The first 100 days: RevOps Mission Update

100 Days at CREATEQ: Mission Update

The first 100 days in any new role are quite an adventure. As a CCO stepping into CREATEQ , it felt like balancing on a rocket mid-flight—fast, occasionally messy, and absolutely critical. My mandate was clear: accelerate commercial growth, implement scalable systems, and unify the team under a shared vision — while ensuring long-term sustainability.

CREATEQ is an engineering powerhouse with nearly 30 years of software development expertise, trusted by leading organisations in the financial, aviation and technology sectors. However, for decades, the focus has been purely on the core business of optimising Agile Software Delivery, DevOps and operational efficiency in software development, rather than market positioning, brand awareness or commercial scalability.

That’s the challenge. How do you take a company with world-class engineering capabilities and turn it into a category leader in a very noisy market? How do you shift from pure technical delivery to a structured, scalable go-to-market strategy?

My initial plan was based on desk research, but I quickly realised the website wasn’t capable of tracking engagement or qualifying leads for a weighted pipeline. So one extra task, and within 30 days, I migrated everything to HubSpot. Phew...

Here’s an in-depth look at the three pillars I've built so far and where I'm heading next.

Pillar 1: Awareness & Positioning

Establishing clarity and visibility was my first mission. Without a sharp focus on whom we serve and how we’re positioned, any efforts downstream would falter.

Key Wins:

• Defined the ICP: We conducted workshops to refine our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and document the challenges our buyers face. This included mapping out use cases and building hooks to align with their pain points.
• Sharpened Messaging: From productised services to clearer value propositions, we ensured every piece of communication had a consistent message. The A/B/... tested messaging via LinkedIn and Emails gave us more clarity.
• Content Engine in Action: We launched new AI-focused webinars, benchmark surveys, podcast shows, and keynote presentations that spoke to our audience under the name “TEQ Shift”. This highlights the tectonic shifts in AI, Cybersecurity, and Agile Development. We aim to refresh industries, and if you’re in tech, this is the conversation you don’t want to miss. Stay tuned.

Challenges & Learnings:

Moving fast meant some things broke. While our ICP definition aligned well with the strategy, the team needs more time to internalise these changes. I've learned in the team conversations that positioning is definitely not a one-off task, it requires iterative refinement and team-wide adoption.

What’s Next?

I’ll deepen audience engagement with A/B tests to further optimise messaging and conversion, while ensuring every team member becomes a brand ambassador through internal alignment and workshops.

Pillar 2: Sales Pipeline

A predictable, data-driven sales pipeline is the engine of any commercial operation. Our focus was on building the systems and processes to support it.

Key Wins:

• CRM Setup and Integration: Implemented HubSpot as the central hub, integrating it with our conversion pages, LinkedIn workflows, and email campaigns to build a weighted, qualified pipeline.
• Automation & Playbooks: Built automated email workflows and lead-scoring mechanisms to prioritise high-value opportunities. Developed a discovery call framework and structured onboarding templates to ensure consistent customer experience.
• Targeted Outreach: Launched campaigns targeting 5k contacts in the existing network and 22k contacts to share valuable and relevant assets without the sales pitch. These efforts are beginning to convert into meaningful conversations and pipeline growth.

Challenges & Learnings:

Introducing new systems at this speed came with friction. Some workflows were overly complex at the start, and not every team member immediately adapted. Communication about “why” these changes were happening became critical.

Pillar 3: Partnerships

CREATEQ success depends on building strong alliances and aligning market strategies. Partnerships are the backbone of our thought leadership and market expansion.

Key Wins:

• Strategic Collaborations: Partnered with leading tech companies for joint webinars and content creation. These partnerships are driving credibility and reach.
• Market Expansion: Launched initiatives to penetrate the DACH, UK, Scandinavian, BENELUX markets, with tailored strategies aligned to our ICP.
• Thought Leadership: Published the first industry report and will host exclusive in-person events to position CREATEQ as a trusted authority in the AI space and showcase the use cases that have worked.

Challenges & Learnings:

Partnerships are essential, but they take time to bear fruit. It's a long-term investment, and sometimes balancing immediate results with long-term strategic goals has been a delicate act.

The resulting RevOps Engine After 100 Days

To track bottlenecks, optimise conversion rates, and enable data-driven decisions. With a structured approach, I can now understand where leads drop off, what works, and what needs fixing.

Instead of relying on assumptions, we now have a data-driven model that continuously refines itself. Almost every engagement, response, and drop-off point feeds back into the system, allowing us to optimise outreach, reallocate resources, and remove inefficiencies in real time. This level of insight allows us to move beyond vanity metrics and focus on meaningful pipeline indicators:

• Pipeline Velocity – How quickly do prospects move from awareness to decision-making? Where are the delays?
• Lead Qualification Accuracy – Are we prioritising the right contacts based on behaviour and intent signals?
• Engagement vs. Conversion Rate – Which nurture activities correlate with higher deal closures?

