WhyThey.

At WhyThey, we work with B2B SaaS and tech-driven startups and scale-ups to architect ICP-driven go-to-market strategies that fuel efficient, sustainable growth. My focus: helping ambitious founders and revenue leaders unlock clarity, design scalable GTM engines, and move from flat growth to compounding results.

Revenue Architecture Philosophy
With deep experience across 250+ SaaS and tech companies, I specialize in aligning sales, marketing, and product through evidence-based frameworks and practical execution. I partner with teams to turn customer insight into actionable GTM strategy, map every stage of the journey, and build the operational backbone that supports real acceleration.

What I Deliver
🔹 ICP-First GTM Design – I help teams define, segment, and win with their true ideal customers, making every motion count.
🔹 Scalable Revenue Systems – I build process-driven engines that connect the dots between data, strategy, and day-to-day execution.
🔹 Enablement & Experimentation – I codify what works and drive continuous improvement, so teams can adapt and thrive in fast-moving markets.

Who I Support
🚀 SaaS · HR Tech · Health Tech · Compliance · Developer Tools
(Growth-stage and scaling teams, typically 10–50 FTEs and €500K–€10M ARR)

Core Strengths
✅ ICP Clarity | GTM Strategy | Revenue Architecture
✅ Full-Funnel Process | Enablement & Playbooks | Coaching
✅ Data-Driven Growth | Operational Models | Go-To-Market Transformation

As a co-founder at WhyThey, I serve as a trusted advisor and partner—helping founders design, build, and scale revenue engines that fit their ICP, remove guesswork, and drive meaningful, repeatable growth.

Co-Founder

Upbeat

At Upbeat, I help B2B SaaS and tech-driven startups and scale-ups build revenue architectures that drive sustainable, scalable growth. My expertise spans SaaS, FinTech, Web3, energy, data, security, and emerging technologies—leveraging data-driven GTM strategies, full-funnel optimization, and structured experimentation to accelerate revenue.

Founder - Go-To-Market Strategies

SyncVR Medical

At SyncVR Medical, I applied GTM and revenue architecture principles to introduce VR solutions for patient rehabilitation and emergency care in hospitals. 

By crafting targeted strategies, I aligned product positioning with stakeholder priorities and market dynamics. I led marketing campaigns, organized interactive webinars and events, and addressed adoption barriers in a regulated healthcare environment. 

My efforts positioned SyncVR as a trusted innovator, driving product adoption and building a scalable foundation for revenue growth.

Fractional CMO/CRO

The GTM Syndicate

Domain Expert ICP-driven GTM

Winning by Design

The Winning by Design Ambassador Program is a tight knit community of like-minded GTM leaders, who embrace scientific, sustainable revenue growth at SaaS & Technology businesses.

Interested joining the team?

👉 https://winningbydesign.com/ambassador-program

Ambassador

Pavilion

Executive Member, Amsterdam Chapter

PESCHECK®

At Pescheck.io, I leverag GTM and revenue architecture frameworks to scale marketing and optimize growth in the compliance and background screening sector. 

I executed targeted campaigns, refined acquisition channels, and aligned marketing with sales processes to achieve over 250% year-over-year growth. By creating playbooks, optimizing messaging, and improving retention strategies, I built a sustainable growth engine that strengthened Pescheck’s brand and revenue trajectory.

WeatherXM

As the Fractional CMO for WeatherXM, I drove the strategic execution of marketing, go-to-market (GTM) planning, and team development to position the company as a pioneer in the decentralized weather data space. My focus was on aligning marketing and revenue strategies with the company’s innovative vision and growth goals.

Key Contributions:
Building the Team: Recruited and managed a cross-functional team, ensuring expertise across marketing, product, and sales to execute on strategic objectives effectively.

Developing the Go To Market Strategy: Designed and executed GTM strategies for core offerings, including Weather Stations, Token-based products, and Data monetization solutions, to align with market opportunities and drive adoption.

Leading Marketing Operations: Directed all aspects of marketing, including brand strategy, content marketing, community engagement, and digital campaigns, to build awareness and drive customer acquisition.

Web3 Integration: Integrated Web3 principles into product positioning and go-to-market initiatives, solidifying WeatherXM’s leadership in decentralized technology.

