Founder at Upbeat 👉 Accelerating strategy so we can finally get our hands dirty | Revenue Architect | for B2B companies that want go to market, optimize revenue channels & build bowtie funnels

I help founder-led B2B companies at €1–5M ARR who are profitable but overwhelmed by growth choices, and want ONE focused go-to-market system that matches their market, pace, and ambition.

Story time. 

I went from being “fine at many things” to being known for one thing that compounds.

It took me almost 20 years.

Early in my career, I worked across sales, consultancy, and strategy in B2B and startups.

It looked like this:

- Chasing roles instead of building leverage
- Startups failing around me
- Being competent, but never the obvious standout

By 31, I’d been fired, quit jobs, and watched things fall apart more than once.

At my lowest point, I took a minimum-wage job because I didn’t know what my angle was anymore.

Surrounded by people who were “making it,” I kept thinking:

“Maybe this is just my ceiling.”

As a generalist, I didn’t have:

- A single lens to make decisions
- A clear point of view the market could repeat
- A system that compounded without me

So I stayed busy, but replaceable.

Lots of motion. Very little leverage.

So I changed how I operated.

I stopped being a generalist.
I stopped solving ten problems at once.
I focused on one thing:

Why revenue actually happens.

→ ICPs instead of personas
→ Buying behavior instead of opinions
→ Systems instead of tactics

At least, that was the plan.

I learned it takes time to earn “known for one thing.”

I went deep, shipped frameworks, tested them in the wild, and kept narrowing the lens.
Over time, founders started coming to me for ICP-driven GTM and Revenue Architecture.

Since then, I’ve worked with 250+ teams, mainly founder-led B2B SaaS between €1M and €5M ARR.

And the conversations shifted:
“We finally know who we’re for.”
“Our pipeline makes sense now.”
“We can explain why deals close, or don’t.”

This led me to build my approach at WhyThey.

If that sounds good, there are 3 ways I help founder-led B2B companies at €1–5M ARR build ONE focused go-to-market system:

→ GTM Audit + ICP Sprint to diagnose what's broken and find your ideal customer
→ Founder GTM Advisory to build your GTM motion with your team through bi-weekly sprints
→ Team Implementation for everything in #2, plus hands-on guidance to execute with your team

Check out my Featured section 💪

Douwe W.

I believe any founder can build a GTM that doesn't depend on them being in every room.
 
Why? Because I've been building them SINCE 2007.
 
For 18 years.
 
The caveat? It's a long-term thing. 
 
And most founders give up before the foundation is set.
 
(Or skip it entirely and hire their way out of it)
 
After 250+ teams, burned marketing hires, and watching the same scattered GTM pattern repeat itself, I learned that:
 
→ No marketer can save you if you can't explain who you sell to and why they should care.
 
But after 18 years of doing this with founder-led B2B companies, I learned that:
 
→ Your ICP turns into pipeline
→ Your ICP turns into alignment
→ Your ICP turns into messaging
→ Your ICP turns into better copy
→ Your ICP turns into onboarding
→ Your ICP turns into sales decks
→ Your ICP turns into conversions
→ Your ICP turns into landing pages
→ Your ICP turns into a GTM system
→ Your ICP turns into outbound copy
→ Your ICP turns into resonating posts
 
All within one focused go-to-market system.
 
Honestly, I'm still learning too.
 
Every team shows me a new version of the same problem.
 
(And some weeks I solve it faster than others)
 
But I'm in this for the long haul.
 
The goal is to make "Ideal Customer-Led GTM" the standard for founder-led B2B in 2026.
 
Built around real evidence, not made up persona NONSENSE.
 
So, founders, if you want to stop guessing and start building growth you can actually explain.
 
...And YES, I will get it wrong sometimes. Absolutely!
 
I love it when I do: it means I'm in the work, not above it.
 
Follow me for more about building an Ideal Customer-Led GTM for your B2B SaaS ↓

PS This is post 1 of 5 this week.

