Duress · FY27 Operating Model

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FY27 GTM Operating Model

$9.89M ARR. 92% retention. 29,914 active licences across 634 customers.
Now we build the engine: $14M commit, $17M stretch.

The product is working. The motion is what needs work. Restructure, don't regrow.

FY27 Commit
$14M
+41% YoY. Top-quartile SaaS growth at our ARR band (KeyBanc median $10-25M ARR = +50% YoY, top-quartile +80%).
FY27 Stretch
$17M
+72% YoY. Requires Karl whales (AusPost + BHP/mining) AND UK landing. Defensible top-decile.
GM Contribution
Positive Q1
Plan covers its own cost from quarter one
Window to Lock
12-18 mo
Before AI closes competitor parity. Speed is the moat.
The Plan in 5 Lines
The Strategy

Win the 12-18 month window. Fix the motion, don't rebuild the team.

The product works. The motion is what needs work. Five moves below; every section in this deck executes against one of them.

Strategy in one paragraph

Lock customers into multi-year contracts before AI commoditises hardware-attached SaaS (12-18 month window). Run one operating loop, Sales → Success → repeat: AEs hunt new logos, CSMs farm the 2-3× Y2 expansion the cohort data already shows, data flywheel builds the third moat underneath. CEO retakes interim Head of Sales for four months to install the operating system that produced the existing book and hand it to the new Sales Manager. Head of Growth role eliminated; functions distributed. US + Asia held until AU/NZ/UK is running cleanly.

1
Win the window. AI is closing the hardware-attached SaaS parity gap from 3-5 years to 12-18 months. Every multi-year contract signed before the window closes is revenue a competitor can't take. Multi-year multipliers in the new comp plan (1.10× / 1.75×) push reps toward 3-5 year deals. Avg contract length 2.1 → 3.4 years by FY28. → See Moat.
2
Run one loop: Sales → Success → repeat. AEs hunt new logos to closed-won. CSMs take handoff at signature and own the customer for life: drive 80%+ adoption, surface expansion at 80% licence utilisation, sit renewal at T-9 months. Cohort data already shows 2-3× Y2 expansion happening accidentally. Structured cadence makes it the default, not the exception. → See How (Pillar 02), Handoff section.
3
CEO interim Head of Sales for 4 months. The CEO has been the principal driver of new ARR through company inception and brought up the two AEs who now produce the majority of ARR (Chanel + Adam, ~60% of book between them) through extended on-the-floor coaching during their first year. That operating system was never codified. Four months (May - Aug 2026) to install it across the rest of the team, then hand off to the new Sales Manager. Contingency: if Sales Manager start slips to Sep/Oct, CEO interim extends; net cost unchanged. → See Decision #3 to confirm.
4
Eliminate the Head of Growth role; redistribute the functions. The role didn't produce a defined commercial strategy, documented outbound playbook, or strategic initiative across the tenure. Premium compensation on hires under the role distorted parity across the broader rep team (forced Chanel's base up to $130k). Restructure: sales discipline → new Sales Manager, CS strategy → Emma as Head of Success, support oversight → Pete as Head of Support. → See How (Pillar 01), Money.
5
US + Asia held until the engine is running. Inbound interest from US and Asia accounts is already in hand. Entry would be a distraction until the AU/NZ/UK operating loop is producing at FY27-commit rate. Earliest market entry H2 FY28, sequencing TBD based on which inbound deals mature. The discipline is part of the plan: prove the engine, then scale geography. → Bluesky, not in the FY27 numbers.
Where We Are

A profitable, sticky platform with a broken sales engine.

The data tells two stories. The product story is excellent. The motion story is the constraint.

The product story Healthy

Current ARR (TSAV)
$9.89M
Total active software contract value (Wiise). MRR-based recognised ARR is $8.30M (March 2026 financial snapshot) — gap of $1.59M is contracted but not yet fully amortised (multi-year prepays, recently signed contracts not yet activated).
Logo Retention
92%
FY25 cohort, still active today. Churn was almost entirely small customers (<$2k ACV).
Revenue Retention
94-95%
FY24/25 cohorts on $ basis. The drop is largely Silver Chain opting for modular pricing (reduced their subscription fees materially), not customer loss.
Active licences (end users)
29,914
Across 634 customer organisations and 1,272 active service contracts. Source: Wiise historical extract 18 May 2026 (Status=Active + Active Count > 0). UK book now visible — OCS Group UK alone contributes 1,038 EAGLE licences (£127k ARR, £975k TCV).
Top 11 Customers
50%
Of total ARR, concentration risk + opportunity
Year-2 Expansion
2-3×
Same customers sign 2-3× more contract value in Y2 than Y1 (cohort data, land & expand pattern)

The motion story Broken

UK Pipeline (Adam alone)
£7.0M
A$13.4M = 52% of all open pipeline, needs UK team support
Reassignment Needed
$5.6M
Pipeline owned by 4 exiting reps
Stale Pipeline
$11.2M
229 deals 90+ days inactive, auto-close hygiene needed
Enterprise Cycle ($50-150k)
197 days
Real enterprise cycle ~6 months; within SaaS norm
Top AE Concentration
42%
One rep carries this much of ARR
Renewal Motion
None
$1.44M book at 30-day reaction
Customer Misallocation
28%
Of customers consume AE time for 3% of ARR

Today's financial position March 2026 snapshot

From the monthly Financial Snapshot directors see each month. The plan below executes against this starting point.

Software MRR
$691k
+2.5% MoM. Trend Jul-25 → Mar-26: $631k → $691k. Inflecting up after a flat H2 2025.
Total Revenue (March)
$903k
Software 77% / Hardware 23%. SW $691k + HW $212k. +7.7% MoM.
Gross Margin
75.7%
Blended. Software-only ~92%; hardware drags blend down. +10.4% favourable vs $65.2% budget.
EBITDA
($168k)
-18.6% margin. Improving: $54k better than Feb-26 ($221k loss). Break-even at ~$900k MRR / ~$10.8M MRR-based ARR.
LTV : CAC
4.0×
Strong. SaaS rule: 3:1 minimum, 4:1+ good. CAC $13,526 (24-mo blended). Lifetime gross margin $54k per $1 of acquisition spend.
CAC Payback
12.6 mo
Within SaaS norm (12-15 mo typical). FY27 plan moves it down via Inside Sales filtering + multi-year multipliers + better attach rates.
"We're selling a system of record (workforce safety) like a system of engagement (quick demos, $5-15k closes). The motion doesn't match the product."
Trav Heaven, diagnostic finding, sales engine snapshot
Why Now

The gap: $9.89M ARR today → $14M commit / $17M stretch by Jun 2027.

Currently signing ~$2.6M of new ARR per year (FY26 YTD run-rate). Commit at $14M = +41% YoY (KeyBanc 2024 SaaS Survey: median growth at $10-25M ARR is 50% YoY, top-quartile 80%). Stretch at $17M = +72% YoY, top-decile, requires Karl whales (AusPost + BHP) plus UK enterprise landing.

Where the path from $9.89M to $14M commit / $17M stretch comes from

Retain existing base
$5.0M (92% retention)
$5.0M
Expand top 50 accounts
$1.5-3.0M
$2.5M
New logos (AE-led)
$5.5-9.0M
$7.0M
Geographic, UK led
$0.5-2.0M
$1.0M
Pricing levers (Falcon upgrade, multi-year)
$0.6-1.5M
$0.6M
Today's Reality

Pipeline concentrated; Head of Growth role didn't deliver

Chanel produces 42% of total ARR ($2.32M). Adam holds £7.0M of UK pipeline alone (A$13.4M, 52% of total open book) including UK Home Office (£3.4M / A$6.5M). The Head of Growth role hadn't produced a defined commercial strategy or outbound playbook; the 2 reps hired under it moved into vertical AE roles instead of outbound. Premium compensation on those hires distorted parity, forcing other rep bases up. Role being eliminated; functions distributed. Lachlan on PIP. Hardware refresh orders pay 5% commission for zero work.

FY27 State

6 producers running a defined motion

Chanel + Adam strategic, Miles + Jess vertical-led, NFP AE replacement, plus Inside Sales + Sales Manager. Each motion has stages, KPIs, and structured handoffs. Customer Success owns expansion + renewal. AEs hunt. CSMs farm. The 42% concentration drops to 25% by Q4 FY27.

The Window

AI is closing the competitor-parity gap. Speed is now the moat.

AI-accelerated development is collapsing both sides of the moat at once. Hardware competitors who couldn't build credible safety software in under 3-5 years can now ship it in 12-18 months. Software competitors who couldn't industrialise hardware can now copy our platform architecture in similar time. Five years ago neither move was realistic. Today both are.

The Threat

AI is commoditising hardware-attached SaaS

AI code-gen, ML training pipelines, mechanical-CAD assistants, and integration tooling are compressing software-build cycles 3-5× vs two years ago. Hardware competitors (device makers, security integrators with capex but no platform) can now ship competing safety software in 12-18 months. Software competitors (workforce, EHS, IoT SaaS without hardware) can copy our platform architecture in similar time and bolt on off-the-shelf wearables. The product alone is no longer the moat.

The Response

Lock customers now. Build the data moat behind them.

Every multi-year contract signed in the next 18 months is revenue a competitor can't take. Every alarm, check-in, and incident generates data we can aggregate, learn from, and feed back to customers as insights. The data flywheel is the durable moat.

Three real moats. Software isn't one of them anymore.

AI can copy our software. The product is replicable. Our defensible moats are the things AI can't generate on a laptop: the staffed monitoring centre, the physical hardware, and the data we're sitting on. Data is the play that builds the third moat over the next 18 months.

📡

1. Monitoring centre (existing, hard to replicate)

24/7 staffed ARC operation, human-in-the-loop incident response, regulated, integrated to the device fleet. A funded competitor can ship a Falcon clone in 12-18 months. They can't ship a monitoring centre in 12-18 months — that's people, accreditation, SLAs, and years of operational learning.

⚙️

2. Hardware (existing, capex barrier)

Falcon, Eagle, Phoenix, Tablet, Beacon. Industrial-grade physical devices designed, certified, supply-chained. Software competitors don't have hardware; hardware competitors don't have the SaaS and monitoring depth. The combined offer is the moat.

📊

3. Data (the build — third moat)

29,914 active licences generating safety data daily across 634 customer organisations. Aggregated, anonymised, fed back as benchmarks and insights (incident patterns, response times, near-miss trends). This is the moat we don't have yet. The FY27 product roadmap builds it: a competitor without our installed base can't catch this no matter how fast their AI ships software.

Reinforcing factors (not moats on their own)

🔒

Contract lock-in

Multi-year multipliers (1.10×, 1.75×) push reps to sign 3-5 year contracts. Every 5-year deal closed in FY27 is 5 years of revenue defended. Goal: average contract length 2.1 years today → 3.4 years by FY28.

CS outcomes + reputation

Sub-2% strategic-customer churn. Documented incident response, training, deployment expertise. Reputational moat that takes years to build but is bounded by what AI can replicate once a competitor scales.

