Jackie Hermes

Growing B2B software co's w/ marketing that *actually works* | founder + CEO @ Accelity | built from $0 to 7-figures with no funding

It all started in 1986 in Lansing, Michigan.

Kidding. (Well, not really, but that’s not how I’m going to start this story.)

I started my entrepreneurial journey with cookies. Really. A vegan cookie company… and I wasn’t vegan (I gave it a shot and dang, it was hard!). I turned four cookie recipes into a business—designing packaging, finding a kitchen and making the cookies, eventually outsourcing production, then selling and establishing distribution to 12 grocery stores around Wisconsin.

The cookies taught me how to hustle. As a 24-year-old MBA, I definitely didn’t picture myself hoisting up tents at farmers markets to hand out $5 bags of cookies, or being the demo lady at the grocery store, but there I was. I still had a full-time job running the marketing department at a SaaS company, and a baby.

I’m so grateful for that experience because the money I made helped me start Accelity. What began as a one-woman consultancy blossomed into a kick-ass team of 20 and counting and a group of amazing, loyal clients all over the US.

LinkedIn has been a HUGE contributor to our growth over the past few years. I got talked into—okay, almost forced; I really, really didn’t want to do it—publishing videos about my entrepreneurial experiences in mid-2018 and have steadily grown an audience since. The LinkedIn community has given me so much love and support and I could not possibly be more grateful for the opportunities.

Outside of my professional life, I was a foster parent for two years and two of my three beautiful kiddos were adopted in Milwaukee. People always ask about hobbies, so here you go: lots of travel, fitness, exploring Milwaukee, and playing a lot of Taco vs. Burrito with my kids.

Founder & CEO

We help B2B software companies grow faster with bold sales and marketing processes that actually work—not the “push content and say a prayer” method that many agencies use.

We’re different. An agency born from software, our team has years (and years) of hands-on experience working with high-growth B2B software companies.

Want to know how we do it? Check out the links below.

In all my years selling, I’ve found that when people say you’re “too expensive,” that’s actually rarely about price.

Hear me out.

You have to establish these things in order to make your price worthwhile:

1. clear ROI
2. the right comparison
3. a sense of urgency

And it’s HARD to establish all of these things especially when your buyer is in a hurry or providing limited time.

That means you probably don’t have a pricing problem. You have a value problem.


Taking the following steps makes all the difference:

> Anchoring to emotional impact
As an agency, we’re not delivering strategy or content. We’re delivering relief for marketers that are doing it all.

> Give context for them to compare to
If you don’t show what your work replaces (a hire, wasted spend, lost time), buyers will compare you to whatever is top of mind for them.

> Tie yourself to real business goals
When your product or service clearly ladders up to revenue, retention, or growth, price becomes easier to justify.


Final PSA: Discounting doesn’t solve this problem! The buyer needs clarity, not just a cheaper price. (You get what you pay for!)


I break this down more in Episode #304 of The Art of Entrepreneurship, including how to raise perceived value without sounding salesy or desperate.

🎧 Full episode link in comments!
📩 Send this to a founder who keeps second-guessing their pricing

CEO @ Accelity | Growing companies w/ marketing that *actually works*

Cyber Risk Advisor | Speaker | Coach | #CyberSecurityMatters Podcast Host | Positive Troll | Board Director

Your biggest customer just told you they need proof of your cybersecurity practices in 60 days or they're walking.That $5M contract? Gone. 

Or your cyber insurance renewal got denied. 

Or you're sitting in a board meeting, and they're asking security questions you can't answer without sounding incompetent.

Here's what you probably tried: Your IT guy started talking about firewalls and acronyms. He wants $200K for new tools. You have no idea if you need them. 

Or you hired a big consulting firm. They sent a junior analyst with a 47-page report. It's in a drawer somewhere. You still don't know what to DO.

The truth most cybersecurity consultants won't tell you: They're boring as hell and can't talk to business leaders.

They lead with technology because they get vendor kickbacks. 

