GUENTHER PETELIN

GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGIST

⏵ Scaled German fintech unicorn to €1.2B AUM
⏵ Launched US life settlements Australia
⏵ Structured US accelerator's Germany market entry
⏵ Restructured Germany's largest cooperative bank sales model
⏵ Australian business

Lets Connect

10+ Years in Fintech, Consulting, Finance 
MBA, Frankfurt | BSc Financial Economics, London 

Sydney & Berlin

USP

Go-to-market strategy backed by finance domain expertise. Navigate highly regulated markets.
Strategy. Execution. Results.

APPROACH

01

MARKET REALITY

Validate the opportunity before building strategy.

5C's analysis: Customer needs, Company capabilities, Competitors, Collaborators, Context (regulatory, market dynamics).

Output: Market opportunity assessment, go/no-go decision framework.

02

POSITIONING

Define who you serve and how you differentiate.

STP framework: Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning. ICP definition, value proposition, competitive differentiation.

Output: Positioning statement, messaging hierarchy, ICP profile.

03

GROWTH ARCHITECTURE

Design the engine that brings customers in.

Primary motion: Sales-led, Product-led, Marketing-led, or Partnership-led.

Supporting channels: PR, Content, Paid, Partnerships, Product.

Output: Channel strategy, acquisition playbook, growth model.

04

EXECUTION & UNIT ECONOMICS

Execute and measure profitability.

Execute primary growth motion, measure CAC/CLV, optimise channels based on unit economics.

Output: Running campaigns, financial model with real data, optimisation roadmap.

ENGAGEMENTS

GERMAN FINTECH UNICORN

COMPANY
German fintech unicorn offering global savings and investment products. Backed by Macquarie, Thrive Capital, PayPal Ventures.

GOAL
‍Launch investment products to diversify beyond savings and scale AUM.

THE WORK
Tested growth engines: Marketing, Partnership, Sales. Launched product portfolio: ETF portfolios, retirement products, private equity, crypto. Built HNW sales team. Established CAC/CLV monitoring framework for VC reporting.

RESULTS
€1.2B AUM from
€0 in 5 years (2022)

US ACCELERATOR & VC
INVESTOR

COMPANY
Leading US accelerator and VC investor expanding to Germany. Total funding: $2.4B+, 1,600 startups.

GOAL
Evaluate and structure business model with local ecosystem partner. Enter German market by raising VC fund.

THE WORK
Negotiated commercial terms and structured partnership framework. Analysed competitive landscape: Competitor exit, equity vs. non-equity positioning. Designed differentiating programme and positioning based on market gaps. Built go-to-market strategy and executed investor pipeline development.

RESULTS
Project ongoing
(launched 2025)

SWISS ALTERNATIVE
INVESTMENTS

COMPANY
Swiss alternative investments professional with 20+ years in asset management and family office. Launching US life settlements product in APAC.

GOAL
Structure Australia market entry and develop go-to-market strategy for APAC expansion.

THE WORK
Company formation and regulatory pathway design (serving as local director). Market analysis and competitive positioning. Go-to-market strategy development.

RESULTS
Project ongoing
(launch 2025)

GERMAN COOPERATIVE BANK

COMPANY
Germany's largest cooperative bank serving healthcare professionals. €51.8B assets, 508,000+ customers.

GOAL
Scale investment product business to offset declining loan revenue in low-rate environment.

THE WORK
Analysed entire sales structure and advisory model. Designed MiFID II-compliant inducement framework to justify commission revenue. Designed holistic advisory approach along customer life stages.
Structured custom tool development to support new sales model.

RESULTS
New advisory model and implementation roadmap delivered (2017)

WHO I WORK WITH

REGULATED TECH COMPANIES
Fintech, Wealthtech, Insurtech, Regtech, Proptech, Payments. Series A+ or bootstrapped profitable.
B2B and B2C.

FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDERS
Boutique and mid-market banks, asset managers, wealth advisors, family offices. €10M+ revenue or €50M+ AUM

ECOSYSTEM BUILDERS
Accelerators, innovation hubs, venture builders in financial services and tech.

GEOGRAPHY
US, Europe, APAC.