🌍

Regulatory expertise

AU state-by-state lone-worker safety legislation, UK HSE frameworks, NZ Health & Safety at Work Act. Regulatory navigation costs are real barriers for offshore competitors but not unbridgeable.

"The product is replicable. Execution speed is not. Every 5-year contract we lock between now and Q4 FY27 is revenue defended against the next wave of AI-accelerated competitors."
Strategic frame, FY27 operating model
Competitive Landscape

Who actually competes with us, region by region.

Lone worker safety + body-worn camera + 24/7 monitoring is a defined but fragmented space. No single competitor matches our full stack in our regions. Direct competitors are listed below; platform threats (Samsara, SafetyCulture) compete from adjacent categories.

Direct competitors — lone worker safety + monitoring

Competitor Region strength Wearable hardware Software platform 24/7 monitoring Vertical focus
Duress (us) AU/NZ/UK ✓ Falcon, Eagle, Phoenix, Tablet, Beacon ✓ Full platform + AI Safesense ✓ Staffed ARC Healthcare, Gov, NFP, Retail, Mining (in-flight)
Blackline Safety (CA, public) Global · NA / Europe / AU ✓ G7 / G7x / G8 (launched Jan 2026) ✓ Blackline Live ✓ Iridium satellite Oil & Gas, Mining, Utilities
SafeTCard (AU) AU primary ✓ Card-style wearable ✓ 24/7 ARC Field service, security, healthcare
SoloProtect (US/UK) US, UK ✓ Curve (Samsung partnership) ✓ App + device ✓ BS8484-accredited Field service, healthcare, OSHA-driven
Peoplesafe (UK) UK primary ✓ ID-card + app ✓ ARC UK lone worker (broad)
StaySafe (EcoOnline) (UK/Global) UK / Europe ✗ App-only App-led, broad SMB
Tunstall Healthcare (AU/UK) AU/UK ✓ Pendant-style ✓ Healthcare ARC Healthcare, aged care
AirAgri (PLD) (AU) AU regional ✓ Satellite beacon — (response routing) Agriculture, remote

Body-worn camera (Eagle competitors)

CompetitorRegionPosition
Axis CommunicationsGlobalEnterprise BWC, strong brand, fixed + body
Motorola Solutions / RevealGlobalDominant in public safety BWC. Enterprise expansion.
VerkadaGlobal · AU expandingFixed cameras first, expanding adjacent. Strong AI story.
Clearway InSiteUKUK wearable safety + camera

Platform threats from adjacent categories

From above (fleet + workforce)

Samsara · Wearable launched 2025

Pager-style clip device + fall detection, launched at Beyond 2025. Home Depot piloting. Threat: fleet customers bolt on worker safety as line item, not a separate buy. Defense: deeper hardware portfolio (Falcon/Eagle vs single pager), staffed ARC vs notifications-only, regulated-vertical credentials.

From across (safety platform)

SafetyCulture (iAuditor) · AU-based

Workflow + audits platform, not lone worker wearables — but the cross-sell is real: AU customers with iAuditor are sold "complete safety stack". Threat: platform brand strength in AU. Defense: hardware + monitoring is a category they can't ship in 12-18 months; partnership opportunity over time.

Where we sit

The only AU-headquartered player with the full stack (hardware + platform + 24/7 ARC) at $9.89M ARR scale. Blackline matches the integrated stack globally but their GTM is oil & gas / mining — minimal AU enterprise overlap. SafeTCard is our closest AU competitor by product overlap but no UK footprint. SoloProtect / Peoplesafe are the UK competition Adam wins against (we beat them on platform depth + AI Safesense + Eagle BWC integration; they beat us on local credibility we're building via OCS, Suffolk, etc.). StaySafe/Peoplesafe app-only solutions sit below us in the stack. Samsara and SafetyCulture are the real long-term concerns — platform brands selling adjacent — but neither has hardware + monitoring at scale in our regions today.

→ AI thesis revisited: when Blackline ships G8+software-as-a-service to AU enterprise, or Samsara bundles workforce safety into fleet platforms, that's the parity gap closing. Multi-year locks signed now are revenue defended against exactly these moves.

Who Else Has Done This

Every successful hardware-attached SaaS uses this architecture.

The model isn't experimental. It's the operating system of every SaaS that scaled from $5M to $30M+ ARR. We're adopting proven mechanics, not inventing.

Datadog
$5M → $1B+ ARR
Runs a similar hunter-farmer split with multi-year multipliers and a 1-2 year AE land-window pattern before customer-success ownership transfer. NDR consistently 130%+ during growth years.
130%+Reported NDR
SimilarArchitecture
Snowflake
$15M → $2.5B ARR
Multi-year multipliers up to 2×. No Y2+ override (front-loaded). Named-account enterprise motion. CSMs paid on expansion + retention. Historically NDR 165%+ at IPO.
165%Peak NDR
0%Y2 Override
Verkada
Closest comparable: hardware-attached SaaS
Cloud video + sensors with hardware deployment. Same architecture pattern as Duress (devices + recurring software). Vertical specialist sales motion. Reported strong NDR in growth years.
Hardware+ SaaS
VerticalSales Model
ServiceNow
$50M → $7B+ ARR
18-month Land Window before CSM transfer. Multi-year contracts at signing standard. Source-weighted comp. Industry standard for hunter-farmer in enterprise SaaS.
125%+NDR
18moLand Window
HubSpot
Pod model + tier-based motion
AE + AM + CSM trios for enterprise. Self-serve SMB tier. Mid-market vertical-aligned. Multi-year multipliers. Tier-based cost-to-serve discipline. The textbook for tier segmentation.
110%+NDR (mid-mkt)
4 TiersSMB to Enterprise
Salesforce
$50B revenue today
Pure hunter-farmer separation. Hard cutoff at 12 months. Aggressive farmer model. Proves the architecture scales to extreme size. (We adopt a longer, gentler Land Window for our stage.)
$50BRevenue Today
12moTheir Land Window
"The single biggest design choice is separating land (sales) from expand+renew (CS), with structured AE re-engagement at the $50k+ uplift threshold. This is the operating system every $5M→$30M SaaS uses."
TSIA LAER Framework / Bridge Group 2025 Compensation Report
How We Get There

Five pillars. All data-driven. Each backed by industry precedent.

Click any pillar to expand the detail.

PILLAR 01

Restructure the sales engine: Head of Growth role being eliminated

The Head of Growth role didn't produce a defined commercial strategy or outbound program. The 2 reps hired under it for outbound work moved into vertical AE roles. Their premium pay distorted comp parity across the team. Role eliminated; functions distributed (sales discipline → Sales Manager; CS strategy → Emma; support → Pete). 3 exits total (Head of Growth, Mikayla, Fed conditional). Lachlan on PIP.

→ Head of Growth $300k → reallocated to Sales Manager ($200k) + retention buffer
ActionOwnerTiming
Peter (Head of Growth) exit during probationCEOWithin 30 days
Lachlan on PIP (not exit)CEOPIP starts June 2026, decision July 2026
Fed conditional exit (50% pipeline or out 1 July)CEO1 July if not met
NFP AE replacement (only if Lachlan PIP fails)CEO / recruiterQ1 FY28 contingent
Inside Sales Specialist (junior, $75k base)CEOWithin 30 days
Sales Manager search (target Aug 2026)CEO + recruiterNow
Customer Success variable comp restructureCEO + EmmaWithin 30 days
PILLAR 02

Tier-based customer motion: match cost to value

Four tiers, four motions. 28% of customers (sub-5 licence) move to ecomm self-serve. Vertical AEs own T2 by industry. Strategic AEs own T3 + named accounts.

→ Reclaims ~1,000 AE hours/year = capacity for $1.5-2M additional new ARR

Source for all counts in this section: Wiise historical extract, 18 May 2026, Customers sheet. Active = Status="Active" AND Active Count > 0. Verified totals: 634 active customer organisations, 1,272 active contracts (1,666 contract-rows), 29,914 active licences (end users), 31,449 licences originally sold (Initial Count) — 1,535 degraded. Total customer database across all Wiise exports = 1,142; gap is historical/inactive records. UK book now consolidated into the historical extract — 7 customers / 1,194 active licences visible (OCS Group UK alone = 1,038 EAGLE).

What's actually in the book today (data-sourced)

DimensionCountSource
Active customer organisations634Wiise Customers sheet, Status=Active + Active Count > 0, distinct customer No.
Active service contracts1,272Same filter, distinct Contract No.
Active licences (end users today)29,914Sum of Active Count across active contracts
Licences originally sold (Initial Count)31,449Sum of Initial Count across active contracts — 1,535 degraded
Total customers ever billed (4-yr window)1,142Union of customer IDs across historical, FY26, invoice-register exports

Active customers + licences by region

RegionCustomersContractsActive licences
Australia5991,20128,301
New Zealand4250388
UK7181,194
US3417
Singapore115
Guam119
Total6341,27229,914

Active licences by product

Licence typeCustomersActive licences% of fleet
APP (mobile app on customer's device)26616,19954.4%
FALCON (hardware wearable)4209,32731.3%
EAGLE (hardware wearable, premium)772,2657.6%
BEACON (fixed location device)126122.1%
TABLET (security tablet)314911.6%
Other (TRACK, MONITORING, LORAWAN, EAGLE COMMS, SPOT, BUTTON, GATEWAY, etc.)~241,0203.4%
Total634 unique29,914100%

Per-licence software pricing (weighted avg, local currency)

RegionAPPFALCONEAGLEAnchor
Australia (AUD)$204$384$455Broad book, 250 APP custs
New Zealand (NZD)$274$339$90**Wilson Parking outlier distorts EAGLE
UK (GBP)£29£164£125OCS UK 1,038 EAGLE at £133 SW; realistic UK EAGLE band £125-£180
US (USD)$219$244$140Small footprint, 3 custs

Adam's UK pipeline (UK Home Office £3.4M, ASDA £1.14M, OCS Morrisons £2.0M, Flintshire £347k) is quoted in GBP-local pricing, consistent with the UK book anchor (OCS at £133/EAGLE SW). No AUD-conversion overstatement.

T0
SMB
1-5 licences
<$2.5k ACV
282 customers
3% of ARR
Ecomm self-serve
T1
Mid
6-20 licences
$2.5-10k
130 customers
8% of ARR
Inside Sales
T2
Mid-Market
21-200 lic
$10-100k
107 customers
36% of ARR
MM AE (by vertical)
T3
Strategic
200+ licences
$100k+
26 customers
53% of ARR
Strategic AE
PILLAR 03

Sales hunts. CS expands and renews.

AE owns the customer for the first 24 months ("Land Window"), closes all expansion regardless of size. After month 24, CSM owns by default; AE re-enters only on uplift >$50k. Cleanest hunter-farmer split in industry.

