Case study · bitcoin++
bitcoin++ Supercharged
How sponsor empathy and process engineered predictable growth.
bitcoin++ tripled its annual revenue year over year after rebuilding sponsorship sales around one question: why would a sponsor say yes? Michael Schiltz, then head of sales at bitcoin++, led the work using the GTM Engine framework.
- 3xAnnual revenue, year over year
- 2.5xPipeline growth
- 2xAverage deal size
- 60%+Close ratios
- 85%To goal in 90 days
- Client
- bitcoin++, a technical conference series for bitcoin developers
- Challenge
- Unpredictable sponsorship revenue that ran on founder hustle
- Approach
- An Out of Body Experience and the GTM Engine framework
- Led by
- Michael Schiltz, then head of sales
The situation
A premier event running on founder grit
By 2024, bitcoin++ was the most technical, developer-driven conference in the bitcoin world. Each event drew 200+ attendees and had a waitlist. The team planned to run six international conferences in 2025.
But sponsorship sales ran on founder grit and last-minute scrambles. Sponsors had to be chased again every year, and only 8 of 17 came back from 2023 to 2024. The founder had to subsidize events. Without predictable revenue, the team couldn't plan, delegate or invest in growth.
- 8 of 17Sponsors returned from 2023 to 2024
- 200+Attendees per event, with a waitlist
- 6International conferences planned for 2025
The turning point
An Out of Body Experience
The turning point was an Out of Body Experience (OOBE): a guided session where the team stopped asking "How do we pitch bitcoin++?" and asked what a sponsor asks:
"Why would I say yes? What would keep me from renewing?"
The session mapped three distinct sponsor types, each with its own goals, doubts and measures of value. It also showed that custom, one-off offers were a barrier, not a benefit.
The approach
Five changes to the sales process
bitcoin++ then rebuilt its sales process around what sponsors actually needed:
- 01
Brochure first, then a conversation
A short brochure with the bitcoin++ story, audience data and a three-tier sponsorship menu, followed by a discovery call about the sponsor's goals.
- 02
Sharper targeting
Outreach went to the sponsor segments with the highest retention and lifetime value, not every inbound request.
- 03
Sponsor-centered discovery
Calls tied sponsorship value to each sponsor's own KPIs, using relevant past sponsor success stories.
- 04
One repeatable process
A single path from first call to onboarding, so no deal was lost in a handoff.
- 05
Automated follow-up
Pipeline follow-up and sponsor communication ran on automation, freeing leadership for higher-value work.
The results
From a yearly scramble to a predictable engine
Sponsorship went from a yearly scramble to a predictable engine. bitcoin++ tripled annual revenue year over year, grew pipeline 2.5x, doubled average deal size and reached close ratios above 60%. The team hit 85% of its goal within 90 days, and the steadier revenue supported its international expansion.
What founders can take from it
Start with the buyer's view, not your pitch.
Empathy beats guesswork.
Process scales. Hustle burns out.
A repeatable sales process frees the founder.
Retention multiplies growth.
Less time hunting, more time adding value.
Conversations beat decks.
Buyers want to feel heard, not pitched.