How It Works: Automated Revenue Operations

Multi-Source Lead Capture: Inbound & Outbound: Website visitors, LinkedIn monitoring, CRM events, B2B data providers, content engagement. Custom Web Scrapers: Identify ICP-fit accounts from open data sources.

Account & Lead Enrichment. Account-Level: Social media, tech stack, website analysis, API signals (e.g., job ads). Lead-Level: Event participation, LinkedIn activity, shared interests → Scored & segmented.

Engagement & Qualification. Personalised Outreach: AI-powered LinkedIn & email sequences (3 core templates + modular elements). AI Inbox Management: Categorises responses based on lead history, message history, campaign & event data.

Data-Driven Insights. 1-3% of leads are in-market (ready to buy), 97-99% are not → Instead of hard-selling, we provide value-driven content to nurture relationships.

CRM Reporting & Conversion Tracking: Insights into pipeline efficiency and revenue impact.

The Outcome?

A fully automated, scalable RevOps engine that eliminates guesswork, streamlines sales, and ensures we engage the right buyers at the right time. Now, the focus is on optimising and scaling what works. ??

What’s Next, Looking ahead

We're now offering AI-powered services by expanding our portfolio of services based on proven use cases in high-stakes industries where compliance, performance, and security are critical.

Solving one major key problem in regulated industries.

80% of the IT budget is wasted on maintenance. Companies struggle with legacy systems while the competition scales. With AI refactoring from CREATEQ, you modernise your tech stack compliantly & efficiently - your own trained AI model modernises code, reduces technical debt and saves costs. The ROI? Less than a year. Imagine a sea of AI agents developing faster and smarter.

The mission: future-proofed technology stacks and software developers across five countries, ready to execute the following service packages:

• AI Refactoring - Modernising legacy code for efficiency and scalability.
• DevOps Automation - Streamlining infrastructure, CI/CD and cloud operations.
• Quality Assurance (QA) Automation - AI-powered testing to ensure high-stake software quality.

We’ll strengthen collaboration with universities and partners, and focus on aligning product offerings with market demand for maximum impact.

Key Takeaways

Speed Needs Structure - Speed is necessary, but without clear communication and structured implementation, speed alone creates friction. A CRM or demand generation engine isn't just about plugging in tools - it's about getting the team to see them as enablers, not extra work. Adoption takes time.

Positioning is an ongoing process - It's tempting to declare the ICP and messaging 'done', but the reality is different. Refining our market fit, value proposition and messaging is an ongoing effort that requires iteration, testing, and alignment across teams. Positioning is not a project - it's a discipline.

RevOps need to be embedded - CREATEQ has been a world-class software engineering company for 30 years, but growth now depends on embedding sales and marketing into its DNA. This means moving from a reactive, referral-driven business to a structured, proactive sales engine that doesn't just support technical excellence, but enhances it. It’s easy to get caught up in immediate wins, but the focus must remain on scalable, long-term growth.

Partnerships take time, but they're worth it - We've made great progress on partnerships, but strategic alliances are not quick wins. They require nurturing, alignment and shared value creation. The challenge is to balance short-term pipeline needs with long-term relationship building.

Now that the foundation is set, the next phase is about refining, scaling, and strengthening collaboration across all three pillars.

Deepening AI and Automation Maturity Research – We’re launching the AI Maturity Index—a benchmark study to assess AI readiness in mid-sized B2B companies. This will provide live industry comparisons, strategic recommendations, and tangible insights to help companies navigate AI adoption.

Strengthening Partnerships – Expanding our university collaborations, working more closely with industry leaders, and aligning our offerings with partner ecosystems to co-create value.

Scaling Outreach and Demand Generation – We’ve tested and refined a structured approach to pipeline-building. Now it’s time to scale outreach efforts, enhance automation, and optimise messaging to drive consistent inbound demand. The goal isn’t just to grow—it’s to build a predictable, scalable revenue engine that can sustain long-term success without over-reliance on short-term wins.

The past 100 days have been about setting the foundation. The next 100 will be about execution at scale. If there's only one thing I've learned, it's that nothing is ever perfect in the first iteration. Whether it's CRM workflows, ICP definitions or messaging - every system, every strategy needs to be tested, adjusted and refined.

I’ve seen hundreds of automation setups and recent benchmark data confirms: B2B companies are stacking automation like LEGO bricks - beautiful on their own, but they don’t fit together. Automation should be a connected system, not a collection of shortcuts.

The first 100 days were about building the foundation—sometimes at breakneck speed. Now, the focus shifts to refinement: simplifying systems, aligning teams, and ensuring we execute sustainably. The real challenge isn’t just moving fast—it’s making sure the momentum leads to long-term, scalable success.

To everyone who's been part of this journey - thank you for your patience, energy, and trust. We've set the stage for something incredible at CREATEQ , and I couldn't be more excited about what's next.

What are your biggest lessons from leading change in your first 100 days? Let's hear your stories.