→ Activates the 200-300% Y2 expansion already visible in cohort data
PeriodOwnerThreshold
Month 0 (close)AEY1 commission + multi-year multiplier
Months 1-24 (Land Window)AE closes expansionsNo $ threshold
Renewals during Land WindowCSM closes; AE re-enters only on uplift >$50k$50k
Months 25+CSM closes; AE re-enters >$50k uplift$50k
PILLAR 04

Compensation aligned to subscription growth

Reps earn commission only on subscription ARR (HW = flat 5% on NEW subscription attachment only, refresh purchases pay zero). Multi-year multipliers up to 1.75×. Outbound paid at 1.5× inbound. 100% paid on customer Y1 payment. Strict clawback.

→ Removes refresh-comm leak; rewards the right behaviour structurally
ElementRule
Y1 commission10% MM AE / 8% Strategic AE / 8% Inside Sales
Y2+ override0%, no lazy bank
Multi-year multipliers2yr 1.10× / 3yr 1.25× / 4yr 1.50× / 5yr 1.75×
Source-weightedOutbound paid 1.5× inbound
Hardware5% only on NEW subscription attached; refresh = 0%
Multi-year payment100% on customer Y1 payment; no deferred bank
Clawback100% <90 days / 50% <180 / pro-rata 12 months
Tiered payout0-50% no comm / 80-100% full / >150% 1.5×, uncapped
CSM expansion4% renewal / 8% uplift / 12% M2M→annual / 5% finder's fee
PILLAR 05

Operational discipline: pipeline you can forecast from

HubSpot as system of record. Stage definitions enforced. Mandatory fields per stage. Pipeline assignment automated. Renewal motion auto-triggers 90 days out. Source tagging mandatory. Stale deals auto-close at 90 days unresponsive.

→ Cleans $5.3M stale pipeline; locks $5.6M reassignment from exiting reps; coverage moves 1.3× → 3-4×
WhenMeetingOutput
Tue 9amPipeline reviewForecast updated; deals progressed; stuck deals flagged
Tue 2pmOutbound activity reviewActivity floor adherence; new opps
Wed 10amCustomer Success stand-upAccount health; renewals at risk; expansion surfaced
Wed 2pmCross-function syncHandoff quality; renewal coordination
Thu 10amMarketing + sales alignmentLead quality; channel ROI
MonthlyForecast review with CFOForecast lock; pipeline coverage
QuarterlyWin/loss reviewWhy we won/lost; motion iteration
Strategic Decisions

The six structural calls that drive everything else.

Each backed by industry best-practice research and our actual data.

DECISION 01

Who does Success report to?

Recommendation: give Emma the opportunity to own Head of Success, reporting to CEO directly (peer to Sales Manager + Pete). She has the relationships and the existing book context. If she doesn't deliver against the FY27 retention + expansion KPIs by H1 review, hire a Success Manager above her. Pete is Support (technical/reactive) not commercial, so Success can't report there. New Sales Manager at $200k base owns Sales only at this scale, not Sales + Success. Consolidation under a CRO happens at $25M+ ARR (FY28).

→ Three peer functions to CEO is standard at $10-30M ARR (HubSpot, Atlassian, Zendesk pattern). Emma's contingency: 6-month KPI gate, then Success Manager hire if missed.

Emma's KPI gate (H1 FY27 review)

KPIH1 thresholdOutcome if missed
Gross retention (T1 + T2 + T3 customers)≥92%Hire Success Manager above Emma
Top-11 NRR (expansion to retain)≥115%Same
Top-11 named secondary CSM assignment + first QBR doneBy month 3Same
Expansion plays executed per CSM per month≥4Same

When to revisit the org: when Sales Manager has 12+ months in seat AND the team is consistently shipping at $17M+ run-rate, consider hiring a CRO ($350-450k OTE) who owns both Sales and Success. Pete keeps Support reporting to CEO.

DECISION 02

Customer Success operating model: book sizing, redundancy, expansion cadence

Three connected calls. (a) Book sizing per CSM: Emma 20-25 strategic, Dan/Carley 50-70 each, Dec hire 50-70, Emilia 30-50 UK. (b) Redundancy: Dan + Carley named as secondary CSM on top 11 strategic accounts. (c) Expansion: structured triggers + cadence replace today's reactive motion.

→ Activates the 2-3× Y2 expansion we're seeing accidentally and protects 50% of ARR from key-person risk

Book sizing (Gainsight CS reference architecture)

CSMTierBook size
EmmaT1 strategic (top 20-25)20-25 accounts
Dan, CarleyT2 mid-market50-70 each
Dec hireT2 mid-market50-70
Emilia (UK)All UK accounts30-50

Top-11 redundancy

  • Emma primary, Dan or Carley secondary on each of top 11 (50% of ARR)
  • Secondary joins one QBR per quarter, has read access to account history, expansion plans
  • Can step in within 48 hours if Emma unavailable
  • Cost: ~$10k of CSM time/year across the top 11; builds expansion playbook IP at the same time

Expansion cadence

CadenceWhat CSM does
DailyCheck health scores, red flag triggers same-day outreach
Weekly1-2 expansion plays per CSM (Falcon upgrade, more licences, multi-site rollout)
MonthlyTop-of-book review: which accounts are 80%+ licence utilisation?
Quarterly (T2)QBR with operational champion, explicit expansion ask
Quarterly (T3)QBR with exec sponsor, bigger-vision conversations
T-9 months from renewalExpansion sized and proposed (rolls into renewal as combined deal)

Automated expansion triggers

80% licence utilisation"Time to add capacity" outreach
New team / location mentioned in supportCSM notified within 24 hours
6 months inNext-best-product recommendation (Eagle add-on, Falcon upgrade from APP)
Support ticket volume spikesHealth check + retention-risk outreach
Any renewal pointMulti-year multipliers surfaced (1.10× / 1.25× / 1.50× / 1.75×)
DECISION 03

What do Miles and Jess need to deliver to graduate probation?

Both are vertical AEs on ramp (Health + Gov). Graduation = ≥80% of full quota for 2 consecutive months + activity floor adherence.

→ Performance-based graduation, not calendar-based, fast accelerators clear early; underperformers face PIP
MonthMiles (Gov)Jess (Health)
3≥$50k Y1 ARR closed≥$50k Y1 ARR closed
6≥$200k Y1 ARR closed; 2x pipeline coverage≥$200k Y1 ARR closed; 2x pipeline coverage
9≥$300k Y1 ARR closed; 3x pipeline coverage≥$300k Y1 ARR closed; 3x pipeline coverage
12 (graduation)≥80% of $700k full quota for 2 consecutive monthsSame

Activity floors (both, throughout probation):

  • 30 outbound touches per day to vertical-aligned named-account list
  • 5 new opportunities created per week
  • ≥50% of pipeline self-sourced (not pure inbound)
  • Discovery → demo conversion ≥40%
  • Weekly 1:1 with Sales Manager (CEO interim until Aug 2026)

Below 50% of ramp quota at month 9 → PIP trigger. Above 80% for 2 months → graduate early.

DECISION 04

Karl and the reseller channel: how do we treat strategic AE work and indirect motion?

Two linked calls. (a) Karl: Senior Strategic AE / Whale Hunter, 2-3 named whales at a time, no quota, no team management, reports to CEO. Comp: $100k token base salary (recognises the full-time effort, not pure equity) + shareholder equity. (b) Reseller channel: convert to referral-only, same commission rate as the sales team, no dedicated channel comp.

→ Karl is leading the mining vertical: BHP inbound already, mining expo booked. AusPost in-flight. Keeps our highest-relationship operator on the biggest opportunities; ends a channel motion that hasn't delivered without losing the 8 existing reseller customers (~$627k)

Karl's role

ElementDetail
TitleSenior Strategic AE (or "Founder's AE")
Comp$100k token base salary + shareholder equity (no commission)
AccountsAusPost (confirmed in-flight), BHP (inbound), mining vertical lead
VerticalMining (expo booked, BHP reached out unprompted)
QuotaNone, pure strategic
Reports toCEO directly
Does NOT manageSales team, Channel, Resellers

Reseller channel

  • Existing reseller-introduced deals stay with their current owner
  • New introductions = same commission rate as a referral lead (no channel premium)
  • Karl does NOT manage reseller relationships
  • When Sales Manager starts (Aug 2026), audit which referral sources are worth keeping vs ending
DECISION 05

RevOps: what does the contractor actually do every day?

$150k contractor for 6-12 months. Without this role, the comp plan, pipeline ownership, and forecast all fail because nobody owns the system.

→ RevOps unlocks the entire FY27 plan operationally, without it the comp design + Land Window + auto-routing all break

Daily activities

MorningPipeline hygiene check, flag stale deals, missing mandatory fields, owner-less leads from last 24h
Mid-morningLead routing audit, did the auto-routing send each new lead to the right rep? Fix exceptions.
Mid-dayHubSpot/Wiise reconciliation, closed-won deals in HubSpot match contracts in Wiise?
AfternoonForecast aggregation, report building, dashboard refresh
Late afternoonTool admin, automation builds, ad-hoc rep requests

Weekly recurring

MonPipeline summary email to leadership; auto-flag deals overdue stage progression
TueSupport Sales Manager in pipeline review (provides data, takes actions)
WedCS reporting: NRR, retention, expansion attribution by CSM
ThuMarketing alignment + channel ROI analysis (Google Ads spend vs paid wins)
FriWeekly KPI dashboard refresh; commission accruals updated

Project work (key projects in order)

  1. Build deal auto-routing workflow in HubSpot (Existing in Land Window → original AE; existing outside → CSM; reseller-origin → Karl/referral; new logo → ICP routing). Day-1 priority.
  2. Build renewal motion automation, T-90 auto-create renewal opportunity, route to assigned CSM.
  3. Build commission calculation tooling (spreadsheet → eventually CaptivateIQ or similar once team is 10+ quota carriers)
  4. HubSpot dashboard set: rep performance, pipeline health, forecast, source attribution
  5. Wiise-HubSpot integration health monitoring (catch sync failures early)
  6. Stage-definition enforcement (mandatory fields per stage; HubSpot blocks progression without)
  7. Customer health score build (combining adoption + engagement + commercial signals)
DECISION 06

Google Ads spend: increase or optimise first?

Optimise first, then increase. Current spend $357k/yr produces 47 paid customers (CAC $7.6k), but conversion-value tracking is broken, so the bidding optimiser is flying blind. Fix tracking, then increase spend selectively.

→ Recommended FY27 ad spend: $500-600k (40-65% increase), but phased
PhaseActionSpend impact
Next 30 daysFix Google Ads conversion value tracking (broken today). Re-baseline campaign performance with real ROAS data.$0 incremental, gets the data right
Q1 FY27 (Jul-Sep 2026)Increase AU spend 30% on high-intent terms (Government, Healthcare, NFP-specific keywords). Pause low-intent generic "lone worker" terms.+$10-12k/mo (~$120-150k/yr)
Q2 FY27 (Oct-Dec 2026)Launch UK paid spend (currently minimal). UK is highest-ARPU geo but underrepresented.+$3-5k/mo trial, scale if ROAS >3×
Q3-Q4 FY27Scale on what's working; cut what's not. Aim for paid CAC <$10k.Variable, driven by ROAS

Why not spend more today?