Tokenomics and Revenue Strategy: Aligned token economics, station sales, and data revenue streams with the company’s growth objectives, ensuring sustainable monetization.

Community and Stakeholder Engagement: Fostered collaboration with internal teams, external partners, and the WeatherXM community to enhance product adoption and loyalty.

Results:
My work as a Fractional CMO enabled WeatherXM to establish a robust marketing framework, execute effective GTM strategies, and scale its presence in the decentralized technology space, driving growth and market differentiation. Resulting in a token launch, demand generation of the data products, and 1.3mio in station sales.

Fractional CMO

Cavemen

As a Venture Builder, we create ideas, grow startups and build companies.

Founder

Regulatory Lab

Regulatory Lab supports law firms, notaries and tax advisors to fully comply with Anti Money Laundering (Wwft) legislation by simplifying the customer onboarding, matter approval process and continuously monitoring sanction lists.
 
Regulatory Lab delivers end-to-end Web-based Business Solutions which optimally supports compliance processes and assists employees in making efficient and better decisions.
 
Regulatory was founded on the belief that compliance processes should be fast, simple, and customer-centric. The combination of Know Your Customers, matter approval process, and continuous monitoring make it a perfect fit for the internal processes of any firm.
 
www.regulatorylab.com

#audittrail #wwft #law #kyc #amltraining #legaltech #compliant

Go-To-Market Strategy Director

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

Hey Founders, Let’s Build Something That Scales ↗

You’ve built something great—revenue, momentum, big goals. Now it’s time to reach the next level without wasting time or money.

WhyThey steps in as your ICP-driven GTM & Revenue-Architecture partner to cut the chaos, lay down structure, and scale profitably.

Fixing What’s Not Working
❌ No Focus? We clarify your ICP-driven GTM strategy.
❌ Wasted Leads? We repair funnels and follow-ups.
❌ Stalled Growth? We help you break through revenue ceilings.
❌ No Systems? We build processes that scale with you.

Here’s How We Win
✅ Clear Strategies. Focused GTM plans that actually work.
✅ Revenue Programs. Funnels, campaigns, and workflows that drive growth.
✅ Smart Execution. Quick wins first, scalable systems next.
✅ Profitable Growth. Results that pay for themselves—and then some.

Our Steps to Success
1 / Audit It. Review what’s working and what’s broken.
2 / Plan It. Build a clear roadmap for fast results and long-term scale.
3 / Do It. Hands-on implementation—no fluff, just action.
4 / Grow It. Optimise, scale, and keep building momentum.

You don’t have to figure this out alone. For almost two decades we’ve helped SaaS, Web3, Energy, Fintech, and Legal-tech teams transition to scalable GTM engines and predictable revenue streams.

Ready to get moving?

Let’s make it happen. Build smart → Grow fast → Scale big.

Cheers,

Douwe

You know what’s been bugging me lately?

I’ve spent 20 years poking around every corner of go-to-market.
Coaching. Closing. Product. Pipeline.
If it touches revenue, I’ve probably been in the mix.
And for the last 10, it’s been all GTM.

Strategy is the thing I’ve built a career on.
And people are happy to pay for it.
The calls.
The docs.
The blueprints.
The playbooks.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
No one really pays for the strategy.

They pay for something deeper.
Less sexy. More important.

They pay for the increased likelihood of success.

That’s it.

They’re not buying a workshop.
They’re buying the chance that something might finally click.
That growth gets easier.
That their team starts rowing in the same direction.
That the chaos starts to calm.

Strategy is just the wrapper.

And if we’re honest…
Most strategy is inaccessible anyway.
Expensive. Abstract. Unapplied.

I think it’s time we fix that.

We’re not ready to do this at scale yet.
But here’s where we’re headed:

We want to make strategy free.
Fully accessible. Widely available.

No gates. 
No games.
Just clarity.

Because the real value isn’t in the deck.
It’s in what people can do with it.

You don’t have to agree.
But I needed to say it.

Douwe Wester

Talks about #strategy, #fullfunnel, #leanstartup, #growthhacking, and #entrepreneurship

ICP-first GTM architect | Building predictable revenue engines for SaaS & tech | Fractional CMO/CRO | Certified revenue architect | DM ‘GTM’ to get ICP working for you

Would you give the setup fee back if the user hit their goal?

