In this edition of Pretty Brilliant People, we sat down once again with Sarah McLean, our Chief Commercial Officer, to explore Mikado through the eyes of someone who speaks to operators every day. Sarah’s background as both an operator and a commercial leader gives her a sharp view of what the market is really asking for and why control, flexibility and ownership have become such central themes. This conversation moves beyond the personal and into the practical. It captures her perspective on the challenges operators face, why Mikado is resonating so strongly right now and what excites her most about where the platform is heading.
When you talk to operators about Mikado, what is the challenge they most often describe with their current platform setup?
The same themes come up time and time again. Operators feel boxed in by someone else’s roadmap, which usually means slow change, long integration queues and endless back-and-forth over priorities.
When they want to expand their business, it often feels like they’re pushing against the limits of the platform rather than moving with it.
At the heart of it, they just want more freedom to run their business the way they need to, without taking on the full weight of building their own platform from the ground up.
Mikado gives operators more control and flexibility over their roadmap. Why do you think that message is resonating so strongly right now?
Because the environment has changed. Margins are tighter, regulation is tougher and if you can’t adapt quickly, you get stuck.
Control over the roadmap is no longer a nice-to-have, as it materially affects how fast you can react to market conditions. If every change depends on a supplier ticket and a queue, you lose time and you lose opportunity.
Mikado resonates because it lets operators decide what happens next. It is modular and configurable, and that mix of flexibility and control fits where the market is right now.
From a commercial perspective, what sets Mikado apart from other PAMs in the market?
Two things stand out. First, we are very honest commercially. We support traditional models like rev share, but the real differentiator is that we offer a true code ownership model for operators who want to take that step. We don’t try to force everyone into one commercial lane. You choose the model that fits your strategy, not ours.
Second, we keep commercials tied to real value. Mikado gives you a modern, flexible core without forcing you into a huge bundle of features you will never use. We already support a wide range of integrations, but you can bring in your own partners just as easily. The platform is designed so new integrations are quick to deliver, which means you stay in control and can move at the pace you need.
It’s a cleaner, more transparent way to grow. You keep more of the upside, and you get the freedom to shape the business the way you want.
As CCO, you spend a lot of time talking to operators. What do they tend to get most excited about when you show them Mikado?
There are usually a few lightbulb moments. One is when they see how clean and usable the back office is. It sounds basic, but if your team can actually work efficiently in the system, that has a big impact.
Another is Launchpad, where we surface access to key third party tools in one place. That helps them picture day to day operations, not just a diagram of the architecture.
And then there’s the crypto native, multi-currency and dual-currency capability. When we show that, you can see people start planning future markets in their heads.
Because I used to be an operator myself I can also talk about what this means in practice, in plain language we all understand. That tends to land well.
There’s a growing interest in code ownership across the industry. How does Mikado support operators who want to take that next step?
For me, code ownership is about two things: control and enterprise value. When you own the platform, you have a real asset.
With Mikado, that step is actually achievable. We provide full ownership of the platform codebase so operators can run and develop it as their own product, while retaining the option to lean on us for support if and when they need it. They get full control without the cost and risk of rebuilding everything from scratch.
Mikado’s built to scale and evolve. From your perspective, what does that mean for operators looking ahead to 2026 and beyond?
It means your growth plan does not hit a technical ceiling. Mikado lets you scale brands, markets and product lines without rewriting the platform every time. You can expand, optimise and change course as the business evolves.
The operators who stay competitive in the next few years will be the ones who can adapt quickly and reliably. Mikado gives them the room to do that.
Finally, what excites you most about where Mikado is heading next?
Two things. First, the multi product ecosystem. Mikado alongside Hiro for content gives operators a very strong stack to build a business on, with ownership and control at the centre.
Second, the kind of clients we are talking to. More operators are thinking like product companies now. They care about their roadmap, their data and the long term value of the tech in their business. Working with those teams to build something that genuinely grows with them is the exciting part for me.
If you’re interested in purchasing the code to Mikado or any of our products, please use our Contact Form or send us an email [email protected]!