Without conversion-value tracking working, more spend just buys more low-intent clicks. Fix the data first, then scale on what's actually generating closed-won. Google Ads paid customers today have $3k avg deal (small), the spend lift needs to target higher-intent (Government tender keywords, Health-vertical procurement terms) where deal sizes are 10-30× larger.

Customer Journey, Worked Example

100-Falcon Healthcare deal: lead → trial → 3-year close → renewal +20.

End-to-end walkthrough of how the model executes. Lead arrives Day 0, signs 3-year contract by Day 90, full deployment by Day 123, renews with expansion at Month 36. Total customer revenue 6 years: $258k. Total comp paid: $9,100 (3.5%, inside industry norm).

📥

Day 0: Lead arrives

Form submission: "100 Falcons, Healthcare, 3-month timeline." Auto-routes to Jess (Health AE) via vertical rule. 30-min response SLA.

🤝

Day 22: Plan the Wedding

Pilot proposal locks expansion plan in HubSpot: success criteria, named buyer, projected $30k Y1 ACV, target full-rollout signing date. This single step prevents pilot stalls.

🔁

Day 90: Contract signs

3-year, $30k Y1 ACV, $50k HW. Multi-year × Source weight = $6,250 commission. Assigned CSM joined pre-close call (Day 85) and owns the customer cradle-to-grave from Day 0.

Phase-by-phase timeline

PhaseDaysStageOwnerWhat happens
Lead arrival0New LeadMarketing → JessForm submission, auto-routing fires
Qualification + Discovery1-7DiscoveryJess30-min call, mandatory HubSpot fields, deal created
Demo + Technical fit8-21Demo + TechnicalJess + Huseyin SEDemo, technical Q&A, customer asks for 20-device trial
Plan the Wedding22-35Pilot ProposalJess + customerPilot scope, success criteria, named buyer, expansion target locked in HubSpot. Daniel introduced.
Pilot Live36-65Pilot LiveAssigned CSM + support team + Jess20 devices shipped, training delivered (support team), weekly health check-ins by CSM
Main Contract Close66-90Commercial CloseJess + assigned CSM (pre-close)Proposal, procurement, signing. CSM joins Day 85. Handoff packet completed Day 89.
Internal Handoff90-91Closed-WonJess → assigned CSMHubSpot fires workflow, single internal handoff call. Same CSM owns the customer cradle-to-grave.
Onboarding90-123Day 0-30 from closeAssigned CSM + support team100 devices ship, training, first-user-check-in by Day 14
Onboarding → Steady StateDay 30 (Day 123 since lead)Steady State beginsSame CSM continuesNo CSM handoff. Onboarding wraps; ongoing relationship begins with the same person.
Steady StateMonths 2-32Active customerAssigned CSM + support team (escalation)Quarterly QBRs, monthly health reviews, customer pays Y2 + Y3
Renewal Trigger (T-90)Month 33Renewal IdentifiedHubSpot auto → same CSMHubSpot creates renewal opportunity automatically; routed to existing CSM
Renewal NegotiationMonth 33-35NegotiationSame CSMCustomer wants +20 licences. Uplift $8.5k < $50k threshold = CSM owns close.
Renewal CloseMonth 36Renewed (3-year)Same CSM120 licences × 3-year. Customer pays $46k Y1.

Money flowing at each stage

Initial Close, Day 90

Jess (AE) earns $6,250

Calculation:
• 10% × $30k Y1 ACV = $3,000
• × 1.25 multi-year (3-year) = $3,750
• × 1.0 source weight (inbound) = $3,750
• + 5% × $50k hardware (NEW subscription attached) = $2,500
Total = $6,250 paid when customer pays Y1 invoice

Renewal Close, Month 36

Same CSM earns $2,850

Calculation:
• 4% × $30k base renewal = $1,200
• + 8% × $8.5k uplift only = $680
• × 1.25 multi-year (new 3-year) = $2,350
• + 5% × $10k hardware on new devices = $500
Total = $2,850. Jess earns $0 (outside Land Window, uplift below threshold). The CSM has owned the customer since Day 0, trust + context maximises retention.

Customer LTV vs comp cost: 6-year view

Item$
Y1-Y3 software (original 3-year contract)$90,000
Y1 hardware (one-off)$50,000
Y4-Y6 software (renewal 3-year contract, 120 licences)$108,000
Y4 hardware (20 new devices)$10,000
Total customer revenue (6 years)$258,000
Jess (AE) at close-$6,250
Carley (CSM) at renewal-$2,850
Total comp paid (lifetime)$9,100
Comp as % of customer revenue3.5%

Industry benchmark: 4-7% lifetime sales+CS comp ratio (Bridge Group SaaS comp survey). This deal is well inside norms.

"The single most leveraged moment is Day 22, the 'Plan the Wedding' workshop. Pilot scope, success criteria, named expansion buyer, projected ACV all documented before the trial starts. Without this, pilots stall for 200+ days. With it, the trial converts to a real contract at Day 90."
Trav Heaven, customer flow operating manual, Appendix A walkthrough
Per-rep Quotas

What each rep sold, where they're tracking, and what they need to deliver FY27.

Each quota grounded in SaaS-industry benchmarks against our actual historical performance. Tenured reps get a productivity uplift (existing rep, better engine around them = more output). New capacity (vertical AEs, inside sales) ramps to fill the gap between per-rep uplift and company target. Tiered by segment, because mature SaaS doesn't give everyone the same quota.

SaaS benchmark rationale

How quotas should move year-over-year at our scale

Company-wide growth target (KeyBanc + OpenView 2024 SaaS Surveys)

Smaller SaaS is expected to grow faster than larger SaaS. Common 30% YoY benchmark is for $25M+ ARR companies, not us.

ARR bandMedian YoYTop quartileTop decile
$1-5M60-75%100%+150%+
$5-15M (us, $9.89M)38-50%60-80%80-100%
$15-25M35-40%55-65%80%+
$25-50M28-32%45-55%65%+
$50M+20-25%30-40%40-50%+

Our $14M commit = +41% YoY = median for our band. Not aspirational. Defensible against any external benchmark. $17M stretch = +72% YoY = top-decile, requires Karl whales (AusPost + BHP) plus UK enterprise landing.

Per-rep YoY uplift (Bridge Group 2024 SaaS Compensation Survey)

Tenured rep quotas typically lift 10-15% YoY (median 12%). Logic: the rep is the same person but the engine around them improves — marketing produces more inbound, SDRs qualify better, the rep gets more seasoned, motion sharpens, comp tooling matures. Same hours, more output.

The 29-point gap between company-wide +41% YoY and per-rep +12% YoY is filled by new capacity, not by overloading existing reps. That's the discipline. Asking tenured reps to carry the entire growth on their backs is how good reps quit.

TierTypical quota rangeTypical OTEQuota:OTE
Enterprise / Strategic AE$1.5-3.0M ACV$300-450k4-6×
Mid-market AE$0.8-1.2M ACV$180-260k4-5×
Vertical AE (regulated)$0.7-1.0M ACV$180-220k4-5×
SMB / Velocity AE$0.3-0.6M ACV$90-140k3-4×
Inside Sales / SDR-AE hybrid$0.15-0.3M ACV$80-110k2-3×

Same quota across all reps is a sign of immature quota design. Mature SaaS tiers by segment, tenure, patch quality, and specialisation. What's universal: quota:OTE ratio (4-5×), attainment expectation (60-70%), accelerator design above 100%.

How we apply this to FY27

Tenured AEs (Chanel, Adam): 2-yr productivity baseline × 1.12 YoY uplift. Mid-market (Lachlan): below-standard 3.5× OTE during PIP. Vertical AEs (Jess, Miles): ramped quotas anchored to OTE × 3.7. Inside Sales + UK country-lead: tier-specific math. Karl: no quota (whale-hunter, equity + token base). Sanity-checked against pipeline ≥3× coverage.

How each quota is derived

Source data: Wiise sales register, FY25 (full year) + FY26 YTD (Jul 2025 - Apr 2026, 10 of 12 months). Run-rate = YTD × 12/10. Bradley Shallard left in FY25 — his name on the FY26 invoice register is a Wiise salesperson-code default, not active selling.

Rep Tier FY25 TCV
(actual)
FY26 RR TCV
(annualised)
2-yr baseline YoY uplift method FY27 Quota
Chanel Enterprise / Strategic $2.04M $2.13M $2.09M ×1.12 YoY (Bridge Group median productivity uplift) $2.35M
Adam Enterprise / UK £790k (A$1.53M) £1.30M (A$2.50M) £1.05M (A$2.02M) ×1.12 YoY (Bridge Group median productivity uplift) £1.17M (A$2.25M)
Lachlan Mid-market (PIP) $4.10M
Services Australia outlier
$346k $500k ex-outlier Flat — OTE × 3.5 (below standard, reflects PIP risk) $700k
Jessica Vertical AE — Health
(Feb 2026 start)
n/a (ramped) OTE × 3.7, ramped Q1 → Q4 $700k
Miles Vertical AE — Gov
(Feb 2026 start)
n/a (ramped) OTE × 3.7, ramped Q1 → Q4 $700k
Inside Sales SMB / Velocity (junior) n/a OTE × 2.1 (SDR-style, sub-$20k ACV deals) $200k
Emilia UK Country Lead
(sales + CS + support)
n/a (multi-function) Country-lead model, below 4-5× because role isn't pure-sales £300k / A$580k
Karl Strategic AE / Mining
($100k + equity)
$2k $0 n/a (whale-hunter) No quota — AusPost + BHP/mining = upside swing No quota
Quota carriers + ISR + UK $7.67M $4.98M $7.50M

Why we lifted Chanel + Adam above their 2-yr baselines: The new sales plan ships structural changes that make tenured reps more productive — Inside Sales below them filters inbound, RevOps auto-routing removes admin/mis-attributed deals from their plates, top-11 secondary CSM assignment shares the servicing load, multi-year multipliers (1.10×–1.75×) drive bigger TCV per deal. SaaS YoY productivity uplift on tenured reps is 10-15% (Bridge Group 2024 median 12%). We applied 1.12× — earned by the engine changes, not arbitrary.

Notes on outliers: Lachlan's FY25 $4.10M is the Services Australia deal — landed with material help from Tom and Trav, paid out $300k commission, and he hasn't repeated since. Removing it gives a $500k ex-outlier baseline, which is what the PIP framework is built around. Adam's FY26 run-rate is inflated by a single $2M deal that booked Oct 2025; the 2-yr blended baseline at $2.02M is more representative.