Had a thought over the weekend.
Was reading about offers.
Working on an offer.
Taking away friction.

Most onboarding flows reward signing up, not showing up.
But what if we flipped it, so users get rewarded for doing the work?

Here’s the idea I’ve been playing with:
→ Discount the setup fee if the user hits a clear milestone in the first 30 days.
Not as a freebie.
Not as a guarantee.
As a challenge.

What kind of challenge?

→ Finish the 3-step learning program
→ Connect all key systems
→ Enter your goals
→ Check your dashboard
→ Complete one full GTM cycle:

Create

Check

Finalize

→ Set the rules
→ Make it measurable
→ Tie it to store credit or a full refund

You’re not lowering value.
You’re raising engagement.
And making the first 30 days feel like a mission, not a checklist.

This works especially well if:
• Your product needs momentum to unlock value
• The activation path is clear but effort-based
• You want users to share wins and refer others early

This is not about being generous.
It’s about designing behavior.
✓ Reward the right actions
✓ Attract the right users
✓ Build a customer journey that self-reinforces

Curious, would this work for your product? Or would it backfire?

How to map your ICP using just two scores

If you can’t score your ICP,
you don’t have one.

Most teams chase logos with no idea who actually fits.

That’s how you get:
→ Revenue leaks
→ Late payers
→ Support nightmares
→ Losing customers that makes no sense

I use a 2x2:
Firmographic fit × SPICED fit.

It takes 17 minutes.
It shows you who’s worth your time.

Still guessing?
Score it.
Scale it.
Connect and DM me “ICP” and I’ll send the scorecard (+ one slide to rule them all).

Oh and...

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OMG this is great, Douwe. I need more of this! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ] 

Ps. AND [ follow if you haven't already ]

The ICP matrix that defines your Go To Market

Which GTM motion are you betting your business on right now?

There are 5 ways to go to market.

But only one of them will break your business if you get it wrong.

Successful founders don’t just do sales.
They run GTM motions like a factory line:

No Touch For very low ACV, self serve deals (10–1,000).
The product sells itself. Distribution is everything. Sales isn’t in the loop.

Low Touch Transactional sales, usually 1,000–5,000 ACV.
Conversion comes from in app chat, support led sales, and fast motion.

Medium Touch The velocity model, SDR + AE.
5,000–50,000 ACV. Outbound layered on inbound. Expensive, so cycle times must stay tight.

High Touch Enterprise sales for six figure deals.
Multi threading, champions, procurement, 6 to 12 month cycles. Selling complexity matches buying complexity.

Dedicated Touch Strategic whales at 1M+ ACV.
Pursuit teams, exec sponsorship, deep ROI modeling. Expensive but transformative.

For years, this was the playbook.

But here’s the reality: the rules are changing.

Rising CAC and diminishing returns have shifted the ballparks.
The minimum and maximum ACV per motion are not the same as five years ago.

What used to work at the lower end of a motion is now uneconomical.
Two step SDR/AE? At the low end it should now be one step AE, or even PLG.
Dedicated motions that made sense at 1M+ now demand even more proof before buyers move.

Too many teams are still executing business as usual.
They’re scaling with broken math.

The takeaway is simple.
You can’t just sequence GTM motions anymore.
You have to reevaluate them against today’s costs and outputs.
And sometimes you need to downgrade your motion or upgrade your pricing.

We’re helping companies do this now.
Optimizing GTM design to match today’s economics, not yesterday’s.

How are you seeing this shift play out?
Have you had to adjust your motion, pricing, or both?

Oh and...

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OMG this is great, Douwe. I need more of this! [ like ]

Ps. AND [ follow if you haven't already ]

You don’t need more reps.
You need one clear GTM motion.

Because here’s what happens without it:
◉ You chase 5 ICPs at once → no motion sticks
◉ Outbound doesn’t convert → pipeline dries up
◉ Forecasts drift → nobody trusts them
◉ Discounts creep in → value disappears
◉ Handoffs get missed → momentum stalls

And then every deal still depends on you dragging it over the line.

It’s not a sales problem.
It’s not a marketing problem.
It’s not a CS problem.

It’s a system problem.

