growth.

Sales Enablement & BD Expansion:

• Hired a Sales Enablement Manager to improve training and onboarding.
• Doubled the Business Development team to generate a more qualified pipeline.

Operational Improvements:

• Enhanced CRM hygiene, pricing models, and contract standardization.
• Streamlined sales operations for better efficiency.

Leadership Transition & Revenue Acceleration:

• Focused on employee trust restoration and structured sales methodologies (MEDDPICC) to enhance pipeline discipline.
• Launched a US expansion initiative, hiring the first US-based Account Executive.

Key Achievements & Impact

• Operational Improvements: CRM became a real-time resource for pipeline management, while contracts and pricing were standardized.
• Revenue Growth: Q2 and Q3 of 2024 were record-breaking quarters.
• Employee Confidence Restored: Transparent leadership and communication improved morale despite initial skepticism.
• Structured Sales Approach: Improved deal velocity and forecasting accuracy through disciplined sales methodologies.

Key Lessons Learned

• Founder Adaptability: Scaling from startup to scale-up requires Founders to embrace operational discipline and leadership evolution.
• Data-Driven Decision-Making: Real-time CRM dashboards facilitated objective tracking and performance measurement.
• Employee Trust & Cultural Rebuild: Transparent leadership and structured communication were essential to retaining talent.
• Strategic Partnerships: Prioritizing key alliances played a critical role in pipeline growth.

Conclusion
Despite major improvements, the Expert encountered resistance from the Founder, limiting long-term scalability. By the end of 2024, Expert and key leadership figures, including the VP of Marketing and Head of Customer Success, departed the company. This case underscores the importance of Founder alignment in scaling businesses. While methodologies and processes drive growth, leadership adaptability remains the ultimate success factor.