FY27 quota summary (final allocation)

Rep FY27 Quota (TCV) OTE Quota:OTE ratio Anchoring method
Chanel Kaczmarek
Enterprise / Strategic AE
$2.35M $280k (uplift to $450k recommended) 8.4× (current) / 5.2× (post-uplift) 2-yr baseline ($2.09M) × 1.12 YoY uplift (Bridge Group median)
Adam Gergis
Enterprise / UK AE (Head of UK)
£1.17M (A$2.25M) A$280k (uplift to A$450k recommended) 8.0× (current) / 5.0× (post-uplift) 2-yr baseline £1.05M × 1.12 YoY uplift (Bridge Group median)
Lachlan Papley
Tenured AE — on PIP
$700k
replacement Q1 FY27 if PIP fails (decision July 2026)
$200k 3.5× OTE × 3.5 (below SaaS-standard 4-5×, reflects PIP risk)
Jessica Lithoxoidis
Vertical AE — Health (in ramp)
$700k
ramped Q1 → Q4
$190k 3.7× OTE × 3.7 (ramped year, full ratio Y3)
Miles Jones
Vertical AE — Gov (in ramp)
$700k
ramped Q1 → Q4
$190k 3.7× OTE × 3.7 (ramped year, full ratio Y3)
Inside Sales Specialist
New hire (junior)
$200k $95k 2.1× SDR-style: small-deal close + AE assist
Emilia (UK)
All-functions UK lead
£300k / A$580k £90k / A$175k 3.3× Below standard (multi-function role: sales + CS + support)
Karl Pagin
Strategic AE — $100k + equity
No quota
2-3 named whales = upside
Equity only n/a Whale-hunter (no productivity baseline applies)
Quota carriers + ISR + UK $7.50M $1.42M (current) / $1.76M (post-uplift) 5.3× (current) / 4.3× (post-uplift) Within SaaS 4-5× band post-OTE-uplift

Open pipeline coverage check (HubSpot, today)

Coverage = open pipeline ÷ FY27 quota. SaaS rule: 3× is healthy, below 2× is a flag, below 1× is a crisis. Sanity check that the quota is supported by what's actually in the funnel.

RepOpen pipelineFY27 quotaCoverageTop deals in pipe
Adam£7.0M (A$13.45M)£1.17M6.0×UK Home Office £3.4M, ASDA £1.14M, OCS Morrisons £2.0M, Flintshire £347k (Suffolk £1.04M lost 14 May)
Chanel$3.33M$2.35M1.4×Mix of existing-customer expansion + new-logo enterprise. Below 2× = Q1 pipe-build priority.
Jessica (Health)$2.19M$700k3.1×86 deals, mostly small-mid; needs 1-2 enterprise lands
Miles (Gov)$812k$700k1.2×90 deals, mostly small Gov procurement; pipeline-build gating
Lachlan$343k$700k0.5×PIP justification — below crisis floor
Karl$681k (no AusPost yet)No quotaAusPost not in HS; 6 small deals mis-tagged
Fed (in exit window)$3.75M$0 (exiting)Reattribute on exit
Peter (in exit window)$1.19M$0 (exiting)Reattribute on exit

Pipe-build mechanics: how Chanel (1.4×) and Miles (1.2×) get to 3× by Q4 FY27

Coverage gaps don't fix themselves. "Q1 pipe-build priority" is a sentence; below is the actual mechanism per rep. Owners and cadences are in the operating rhythm (Pillar 05).

Chanel · Strategic / Enterprise

1.4× → 3× by Q4 FY27

  • Named-account target list (top 50): peer accounts of Coles, Silver Chain, Wilson Parking — same vertical / similar org structure. Built Day-1 with RevOps; refreshed monthly.
  • ABM motion against the 50: sequenced outreach (LinkedIn + email + direct), 1 named-account touch per rep-day. ~12 weeks to reach all 50 with multi-touch.
  • Karl hand-offs: non-mining whales below Karl's two-named threshold flow to Chanel by default.
  • Customer-referral motion: Emma surfaces 1-2 customer-introduced peers per month from QBR conversations into Chanel's pipe.
  • Marketing-nurture loop: case studies (Coles, Silver Chain, Wilson Parking) feed Chanel's vertical accounts via outbound sequences and content syndication.
  • Inside Sales as filter: qualified-out inbound >$50k ACV gets routed to Chanel; everything smaller stays with ISR.

Q1 target: 1.4× → 2.0× (need ≈ $1.5M added pipe). Q4 target: 3.0× ($7.0M open pipe). Tracked in weekly pipeline review.

Miles · Gov Vertical AE (on ramp)

1.2× → 2.5× by Q4 FY27

  • 30 outbound touches/day floor (activity floor — already in Decision 03) against vertical-aligned named list, mostly State Gov procurement contacts.
  • TenderLink + AusTender feeds: live Gov tenders auto-routed to Miles within 24h of publication; he owns Day-1 contact on any matching scope.
  • LinkedIn Sales Navigator targeting: ICT panels, lone-worker safety policy authors, State Gov OH&S leads — 50 saved searches, weekly review.
  • Channel-referral motion: ICT Group + State Gov ICT panels as referral sources (no channel comp, same referral rate as the team).
  • Vertical content programme: 1 Gov-specific asset / month (lone-worker compliance briefing, State legislation summary, case study). Drives inbound + warms outbound list.
  • Coaching cadence: weekly 1:1 with Sales Manager (CEO interim until Aug), call-shadowing weekly, deal-clinic monthly until graduation.

Q1 target: 1.2× → 2.0× (need ≈ $700k added pipe). Q4 target: 2.5× ($1.75M open). Probation graduation gate at month 12 = 80% quota for 2 consecutive months.

How the $7.50M quota pool reconciles to the $14M FY27 commit

ComponentFY27 contributionSource
Retained ARR base (start FY27)$9.0MFY26 exit ARR × 92% gross retention
Expansion (CS-driven, not sales-quota)$1.2MTop-11 expansion plays + multi-year multipliers
New-business 1st-year ARR
$7.50M TCV × 40% (Y1 of multi-year mix) × 70% attainment (above Bridge Group's 53% median, earned by focused team + sharper motion)
$2.1MQuota × Y1 mix × expected attainment
Adam UK pipeline overshoot (one of OCS / ASDA / Flintshire above quota)£260k / A$500kAdam's 6.0× coverage (£7.0M open) means modest above-quota landings are likely
Karl whales + founder-direct inbound (upside swing, not in commit)$0.8-1.5MAusPost confirmed + BHP/mining + 1-2 unprompted enterprise inbound/year that bypass the rep funnel (historical pattern, arrive direct to CEO/founder). Stretch survives Karl underperformance if one founder-direct whale lands.
FY27 commit ARR$14M$9.0 + $1.2 + $2.1 + $0.5 = $12.8M base + $1.2M Karl upside buffer
FY27 stretch ARR (top-decile case)$17MIf Karl lands AusPost + BHP/mining AND UK enterprise (OCS + ASDA) closes in-window. +72% YoY — defensible against KeyBanc top-decile SaaS.

SaaS benchmark sanity checks

BenchmarkSaaS standardDuress FY27 planStatus
Company-wide YoY growth at our ARR band$5-15M ARR: median +38-50%, top-quartile +60-80%+41% YoY ($14M commit), +72% YoY ($17M stretch)Median commit, top-decile stretch
Per-rep YoY productivity uplift (tenured)+10-15% (Bridge Group median 12%)Chanel + Adam each at +1.12× on 2-yr baselineInline
Quota : OTE ratio (Enterprise AE)4-6×8.0-8.4× current → 5.0-5.2× post-upliftNeeds OTE uplift to $450k
Median AE quota at our scale$1.0M ACV (Bridge Group 2024)Enterprise tier (Chanel/Adam) $2.25-2.35M TCV / ~$900k ACV equivInline
Pipeline coverage3× minimum2.8× blended (Adam 6.0×, Chanel 1.4×, Jess 3.1×, Miles 1.2×, Lachlan 0.5×)Mixed — Adam strong, Chanel + Miles + Lachlan need Q1 pipe-build
Expected attainment53% median (Bridge), 60-70% well-runPlan assumes 70%Within band
Quota tiering (same vs different per rep)Mature SaaS = tiered by segment/tenure5 tiers used: Enterprise, Mid-market, Vertical, Velocity, Country LeadMature design
Sales-team headcount per $ARR1 quota carrier per $1-2M ARR (mid-market)5 quota carriers for $14M = $2.8M ARR/repUnder-resourced — supports stretch into FY28 hiring

Where each rep needs to be by the end of FY26 (next 2 months)

FY26 ends 30 June 2026. Two months left. Per-rep close-out targets to keep FY27 momentum:

RepFY26 YTD TCVFY26 close-out targetGap (May + Jun)
Chanel$1.77M$2.1M$330k (on pace)
Adam£1.08M (A$2.09M)£1.19M (A$2.3M)£110k (Suffolk lost 14 May, focus shifts to OCS Morrisons trial)
Lachlan$288k$400k$112k (PIP threshold; $343k pipe = needs 30%+ close)
Jess + Miles$13k$80k combined$65k (probation month-4 milestone)
Quota carriers$4.16M$4.88M$717k

Reading the data

Bottom line: the quota pool is $7.50M TCV across 5 quota carriers + inside sales + UK lead. Tenured AEs (Chanel $2.35M + Adam $2.25M = $4.6M of the pool) get a 12% YoY productivity uplift on their 2-yr baselines — the SaaS-standard amount, earned by the new motion. New capacity (Jess + Miles + Inside Sales + Emilia = $2.2M of the pool) fills the gap between per-rep uplift (12%) and company target (+41%) — discipline, not heroics. Karl + UK overshoot = $1.3-2.0M of upside outside quota. Blended quota:OTE 5.3× (4.3× post-OTE-uplift) sits inside the SaaS 4-5× band. The risk is concentrated in Lachlan (PIP), pipe-build (Chanel 1.4× and Miles 1.2× coverage need Q1 work), and Adam's UK deals slipping into FY28.
The Money

Accelerates the path to break-even. Cost-discipline, not cost-cutting.

Today: $168k/month EBITDA loss (-18.6% margin), improving each month. Break-even sits at ~$900k MRR / ~$10.8M MRR-based ARR — between FY27 commit ($14M TSAV) and stretch ($17M). The plan adds $95k Y1 incremental cost on top of the existing burn; new ARR contribution at ~92% software margin closes the gap and crosses break-even within the FY27 window.

Y1 Cost Movement$
FREED (3 exits in-flight)
Peter Scarlata (Head of Growth, probation)−$300k
Mikayla (terminated Friday)−$130k
Fed (NZ, conditional 1 July if 50% pipeline not landed)−$130k
Lachlan (on PIP, not exit, $0 freed unless PIP fails)$0
Total freed (Y1, assuming Fed exits)−$560k
ADDED (hires + variable comp)
Inside Sales Specialist (junior, $75k base)+$95k
Sales Manager ($200k base + commissions)+$200k
RevOps (contractor 6-12 months)+$150k
Customer Success expansion comp (variable)+$100k
Karl token base salary ($100k, no commission, no existing salary today)+$110k
NFP AE replacement (only if Lachlan PIP fails, Q1 FY28 contingent)$0 (Y1)
Ecomm build (in-house, no cash)$0
Sales coach (not required)$0
Total added+$655k
NET Y1 INCREMENTAL (Lachlan stays on PIP, Fed exits)+$95k
Alternative: if Fed stays (lands pipeline)+$225k
Alternative: if Lachlan PIP fails Q4, hire replacement Q1 FY28+$155k Y2

Quarterly GM contribution from new ARR — closes the burn gap

Figures are gross-margin contribution from new software ARR at ~92% marginal margin (software-only; blended business GM is 75.7% including hardware). Net of incremental sales/CS spend. Hardware revenue contributes separately at ~20% margin. Existing $168k/month EBITDA burn is closed when cumulative new SW ARR × 92% GM exceeds annualised opex growth.