With one clear motion:
↳ Win rates go up, sales cycles shrink
↳ The same traffic produces more demos
↳ Playbooks drive consistent execution
↳ Marketing lowers CAC and sustains demand
↳ Learning loops make every rep sharper

And here’s the payoff:
You stop carrying the close.
You finally breathe again.
The pipeline is qualified. Momentum builds.

→ That’s what we install in 30 days.
→ Coach for 3 months.
→ And only earn extra when you grow.

We just opened 3 new client spots this quarter.
Curious if your GTM is aligned?
DM me “diagnostic.”

Or send me your company’s resume.

We are Hiring ;)

I see too many founders trying to run before they can walk.

It's the silent killer of startup momentum.
Not about hustle.
About solving the right problems at the right time.

Here's what I keep seeing:
Teams building complex sales orgs before founder-led sales.
Founders obsessing over enterprise processes pre-product-market fit.
Series B dashboards at Seed stage.

That's how you burn:
- Time
- Money
- Team morale

Your Revenue Architecture needs to match your stage:

→ Founder-led growth first
Learn why customers buy
Turn it into a repeatable story

→ Keep your data simple
Only track what matters now

→ Focus your GTM
Target your ICP precisely

→ Build repeatable processes
Same smart plays
Consistent execution

The startups that nail this?
They scale faster.
Burn less.
Avoid painful resets.

Don't sacrifice your present for your future.
Solve problems that match your phase.

Want more insights on building smart revenue engines?
Follow along for practical strategies.

Because growing right beats growing fast.

We run into GTM nightmares every week.

→ One marketer trying to maintain a website with 5 industries.
→ Sales pitching 3 different stories with 1 generic deck.
→ PLG and high-touch jammed into the same product.

Here’s the problem:
Every one of those = a different GTM motion.

Most founders think a GTM motion just means “go get customers.”
It’s not.

A GTM motion = a coordinated strategy for how you acquire and grow customers.

It aligns marketing, sales, product, and CS around one model.

Here’s how motions actually emerge across startup stages:

0–30k MRR → doing things that don’t scale. Not a motion yet.
30k–85k MRR → the first coordinated motion appears
(marketing, sales, onboarding syncing).
85k–300k MRR → enough data to double down on your best ICP with real TAM.

Now layer ACV on top:
→ A $5k per year client might justify $1k CAC.
→ A $150k per year client might justify $50k CAC.

Those are not the same motions.
They need different sales processes.
Different talent.
And often, a different product.

So when one startup serves 3 industries with ACVs from 5k to 50k…
That’s 9 different motions.

Unless you’re already at $100M ARR with cross-functional depth,
it will break you.

So remember:
ICP ties the room together.
Without it, every motion is fragile.
The focus you avoid today is the pain you feel tomorrow.

👇 What stage is your GTM motion in right now?

Oh and...

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Ps. AND [ follow if you haven't already ]
Pps. Want to solve this in Q4? We have 2 spots left.

ChatGPT could be important.
Clay could be important.
n8n could be important.
Perplexity could be important.
Notion AI, Fireflies, Relevance AI, Hex, Clearbit, Apollo… 

all potentially powerful.

But let’s be clear: these are just tools.

They don’t build pipeline.
They don’t know your customer.
They don’t decide your offer or your strategy.

A Clay wizard can automate outbound flows.
A ChatGPT power-user can write a month’s worth of content in a day.
An n8n builder can connect all your systems beautifully.

But tools only amplify what’s already there.

If your targeting is off, your positioning unclear, or your funnel leaky…
AI just helps you fail faster.

Start with strategy:
↳ Understand your pipeline
↳ Understand your market
↳ Talk to real customers and prospects
↳ Map their problems and motivations
↳ Map their buyer journey
↳ Define how to reach them
↳ Sharpen your offer

Then?
Use the right tools to execute faster, learn quicker, and scale smarter.

AI is not the strategy.
It’s the amplifier.

You’re firing reps.
But they should be firing you.

You didn’t give them a chance to succeed.
You gave them a title, a quota, and no system.
And then you were shocked when they didn’t hit it.

They weren’t the problem.
The absence of structure was.

Here’s what they should’ve walked into:

Architecture
Who you sell to.
How your funnel works.
Where revenue comes from.
Without it? Every rep makes up their own map.

