What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26On the 16 Apr 2026 renewal call the CFO challenged Growth at £44k a year with around nine of 40 users active, a price rise at renewal and an in-house option. He decided nothing and may ask for fewer seats.
What happened: Daniel Okafor hosted the Growth renewal call on 16 Apr 2026 with Priya Raman. Rupert Lasker and Desmond Oyelaran attended from Delancey Haig.
Customer view: Rupert said nobody calls it essential and nobody has asked to cancel. Desmond in finance did not know the brain could answer invoice questions.
Commercial: The new list price for Growth applies from renewal, and Priya promised the exact figure in a written quote. Rupert said he may come back with fewer seats.
Watch: Use is concentrated in a few directors. BB-Demo owes a one-page summary, the quote, a finance session and a ticket answer.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Priya Raman to send the written quote, with annual and quarterly options, to Rupert Lasker this week.
- Daniel Okafor to send Rupert a one-page summary of usage, cost and what changes, and the finance session slots to Desmond.
- Priya and Daniel to hold a short follow-up call a little before 19 May 2026, and Daniel to answer Desmond on the ticket by Friday.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Around nine of 40 licensed users are active and the CFO may come back with fewer seats.
- The Growth price moves to the new list at renewal, which the CFO ties to low use.
- Use is concentrated in a few client-account directors, so one departure would cut it again.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- A 20-minute session for Desmond Oyelaran's finance team on their own invoice data could add users.
- Resourcing managers were named as a second team who could use the brain across several systems.
- Quarterly billing is available on request and will be quoted alongside annual in advance.
Transcript
- Daniel Okafor NoneGood morning, everyone. Thank you all for making the time. Let me just check who has joined. Rupert, Desmond, lovely, and Priya is here from our side too.
- Rupert Lasker NoneMorning. How long is this going to take? I have a hard stop.
- Daniel Okafor NoneWe've booked half an hour and I'd expect to use most of it, but I'll keep us moving. Rupert, if you need to drop early, Desmond can carry on and we'll write up anything that's decided.
- Rupert Lasker NoneFine. Go on.
- Priya Raman NoneThanks, Daniel. So, just a quick recap of where we are, to keep momentum. The renewal for Growth is open on our side, the contract runs to 2 Jul 2026 and the renewal date is 3 Jul 2026. We're aiming to have the paperwork done by 19 May 2026, so there's plenty of room, but I'd like to avoid it drifting into June. Happy to make this easy.
- Rupert Lasker NoneRight. So before anything else. What are we actually using?
- Daniel Okafor NoneFair question, and I'd rather answer it honestly than dress it up. Can I take that one, Priya?
- Priya Raman NonePlease, it's your area.
- Daniel Okafor NoneSo you have forty licensed users on Growth. In a typical month, around nine of them are active, and that's a little down on the previous quarter. Not a collapse, but I won't pretend it's going the right way. The people who use it most are the client-account directors, which is what you bought it for. They use it to see a client's vacancies, placements, invoices and complaints in one place, and that's where I see the questions being asked.
- Rupert Lasker NoneNine out of forty.
- Daniel Okafor NoneAround nine, yes. I'd rather you heard it from me.
- Rupert Lasker NoneMm. And that's what, forty-four thousand a year?
- Daniel Okafor None£44,000 a year, yes. That's the annual subscription, and it's what the order form says and what's been invoiced.
- Rupert Lasker NoneRemind me of the annual cost, then, per person who is really using it. I'm not going to do the sum out loud, but you can see where I'm going.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI can, and I'd say it's a reasonable way to look at it. Can I offer a slightly different angle too? The licence count is a ceiling, not a target. Growth includes forty users because it's meant for several teams. The question I'd ask is whether the nine are getting something that saves your directors real time, and then whether the other teams should be there too.
- Rupert Lasker NoneCan we do this ourselves? Honestly. We have a data person, we have the reports out of the CRM, finance has the invoice data. Why not just stitch it together in a spreadsheet?
- Daniel Okafor NoneYou could, and some customers start there. The honest trade-off is the upkeep. Somebody has to rebuild the join every time a source changes, and then it's one person's spreadsheet. What you have today refreshes overnight, inside your own Snowflake account, so your own team can query it without anyone maintaining a workbook.
