Is there a second valley of death for startups and scale-ups?
Recently, some articles popped up talking about the further challenges for scale-ups, namely in wat is now dubbed “the second valley of death”. What happens to companies once they have secured their first funding rounds and achieved product-market fit?
Always think Attack – what does self-defense have to do with management
Some years ago, I assisted Ignace Van Doorselaere with the creation of his book "Always Think Attack, street fighting techniques for managers". This project allowed me to combine my professional knowledge with my activities as a self-defense instructor. The purpose of...
So you’re looking to fund your startup?
Congratulations, and realise: you are not alone. The startup scene is still growing across Europe and is a focal point of governments, private companies and the EU. On the bright side, this means that there is money available from both private and public sources to...
Reading: The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
When you think of Netscape, those of us old enough to remember the browser, thinks of Marc Andreessen. But at Netscape (and Opsware), he was joined by Ben Horowitz. Together they founded venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz. This book is a compilation of the...
Reading: Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist
Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist is a great read by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson Brad Feld is the founder of Techstars, a well recognized name in the startup world. Written in 2012, it is one of those books that...
Digital everywhere… but in the end, it’s still marketing.
“It's not about doing ‘Digital marketing’. It's about marketing effectively in a digital world” - Diageo’s CEO Ivan Menezes. This post about Digital transformation on marketoonist really resonated with me. With the coming of the internet and online marketing came a...
Reading: Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing and Advertising
Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing and Advertising (Ryan Holiday) Ryan Holiday has written a number of interesting books on diverse topics such as the ego and PR. In Growth Hacker Marketing he gives a non-technical view on the subject....
Weaving storytelling into your marketing
Everybody loves a good story, whether it’s in a book, a movie, or told by a great speaker. No wonder then that stories are an excellent way for companies to get their message across. Story-what? So what is storytelling? Wikipedia tells us that storytelling is “the...
Reading: Radical Marketing : From Harvard to…
Radical Marketing (Sam Hill, Glenn Rifkin) Radical marketing is a new way of looking at brands and marketing. Building and sustaining great brands has re-emerged as a crucial issue for companies both large and small. From the Amazon page: "In this fresh, provocative...
SEO Tactics to leave behind in 2015 (and some to add)
Here's a good overview by Rand Fishkin (Moz) who presents his summary of what to love and what to leave in SEO for 2015. Helping customers find you online - Rand Fishkin at Business of Software Conference 2014 from The BLN, Business of Software