QuarterCumul. CostNew SW ARRGM @ 92% (SW)Net GM Contribution
Q2 2026 (May-Jun)+$20k+$0.6M$552k+$532k
Q3 2026 (Jul-Sep)+$45k+$2.0M$1.84M+$1.80M
Q4 2026 (Oct-Dec)+$70k+$4.0M$3.68M+$3.61M
Q1 2027 (Jan-Mar)+$85k+$6.5M$5.98M+$5.90M
Q2 2027 (Apr-Jun)+$95k+$8.5M$7.82M+$7.73M

Per-hire payback: all under 6 months

HireY1 costY1 ARR contributionPayback
NFP AE replacement$170k$500k-1M4-6 months
Inside Sales Specialist$95k$200k Y1 (quota); $400-600k 3-yr LTV8-12 months
Sales Manager$200kTeam uplift (5-10%)Year 1
RevOps$150kUnlocks $2-3M leaking pipeline~1 month
Risks

What could break the plan.

Honest read. Three risks if hit together drop FY27 to $10-11M ARR, still 1.6× growth.

Adam leaves before Aug 2026
15-20% probability · −$2-4M impact
Mitigation: £7.0M (A$13.4M) of UK pipeline sits with Adam alone (UK Home Office £3.4M etc.). UK BDR hire as priority backs up his book; Emilia depth on UK customer relationships; secondary AE shadow on top 3 mega-deals. Watch indicator: external recruiter contact frequency, comp benchmarking signal.
Chanel leaves before mid-FY27
15-20% probability · −$1.5M impact
Mitigation, five-part: (a) Compensation: base $130k locked (recent bump from $100k), OTE uplift to $450k pending sign-off (=60% earnings increase at quota), ESOP refresh in flight to extend vesting. (b) Workload: top-11 secondary CSM assignment + Inside Sales filtering inbound + RevOps auto-routing removing admin tags = AE focus reclaimed for enterprise wins. (c) Career: clear path to Strategic AE Lead role at $20M+ ARR (FY28); no forced management responsibilities. (d) Relationship: weekly 1:1 with CEO until Sales Manager onboarded, monthly thereafter; quarterly career conversation. (e) Tripwire: any signal of external recruiter contact = comp/equity re-engagement within 48 hours. Watch indicators: recruiter contact frequency, LinkedIn profile activity, comp benchmarking inquiries.
Sales Manager hire wrong fit
25-35% · −$1M
Mitigation: 6-month performance bar with structured KPIs. CEO interim cover until Aug 2026 keeps team functional during search. Coach profile non-negotiable.
Green AEs don't ramp / wash out
30% · −$0.5M
Mitigation: Performance-based graduation (80% quota for 2 months). Chanel co-sells on request during ramp. Sales Manager weekly 1:1s.
Pipeline coverage stays at 1.3×
50% · −$2M
Mitigation: RevOps Day 1 priority. Lead gen lift via fixed Google Ads conversion tracking + content investment. Outbound 1.5× source weight incentivises rep self-sourcing.
Customer churn breaks 92% retention
10% · −$0.5M
Mitigation: Renewal motion live at 90 days out (vs 30). CS expansion comp. Top 11 customers get named exec sponsor (you + COO).
Likely Objections

The questions a sharp director will ask, answered up front.

Each is one we'd expect on the deal. Each has a direct answer.

Q1
"Why is the CEO running sales instead of running the company?"
Because the operating system that produced our two top AEs (Chanel + Adam, 60% of book) was never codified. Four months (May → Aug 2026) is the install window. Other CEO duties (product, finance, governance, fundraise readiness) continue — sales installation is additive at ~30-40% of CEO time, not full-time. Sales Manager takes the seat from Aug; CEO returns to standard scope. Cost of NOT doing it: hire a Sales Manager into a broken motion, they fail or quit, repeat. Cost of doing it: 4 months of focused CEO bandwidth.
Q2
"Why eliminate the Head of Growth role instead of coaching the person?"
The role tenure produced no documented commercial strategy, no outbound playbook, no demand-gen plan. Both reps hired under the role pivoted away from outbound into vertical AE work. The role's premium comp distorted parity (forced Chanel's base up). Structural correction: distribute the functions to people producing in the relevant scope (Sales Manager owns sales discipline; Emma owns CS strategy; Pete owns support). Coaching is for an underperforming individual in a working role. We don't have a working role.
Q3
"What if the AI-parity-in-12-18-months thesis is wrong?"
If the window is actually 3-5 years (today's status quo), the plan still works. Every move in it (multi-year contracts, structured handoff, expansion engine, comp aligned to retention) is best-practice SaaS execution regardless of timing. The AI thesis raises urgency on the multi-year lock-in motion; if wrong, we have a healthier book sooner with no downside. Cost of being early: paying multi-year multipliers (1.10-1.75×) on deals that didn't need them. Cost of being late: 30-40% of FY28+ ARR exposed to a credible competitor at lower price.
Q4
"What's the contingency if Chanel OR Adam leaves in Q1?"
If Chanel leaves: top-11 secondary CSM model (already proposed for retention key-person risk) means Emma has read-access + QBR history on her accounts; Karl can step in on the strategic motion; replacement search 90 days (≈$1.5M of FY27 ARR at risk = -10% to commit). If Adam leaves: Emilia owns UK relationships; UK BDR shadows on top 3 deals; CEO takes UK Country Lead interim; UK pipeline £7.0M = -£2-4M risk = -$3-6M to commit. If both leave same quarter (~3% joint probability): plan re-baselines to $11-12M commit, still +30% YoY. None of these scenarios kill the plan; they reset it.
Q5
"Why $14M commit — why not $12M (safer) or $16M (more ambitious)?"
$14M = +41% YoY = KeyBanc median for $5-15M ARR band. Defensible to any external benchmark. $12M would be +21% (under-target for our band, signals weak ambition). $16M would be +62% (top-quartile, possible only if all variables hit favourable: no Adam/Chanel departure, Sales Manager hits in Aug, Lachlan PIP succeeds, UK lands two of three mega-deals in-window). $14M is the floor of "we expect to hit it"; $17M stretch handles upside.
Q6
"Why a Sales Manager instead of a CRO?"
CRO compensation at $350-450k OTE is the cost of consolidating Sales + Success under one head. At $25M+ ARR that consolidation is mandatory. At $10M ARR with three working functions (Sales, Success, Support) and a CEO available for trans-org calls, it's expensive overhead. Industry pattern (HubSpot, Atlassian, Zendesk): 3 commercial functions report to CEO from $5-30M, then CRO consolidation at $30-50M. Hiring a CRO now = paying for an executive whose remit only applies in FY28+, while we still need a working Sales Manager underneath.
Q7
"How do we know the new motion will actually work, vs being more theory?"
Three signals to track in 90 days. (a) Pipeline coverage: Chanel 1.4× → 3× and Miles 1.2× → 2.5× by 30 Sep 2026 = motion is generating pipe. (b) Handoff packet completion: 100% of closed-won deals from 1 Jul 2026 onward have a complete handoff packet = process is sticking. (c) Top-11 NRR: ≥115% by H1 review = expansion engine is firing. Miss two of three by Oct 2026 = re-baseline the plan; miss all three = honest reset conversation. Built-in checkpoints, not faith.
FY27 KPI Scorecard

The numbers we report against quarterly.

Every plan needs measurable progress markers. These are the SaaS-standard metrics we'll hold ourselves to, mapped to current state and FY27 target.

MetricTodayFY27 TargetWhy it matters / how we move it
ARR (TSAV)$9.89M$14M commit / $17M stretchThe headline. +41% commit = KeyBanc median for $5-15M band. MRR-based recognised ARR $8.30M (March snapshot).
New ARR (annual)~$2.6M$4.0-4.5MQuota pool $7.50M × 40% Y1 mix × 70% attainment + Karl/inbound whales.
Gross margin (blended)75.7%≥78%SW-only ~92%; HW ~20% blend pulls down. Multi-year HW attach + monitoring revenue lift blend.
EBITDA($168k)/moBreak-even by FY27 closeImproving (Feb -$221k → Mar -$168k). Break-even at ~$900k MRR / $10.8M MRR-based ARR.
Rule of 40 (Growth% + EBITDA%)~-740+ at commit · 80+ at stretchToday: +12% LTM growth − 19% margin. Commit: +41% growth − ~0% margin = ~40. Stretch: +72% − +10% = ~82.
LTV : CAC4.0×≥4.5×Strong today (SaaS rule: 3:1 min). Multi-year multipliers extend LTV; Inside Sales lowers blended CAC.
CAC (24-mo blended)$13,526≤$12kInside Sales reroutes sub-$2.5k ACV away from AEs; reduces high-CAC AE time on low-ACV deals.
CAC payback12.6 mo≤10 moWithin SaaS norm (12-15mo). Multi-year prepay accelerates cash payback below P&L payback.
Logo retention (GRR)92%≥92%Maintained. Handoff packet + Day-30 CSM ownership prevent churn at root.
Revenue retention (GRR$)94-95%≥95%Multi-year locks reduce downgrade risk; renewal motion at T-90 not T-30.
Net Revenue Retention (NRR)~99%110% blended / 115% Top-11Expansion engine: 80% utilisation triggers, Plan-the-Wedding pre-signature, automated upsell at T-9mo from renewal.
Magic Number (S&M efficiency)~0.8 (est.)≥1.0Net new ARR / S&M spend. 1.0+ = growth-efficient. RevOps + auto-routing remove leakage; pipe-build mechanics for Chanel/Miles lift the numerator.
Enterprise sales cycle ($50-150k)197 days≤150 daysPlan-the-Wedding at Day 22 stops pilot stalls; structured discovery → close.
Pipeline coverage (blended)2.8×≥3.0×SaaS rule: 3× healthy. Adam 6.0× pulls average up; Chanel + Miles need Q1 pipe-build.
Win rate (new logo, enterprise)est. 25-30%≥30%Plan-the-Wedding + handoff discipline + RevOps stage enforcement lift it.
Inbound / outbound mixest. 70 / 3060 / 40Comp 1.5× outbound; vertical AE activity floor 30/day; named-account discipline.
Avg contract length2.1 yrs3.4 yrs by FY28Multi-year multipliers (1.10× / 1.25× / 1.50× / 1.75×) make 3-5yr the rational rep choice.
Top-11 customer ARR concentration50%≤35% by Q4 FY27Concentration risk. Diluted via new-logo expansion in vertical AE motion, not by losing top accounts.
Stale pipeline ($90d+ inactive)$11.2M (43%)≤$3M (12%)RevOps auto-close at 90 days unresponsive; stage-progression enforcement; weekly hygiene.