They'll tell you everything you're NOT doing (easy), but can't tell you what NOT to do (that requires business judgment). 

They can’t explain to you which risks are worth the money. 

I do this differently:

I start every engagement the same way: What makes you money? I don't care about compliance frameworks or your tech stack yet. 

I need to understand your critical business processes first. Then what data supports them. THEN we look at technology. 

I care about the systems that generate revenue and the contracts that depend on you proving you're not a security liability.

I work with manufacturing and B2B companies (50-2,000 employees) in three situations:

→Major customer demanding security proof or killing the contract - I helped a client keep their $5M Walmart contract. My fee? $150K. Easy math.

→Cyber insurance denied or demanding new requirements - Insurers want proof of fractional CISOs and real security practices. I provide that.

→Post-breach, board wants guarantees that significant breach cost never happens again - I rebuild programs from scratch and build sustainable security teams.

What you get:→No kickbacks on tools. No jargon in board presentations. No shelfware reports. Just a prioritized 12-month roadmap focused on protecting revenue and satisfying your customer’s cyber security questions.

My background:20+ years in cybersecurity. Companies from 50-2,500 employees. Built security teams from scratch. Fractional CISO for dozens of organizations.

Speaker at industry associations. 

I work with manufacturers and B2B firms honest enough to say "we need help."

If you're facing vendor security requirements, insurance issues, or board questions you can't answer, let's talk.

 https://meet-with-dom-vogel.appointlet.com/

Dominic Vogel

Dom, I'll never forget your kindness. From that one decision, I have a life I never thought I'd have.


I was working as a fractional CISO, building out a cybersecurity team. 


We were hiring for a junior security analyst, and I found the perfect person internally


A young woman with incredible energy, passion, and an eagerness to learn.


Did she have the traditional certifications? No.


Did she check all the boxes on the job description?


Not even close.


But she had something more important: coachability, hunger, and heart.


I recommended her to the CIO. He loved the idea.


 But then the VP of IT pushed back hard.


"She's not the right fit."


When I dug deeper, the truth became clear: outdated thinking. 


Prejudice. Bias. Sexism blurring his judgment.


So I overrode him. In my role as fractional CISO, I had the authority and I used it. We hired her.


And she crushed it.


She was everything I knew she would be. 


Her energy transformed the team. A few years later, after I'd moved on, she was managing the entire cybersecurity operation.


A decade later, I caught up with her. By then, she was a VP of Cybersecurity.


She said: "Dom, I'll never forget your kindness. Because of that act, I have a life I never thought I'd have. I make more money than I ever imagined. I have more freedom, more opportunity. A career I didn't even know was possible for someone like me."


I stopped her.


"It wasn't kindness that made me hire you," I said.


 "Kindness was just the lens that helped me see clearly. It let me make a decision that wasn't rooted in prejudice or bias. You earned that role. I didn't take a chance on you there was no doubt in my mind you were the right person."


Kindness isn't about lowering standards or "giving someone a shot." 


It's about removing the barriers that keep you from seeing talent clearly. It's about using empathy as a decision-making tool not a nice-to-have, but a strategic advantage.


When you hire with kindness, you don't just change one life. You change the ripple effect of every person that person will go on to hire, mentor, and lead.


----
I'm Dom Vogel—the Dopamine Dealer on LinkedIn. I help manufacturing companies and smaller B2B organizations solve cybersecurity challenges, build resilient teams, and lead with humanity.


If you're struggling with hiring, team performance, a breach, denied insurance, or you just need a partner who understands that people are your greatest asset—let's talk. DM me or comment below.


🔔 Hit follow if you believe kindness is a lens, not a compromise. I post daily about leadership, humanity, and real results.

And if you want me to speak to your team or event about hiring, leading, and building cultures rooted in kindness—reach out. Let's create the ripple together.


Because kindness doesn't just transform one career. It transforms entire fields. One decision at a time.

