Recent Projects

Ideation/Positioning Consult

TL;DR: I’m an ideation consultant for a data and analytics entrepreneur in the conception and upcoming launch of her new startup

The (Longer) Story: When [NAME REDACTED] contacted me, she was...unsettled.

It’s an unfamiliar feeling for her. She’s a brilliant SVP of Data and Analytics with a stellar resume and ambitions to spare. In her world, what she says goes; her ideas have proven enormously valuable to the companies who have been lucky enough to hire her.

But when she decided to strike out on her own and develop a new AI-based modeling tool, she was leaving the familiar behind.

She had created the underlying technology with a team of like-minded collaborators who spoke a common technical and professional language. But pitching that technology to VCs and other early-stage funders was a novel communications challenge, a shift into a different dialect. She needed help—help developing clear, concise talking points, anticipating questions about the new product, and strategizing approaches for each meeting.

• We started off with several deep-dive discussions clarifying the nature of her new technology and its potential applications. These conversations served to get me up to speed, but over time they came to serve another purpose—a rigorous examination of the product’s underlying structures, market opportunities and challenges, and features.

• We then shifted to comprehensive preparation and practice for her initial VC meetings. We identified objectives for each meeting, taking into account her history with these potential backers, the intellectual and business context for their interest in her work, and the rhetorical postures that would help her remain clear and persuasive.

Our work together is ongoing.