- Rupert Lasker NoneHm. Someone always maintains it, though. That's just a different someone.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's true, it is. In this case it's us, and the cost of that is part of the fee.
- Priya Raman NoneAnd Rupert, if I can jump in. I'm not here to push you to renew on something that isn't paying back. What I'd like is for you to see a clear picture, and then we decide what the right shape is. That might not be the same shape as the last two years.
- Rupert Lasker NoneGood. Because I won't be deciding anything on this call.
- Priya Raman NoneUnderstood, completely. No decision needed today.
- Desmond Oyelaran NoneSorry, can I come in? I'm the one who will end up processing whatever you agree, so a couple of practical things. First, the price. We were sent a letter in the new year about a change to your price book. Does that apply to us?
- Priya Raman NoneYes, it does, Desmond, so I'm glad you raised it. You joined on 3 Jul 2024 under the original price book, and you've kept that price for the first term. Because your renewal falls after the July changeover date, the new list price for Growth applies from the renewal.
- Rupert Lasker NoneSo it goes up.
- Priya Raman NoneIt does go up, yes. It's a little over a tenth, and I'd rather give you the exact number in a written quote than quote it from memory on a call. I'll have that to you this week.
- Rupert Lasker NoneSo I'm being asked to pay more for something nine people use.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI understand why it lands that way. Let me say it plainly, because I don't think it helps if I skate over it. The price is going to change at renewal, that's a fixed part of how we handle every customer on the old book. What I can influence is whether the product is giving you more for it. And that's the part I'd like us to spend the rest of the time on.
- Rupert Lasker NoneGo on, then.
- Daniel Okafor NoneSo, three things. Who uses it, what they ask, and who's missing. On the first, it's concentrated. A handful of the client-account directors do most of the asking. That's a strength in that they depend on it, and it's a risk in that if one of them moves on, the numbers dip again.
- Rupert Lasker NoneAre those people going to stay?
- Daniel Okafor NoneI don't know, and I wouldn't guess. That's more your side than mine. But it's why I'd want to broaden it a bit.
- Desmond Oyelaran NoneFrom the finance side, we don't use it much. We pull the invoice and ledger numbers from the accounting system directly. I'll be straight, I didn't realise the brain could answer questions about invoices by client.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's really useful to hear, Desmond. It's connected. Your invoices are in there, that's partly why the directors see a client's billing next to the placements and complaints. But you've never had a reason to ask it, I suspect, because nobody showed you.
- Desmond Oyelaran NoneProbably right. Nobody did.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThen that's on us, and I'd like to put it right. Could I do a short session with you and your team? Twenty minutes, on your own data. Something like, which clients are past their normal payment pattern, and what's going on with them in the placements and the complaints.
- Desmond Oyelaran NoneThat would actually be handy. Credit control chasing a client who's also been complaining is exactly the awkward call we try to avoid.
- Rupert Lasker NoneThat is a good example, I'll give you that. What else?
- Daniel Okafor NoneThe second one is the team beyond the directors. Growth is meant to cover several teams, and today it's really one. I'd suggest we pick one more group, the ones who sit between the directors and the clients, and see whether they'd ask it questions too. If they don't, we've learnt something and it costs you nothing.
- Rupert Lasker NoneWhich group?
- Daniel Okafor NoneI'd want your view before I say. You know who spends the most time chasing information across systems. I can look at where the questions cluster, but you'll have a better instinct.
- Rupert Lasker NoneThe resourcing managers, probably. They spend half the day in the CRM and then in a different system looking up the same client.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's a good candidate. I'll note it. How is the team finding it so far, by the way, the directors? Have you heard anything direct?
- Rupert Lasker NoneNothing bad. That's about the level of it. Nobody has told me it's essential and nobody has told me to cancel it. Which in itself is a bit telling.
- Daniel Okafor NoneIt is, and I'd read it the same way. Quiet isn't the same as valued.
- Priya Raman NoneWhich is exactly why I'd rather we do the work now than in June. If we get the picture right by 19 May 2026, you've got a decision that rests on something, not on a gut feeling and a deadline.
