FOR INVESTORS AND BOARDS
Operating leadership for the value creation plan
You hold or are evaluating a stake in a B2B software company, and the plan needs someone to carry it operationally. Here are the answers sponsors ask first: how fast, in which form, with which reporting line, with which evidence.
EVIDENCE
Four numbers from operating responsibility
2.5×
revenue uplift from a pricing redesign
enmacc, Chief Commercial Officer, 2021 to 2022
4 in 24
acquisitions integrated in 24 months
S&P Global, more than 200 engineers, three continents
1 exit
Minerals Value Service sold to S&P Global
as founder, within four years
4
funding rounds with due diligence passed
VC, PE and Fortune 500
All roles with company and result: Track record.
SPONSOR QUESTIONS
What funds want to know first
How quickly can an engagement start?
A first conversation is possible within a few days. For an analysis (scaling audit through Convios) one meeting and the metric that needs to move are enough. For an operating role the start depends on current commitments; availability is settled in the first conversation, without intermediaries.
What forms of engagement are there?
Three, equally valid: an operating role as CEO, COO or CCO, time-limited or permanent; advisory or board work without operating responsibility; analysis and implementation in bounded steps through Convios GmbH. The form follows the situation, the duration is agreed up front.
How does reporting to the fund work?
Starting value, target metric, leading indicator and scope are set down in writing before work begins. Progress is reported against exactly that metric, in the rhythm the fund sets. In an operating role, the reporting line of the company applies.
Which situations fit, and which do not?
It fits growth with weak economics, before and after transactions, in exit preparation, in post-merger integrations and in delivery problems with AI on the board agenda. It does not fit a pure cost-cutting programme without a growth target, or a mandate meant to end in a slide deck without implementation responsibility.
How are conflicts of interest handled?
Existing mandates and holdings are disclosed before any engagement. An engagement with a direct competitor of a current mandate does not take place. Confidentiality is agreed in writing before the first substantive conversation.
The six typical situations with evidence for each: Situations.
One conversation, one metric
Bring the company and the number that needs to move. Thirty minutes are enough for a first assessment.
Discuss a portfolio companyOr by email to gausmann@convios.com.