The moral imperative for SaaS vendors is the idea that "what got you to this point, will not get you to the next point". Many founders/leaders of a company have achieved their success by bucking the trend and ignoring the advice of trusted advisors. This for many is perceived as having an ego. But this was needed for survival to make it this far. Then suddenly this method stops working. That point has come for many of us, as the problems we face today are far greater than any single company can tackle. It requires companies to work together as a team, it asks for die hard competitors (Apple and Google) to create a unified front, and may even require a joint venture between a multinational and a small start-up with innovative products. This is the time to put your ego in check and let common sense prevail.

1. SaaStock, June 11, 10amEST
Business Ethics
and Ego
By Jacco J. van der Kooij
Founder Winning by Design

2. FOREWORD.
LET’S KEEP IT REAL

3. Farmer community | Tiel, Netherlands
Youngest of eight
Emigrated to the US in 1998
Founder starting up in 2013
Motivated by…
FOREWORD.
LET’S KEEP IT REAL

4. 2019
20 clients/mo
~$1M/month
~60 people
2x/year
Revenue
$10M
2013 2015
FOREWORD.
LET’S KEEP IT REAL

5. Advised over 1,000 companies around
the world on sales
a) Transparency over Correctness
b) Causality over Correlation
c) Science over Opinion
d) Sustainability over Hyper Scaling
FOREWORD.
LET’S KEEP IT REAL

6. Many founders are perceived to
have an ego. But an ego is what
is needed to make it this far.
FOREWORD.
LET’S KEEP IT REAL

8. CHAPTER 1.
THE CONUNDRUM

9. Revenue
Time
REVENUE
GROWTH
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum

10. Revenue
$2M
$8M
$100M
$30M
Time
REVENUE
GROWTH
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum

11. Revenue
Time
20k
100k
1M
5M
REVENUE
GROWTH
$2M
$8M
$100M
$30M
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum

12. Revenue
Time
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum
What got you here…

13. Revenue
Time
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum
What got you here…
…won’t get you there

14. Revenue
Time
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum
What got you here…
…won’t get you there

15. Problem
10 to 20
years
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum

16. Problem
10 to 20
years
2 to 5
years
What got you here
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum
Solution
The Founder Sales Conundrum

17. Problem Solution
10 to 20
years
2 to 5
years
Very hard
to scale
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum
What got you here

18. Problem Solution
10 to 20
years
2 to 5
years
Can’t
scale this
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum
What got you here

19. Problem Solution
10 to 20
years
2 to 5
years
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum

20. Problem Solution
10 to 20
years
2 to 5
years
Sales
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum
Teach
Sales to
provoke
like a
Founder

21. Spend as much time on training your
first ten salespeople on the problem
and solution, as the time you have
spent selling to your first ten
clients.
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum

22. What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Use-case stories
What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Use-case stories
What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Use-case stories
What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Use-case stories
What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Use-case stories
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum
What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Modern case-study…

23. What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Use-case stories
What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Use-case stories
What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Use-case stories
What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Use-case stories
What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Use-case stories
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum
What is the client’s Situation
What is their Pain you can solve
The Impact of your solution
What is the Critical Event
How to support the Decision
Modern case-study…

24. Revenue
CHAPTER 1.
The Conundrum
What got you here…
Founder sales, provoked
with an innovative
solution…
…what gets you here
Passionate sales team
that can provoke based
on SPICED stories
Time

25. CHAPTER 2.
THE ALPHA

26. Revenue
CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
Time

27. Revenue
CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
What got you here…
- A few top performers
- Comp plan, quota, Pres. Club

28. Revenue
CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
What got you here…
- A few top performers
- Comp plan, quota, Pres. Club
…will not get you there
- Hiring problem
- Rep productivity problem

29. Revenue
CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
What got you here…
- A few top performers
- Comp plan, quota, Pres. Club
…will not get you there
- Hiring problem
- Rep productivity problem

30. What got you here
History is dependent on top performers
CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
revenuesales team
?

31. 20% 80%
What got you here
History is dependent on top performers
CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
revenuesales team
The Pareto Principle

32. CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
30% 70%
What got you here
History is dependent on top performers
revenuesales team

33. CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
30% 70%
What got you here…
Different top performers each month
revenuesales team

34. 80% 80%
CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
Will not get you there…
Dependence on normal performers
revenuesales team

35. CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
Will not get there…
Dependence on normal performers
• New Recruit
• Problem solvers
• Turn-by-turn
• Copy & Paste

36. CHAPTER 2.
The Alpha
What got you here…
A few top performers, on
quota, motivated by a comp
plan (and presidents club)
…what gets you here
regular performers following
turn-by-turn directions and
coached

37. CHAPTER 3.
THE REVOLT

38. CHAPTER 3.
The Revolt
Revenue
Time
What got you here…

39. What got you here…
…will not get you here
CHAPTER 3.
The Revolt
Revenue
Time

40. What got you here…
…will not get you here
CHAPTER 3.
The Revolt
Revenue
Time

41. CHAPTER 3.
The Revolt
I know
everything...
What we
learned
from...
Knowledge
Maturity
Confidence
Trust me,
it’s really
complicated
Dunning-Kruger Effect

42. CHAPTER 3.
The Revolt
I know
everything...
What we
learned
from...
Knowledge
Skills
Maturity
Trust me,
it’s really
complicated
Productivity
Confidence
Activity

43. CHAPTER 3.
The Revolt
Maturity
Confidence
ProductivityActivity
FIRST 100
Believer in
the mission
Superstars
Individuals
Work hard
Low cost

44. CHAPTER 3.
The Revolt
Maturity
Confidence
Activity Productivity
FIRST 100
Believer in
the mission
Superstars
Individuals
Work hard
Low cost
NOOB
Join a
winning
team
Rescue
Get paid
High cost
MAJOR TENSION

45. eth·ics
/ˈeTHiks/
moral principles
that govern a
person's behavior.
CHAPTER 3.
The Revolt
Equality
Transparency
Global moral
compass

46. What got you here…
…will not get you here
CHAPTER 3.
The Revolt
Revenue
Time

47. FINAL WORDS
IN SUMMARY

48. FOUNDER
CONUNDRUM
THE
ALPHA
THE
REVOLT
80/80
eth·ics
e·go

49. The task is, not so much to
see what no one has seen yet,
but… to think what nobody has
thought yet, about that what
everybody sees.
Arthur Schopenhauer

51. THE END
By Jacco J. van der Kooij
Founder Winning by Design
THANK YOU