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Masterclass: Inside Aikido: A view into the GTM of Europe's fastest growing cyber company

15. 09. 26

19:30-22:00

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Building the Aikido US Sales Machine at Lightning Speed

We talk in days and weeks. Others talk in years and hope for months.

Louis Jonckheere has done it before — he scaled Showpad, leading its US expansion into one of Europe's biggest B2B SaaS exports.
Now he's doing it again, faster, as General Manager North America at Aikido Security, where he's built the team in Chicago from the ground up.

Louis kicks off the session sharing how he's approaching speed as a sales superpower: what it actually takes to stand up a US go-to-market function fast, including a sneak peek of his superagent build.

It even gets better, after that he's joined on stage by Madeline Lawrence (co-founder & Chief Growth Officer) and Thijs Janse (CRO) or a fireside chat digging into the GTM of Europe’s fast growing cyber company. Firsthand insights.

AGENDA

19:00 - 19:30 | Open doors
19:30 - 19:35 | Welcoming words
19:35 - 20:15 | Presentation Louis
20:15 - 20:30 | Fireside Chat Louis, Thijs & Madeline
20:30 - 21:00 | Q&A
21:00 - 22:30 | Networking & Drinks in Muziekclub

GUEST POLICY - Collective Members & Campus Residents. No guests.

LOUIS JONCKHEERE

Louis Jonckheere co-founded Showpad and In The Pocket, building the global tech scale-up from Silicon Valley before returning to Ghent. Since 2023, he's led Wintercircus as CEO, turning the iconic building into a thriving hub for startups, entrepreneurs and the wider public.
He's now taking on a new challenge leading Aikido's US growth, while staying closely involved as curator of Wintercircus's public programme.

THIJS JANSE

Thijs kicked off his career eight years ago as a BDR at Showpad, learning the sales game from the ground up. In between, he couldn't resist the entrepreneurial itch and founded (and ran) several companies of his own — because apparently one job was never quite enough.

He then joined Aikido as employee number 10-ish, back when the company was doing €800K in ARR with a grand total of two salespeople. Since then, he's helped scale the revenue engine into something a whole lot bigger — proof that sometimes the best growth stories start with a small team, a lot of hustle, and someone who isn't afraid to build from scratch.

MADELINE LAWRENCE

Madeline joined Aikido as a co-founder and now leads growth, brand, and marketing as Chief Growth Officer. Before Aikido, she was a Partner at Peak, a $150M venture capital fund, and sat on the Advisory Board of TNW (The Next Web), the Financial Times' European tech media company.

CANCELLATION - Can’t make it? You can cancel your ticket up to 4h for this event.

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NO-SHOW POLICY - We’re becoming stricter on no-shows—not to be difficult, but because empty spots mean someone else misses out. No-shows will be linked to a €25 contribution to the Wintercircus Fund, an initiative supporting those who might otherwise have less access to networks like ours.

Collective Type of Events

Collective Original - Our own signature events, created by and for the Collective community. These gatherings bring all members together to connect, learn, and grow. Fully curated and organized by Collective.

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Collective Choice - Handpicked recommendations for great external events hosted at Wintercircus. Not organized by us, but absolutely worth your time. We arrange your access (tickets or %) and make sure you can join in, because we know you’ll love it.

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Masterclass: Inside Aikido: A view into the GTM of Europe's fastest growing cyber company

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