I Help Manufacturing & B2B Avoid Million-Dollar Cybersecurity Losses | Fractional CISO | 20+ Years Protecting Revenue, Not Networks | No Jargon, No Kickbacks | Proud Dad & Beard Grower

There's no such thing as good luck or bad luck.


There are only moments of "we'll see."


I was coaching a CIO who was in a dark place.


Everything felt like it was going wrong. 


His relationship with leadership was strained. His team was struggling. 


He felt stuck, defeated, like bad luck was following him everywhere.


"I think I need to leave," he told me. "Nothing's working out."


I shared a story with him. 


One I learned from the children's show Bluey


It featured an episode that was based on an ancient Chinese parable about a farmer.


The story goes like this:


A farmer's horse runs away. The neighbors say,


 "What bad luck!"


The farmer says, "We'll see."


The horse returns with wild horses. The neighbors say, "What good luck!"


The farmer says, "We'll see."


His son breaks his leg taming one of the horses.


"What bad luck!"


"We'll see."


The army comes to draft young men for war, but they skip his son because of the injury. "What good luck!"


"We'll see."


We don't know why a series of events gets set in motion when something happens. What feels like disaster in the moment might be the best thing that ever happened to you but it could take years, even decades, to understand why.


I told this CIO: "I burned out in corporate years ago. At the time, I thought it was the worst thing in the world. Bad luck. A failure. But it wasn't. It took me almost 10 years to realize it was just a moment of we'll see. 


That burnout put me on a completely different path. It allowed me to meet new people, explore new versions of myself, and build a life I never would have had otherwise."


He sat with that for a while.


Then something shifted. 


He stopped labeling everything as good or bad. 


He started embracing "we'll see."


A few months later, a new CEO came on board.


They formed an incredible relationship. 


The CIO is now thriving!!! Deeply energized, valued, happy. 


He almost left. He's so glad he didn't.


Good luck and bad luck are just constructs of the human mind trying to make sense of the complexity of interconnected events. 


Life isn't that linear. Sometimes what breaks you open is exactly what you needed.


So the next time something feels like the end of the world, try this instead: "We'll see."

----
I'm Dom Vogel—the Dopamine Dealer on LinkedIn. I coach leaders, solve cybersecurity challenges for manufacturing and B2B organizations, and help people navigate the moments that feel like bad luck but might just be the beginning of something better.


If you're stuck, burned out, dealing with a breach, struggling with your team, or just need someone who gets it—let's talk. 


🔔 I post daily about leadership, resilience, and real results.


And if you want me to bring this perspective to your team or event as a speaker please reach out. Let's reframe what's possible together.


Because maybe what's happening to you right now isn't bad luck. 


Maybe it's just a moment of "we'll see."

That's just the way things are.


Those aren't the words of a leader.


If we accepted "facts of life," we'd still be living in caves.


There would be no electricity. No medicine. No flight. No internet. 


No breakthroughs that changed the course of humanity.


Every single innovation—every leap forward—came from someone who looked at "the way things are" and said:


"Not good enough. We can do better."


They didn't accept limits. They removed them.


Someone said it's a fact of life that people die from infections. Then penicillin happened.


Someone said it's a fact of life that humans can't fly. Then the Wright brothers happened.


Someone said it's a fact of life that information takes weeks to travel. Then the internet happened.


True leaders don't accept the world as it is. 


They reimagine what it could be.


There are two types of people in this world.


Those who remove limits and those who impose them.


True leaders? They remove limits. They see barriers and ask, "How do we get past this? How do we make this better for everyone?"


But the power-hungry? The selfish? They impose limits. They gatekeep. They hoard control. They tell you "that's just the way it is" because it protects their position, their comfort, their status quo.


Leadership isn't about maintaining what is. It's about creating what could be.


And it starts with rejecting the phrase "it's a fact of life."


Because every time someone told you something was impossible, someone else proved them wrong.


Every time someone said "that's just how it works," someone else found a better way.