MONDAY: This OVERVIEW
TUESDAY: ICP FOUNDATION https://lnkd.in/eeykkfsM
WEDNESDAY: POSITIONING like a boss https://lnkd.in/e75hXGSw
THURSDAY: Turn that into MESSAGING: https://lnkd.in/eahnY5Jg
FRIDAY: How I turn this into COPY

Want the full series? Connect + Save this + comment below why and I'll make sure you see every post.

Douwe Wester 🟢 👉

I turn messy GTM into ONE clear motion for B2B SaaS founders (€1–5M ARR), so growth becomes explainable and repeatable | Ideal Customer-Led Growth | 👇

I kept REWRITING my client's messaging because “it didn’t feel right.”

Then I realized something......

It wasn’t a copywriting problem.

It was an Ideal Customer & Positioning problem.

Positioning sucks when the ICP is blurry.

Here’s what I mean ↓

I was working with a CEO at €3.4M ARR.

What I walked into: 
→ Multiple sales decks 
→ Multiple messages 
→ 3 to 5 "ICPs" depending on who you ask 
→ A website that speaks to everyone and lands with no one

Sales says one thing.
Marketing says another.
Product is building for a third customer.

Everyone is busy.
No one is clearly wrong.
But nothing compounded.

They'd hired agencies that jumped straight into ads, content, or SEO before doing the hard work of deciding who they actually sell to.

So I went back to the foundation.

…before doing the hard work of deciding who they actually sell to.

Yesterday I gave you my full ICP process. 

Today, it's my 5-step positioning process:

1. Define your SPICED ICP Fit + signals: 
firmographics, technographics, intent. Buy reasons: Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, Decision.

Covered this yesterday: https://lnkd.in/e2J-tUXE
 
2. Map the 12 positioning elements 
Pulled from ICP research, competitive analysis, and your product truth. Organized into secondary anchors (ICP, Personas, Use Case), primary anchors (Alternative, Category), problems, and differentiation.
 
3. Write the functional frame 
"[Product] is a [category anchor] that helps [persona anchor] in [company anchor] [use case anchor]." Test: each primary anchor should answer "What is [product]?" on its own. If it can't, it's secondary.
 
4. Build a 6-slide positioning deck 
Functional Description → Problem Framing → Value Framing → 3 Supporting Arguments (each backed by a sub-problem, differentiation pillar, and proof).
 
5. Pick your positioning type 
Pre-PMF: Lead with Problem/Outcome or Job-to-be-done. Post-PMF: Lead with Category, Segment, or Archetype.

Result?
 
One story.
Lighter decisions.
Messaging that finally sticks.
 
Credits where credits are due: this framework is heavily inspired by the positioning work of Anthony Pierri and Rob Kaminski at FletchPMM. 

Their positioning stuff is some of the clearest thinking on this topic I’ve seen. I’ve adapted it for founder-led teams building an Ideal Customer-Led GTM.
 
Follow me, Douwe, for more about building an Ideal Customer-Led GTM for your B2B SaaS.

How a joint impact plan changed everything!
 
One of my clients had no CS program. None.
 
I came in, diagnosed the issue, and built one joint impact plan.
 
That single document changed: 
↳ The questions sales asks in discovery. 
↳ What gets logged in the CRM. 
↳ How deals get handed over. 
↳ The way the whole team talks about customers. 
↳ How they prep customers for implementation. 

And eventually, how they run reviews that actually set up real renewal and expansion conversations.
 
One plan. 

Every function is shifted.
 
Your product isn't the issue.
Your talent isn't the issue. 
Your perspective is.
 
Right now, everyone sees the customer differently.
 
Sales sees an opportunity. 
CS sees outcomes. 
Marketing sees leads.
 
And when nobody shares the same view, the GTM engine bends.
 
Sales pitches things nobody asked for. 
Marketing launches campaigns that miss the mark.
CS kicks off without knowing why the deal was won. 
 
This isn't a team problem. 
It's a language problem.
 
