essensys
From start up to scaling a Global SaaS Leader through GTM Excellence, International Expansion, Customer Intimacy & Predictable Revenue Growth
essensys is now a global SaaS business serving the flexible workspace and commercial real estate sectors. When Michael joined in 2010, the business had a single-person sales function and a strong founder vision but needed a scalable Go-To-Market engine and commercial leadership to accelerate growth across new markets and new territories.
Over the next 14 years, Michael played a pivotal role in transforming essensys into a market leader, driving international expansion and establishing essensys as a global software platform.
Major Impact & Results
Consistent ~30% Year on Year Revenue Growth: Over 12 years, the company delivered predictable top-line performance supported by clear GTM execution.
Global Market Leadership: UK market leader across all major metrics followed by rapid US market capture in just 24 months and targeted expansion into EMEA and APAC territories.
Successful IPO on London Stock Exchange (2019): Commercial maturity, revenue visibility and predictable operating rhythms helped support the IPO process.
Industry Leading Retention (~4% Churn): A standout metric in SaaS, driven by building an award winning Customer Success team and clear product-market alignment.
Strategic Partnerships: Enabled extended reach and credibility through partnerships with the world’s largest commercial real estate firms.
Cultural and Organisational Transformation: Shifted the business from founder-led sales to a global, data-driven, scalable GTM organisation.
Case Study:
From start up to Global Saas Leader
HOW THIS WAS ACHIEVED
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Michael designed and executed GTM strategies through multiple growth phases. Building the global revenue plan spanning new business, retention, territory expansion and account growth; and introduced a unified sales methodology across Global Sales and Customer Success.
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Introducing essensys revenue operations foundation, a disciplined forecasting cadence, KPI framework, CRM focus and reward structures. This operational backbone enabled predictable planning that supported data-driven decision-making and assisted budget creation.
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Michael built and developed high-performing Sales, Customer Success and Marketing teams across global regions, hiring and mentoring talent that elevated the company’s commercial capability and led essensys to deliver industry-leading churn performance of c.4%.
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Aligning the product roadmap with clear commercial opportunities, ensuring strong fit within the target addressable market. He strengthened the company’s competitive position through detailed market and competitor analysis and helped essensys secure major industry recognition.
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Driving essensys’ global expansion, rapidly capturing US market share and reaching break-even ahead of plan, scaling EMEA through a UK-based sales force and laying the commercial foundations for APAC growth. He also created powerful routes to market by securing partnerships with major global real estate firms including JLL, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield and others.
“Michael fundamentally changed the trajectory of essensys. He built the commercial system that took us from early-stage software business to global SaaS leader delivering consistent ~30% annual growth, rapid US expansion, industry-leading retention and the commercial maturity required for a successful IPO. Michael didn’t just help us grow; he helped define what the business ultimately became.”
“There are very few people who fundamentally change the trajectory of a business. Michael Guest is one of them.”
When Michael joined essensys in 2010, we had a clear vision and a strong product—but we did not yet have a scalable Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy. What Michael built over the following 14 years became one of the defining reasons essensys evolved from a start-up IT company into a global SaaS leader serving the flexible workspace and commercial real estate sectors.
Michael didn’t just lead sales.
He architected our entire commercial system.
He designed and executed a GTM strategy that delivered consistent ~30% year-on-year revenue growth for more than a decade, established essensys as the clear UK market leader, and enabled us to successfully enter and capture the US market within just 24 months. That same commercial discipline supported our expansion into EMEA and APAC.
Crucially, Michael built predictability.
Through modern revenue operations, disciplined forecasting, clear KPIs and strong operating rhythms, he created the visibility and confidence required to scale responsibly. That level of commercial maturity was a key contributor to our successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2019.”
“What truly set Michael apart was his ability to align product, customer success and sales into a single, unified revenue system. Under his leadership, essensys achieved industry-leading retention of ~4% churn, driven by a world-class Customer Success organisation and genuine product–market fit.
Michael also transformed our culture.
He led the shift from founder-led selling to a global, data-driven commercial organisation, hiring and developing leaders across Sales, Customer Success and Marketing who materially raised the bar across the company.
Michael’s strategic mindset also enabled essensys to secure partnerships with some of the world’s largest commercial real estate firms, extending our reach, credibility and enterprise positioning.
If you are a founder or leadership team looking to scale revenue, enter new markets, professionalise your GTM motion, or prepare for an exit or IPO, Michael brings rare experience. He understands what it truly takes to build a global revenue engine—because he has done it, end to end.
Michael didn’t just help essensys grow.
He helped define what essensys ultimately became.”
Mark Furness - Founder — essensys Plc