Cash value of communication

Often times I meet people who question the value of a focused, operational communications strategy. The argument is that there are plenty of other more important jobs to get done before looking coherently at communications. Allow me as a former communications professional to take a step back and look at the kind of value, great… Continue reading Cash value of communication

Dealing with lost outcome

A couple of years ago I had the great pleasure of helping an interesting startup in the data management and analytics space get off the ground. Part of that was to help them pitch to early angel investors in order to get the first funding. And one of the international investors we talked to had… Continue reading Dealing with lost outcome

The power of a (new) story

Back when I took the Prof G Strategy Sprint with Section4, one of the things that stayed with me was just how powerful a great story is in shaping entire companies. I was reminded the other day, when I had a meeting with a seasoned communications professional, where we talked about what great people with… Continue reading The power of a (new) story

Arghh, it’s good enough

"They will love it, when they see it. And they will realize that this is just what they have been waiting for." Trying to build something for a market that's nascent is super hard on so many levels. Yet, it is also one of those areas where time and time again, I meet founders who… Continue reading Arghh, it’s good enough

That’s so junior…

Back in the day I had a very experienced direct report who I used as a sounding board for thoughts and ideas to bring forward to executive management. We would meet in my office (even though technically I didn't have one), and we would go through the arguments, I had thought of making. If I… Continue reading That’s so junior…

Always be pitching

When you're trying to get a startup off the ground, one of the things you spend most time on is... Pitching. Of course you pitch for investment or just any sort of backing really, because you need the support and all the ressources, you can muster, for the journey ahead. But the pitching doesn't stop… Continue reading Always be pitching

Customer #1

The other day I sat down with one of our investments to discuss their potential future direction. It was an interesting and productive session with some key questions arising during the conversation. One of those discussions was around who the customer actually is? If you're developing a B2B solution, is your customer the company, you… Continue reading Customer #1