The next time you hear "it's a fact of life" or "that's just the way things are," ask yourself:


Is this actually true? Or is this just a limit someone's trying to impose?


And then decide: Am I going to accept it, or am I going to remove it?


Because the world doesn't need more people protecting the status quo.


It needs leaders who believe in better. 


Who fight for better. Who create better

-----
I'm Dom Vogel—the Dopamine Dealer on LinkedIn. I help manufacturing and B2B organizations break through limits in cybersecurity, leadership, and team performance. I believe kindness removes barriers, and innovation starts when we refuse to accept "the way things are."


If you're tired of being told "that's just how it is," if you're ready to challenge limits instead of accepting them, or if you need someone who believes better is always possible—let's talk. DM me or comment below.


🔔 Hit follow if you refuse to accept "facts of life" as the final answer. I post daily about leadership, humanity, and breaking through what's "always been done."


And if you want me to bring this energy to your team or event—reach out. Let's remove some limits together.


Because "it's a fact of life" isn't leadership.


It's surrender.


And you weren't built to surrender.

Should I tell them the truth, or give them convenient lies?


That's what a tech VP asked me when he reached out for coaching.


His team was struggling. Their industry had been hammered by layoffs over the past year. Morale was in the gutter. People were disconnected, unmotivated, and scared. 


Every day felt like they were waiting for the other shoe to drop.


"What do I tell them when they ask if their jobs are safe?" he said. "I don't even know the answer myself."


Here's what I told him:


"Then tell them that. Tell them you don't know."


He hesitated. "Won't that make it worse? Won't they lose even more confidence?"


"No," I said. "Convenient lies make it worse.


Authenticity builds trust. Vulnerability builds connection. And right now, your team doesn't need false hope....they need a leader who's willing to be human with them.


So here's what he did:


He gathered his team and said:


"I don't know what tomorrow looks like. I wish I could tell you everything's going to be fine, but I can't promise that. What I can tell you is this: Right here, right now, we're in this together. We're going to support each other. And whatever comes, we'll face it as a team."


He shared his own fears. He admitted he was scared too. He stopped pretending to have all the answers.


And something shifted.


In the weeks that followed, the team started picking up. Productivity improved. They started hitting milestones again. 


People re-engaged not because the uncertainty went away, but because they finally had a leader who wasn't hiding from it.


Anyone can lead a team through good times. That's easy.


Great leaders lead through uncertainty. Through fear. Through the messy, uncomfortable moments when no one knows what's coming next.


And the only way you do that is by being authentic and vulnerable.


Not perfect. Not all-knowing. Just human.


Your team doesn't need you to have all the answers. 


They need you to be honest, present, and willing to walk through the uncertainty with them and not ahead of them pretending it doesn't exist.


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I'm Dom Vogel—the Dopamine Dealer on LinkedIn. I coach leaders, help manufacturing and B2B organizations navigate cybersecurity challenges, and guide teams through uncertainty with authenticity, vulnerability, and kindness.


If you're leading through tough times, if your team is disengaged or fearful, if you're not sure how to be honest without making things worse—let's talk. DM me or comment below.


🔔 Hit follow if you believe great leadership is built on truth, not convenient lies. I post daily about leading with humanity and getting real results.


And if you want me to speak to your team or event about leading through uncertainty—reach out. Let's build resilient, connected teams together.


Because your people don't need you to have all the answers.


They just need you to be real.

Cybersecurity isn't about protecting everything.


It's about protecting what makes your business money.


Your critical processes.


Your systems.


Your data.


Your reputation.


That's it. That's the list.


Too many leaders treat cybersecurity like a compliance checkbox or a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. 


They throw money at tools they don't understand.


They react to every headline. 


They live in constant fear that "today's the day we get hit."


Here's what changes when you get this right:


You stop operating from fear.


You stop reacting to every strange email like it's a five-alarm fire.


You stop assuming "it won't happen to me" while secretly losing sleep that it will.


Instead? 


You lead proactively. You protect what matters. 


