SevenVentures’ Post

Is there a better way to kick-off the new year than with uniting the team? After a long time of working remote, we finally met again in beautiful #Hamburg in the wonderful new SPACE of nextMedia.Hamburg & Hamburg Kreativgesellschaft thanks to Cigdem Boom-Aker & Alina Orth! We used this opportunity to celebrate our past achievements (successful platform relaunch, re-branding and exceeding our financial plan in only 6 months(!) - just to name a few), look back at what we could have done better and craft a new strategy for 2024. I couldn't imagine a better help with that than with Jakob B. Scheitza from Facts and Stories GmbH who introduced us into the magic of #storytelling 🪄 Did you know that we recall stories 22 times better than facts? Knowing that each and every seller on vollefarben.de has a unique story to tell, we now feel better equipped to transport their messages into the world. I am super grateful for all the help and feedback we received throughout the year. Now it's time for us to put all the insights into action. That's why our motto for 2024 is: focus, focus, focus! Really looking forward to this year's rollercoaster ride 💪🏽 What is your team's motto? How did you kick off the new year? #startup #impact #strategy #team #diversity #happynewyear

Just like to announce that, after 12 years of being in charge of Mission Room, I am now moving on. It was my birthday last month and 65 is an old-school age to ‘retire’ after all (not that I am really retiring!). For anyone who thinks that setting up and running an SME in the UK is easy, I can assure you it is not. Mission Room was created with no external investment (and still has none) and has made a profit 10 of the 12 years it has traded. This is very much at odds with the unicorn culture and continuous round of investor financing that many startups come to rely on. For us, it was far more about creating a good product, pricing it sensibly, selling it to people with a real need and going the extra mile to keep the customer happy. It may be old-fashioned but Mission Room can be as agile as it wants and does not have to answer to investors. When we started, the idea of ‘immersive technology’ was in its infancy. We had to build the technology, build the markets and build the team. Over the years we have had to fight off emerging competition, manage difficult cashflows, and deal with the existential threat of Covid. It was never easy. I am most proud of the hard-working and loyal Mission Room team that we have put together and who will be more than able to take the Company forwards under the new leadership of Matthew Blanchfield. Most of them have been there for a long time and this handover has been planned in detail for the last few years. So, as far as customers are concerned, they really should not notice any changes in the short term and in the longer term I am sure that innovations will continue. Stepping back for a founder is difficult. The greatest challenges are psychological but the careful and extended planning has enabled me to come to terms with this and I am now looking forward to a new era. I will continue to offer strong support for the whole Mission Room concept. You do not spend 12 years building something that you are passionate about and then suddenly abandon it. Mission Room is a great product, backed by a great team and has a great future ahead. So, I will continue to post on LinkedIn, continue to network and continue to advocate Mission Room. I will still be available to bounce immersive ideas off. The future will be different, but no less interesting and I will be explaining the next steps soon.

Transformational innovation is nearly impossible to execute inside the walls of a corporation. But it's also necessary for a corporation to survive. What to do? Transformational innovation is best pursued outside the corporation, through the establishment of independent startup ventures, using patient, balance sheet capital--ideally with partners like High Alpha Innovation that are optimized for this type of activity. In this quick video with InnoLead I explain how and why corporations should build external startups, and why external launches must be approached very differently from internal innovation. Let me know what you think!

I felt excited and nervous when I first took charge of our social media team at Veque Digital. I knew that understanding people would be the key to our success. Steps I learn and start applying- 1. Getting to Know Each Other 2. Communicating Clearly 3. Observing and Listening 4. Embracing Our Culture 5. Encouraging New Ideas 6. Trusting My Team and founders' prospectives 7. Celebrating Our Wins Our Founding Member's- Kiran Jamdar Mayank Sethi We achieved success by understanding people, communicating clearly, and observing team dynamics. #startup #team #founders #socialmediamanagement #managementskill

📣 Are you someone with a passion for media and a dream of starting or growing your own tech or content startup? 🤔 We have big news for you 🎉, we can help you in your journey from an idea to an actual company! MediaNet Vlaanderen vzw, VRT Sandbox, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences and Future Media Hubs have joined forces to offer you "Seeds & Growth for Media". 📍 Here's a first look into our milestones roadmap for our first cohort: 1️⃣ Ideation & Teaming Event: October 21-22, 2023 Join us for our "Media Marathon", a two-day technology or content focused brainstorming event at VRT. Get hands-on experience, collaborate, meet our media partners (DPG Media België, Mediahuis nv, Roularta Media Group,...) and solve real industry challenges. An expert jury will select the best teams and ideas for the next phase. 2️⃣ MVP Prototype Building: October 23, 2023, until January 28, 2024 Craft your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that brings your innovative ideas to life. Turn your concepts into tangible prototypes. 3️⃣ Validate Your Product: January 29, 2024, until June 30, 2024 Test your product in a live environment in collaboration with a renowned media company, gather feedback, and take it to the next level. You will showcase your work on Demo Day. 4️⃣ Scale Internationally & Secure Funding: March 4, 2024, until 2026 During a successful collaboration with media partners, you'll expand and refine your solution, guided by mentors. We will introduce you to a broader audience and help you secure funding if needed. Are you ready to be part of Seeds & Growth? Enroll now and be part of the media revolution in Flanders and Brussels! 👉 https://tally.so/r/w7L4ra #SeedsAndGrowthForMedia #MediaInnovation #StartupJourney