That's why I keep coming back to SPICED (Winning by Design). 
 
SPICED gives every function the same lens.
 
Situation. Where they are today. 
Pain. What's not working. 
Impact. Why it matters. 
Critical Event. What creates urgency. 
Decision. Who calls the shots.
 
The magic? You can use it across the entire bowtie.
 
→ Discovery. 
→ Demo. 
→ Kickoff. 
→ Renewal. 

Even your marketing and messaging.
  
It's a common language for your team. 
A lens to view your customer.

In my practice, it's the information you need to create your ICP
 
Once you put it on, you can't run GTM the old way again.
 
Want me to tag you in the upcoming SPICED series?
Drop "Tag me". Want a short video on building a SPICED learning loop? Comment "SPICED loop".

Your discovery call doesn’t just shape the deal.
It shapes everything that comes after.

Miss here → and sales, CS, product all pay for it.

Yesterday we broke down how SPICED gives you a full-funnel operating system.
→ https://lnkd.in/e-9rNT5w

Today, we go to the first critical link in the chain: The Discovery Call.

You’re not just qualifying.

You’re deciding how much effort your team should invest
...and whether this deal is worth chasing at all.


If you diagnose the wrong pain:
→ you’ll sell the wrong solution
→ win the wrong customer
→ and CS will be left cleaning up the mess

This is not about pitching.
It’s about understanding.

→ What’s broken?
→ Why does it matter?
→ Why now?
→ And who needs to care?

Sometimes the smartest move is to say → “This isn’t the right fit.”

SPICED helps you run discovery with clarity.
You explore Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, and Decision.

Not as a checklist, but as a conversation that leads to real insight.

What I've learned in the last 20 years:
Every step forward is an investment, for both sides.

In our own process, a good-fit discovery leads to a free GTM assessment.
That’s real time, real work, real value.
And we only offer it when the fit is mutual.

It’s not about convincing.
It’s about co-investing in impact.

Done well, discovery sets the tone for everything that follows:
→ Close rate
→ CS handoff
→ Product feedback
→ Long-term growth

Quick note: This discovery call flow is based on Winning by Design's SPICED framework and their perfect discovery blueprint.

👀 Want to get tagged in the next one (Demo is next)?
Drop “Tag me” and I’ll make sure you don’t miss it.

PPS. If your're not following me yet, you're kinda missing out ;)

Your GoToMarket isn't broken. It's just running without an operating system.
 
Every founder-led B2B team I work with has the same setup.
 
Marketing is producing content nobody asked for. Sales is qualifying on vibes. CS is firefighting accounts that were never a good fit. 

And the founder is in every deal because nobody else can explain what they actually sell.
 
The fix isn't more activity. More outbound won't help if you're targeting the wrong accounts. More content won't help if the messaging doesn't match how buyers think. More CSMs won't help if onboarding starts without clear success criteria.
 
The fix is one page.
 
I call it the GTM OS. Here's how it works.
 
Start with evidence, not assumptions. 

Pull your top 20% of customers by revenue and retention. Run win/loss data. Map SPICED fields across your best deals. 

Look at what's actually happening in your pipeline, not what you hoped would happen.
 
Then build your profile. What does your real ICP look like when you stop being generous with the definition? What's the buyer journey for the deals that close in under 90 days versus the ones that drag for 6 months?
 
Then clarify your value. What are you really selling, and can every person on your team say it the same way? If your pricing doesn't reflect where the customer sees value, you're leaking revenue every quarter.
 
Only then do you activate. Marketing speaks to the real buyer. Sales qualifies on pain and urgency, not company size. CS drives measurable impact, not ticket resolution.
 
One client ran this process last quarter. Went from 5 different "ICPs" across the team to one scoring system everyone could use. Pipeline velocity went up 30% because sales stopped wasting cycles on accounts that were never going to close.
 
When it's all on one page, the whole team runs the same play.
 
Homework. 