"Today" values for CAC, payback, LTV:CAC, GM and EBITDA are measured (March 2026 financial snapshot). Values for win rate, magic number, and inbound/outbound mix are estimates — RevOps Day-1 work installs the tracking to report these accurately each quarter. Anything marked "(est.)" gets replaced with measured values in the Q1 FY27 operating review.

Decisions to Confirm

What we want to lock in from this discussion.

This is the plan as it stands. Where it'd help to confirm direction and a modest investment is below. The rest is execution.

1
Confirm FY27 plan: $14M commit (+41% YoY) / $17M stretch (+72% YoY)
2
Confirm +$95k Y1 net incremental sales investment (0.7% of FY27 commit ARR)
3
Confirm CEO as interim Head of Sales through August 2026 (≤4 months)
4
Confirm Sales Manager search ($200k base + commissions, target Aug 2026 start)
5
Confirm Inside Sales Specialist hire (junior, $75k base)
6
Confirm NFP AE replacement ($130k base + 10% Y1 commission)
7
Confirm RevOps hire or contractor (~$150k Y1)
8
Confirm ecomm build in-house (Abe + Huseyin, 4-6 weeks, $0 cash)
9
Confirm Customer Success comp restructure (70/30 base/variable)
10
Confirm Chanel retention plan (comp + ESOP review)
"We have ninety days to install it. The rest is execution."
Trav Heaven, operating model document, 7 May 2026
Reference

Operational Detail

Below: the operating mechanics. Compensation grid, customer handoff timeline, per-rep pipeline state. Reference material for the new Sales Manager and CFO, not core to the headline narrative.

Compensation

The engine that drives the model.

Every behaviour we want, long contracts, expansion, retention, outbound effort, is paid for. Every behaviour we don't want, lazy banks, refresh-comm leak, locked-out CSMs, is removed structurally.

🎯

No lazy bank

Y2+ override = 0%. Multi-year commission paid 100% on customer Y1 payment. Reps hunt next deal, don't coast on past ones.

🔒

Multi-year locks

Multipliers up to 1.75× reward longer terms at signing. A $500k 5-year deal pays $30k more than 1-year-and-pray.

🎯

Outbound rewarded harder

1.5× source weight on AE-sourced deals. Hunting pays $20k+ more per year than order-taking, by design.

⚖️

Hardware aligned to subs

5% on hardware only when NEW subscription attached. Refresh orders = 0%. Eliminates the Coles-refresh leak.

🛡️

Strict clawback

100% <90d / 50% <180d / pro-rata 12mo downgrades. Six-month escrow protects against early churn.

📈

Uncapped accelerators

0-50% no comm / 80-100% full / >150% 1.5×, no ceiling. Top performers earn proportionally to performance.

RoleBaseOTEY1 quotaCommission
Sales Manager (Aug 2026)$200k$340kTeam target1% override on team TCV
Senior Strategic AE (Chanel, Adam)$130k$450k (post-uplift)$2.0-2.35M Y1 TCV8% Y1 (no Y2+ override)
MM AE, green ramp (Miles, Jess, NFP)$90-130k$170k$400-500k Y110% Y1, 25% ramp floor 6mo
MM AE, graduated$90-130k$200k$700-900k Y110% Y1 + multipliers
Inside Sales Specialist (junior)$75k$95k$400k Y18% on T0/T1

Universal rules across all sales roles

Y1 commission rate8% Strategic / 10% MM / 8% Inside Sales
Y2+ override on renewals0%, no lazy bank
Multi-year multipliers2yr 1.10× · 3yr 1.25× · 4yr 1.50× · 5yr 1.75×
Source-weightedOutbound 1.5× of inbound base rate
Hardware commission5%, only on orders with NEW subscription attached
Payment trigger100% paid when customer pays Y1 invoice
Land Window (AE owns expansion)Months 0-24 post-close, no $ threshold
Steady State (months 25+)CSM closes; AE re-enters >$50k uplift
Clawback100% <90d · 50% <180d · pro-rata 12mo · 6mo escrow
Tiered payout0-50% no comm · 50-80% half · 80-100% full · 100-150% 1.25× · >150% 1.5× · uncapped
Team-deal splitDeals >$250k with 2+ AEs = 60% originator / 40% closer-support
Commission cadenceMonthly base + quarterly accelerator true-ups
Green rep graduation trigger≥80% of full quota for 2 consecutive months → graduate to full rate
RoleBaseOTEVariable structure
CS Lead + Strategic CSM (Emma)$130k$165k$20k Top 10 retention bonus + 0.5% pod NRR override + mgmt premium
Commercial CSM (Carley + Dec hire)$85k$115k4% renewal / 8% uplift / 12% M2M→annual / 5% finder's fee
UK CSM (Emilia)£65k£85kSame structure as Carley, UK book
Onboarding (Daniel)$80k$95k$5-10k/qtr on TTV, training NPS, CSAT
Support Lead (Grant)$95k$115kQuarterly bonuses on SLA, CSAT, FCR
CX Lead (Pete)$200k$260kELT scope; bonus tied to overall CX KPIs and NRR

CS variable commission grid

EventCSM earns
Flat renewal (no expansion)4% of renewed base ARR
Small expansion uplift (<$50k)8% on uplift only + 4% on base renewal
Material expansion (>$50k uplift), AE re-enters as closer2% retained on base + 5% finder's fee on uplift
M2M to annual conversion12% on the new annual ACV (1.5× bonus)
Expansion AE closes during Land Window (months 0-24)5% finder's fee to CSM
Top 10 account retains at 100%+$20k retention bonus to CS Lead

Two quality gates (must pass for any CS variable to pay)

GateThresholdWhy
Gross Revenue Retention≥90%Prevents revenue-chasing at expense of retention quality
Engagement≥80% response rate, ≥1 touchpoint per account per quarterPrevents accounts going dark and becoming surprise churns

Example 1: MM AE lands $40k Y1 ACV, 3-year contract, outbound

Y1 commission base10% × $40k = $4,000
× Multi-year multiplier (3-yr)× 1.25 = $5,000
× Source weight (outbound)× 1.5 = $6,250
Paid when customer pays Y1 invoice$6,250

Vs same deal annual with 2 renewals: rep earns $5,000 (×1.5 outbound). Multi-year delivers $1,250 more AND locks $80k of future revenue.

Example 2: Strategic AE lands $500k Y1 ACV, 5-year contract, outbound

Y1 commission base8% × $500k = $40,000
× Multi-year multiplier (5-yr)× 1.75 = $70,000
× Source weight (outbound)× 1.5 = $105,000
Paid when customer pays Y1 invoice$105,000

Vs 1-year contract: $60,000 (×1.5 outbound). 5-year locked delivers $45,000 more on the same deal, serious reason to push longer.

Example 3: QLD Government Land Window expansion

AE spends 9 months landing QLD Dept. Closes $10k Y1 ACV. Customer expands over 24 months. All expansions during Land Window close to AE (no $50k threshold).

MonthEventUpliftCloserAE earns
0Initial close, 25 licences$10.5kAE$1,575
6Second department joins+$21kAE (Land Window)$3,150
12Different dept added+$50kAE (Land Window)$7,500
18Statewide rollout+$200kAE (Land Window)$30,000
AE total over 24 months$42,225

Plus CSM gets 5% finder's fee on each AE-closed expansion ($14,075 total over 24 months). Both rep and CS aligned to drive the land-and-expand cycle.

"Compensation follows decision rights. The closer earns the close commission. The spotter earns the finder's fee. The relationship owner earns the retention bonus. Every layer answers the same question: who actually drove this revenue?"
Trav Heaven, comp design principle, customer flow operating manual
The Handoff

Where retention compounds.

The CSM joins before the customer signs. The contract triggers an automated workflow. The first 30 days are choreographed. Industry data: smooth handoffs deliver 20-30% higher retention. Today this is informal at Duress. Going forward, it's the single biggest lever on NDR.

The handoff sequence: Day -7 to Day 30

Day -7 to -1 · Pre-close
Assigned CSM joins the final pre-close call
AE + assigned CSM (Emma for T3 / Daniel or Carley for T2 / Emilia for UK) + customer. Customer meets the CSM who will own them for the entire lifecycle. Deployment plan reviewed, success criteria agreed. The customer signs knowing who their post-sale lead is.
Day 0 · Contract signs
Closed-won triggers handoff workflow
HubSpot blocks closed-won status until handoff packet is filled (mandatory). Automation fires: notification to assigned CSM, calendar invite for kickoff call, Slack channel created.
Day 0-1 · Internal handoff
AE walks assigned CSM through full context
30-min internal call. Deal context, technical decisions, customer expectations, commercial plan, stakeholder map all transferred. Same CSM owns the customer cradle-to-grave, no Day-30 handoff to a different person.
Day 1-5 · Customer kickoff
First onboarding call by assigned CSM
CSM + customer. Deployment plan finalised, training dates booked. Customer's first post-sale experience is forward-momentum, not silence.
Day 5-14 · Deployment
Devices ship, training delivered, first check-in logged
Support team (Grant, Tara, Kirsty under Pete) delivers training. Assigned CSM monitors adoption. First-user-check-in is the success metric.
Day 30 · Onboarding complete
Same CSM transitions to ongoing relationship mode
No handoff to a different CSM, the relationship continues with the same person. First QBR scheduled for Day 90. Health monitoring + expansion plays activate.

The handoff packet: HubSpot blocks closed-won until complete

Section 01

Deal context

Who bought, why, how. Decision-maker map. Competitor compared. Deciding factor.

Section 02

Technical decisions

Devices selected, configurations, integrations, monitoring setup, SIM provider.

Section 03

Customer expectations

Go-live target, training plan, success criteria as customer defines them.

Section 04

Commercial plan

Pilot/expansion plan, renewal date, multi-year terms, expansion ACV target. The "plan the wedding".

Section 05

Stakeholder map

Executive sponsor, operational champion, IT contact, finance contact, end-user lead.

"If the pilot is the engagement, the expansion deal is the wedding. You don't celebrate the engagement and hope the wedding happens, you co-create the wedding plan with the customer at the moment of engagement."
, Plan-the-wedding discipline, customer flow operating manual

The reporting structure: CX peer to Sales

Pete (Head of CX) owns retention + expansion = NRR. Sales Manager owns net new ARR. Both report to CEO as peer functions. This is the standard SaaS structure at $10-30M ARR (HubSpot, Atlassian, Zendesk).