You build resilience into the foundation of your business not as an afterthought, but as a strategy.


And the peace of mind that comes from doing this properly?


It's huge.


You sleep better. 


Your clients trust you more. 


Your team isn't drowning in paranoia. 


You're not wondering if one bad click is going to take down everything you've built.


You're leading for your business, your clients, your family.


Here's the truth most cyber security consultants won't tell you:


Cybersecurity done right isn't about fear. 


It's about clarity. 


It's about knowing EXACTLY what you're protecting, why it matters, and how to do it without burning out your team or your budget.


------
I'm Dom Vogel—the Dopamine Dealer on LinkedIn. I help manufacturing companies and smaller B2B organizations cut through the noise, protect what actually matters, and lead their businesses with confidence instead of fear.


If you've been breached, denied insurance, drowning in security questionnaires, or just tired of feeling like cybersecurity is this big scary thing you'll never figure out—let's talk. DM me or comment below.


🔔 Hit follow if you're ready to stop reacting and start leading. I post daily about cybersecurity, leadership, and humanity.


And if you want me to bring this message to your team or event—reach out. Let's turn fear into strategy together.


Because you don't need to protect everything. You just need to protect what matters. And I can show you how.

I start every engagement the same way....


"What makes you money?"


Not "What's your compliance framework?"


Not "What's your tech stack?"


Not "When was your last penetration test?"


What. Makes. You. Money.


I need to understand your critical business processes FIRST!


The systems your customers depend on.


The data that drives those systems.


The workflows that keep revenue flowing.


THEN we look at technology.


THEN we talk about compliance.


THEN we figure out what tools you actually need.


Here's the problem with most cybersecurity consultants...


They show up with a checklist. A framework. A "best practices" playbook that treats every business like it's the same.


They'll tell you to spend $200K on tools you don't need to protect systems that don't matter while your actual revenue-generating processes are wide open.


That's backwards!!


Cybersecurity isn't about protecting everything. It's about protecting what makes your business run.


The systems that generate revenue.


The contracts that depend on you proving you're not a security liability.


The client relationships that hinge on trust.


That's where I start. And I do it all through the lens of kindness.


Because you're not a compliance checkbox to me.


 You're a business owner, a leader, a human being trying to protect what you've built.


So I don't overwhelm you with jargon or scare you into spending money you don't have.


I ask: "What do you care about most? What can't you afford to lose?"


And then we build a strategy around that.


Not around fear.


Not around what some framework says you "should" do.


Around what actually protects your business and helps it grow.


Here's what this looks like in practice:
I worked with a food manufacturer whose biggest client demanded proof of cybersecurity compliance. 


They were about to lose an $80 million contract—80% of their revenue—because they couldn't answer a security questionnaire.


We didn't start with firewalls or compliance audits.


We started with: What does this client need to see?


 What processes does this contract depend on?


 What data is at risk if something goes wrong?


Then we built a plan. Protected what mattered.


 Proved they weren't a liability.


They kept the contract. And they gained the confidence to go after bigger clients who demand the same rigor.


That's the power of starting with what makes you money.

-------
I'm Dom Vogel—the Dopamine Dealer on LinkedIn. I help manufacturing and B2B organizations protect their revenue streams, win (and keep) major contracts, and turn cybersecurity from a compliance burden into a business enabler.


If you're tired of consultants who lead with fear and frameworks instead of understanding your business, if you're at risk of losing clients because of security gaps, or if you just need someone who actually gets it—let's talk


I care about what makes you money.


And I'll help you protect it with kindness, clarity, and zero BS.

You don't protect what you can afford to lose. 


You protect what you can't afford to replace.


Read that again.


Your reputation.


Your client trust.


Your life savings.


Your identity.


Your time.


Your peace of mind.


Once those are compromised, the cost isn't just financial.


It's emotional. It's mental. And it's often long-term.


I've sat across from business owners who've been breached. 


The look in their eyes isn't about the money they lost it's about the trust they'll never fully get back.