Open a blank sheet. Put your top 20% customers, your ICP criteria, your value prop, and your activation channels on one page. If it doesn't fit on one page, that's your problem right there.

Douwe Wester

I turn messy GTM into ONE clear motion for B2B SaaS founders (€1–5M ARR), so growth becomes explainable and repeatable | Ideal Customer-Led Growth | #1 SaaS on LinkedIn NL (Favikon)👇

90% of founder-led SaaS companies have a GTM that looks like this ↓
 
• Multiple ICPs, depending on who you ask
• Sales says one thing, marketing says another
• Freelancers in their own lanes, nobody owns the whole picture
• A website that speaks to everyone and lands with no one
• "We're doing a lot, but it's not adding up"
 
And this is how it gets "fixed" now:
 
• An agency that jumps into ads without asking who you're selling to
• A hire with no system, no enablement, just "let's see if it works."
• Another tool hoping to force the decisions you're avoiding
 
The reality is:
 
You can get much more pipeline and clarity from your GTM.
 
If you want to close the right customers consistently:
 
Mirror how your best deals already close. Mirror what your buyers actually say.
 
In other words: 
→ Selling to municipalities? Talk compliance + fewer fires, not "digital transformation" 
→ Selling to supply chains? Talk manual work nobody touches, not "innovation" 
→ Selling to enterprise HR? Talk KPIs you can't hit, not "streamlining" ...with YOUR positioning baked in.
 
If your ICP, messaging, and sales process aren't aligned...
 
...no campaign, no hire, no agency will save you.
 
You'll keep attracting the wrong deals (or none).
 
That's why I run bi-weekly GTM sprints:
 
• SPICED ICP scoring so you know who to target and who to ignore
• Messaging built from how your best customers actually talk
• Sales process matched to how your buyers actually buy
• Anti-ICP rules so your team stops wasting time on bad fits
• Content and outbound, making it compound week over week
• One shared system the whole team can follow
 
...customized to WHO you want to attract.
 
A few recent results: 
→ Josh went from "vague companies" to a scored ICP + anti-ICP rules in 2 sprints. Then we rebuilt the GTM system: positioning → website flow → outbound angles.
 
→ Daan went from 7,806 customers → 263 ideal customers in 2 sprints. Then we rebuilt the revenue system: ICP → offers → pricing → funnel → handoffs.
 
It's a premium outcome through a simple process: 
→ GTM assessment to map what's broken 
→ Every sprint, we pick one thing, build it, ship it, and learn 
→ Your team follows along instead of waiting for a handoff
 
Progress compounds, stacking, habits, like a freaking train.
 
Smaller steps. Faster feedback. Learning loops.
 
I'm opening 5 GTM Advisory sprint spots for April. 3 are already confirmed.
 
If you're a founder-led B2B SaaS between 1-5M ARR and want to stop guessing and start compounding your GTM:
 
Within the next 7 days, I select founders based on whom I can provide the highest ROI. Then the offer will be closed.
 
Here's how to get more details:
 
DM me "SPRINT"
 
(Premium investment)
 
PS. Look at the infographic. Which stage are you stuck in? Tell me below ↓

I direct the Program in Creative Writing at the University of Alabama, and am founder of The Long Schoolroom, a learning community devoted to creative exploration and personal development. 

I am author of several books and a certified holistic arts coach with over 30 years of experience guiding others to write well, think deeply, and enact spirited transformation in their lives and work. 

Everything is invention and revision.  

You might not read poetry (I won't judge!), but we all need the poetic (a word which in Greek simply means “making”): beauty, connection, inspiration, wit. 

I team with high-performing creators, founders, leaders, and groups to spur them to new levels of clarity and direction, to workshop ideas and innovations, to integrate the personal with the professional. 

Wonder is at the heart of all artistic enterprises—and everything is an art!—so let’s court more of it in all we do. The imagination is our highest faculty, and dreams are the heart of reality. 

Let me know if I can help.

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Douwe W.

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John Estes

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