How Aikido Security Cut Commission Processing from 3 Days to 3 Hours with Driven
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Aikido Security, a fast-growing cybersecurity platform out of Belgium, was drowning in manual commission work every quarter. After adopting Driven, their CRO went from 3 days of spreadsheet work to 3 hours of review — while giving every rep real-time earnings visibility across 6 global regions.
About Aikido Security
Aikido is a fast-growing cybersecurity platform out of Belgium, securing code for thousands of companies worldwide. Their CRO, Thijs Janse, manages a team of 120+ sales professionals across 6 regions: EU, UK, US, APAC, and the Middle East — with plans to double the team again this year.
Growing that fast means paying commissions doesn't stay simple for long.
The Breaking Point
Every quarter, Aikido's CRO disappeared for 3 days. Not into deals — into spreadsheets.
Pulling deal data from HubSpot. Cross-referencing with billing. Manually calculating every rep's payout across multiple regions, each with different rates, currencies, and accelerator logic. Then fielding a week of Slack messages from reps asking why their number looked off.
Meanwhile, every rep was building their own shadow spreadsheet. Managers were doing their own math to check if their team target was right. Finance was waiting on final numbers before they could even start the payout process.
The combined time cost across the org? Easily a full week per quarter, burned on admin — not on selling. And Aikido was about to double the team. The spreadsheet wasn't going to survive that.
Why Driven
Aikido didn't want another tool that needed a 3-month implementation, a dedicated admin, and a consultant to set up formulas. They wanted a simple, reliable solution that gets the job done.
For Thijs, correctness came first, speed second. Commissions had to be right, every time, without manual cross-checking. Driven delivered both: the agentic comp builder set up all plans in hours, and the Driven Agent answers any question new joiners might have about their comp on the spot.
The HubSpot connection was instant. No CSV exports, no manual data mapping — deal data and revenue streams flowing in automatically, all plans across every region and role configured and validated within a few days.
Support That Feels Like an Extra Team Member
"It felt like Driven was part of the Aikido team during onboarding. Shared Slack channel, instant replies."
That's not a one-time onboarding experience — it's how the relationship works every day. Aikido has a shared Slack channel with the Driven team. When a rep spots something off, they ask. When a manager needs a target adjusted, it happens the same day.
No ticket queue. No 3-5 business day response times. No "we'll escalate this to engineering." Just a direct line to the people who built the system. Not a vendor. An extension of the team.
What Changed
"We went from spending 3 days on commission calculations to getting it done in 3 hours. Driven gave our reps real-time visibility into their earnings, which was a game-changer for our team."
— Thijs Janse, CRO, Aikido Security
- For the CRO: Those 3 days turned into 3 hours. One session to review and approve all payouts. Done.
- For Finance: No more being the bottleneck. Payouts are calculated automatically and ready for review. No spreadsheet archaeology, no manual formulas to audit.
- For Managers: Team targets update automatically as reps ramp in. No more guessing, no more asking "what's my number this quarter?"
- For Reps: Log in, see every deal, see the exact rate applied, see the payout. No shadow spreadsheets. No waiting until end of quarter to find out what you earned.
- For New Joiners: One click and they're in the system. Driven explains their plan, their targets, their ramp. Instantly ready to sell.
Scaling Without the Overhead
Aikido is planning to double their sales team in the coming year. New regions. New plan types. New reps every quarter with individual ramp schedules.
Before Driven, every new hire meant more rows in the spreadsheet, more edge cases to handle manually, more room for error. Now, adding a new rep takes minutes. Their plan, target, and ramp are configured once — and everything calculates from there. Doubling the team doesn't mean doubling the admin.
The Numbers
3 days → 3 hours — CRO commission processing time per quarter
1 week from HubSpot connection to live with 120 reps
0 individual spreadsheets created by reps after onboarding
120+ reps across 6 regions, all on automated plans
New rep onboarding: instant
Understanding SPIFFs, Bonuses, and Commissions
A SPIFF (Sales Performance Incentive Fund) is a short-term cash incentive tied to a specific, immediate action, usually selling a particular product, hitting a short-window target, or pushing a specific behavior the company wants right now.
SPIFFs are built for speed. They're announced, run for a defined stretch, usually days or weeks, and paid out fast, sometimes even same-day or same-week, specifically because the immediacy is what makes them effective. A SPIFF isn't meant to replace commission, it's meant to temporarily redirect a rep's attention toward something specific: clearing old inventory, pushing a new product launch, or closing out a slow month with extra motivation.
Non-Recoverable Draw vs. Recoverable Draw: What's the Difference?
A draw in sales compensation is a guaranteed advance payment made to a salesperson against their future commissions. This means it is an advance against future commission, paid out on a regular schedule, usually monthly, so reps have predictable income before their pipeline turns into closed deals and actual commission.
Companies use draws to protect new reps' income during ramp. A brand-new AE with a three-month sales cycle isn't going to close anything in week two, but they still need to pay rent. A draw bridges that gap.
For sales professionals, understanding draw type matters because it affects real take-home pay, not just cash flow timing. Two reps can be offered the exact same dollar amount as a "draw" and end up with completely different financial outcomes, depending on which type it actually is.
Sales Compensation Plans for SDRs vs AEs: What's the Difference?
Before comparing pay, it helps to be clear on what each role is actually on the hook for. They sit on the same team, but they're not doing the same job.
What Does an SDR Do?
SDRs own the top of the funnel. Their day is built around prospecting, outbound outreach, and lead qualification, all pointed at one outcome: booking meetings and creating a pipeline for AEs to work. SDRs generally aren't responsible for closing deals. Their job ends where the AE's job begins.
What Does an AE Do?
AEs own the deal once it's qualified. That means running discovery calls, delivering product demos, negotiating terms, and closing the deal. AEs carry direct revenue ownership, and in a lot of organizations, they also handle account management once the deal is signed. The pressure sits differently here: an AE's number is measured in dollars closed, not meetings booked.
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