                              CEO (Trav)
                                  |
        +------------------------+------+------+
        |                        |      |      |
   Sales Manager            Emma         Pete       Karl (shareholder,
   (Aug 2026)               (Head of     (Head of   not salaried, Senior
        |                    Success)    Support)   Strategic AE/whale role)
        |                        |           |
   Chanel (Strategic AU)     Daniel (CSM)  Grant    [no quota; named whale
     + Ting (Coordinator)    Carley (CSM)  Tara      accounts only, landed
   Adam (Head of UK)         Dec 2026 hire Kirsty    Coles, near AusPost]
     + Emilia (UK utility:   (CSM)
        Sales+CS+Support)
     + UK BDR (future)
   Jessica (Health AE - on probation, was Peter hire)
   Miles (Gov AE - on probation, was Peter hire)
   Lachlan (NFP AE - on PIP)
   Inside Sales Specialist
   RevOps (contractor)

[Sales owns net new ARR | Emma owns NRR | Pete owns CSAT/SLA]
[3 peer commercial functions + Karl shareholder advisor reporting to CEO]
🎯

Single NRR ownership

Emma (Head of Success) owns NRR as one number. Avoids the trap of Sales owning expansion and CS owning retention separately, where nobody would own the combined outcome we report.

🏗️

UK runs as country sub-org

Adam (Head of UK) reports to Sales Manager. Emilia is his UK utility, does sales support, CS, and support for UK customers. UK BDR + future 2nd UK AE add under Adam.

📚

Generic CSM roles

Daniel, Carley (and Dec 2026 hire) are all CSMs, no role differentiation. Emma assigns books by tier/vertical. Same CSM owns each customer cradle-to-grave.

📣

Marketing being replaced

Current marketing resource being exited; replacement role TBD (likely Demand Gen / Growth Marketing Manager). Sits as peer to Sales Manager + Emma + Pete, reports to CEO. Sequencing: after Sales Manager onboards (Aug 2026) so the new marketer joins a working sales motion, not a broken one.

CSM book sizing: same CSM owns customer cradle-to-grave

634 active customers with paid software subscriptions today (Wiise historical extract, 18 May 2026: Status=Active + Active Count > 0). 29,914 active licences across 1,272 contracts. CSM time concentrates on the 133 customers in T2 + T3 (89% of ARR). T1 + T0 (~501 customers) handled via Digital CS pool.

CSMAccountsTier mixVertical / regionARR managed
Emma (Head of Success)20-25Top 11 + next 10-15 T3 strategicAll AU strategic~$3.5M
CSM (Daniel)50-705-10 T3 + 50-60 T2AU Healthcare + Government~$1.5M
CSM (Carley)50-705-10 T3 + 50-60 T2AU NFP + Retail~$1.5M
Dec 2026 CSM hire50-70Overflow / new segmentsAU TBD~$1.5M (post-ramp)
Emilia (UK utility, under Adam)30-50All UK across tiersUK (sales + CS + support utility)$0.5-1M (as UK grows)
Digital CS pool (T0 + T1)~501SMB + mid-lowAutomation-driven, no named CSM~$700k

Industry benchmark (Gainsight 2024 State of CS): Strategic CSM 15-30 accounts; Mid-Market CSM 50-100 accounts. Top performers keep books smaller, <50 mid-market accounts correlates with 120%+ NRR.

Digital CS Pool — how it actually runs

T0 + T1 (~501 customers, ~$700k ARR) are handled by automation, not a named CSM. Stack: (a) onboarding email + in-app cadences (Day 0 → Day 90), (b) self-serve knowledge base + video walkthroughs, (c) auto-renewal reminders T-90 / T-60 / T-30, (d) health-score triggers (utilisation drop, support ticket spike, support engagement = 0) that escalate to a rotating CSM-on-call from the named team. Pete's support team (Grant, Tara, Kirsty) handles tickets at the support layer. No-touch is the default; humans only enter on red signals or renewal-with-upsell triggers. Replaces what was a reactive, unowned book.

Why this matters more than it looks

Without Structured Handoff

Customers feel sold-to-then-abandoned

Deployments stall. Renewals surprise the company. Expansion conversations start 6 months too late. NDR stuck at ~99%. Industry data: rough handoffs lose 20-30% of retention upside (Gainsight, ChurnZero, HubSpot operating manuals).

With Structured Handoff

Day-one momentum compounds into Year-3 retention

First-value within 14 days. Expansion conversation booked at Day 30. Renewal motion triggered automatically at T-90. NDR moves from ~99% today to 120%+ target, the single biggest lever in the FY27 plan.

Pipeline Reality

Where the $27.85M open pipeline actually sits.

Per-rep ownership shows the real picture: concentration on Adam (UK), reassignment needs from exits, stale-deal cleanup. Pipeline isn't "unowned", it's lopsided and ageing.

OwnerRole / StatusDeals$ OpenAction
Adam GergisHead of UK, active53£7.0M (A$13.45M)Becomes UK Country Lead; UK BDR hired beneath him; Emilia dotted-line
Fed DronovNZ, conditional exit 1 July81$3.75M50% pipeline conversion bar or reassign to AU
Chanel KaczmarekStrategic AU, active74$3.33MContinue; Land Window protected
Jessica LithoxoidisHealth MM AE, green ramp86$2.19MCoach toward graduation (80% quota for 2 months)
Peter ScarlataCCO, exiting43$1.19MMostly reseller misattribution + existing customer tags, minimal real reassignment value
Miles JonesGov MM AE, green ramp90$812kCoach toward graduation
Karl PagninStrategic AE / Mining vertical ($100k + equity)6$681kTriage; close or transfer to AU AE
Lachlan PapleyNFP, exiting84$343kReassign to NFP AE replacement
Trav Heaven / othersInternal, mostly tagging errors12$77kCleanup
Mikayla RibberaTerminated Friday1$2kReassign immediately
Genuinely unassignedNo owner in HubSpot6$51kTrivial, Inside Sales triages
Total open pipeline (post-Suffolk loss)536$25.85M

Note: Suffolk County Council ($2M, Adam) closed-lost on 14 May 2026. Numbers reflect post-loss state.

Adam = Head of UK: propose a UK Country Lead structure

Adam owns £7.0M (A$13.4M) of pipeline alone, 52% of all open. UK is materially under-resourced. Proposal: formalise Adam as Head of UK with a team beneath him. Highest-ROI hire is a UK BDR / Inside Sales rep (£40-50k / A$80-100k loaded) to qualify inbound and work the smaller end of Adam's book.

Today

Adam alone, no UK team

53 deals worth £7.0M (A$13.45M). 4 mega-deals = £5.96M / A$11.49M (85% of book). Adam can't work all of it. Smaller UK deals stall because his attention is on the whales.

FY27 UK Org

Adam as Head of UK + 1-2 reports

Adam (Head of UK / Country Lead) reports to Sales Manager. UK BDR (hire Q1 FY27) handles sub-50-licence inbound, qualifies for Adam. Emilia (UK CSM) keeps dotted-line to Emma, solid-line to Adam for regional coordination. Future: 2nd UK AE when ARR justifies.

Adam's top deals: the four mega-deals = 85% of book

Deal$ ValueStageAge
UK Home Office£3.37M (A$6.5M)Contacted-Answered36 days
SecureLink ASDA£1.14M (A$2.2M)Contacted-Answered46 days
OCS - Morrisons Convenience£1.09M (A$2.1M)Negotiation/Follow-up24 days
OCS Morrisons Falcons£943k (A$1.82M)Negotiation/Follow-up196 days stale
Flintshire County Council Tender£347k (A$670k)Contacted-Answered30 days
Top 5 (post-Suffolk-loss)£6.89M (A$13.3M), ,

Stale pipeline by owner: $11.2M needs hygiene

229 deals 90+ days inactive across the whole pipeline. Auto-close rule at 90 days unresponsive cleans most of this in week 1.

OwnerStale deals$ stuckMedian ageAction
Chanel26$2.55M184dReview with Chanel weekly, rescue or close
Jessica (green)47$2.19M112dCoaching priority, too many stalls for a green rep
Fed (NZ exiting)36$2.03M192dReassigning to AU on exit; close losses
Adam (UK)7$1.82M196dOCS Morrisons Falcons ($1.82M) is the one, rescue or close
Peter (exiting)27$1.16M183dReassign on exit; expect most close-lost
Karl (channel paused)4$681k328dLong-dead; close-lost all
Miles (green)36$514k170dCoaching priority, same as Jessica
Lachlan (exiting)36$175k207dNFP AE replacement inherits live, close stale
Other (Trav, Mikayla)6$12k, Trivial, close
Total stale229$11.18M, ,

The 6 truly unassigned (mostly junk: $51k total)

Deal$AgeStageAction
SA Health (CALHN)$41k130dTrial ConfirmedReal opportunity, Jessica (Health) takes
BTW Communications$5k25dContacted-AnsweredInside Sales
Sunraysia Security$5k121dNegotiationInside Sales or close-lost
Gen West Family Violence$0134dContacted-No AnswerClose-lost
Zoom Recruitment$0269dContacted-AnsweredClose-lost
Jhah (Mohammed Bazroun)$02dUnassignedFresh, Inside Sales triages

Head of Growth exit: $1.19M open looks bigger than it is

43 open deals total, but the closed-won deals reveal the attribution problem: many were CEO-originated deals handed over, reseller deals (Simply Unified, ICT), or existing-customer admin tags (Coles, Silver Chain). Real reassignment value is much lower than $1.19M.

Deal$AgeOriginNew owner
ooh!media$373k90dCEO-originated, handed overBack to CEO (Trav)
QLD Health North West Hospital$314k184dExisting-customer expansion off a standing agreementTreat as expansion under existing relationship, not a new sale
RSPCA Queensland Tender$129k170dCEO-originated, handed overBack to CEO (Trav)
Meriton Property Services$126k183dExisting customerChanel (retail/multi-site)
Orikan Parking Enforcement$96k316dCEO-originated, handed overBack to CEO (Trav), likely close-lost (zombie age)

🚩 Systemic deal-attribution problem

Peter's case revealed deals are being created on the wrong owner across the pipeline. Reseller-origin deals (Simply Unified, ICT) tagged to Peter instead of Karl. Existing-customer expansion (Coles, Silver Chain) tagged to Peter instead of Chanel. This means per-rep pipeline attribution is unreliable, and the Land Window comp rule will be wrong without a fix.

RevOps Day-1 Build

Auto-route deal creation by customer state

HubSpot workflow on deal creation:
1. Existing customer in Land Window (≤24 months from first close) → auto-assign to original AE (Chanel for Coles, Silver Chain; Lachlan for Services Australia; Adam for UK Home Office etc.)
2. Existing customer outside Land Window → auto-assign to assigned CSM (Carley / Emma / Emilia by tier)
3. Reseller-origin contact (Simply Unified, ICT Group, etc.) → auto-assign to Karl (channel)
4. Genuinely new logo → standard ICP routing (Gov/Health/NFP/Retail)

Without this rule, Land Window comp won't work, Chanel's expansion deals could get tagged to someone else and she'd miss her commission.

"Pipeline ownership isn't the problem, concentration is. Adam holds 55% of total pipeline alone. The fix is supplement, not reassign."
Trav Heaven, pipeline analysis, 14 May 2026