Stefan Peukert from Masterplan: Why founders sell their companies too early and how to build sales properly

About this episode

Stefan Peukert is co-founder and CEO of Masterplan.com, a SaaS platform for online corporate training. Together with his co-founder Daniel Schütt, he had already successfully sold a previous company to Bertelsmann before the two founded Masterplan.

From Content Studio to SaaS Platform

Masterplan started as a high-end content studio for digitization and evolved into a SaaS product that enables companies to provide online training to their employees. In addition to internal company materials, Masterplan offers a broad range of its own content.

Germany and Digitization: Technology Leadership as a Matter of Survival

Peukert takes a critical view of digitization in Germany: To preserve our values, we must be technology leaders. The question isn't just how far Germany has come in digitization, but what we lack to secure a leading position.

The Problem of Premature Exits

A central topic in the conversation: Do founders sell their companies too early? Peukert, who sold his first company early himself, sees this as a structural problem. Secondaries could be a solution to realign the goals of founders and investors. They help founders run their companies more freely, without the fear of losing everything.

"There should only be two types of shareholders in a company: people who work at the company and people who provide money," states Peukert's clear position.

Making Decisions and Dealing with Change

When asked about his decision-making process, Peukert provides practical insights. Particularly interesting: What changes when the co-founder leaves the company during growth? Peukert has experienced this himself and can share valuable learnings.

Sales: The Underestimated Success Factor

A major focus of the conversation is on sales. Peukert explains why sales is an underestimated area at product-driven companies: "A successful company makes money" - and that requires professional sales.

Inbound vs. Outbound in B2B

At Masterplan, they use a mix of inbound and outbound sales. Peukert explains how to build an outbound sales workforce, what structures founders need to create, and what kind of employees you need.

Proper Sales Compensation

A practical tip: How do you compensate sales employees correctly? Peukert shares his experiences and explains how to recognize whether a sales employee is good enough. He also draws comparisons to sales at Google Cloud.

Learnings from the First Company

What did Peukert and his co-founder learn from their first company that they did differently at Masterplan? Even more interesting: What would he do differently at a third company?

Internationalization and Strategic Decisions

Masterplan initially focused on the German market. Peukert discusses the pros and cons of this strategy and how they approach internationalization.

Since he admittedly sold his last company too early, the question arises: How does he think about Masterplan this time? His answer reveals a well-thought-out long-term strategy.

Future Plans: Consumer Product and Curated Platform

Finally, Peukert provides insights into possible future plans: Will Masterplan be released as a consumer product? Is the platform evolving into a curated marketplace to become even more scalable?

Stefan Peukert's experiences offer valuable insights for founders - from strategic decisions to building sales teams to the question of when the right time for an exit is.