Process
A defined buyer journey.
Stages that match how people actually buy.
Clear handoffs, not heroic guesses.

Plays
What to say.
When to say it.
What to do next.
Codified motions that move deals forward.

Enablement
Not “figure it out” onboarding.
Templates. Tools. Talk tracks.
Built for the motion you’re actually running.

Coaching
Deal reviews.
Live feedback.
A shared language to improve performance.

No one can win without these layers.

But most early teams don’t build them —
they just expect reps to “make it happen.”

That’s not sales leadership.
That’s delegation without infrastructure.

So before you fire the next rep, ask yourself:

Did they fail?
Or did the system fail them?

Oh and...

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OMG this is great, Douwe. I need more of this! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ] 

Ps. AND [ follow if you haven't already ]

You asked about business impact.
But they were thinking about emotional survival.

Ramp faster.
Save time.
Reduce churn.

Sure. That’s what goes in the slide deck.

But you know what really closes deals?

Clarity.
Confidence.
Momentum.

Every impact has two sides:

Rational (the business case)

Emotional (the personal win)

If you ignore one, your deal stalls.
If you hit both, the path opens.

Most sellers only look for surface-level problems.
But great sellers go deeper:
Not just “What’s broken?”
But also: “What would this feel like to solve?”

That’s where real momentum lives.
Winning by Design teaches the SPICED framework. 
Where “I” stands for Impact.

But not just business outcomes.
Impact also means emotional wins.

Because deals close faster when buyers feel personally invested.

→ More control?
→ Less chaos?
→ A win that makes them look like a genius?

The business case gets you in the room.
The emotional case gets you the signature.

Oh and...

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OMG this is great, Douwe. I need more of this! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ] 

Ps. AND [ follow if you haven't already ]

Customer Acquisition Cost is at an all-time high.
Growth is stalling.
And most teams are still trying to scale chaos.

Let’s get real:
You don’t need 1 big idea.
You need 6 small ones, that compound.

+40% more MQLs
+2% lift across the funnel
+15% better pricing
+5% onboarding completion
+5% retention
+5% expansion ARPU

Put those together?
You’re looking at 2.85x revenue.
(And no that’s not a fantasy. It’s just math.)

Ps. but do not do everything at the same time

Now let’s talk about you:

If you’re a Seedling → Get your motion right before you hire.
If you’re a Startup → Run focused experiments across the funnel.
If you’re a Scale-up → Stop leaking revenue. Every % counts.

No matter the stage.
If you want to grow, you need to improve your motion.

Period.

Oh and...

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Ps. AND [ follow if you haven't already ]

The compounding effect of incremental improvements

You’ve closed a few solid deals.
Momentum’s picking up.
And then it hits you:

“What if we sold bigger?”

Enterprise logos.
Multi-year deals.
Higher ACV.

Sounds smart, right?

Here’s what you’re not seeing:

→ Sales cycles triple
→ More buyers in every deal
→ Security reviews that kill momentum
→ A team that’s not ready to run that motion

It’s not just “upmarket.”
It’s up complexity.
Up friction.
Up expectations.

And you’re still running a seed-stage setup.

Yes, you can eventually go upmarket.
You can eventually add geo.
You can eventually add verticals.

But stack those moves too soon?

That’s how great teams lose focus.
That’s how they stall out.
That’s how they break.

Startups don’t die from lack of ambition.
They die from chasing too much. Too early.

Go upmarket only when you’ve nailed your current motion.
Sell bigger deals in the segment you already dominate.
Add weight slowly. Or risk snapping your GTM spine.

Slow is smooth.
Smooth is scale.

Which move did you try too early? Upmarket, geo, or vertical?

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Most early-stage teams are still guessing WhyThey

WhyThey buy
WhyThey leave
WhyThey ghost after one call

They guess who their best customers are.
They guess what to say.
They guess what makes a deal close or vanish.

That’s why we built WhyThey.

To help SaaS teams stop guessing and start scaling. With clarity.

Now we’re building a free email course to take that even further — and we want your vote.

Which one should we ship first?

OPTION 1: Data-driven ICP + buyer personas
OPTION 2: Turn customer information into messaging

Vote below and shape what we build next.

Appreciate the help!

Taplio

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