- Rupert Lasker NoneMm. Priya, would you put a lower price on the table? Be honest.
- Priya Raman NoneHonestly, Rupert, I can't promise that today, and I wouldn't want to say something I can't stand behind. What I can do is show you the options on scope. If it's the same Growth subscription, there's the new list price. If it's a different shape, we can look at that. And if there's any flexibility on the terms, I'd bring it to you in writing with a date on it.
- Rupert Lasker NoneA date on it. Of course.
- Priya Raman NoneWell, it keeps us both honest.
- Desmond Oyelaran NoneCan I ask about timing on the invoice? If we renew, is it one payment in advance, same as before?
- Daniel Okafor NoneAnnual in advance is the standard, and the invoice would follow the renewal date. Quarterly is available on request, if cash flow matters. Priya will confirm how that works on the quote.
- Priya Raman NoneYes, quarterly is possible, I'll put both in the quote so you can compare them side by side.
- Desmond Oyelaran NoneThat helps. And just so you know, nothing is overdue on our side. I checked before the call.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThank you, yes, we've seen the same. You've been very prompt, honestly.
- Rupert Lasker NoneI never pay early, Daniel. Prompt is the right word. Not early.
- Daniel Okafor NoneNoted, and fair enough.
- Desmond Oyelaran NoneOne more. There was a support ticket last month. I think from our side. I'm not sure it ever got a proper answer.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI've got the one ticket in front of me, and we handled it as high priority. I believe it's settled, but I won't tell you it's closed until I've checked the thread properly. Just to close the loop, I'll come back to you by Friday, and I'll write it up so you've got it in writing.
- Desmond Oyelaran NoneAppreciated, thanks.
- Rupert Lasker NoneLet me say where I am. I'm not against it. I'm also not going to sign something because it's easier than thinking. What I want is, what are we actually using, what would it cost, and what happens if we simply stop.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's a perfectly sound framing, Rupert, and I'd be glad to answer all three. On the last one, I'd want to be straightforward. If you stop, the directors lose the single view, and your team goes back to assembling it by hand. Whether that matters enough is your call. I'd rather you made it with the numbers than with a reminder email from me.
- Rupert Lasker NoneGood. Then send me a one-page version. Usage, cost, what changes. Not a deck.
- Daniel Okafor NoneOne page, understood. I'll make sure it says plainly how many people are using it, which teams, and what they ask about. And a line on the question you asked earlier, about doing it ourselves, so you've got my honest view on that too.
- Rupert Lasker NoneDo that. And Priya, the quote alongside it, so I see both at once.
- Priya Raman NoneBoth together, absolutely. I'll send them in one email so you're not piecing it together.
- Desmond Oyelaran NoneI'll take the session with Daniel, then. Could we do it early next week?
- Daniel Okafor NoneLet me check my diary and I'll send you a couple of slots this afternoon. I'll bring a few of your own client examples, so it's not a generic demo.
- Desmond Oyelaran NonePerfect.
- Rupert Lasker NoneRight. And after that, what then? I don't want this to drag on until the end of June.
- Priya Raman NoneNeither do I. My suggestion is, you have the one-page summary and the quote, then we have a short follow-up call a little before 19 May 2026. You tell us where you've landed or what's still missing. That leaves weeks before the contract ends on 2 Jul 2026, so nobody is rushed.
- Rupert Lasker NoneThat's acceptable. I may well come back with fewer seats.
- Priya Raman NoneThat's a fair thing to bring, and we'll talk it through properly if so.
- Daniel Okafor NoneAnd whichever way it lands, I'd like the directors to hear from us in the meantime, so nothing changes for them while you decide. I'll keep an eye on how it's being used.
- Rupert Lasker NoneFine. Anything else from you two?
- Priya Raman NoneOnly thank you both. Best, Rupert, and I'll get the quote across this week.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThank you, Rupert, thank you, Desmond. I'll send the slots this afternoon and the summary shortly after. Speak soon, and have a good day.
- Desmond Oyelaran NoneThanks all. Bye.
- Rupert Lasker NoneBye.