Start-up commercial leadership
Commercial leadership for technology start-ups and founders
You have built the technology. The problem is turning it into a business.
You may have a good product but be struggling to define exactly who should buy it, how to position it, where to find the right opportunities or how to turn interest into consistent sales.
Often the founder is doing everything. Selling, qualifying prospects, explaining the product, writing proposals and deciding which opportunities are worth pursuing.
At some point that stops being sustainable.
The commercial problem
What strong commercial thinking changes
I work with technology founders and early-stage businesses on the commercial questions that sit between having the technology and building the business around it.
I have started technology businesses myself, launched SaaS products, worked in a start-up incubator and helped commercialise new technology. I also bring more than 25 years of experience across enterprise software, sales, pre-sales, propositions, technology and commercial growth.
- 01
A clearer view of which customers and opportunities are worth pursuing.
- 02
A proposition that explains the value rather than just the technology.
- 03
A go-to-market approach built around how customers actually buy.
- 04
Better qualification of opportunities before time is committed.
- 05
Sales processes that can work beyond the founder.
- 06
Commercial processes that are ready to scale.
- 07
Technology, automation and AI used where they genuinely improve the business.
First-hand experience
I've been on both sides of the table
My start-up experience is first-hand.
I've started technology businesses myself, including HireHop, a rental software business, and launched a new SaaS product called Office Timesheet UK.
I've also worked in a start-up incubator environment at Planet 3, where I was Client Services Director, and worked with NEOL Copper Technologies on the commercialisation of new oil technology.
These weren't large, established businesses. They gave me first-hand experience of what it means to take an idea or product and work out how to make it commercially viable.
Alongside that, I've spent much of my career working with larger technology and software businesses, leading sales, pre-sales, propositions and commercial growth.
That combination is useful when a founder needs someone who understands both the technology and the commercial reality around it.
Finding the right opportunity
Early-stage businesses can spend a lot of time trying to sell what they have built.
The more important question is whether they are solving a problem that a particular customer will actually pay to fix.
I can help challenge the market opportunity, identify the strongest customer segments and work out where the proposition has the best commercial potential.
Turning technology into a proposition
Technology can be difficult to explain commercially, particularly when the underlying product is complex or new.
The job is not simply to simplify the technology.
It is to understand the problem it solves, who cares about that problem, why the solution is different and what makes the customer willing to buy.
I work with founders to turn that into a proposition that can be understood by customers, partners and sales teams.
From product to customer
Go-to-market and sales
Once the proposition is clear, somebody has to sell it.
That means deciding who to target, how to reach them, how to qualify opportunities, what the sales process should look like and what the business needs to support it.
I can work with founders on the commercial model, messaging, sales process, qualification and the practical materials needed to start generating and converting opportunities.
- Technology→
- Proposition→
- Market→
- Sales→
- Customers
The founder bottleneck
When the founder is still doing everything
Early-stage businesses often have one person carrying the commercial responsibility alongside everything else.
The founder is selling.
The founder is qualifying.
The founder is explaining the product.
The founder is writing proposals.
The founder is deciding which opportunities to pursue.
That can work for a while. It becomes difficult when the business needs to grow beyond the founder.
I can help put more structure around the commercial operation without immediately building a large sales organisation.
Specific opportunities
Working on the opportunities that matter
Sometimes the requirement is very specific.
You have an important prospect.
The deal is technically complicated.
The proposition needs work.
The customer is asking questions the existing team cannot answer.
Or the business needs someone senior to take control of the opportunity.
I can work alongside founders and teams on those opportunities, bringing together the customer requirement, proposition, solution, commercial case and route to delivery.
Commercially grounded technology
Technology, automation and AI
As a technology business grows, there are usually processes that can be improved.
Some need better structure.
Some need better systems.
Some can be automated.
And some are now good candidates for AI.
I look at this from a commercial perspective. The question is not where AI can be added. It is where technology can remove friction, improve productivity, improve customer engagement or help the business sell and deliver more effectively.
Experience at both scales
From start-up to larger technology business
My experience goes well beyond start-ups.
I've worked across enterprise software, SaaS, ERP, cloud, managed services, digital transformation and AI, including leading pre-sales and commercial teams and working on complex enterprise opportunities.
That means I understand what changes as a technology business moves from an early product and founder-led sales model into larger customers, bigger opportunities and more structured commercial operations.
Flexible support
You may not need another full-time executive
The requirement may be short-term.
It may be a defined commercial project, help with a major opportunity, a go-to-market exercise or a period of senior commercial leadership.
I can work with founders and leadership teams on a fractional, interim or project basis, depending on what the business actually needs.
The starting point is simple.
What are you trying to achieve, what is getting in the way, and where can I make a practical difference?
Let's talk it through.
If you're building a technology business and need senior commercial thinking alongside the technology, tell me what you're working on and where you're stuck.
I'll give you a straight view.