Most VC-backed businesses don’t fail because of bad products or bad markets. They fail because the revenue engine was never built to last – By Garret Norris – CEO, KONA Group
I’ve spent 25 years working inside revenue teams across Australia and New Zealand. From FMCG to financial services, pharmaceuticals to professional services, and the pattern I see in VC-backed businesses is almost always the same.
The business has real potential. The management team is capable. The product is solid.
But the revenue engine is propped up by one or two heroic individuals, the forecasts are gut-feel at best, and the board conversations are more hope than data. That’s a problem KONA was built to solve. And after 25 years, we know exactly where to look.
The five constraints that keep revenue underperforming
When I sit down with a management team for the first time, I’m looking for one of five things. Usually we find more than one.
Prospecting: The pipeline isn’t full because the team doesn’t have the confidence or consistency to prospect at the right level. Activity looks busy. Results don’t follow.
Qualification: The pipeline looks full, but with the wrong deals. Time and energy are being invested in opportunities that were never going to close.
Conversion: The team can open conversations. They can’t close them. Deals die at proposal or negotiation, and no one quite knows why.
Velocity: Deals sit. The team manages stalled opportunities instead of building new ones. Cash flow suffers. Forecasts slip.
Leadership: The sales manager is reactive. Coaching is inconsistent or absent. The team underperforms not from lack of skill, but from lack of direction.
“Most management teams know the revenue gap exists. Few have the tools to close it systematically, or the data to show the board how they did it.”
What 100 days can actually change
We don’t run programs. We build sales engines. In the first two weeks, we establish a clear, honest baseline, what’s working, what’s broken, and where revenue is being left on the table. No spin, no surprises.
By day 30, we’re coaching on stalled deals and recovering pipeline. Management has real momentum to show the board.
By day 60, the team is operating with a shared methodology – common language, consistent process, measurable benchmarks.
By day 90, the Sales Director is leading, not just managing. The pipeline review cadence is established. We’re in support mode.
At day 100, management presents a performance report, not a narrative, but actual data showing what changed, what was recovered, and what the next 12 months look like.
10–25%
Conversion rate improvement within 90 days
15–30%
Reduction in sales cycle duration
15–35%
Upsell & cross-sell revenue increase within 6 months
3–7 years
Average client retention across our portfolio
These aren’t aspirational targets. They’re the outcomes we’ve delivered across 25 years and multiple market cycles, including the Asian financial crisis, the GFC, and COVID-19. Tracked, reported, and owned by the management teams who achieved them.
What this means for investors
VC and PE investors often ask me the same question: how do I know the revenue performance is real and repeatable, not just a good quarter?
The answer is structure. When a sales team has a shared framework, a qualified pipeline, and a leader who is coaching proactively, the results become predictable. Forecasting accuracy improves. Dependency on the founder or CEO reduces. The business starts to look like something that scales — because it is.
Our structured quarterly reporting is written in the commercial language of a boardroom, not a training report. It translates sales activity and capability data into investor-grade insight.
“When management wins on revenue, everyone wins. Our job is to make management look brilliant by making the revenue results impossible to argue with.”
We back this with a guarantee
Most consultancies won’t commit to outcomes. We do. KONA commits to measurable revenue improvement within the first 100 days. If we don’t deliver, we refund our fees. You commit to the process. We commit to the result. No negotiation. No fine print. 25 years and counting.
Client results: what the numbers say
The following results are drawn from KONA engagements across Australia and New Zealand.
They represent outcomes management teams achieved and owned.
• 80-person sales team: sales doubled in 6 months
• Finance sector client: revenue increased by over 20% in one year
• Pharmaceutical client: sales increased 19%, achieving 140% of annual target in one year
• Industrial client: market share grew from 32% to 40% in 2 years
• Building sector client: market share grew over 5% in a declining market within 18 months
• Media client (Nova): results increased 50–100% in key areas within 10 months
If this sounds familiar
If you’re leading a VC-backed business or advising one, and the revenue engine isn’t performing the way the model said it would, I’d welcome a direct conversation. Not a pitch. Not a proposal. A 30-minute diagnostic conversation about where the primary constraint is most likely sitting in your business right now.
“You set the targets. We help you hit them. And we build the evidence base that makes sure everyone knows you did.”
Get in touch
Garret Norris · CEO, KONA Group
garret@hbbausgroup.com.au · +61 422 847 660 | kona.com.au | 1300 833 574
Author – Garret Norris – https://www.linkedin.com/in/garretnorris/