 The sleepless nights wondering what else was taken. 


The guilt of knowing their clients' data was exposed because of a gap they didn't even know existed.


Here's the irony:


Most cyber incidents aren't sophisticated, Ocean's Eleven-style attacks.


They're simple gaps.


An outdated password policy.


A phishing email someone clicked because they were rushing.


A system that wasn't patched because "we'll get to it next quarter."


The attackers aren't geniuses. They're just patient.


 And they're counting on you being too busy, too overwhelmed, or too optimistic to close those gaps.


But here's the good news: You don't have to be a cybersecurity expert to protect what matters most.


 You just need to start with clarity, intention, and the willingness to prioritize what you can't afford to replace


Because kindness? It starts with protecting the people who trust you...your clients, your team, your family.


And protection isn't about fear. It's about care.


--------
I'm Dom Vogel—the Dopamine Dealer on LinkedIn. I help manufacturing companies and smaller B2B organizations protect what they can't afford to replace: their reputation, their client trust, and their peace of mind.


If you've been breached, denied insurance, overwhelmed by security questionnaires, or you're just tired of wondering if you're doing enough—let's talk. DM me or comment below.


🔔 Hit follow if you believe protecting what matters is an act of leadership and kindness. I post daily about cybersecurity, humanity, and leading with intention.


And if you want me to speak to your team or event about closing the gaps before they become crises—reach out. Let's turn vulnerability into strength together.


Because you don't protect what you can afford to lose.


You protect what you can't afford to replace.


And I can help you do exactly that.

Do it scared....


My daughter did her first solo performance.


Was she scared? Absolutely.


Her hands were shaking. 


Her voice was quiet when she asked, "What if I mess up?"


My wife and I looked at her and said: "Then you mess up. But you do it anyway."


She was nervous. Terrified, even. 


But she walked out there. And she did it.


Do it scared.


That's the lesson. That's what I want her to remember for the rest of her life.


Courage isn't the absence of fear. 


It's doing the thing even when fear is screaming at you to stop.


Every big moment in your life, the career change, the difficult conversation, the decision to step up and lead all start with fear.


Fear of failing.


Fear of looking foolish.


Fear of not being ready.


Fear of what people will think.


And you do it anyway.


You don't wait until you're confident. You don't wait until the fear goes away. You don't wait until you feel "ready."


You do it scared.


That's how my daughter learned she's braver than she thought. 


That's how leaders are made. That's how breakthroughs happen. That's how you stop letting fear write your story.


I've done it scared my whole career:


Leaving corporate when I burned out...scared I'd fail.


Starting my own consulting practice...scared no one would hire me.


Standing up to a VP who didn't want to hire the right person because of bias...scared I'd lose the client.


Coaching leaders through layoffs and uncertainty....scared I wouldn't have the right words.


Every single time? I was terrified. And I did it anyway.


Because waiting for the fear to go away is just another way of saying no to your own potential.


So whatever that thing is for you: the pitch you need to make, the boundary you need to set, the team you need to lead through chaos, the business decision that keeps you up at night...


Do it scared.


Your hands might shake. Your voice might crack.


 You might mess up.


But you'll also discover something incredible:


You're stronger than the fear.


Just like my daughter did.

---------
I'm Dom Vogel—the Dopamine Dealer on LinkedIn. I help manufacturing and B2B organizations lead through fear, solve cybersecurity challenges, and build resilient teams that don't wait for perfect conditions to take action.


If you're facing something scary—a breach, a leadership challenge, a decision you've been avoiding—and you need someone who gets it, who's done it scared too—let's talk. DM me or comment below.


🔔 Hit follow if you're ready to stop waiting for fear to disappear and start doing it scared. I post daily about courage, leadership, and humanity.


And if you want me to bring this message to your team or event—reach out. Let's build a culture where people do hard things even when they're terrified.


Because the world doesn't need more people waiting to feel ready.


It needs more people who do it scared.


Just like my daughter.

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The Battle

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