Embracing the journey is vital, but it's equally important to pause and celebrate those long-envisioned moments when they materialize. Honestly, I'm not one for extravagant parties or prolonged reflection. I find joy in the grind, working tirelessly when others take a break, continually building, learning from failures, and striving for improvement each day—essential elements in the startup realm that propel you from 0 to 1. However, amidst the hustle of building the Summit House Ecosystem, I've grappled with the need to stop, take a Sabbath, and revisit the 'why' behind this endeavor. It's crucial for anyone steering 0-1 to remember why they embarked on this journey. And the answer should never be solely about conquering mountains because, in reality, there's no true summit—just another peak beyond the last. Our 'why' lies in the dreams of our agency's founders and presidents—seeing visions manifest into reality. As a team, it's about launching something into existence and witnessing it surpass our wildest expectations. That is our motivation. Because I'm fortunate to be surrounded by exceptional individuals on my team, we're making a conscious effort to hit the pause button and celebrate Matthew Pfeffer, his dream, and its realization this weekend at SXSW. Ritual Film Co. isn't just an outstanding commercial studio; we're also carving an indie path in the scripted and non-scripted entertainment world. With the release of Neo Dome and Matthew Stafford: Locked In, we're wholeheartedly commemorating these pursuits. Special mention to Oust for stepping up significantly, and leveraging their experiential talents to mark this moment, marking this momentous occasion and Wild Places on some amazing gifts for those that will be there to mark it with us. Cheers to celebrating dreams realized and embracing the continuous journey ahead! If you are going to be at SXSW please let me know so I can invite you to mark this moment with us. #SummitHouse #VentureStudio #CreativeEcoystem #DreamsRealized #Launch #zerotoone

The InnoVenture Challenge would not be possible without the support of our Prairie Sponsor, Momentum Studios. Thank you to Jeff Reed and the team at Momentum Studios for your generous contribution to this year's Challenge - a flagship event to support entrepreneurs in the state of Iowa. What is Momentum Studios, you ask? Jeff has developed a dynamic consulting company dedicated to assisting startups, top-tier companies, and social impact organizations worldwide in transforming their strategic visions into tangible achievements. Through their innovative approach, Momentum Studios fosters growth for both individuals and organizations, equipping leaders with the tools to excel in the future, ignite fresh perspectives, develop vital skills, and tailor the strategic process to their specific needs. Their services help individuals and teams move more quickly, creatively, and collaboratively: 🎯Strategy Development: Momentum Studios works with business leaders to translate ambitious organization-wide goals into actionable strategies that align, inspire, and activate their teams. 💡Innovation Projects: Momentum Studios accelerate teams by helping them better understand their stakeholders, create new solutions and experiments to de-risk big investment decisions. 🧡Culture Change: Momentum Studios enables teams to co-create and adopt new mindsets, ways of working, and practical skills that transform team cultures and collaboration models. Learn more >> https://lnkd.in/evt5VVPh SEE YOU ON THE BIG STAGE, Jeff Reed!

What a week!! Another highlight being picked by the wonderful West Tech Fest team (Danelle Cross 🙌🏼 - thank you!) to lounge on stage with Luke Anear - CEO and Founder of tech unicorn SafetyCulture for the plenary fireside chat. And incredible business worth $2.5billion, used by over 70k teams across 85 countries revolutionising the safety in the workplace. Big thanks to Luke for a great week, allowing me to pick apart your entrepreneurial brain, delve into some of your crazy side hustles (did we just become best friends?!) and share some invaluable insights about start ups- 🦄 The driving factors- work hard, take risks, know when to say no 🦄 Failures and learnings - timing is everything (15 years too early on the trolley wheel invention!) 🦄 Funding - build something brilliant that people will use, build your database of customers to get the attention of funders 🦄 Commonalities between successful funders - noticed that many have attended multiple schools, have migrant parents, drive and passion, willing to take huge risks (and no, I don’t need to move my office to my garage!) I gave KUDOS for Luke spotlighting Melanie Perkins of Canva, a woman of colour founder, for more than a few seconds on this stage #allyship And lastly, the lightening round! Here are his insights: ⚡️AI for tech: positive or negative? = Positive ⚡️Wearable tech: trendy or overrated = Overrated ⚡️Esports legitimate: agree or disagree = Legitimate for some!! 😂 ⚡️Cryptocurrency : invest or avoid? = Invest ⚡️Autonomous vehicles: promising or premature? = Promising (especially taxis! And for safety!) ⚡️eScooter safety standards: stringent or lax? = Stringent What were your take aways?! Would love to hear them!

Sharing a sneak peek from a thrilling shoot that we were involved in recently! 📸 It was an absolute blast, and we can't wait to unveil what's brewing behind the scenes. Stay tuned! ✨ #ExcitingProjects #BehindTheScenesFun #shooting #startuplife #startupsuccess #startupjourney #startupgrowth

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