Disrupting Trends and Traditions at Disrupt SF 2018

When arriving to Disrupt SF at the Moscone West Convention Center, there is absolutely no mistaking where you are. This year, there was a buzz around the venue as a record-breaking 9,000 registrants arrived to learn, network, and promote their latest gadgets and startup ideas. Inside, the whole venue was decorated with the familiar TechCrunch green, from the banners hoisted on the ceiling, to the TC logo for photo ops—even the escalators had a green glow, although it’s debatable whether this was intentional or not.

The first floor was dedicated to their Startup Alley, featuring almost 1,000 startups and exhibitors from all across the world. The second floor had workshops, receptions, and meeting rooms where All Raise hosted an AMA and roundtable for female funders, founders, and executives. The female-focused events had an amazing turnout, with many who came prepared with questions to ask the All Raise investors. Table topics ranged from raising capital and recruiting tactics, to investor/board management.

The third floor was dedicated to the main stage, where our client Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, spoke on Day 1. He was joined by Arrington XRP Capital and TechCrunch Founder, Michael Arrington, to discuss blockchain, banking, and what sets XRP apart from other cryptocurrencies. Brad stated that in order to accelerate the natures of transaction, Ripple needed to take a different approach to appeal to banks and institutions, recognizing that not everyone was willing to give up existing infrastructures to switch over to a new and unknown one.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spoke on Day 2 about taking on the company following former CEO Travis Kalanick’s departure. Dara addressed revamping Uber’s image to become “a positive force for change,” eliminating minority biases in the workplace, Uber’s expanding services, and becoming the company for mobility. In addition, he shared his long-term mission to build Uber’s autonomous fleet so “10 years from now, no one in the audience will own a car.”

More insights shared by Dara from the stage:

• Monetization will come later, first “you have to be solving for the customers”.

• “People like choices”. It creates more engagement and breadth of use.

• “People and computers work together better than as standalones.”

On the last day of the event, entrepreneurs from around the world took the stage for the final round of Startup Battlefield. Over the course of three days, 21 startups gathered at the competition to pitch their company to investors and the audience for the grand prize of $100,000. Concluding with final demos presented in front of a panel of judges, the five finalists included CB Therapeutics, Mira, Forethought AI, Origami Labs, and Unbound. After much deliberation, Forethought AI was named the Startup Battlefield winner of Disrupt SF 2018.

Attendees are loyalists for a reason, some mentioned this was their fourth time at Disrupt. With all the excitement that was going on, there was never a dull moment.

Thank you to the entire planning team at TechCrunch, the volunteers, and everyone who helped put on Disrupt SF. We had a blast and look forward to next year!

Speaking 101: Connecting Beyond the Digital World

The live experience is not dead.

While we can listen to free music on Spotify, we jump at the chance to see our favorite bands in concert. While we can FaceTime family from across the country, we endure the pains of traveling to spend the holidays together. While we can go on YouTube to watch keynotes and presentations, we travel to different cities to  hear thought leaders share their ideas live.

Why? Technology allows for valuable connection, but in-person interactions create irreplaceable and authentic experiences outside of the digital world. An Eventbrite study found 78% of millennials  are fueling the “experience economy”—spending more money on experiences rather than materials.

Here are four reasons why it’s valuable and important to attend events in today’s digital era.:

1. Learning IRL Instead of URL

Listening to a speaker in person offers a rich opportunity to actively watch, listen, and receive information. According to a recent Forbes article, “like artists, the best speakers are original and relevant in the moment. You can’t get that online. The best reinforce a mission, catalyze an audience, even inspire action.” Face-to-face interactions help motivate and mobilize people, rather than just being another message on the other side of a screen.

2. Networking

Nothing beats gathering people in one place in real life. According to The Muse, “conferences are one of the single best ways to network.” Instead of having to come up with an icebreaker, a conference provides a common topic to chat about: the conference itself!

You may not only make new connections, but also could potentially make new friends. Thirty percent of millennials say they met someone at a live event that became a good friend. Who knows, the conversations you have at an event may be even more valuable than the content.

3. Ask Questions, Get Answers

When a session includes a quick Q&A, make sure to bring your questions! While you may already follow a speaker on Twitter or have their email address, make the effort to introduce yourself personally and ask a question directly. The answer they provide face-to-face may be more extensive than over a tweet or email. Conferences allow for direct access to experts and thought leaders seen on stage.

Events allow you not only to gain insight from speakers, but also from other industry professionals. Gather intel from fellow attendees on topics and ideas that are of interest to you. Translate those insights into actionable takeaways that you can implement at your company.

4. A Change of Scenery

How often do you actually set aside time to learn something new relating to your field or industry? Conferences and events offer the opportunity to embrace a posture of learning. Take advantage of listening, asking questions, and participating in discussions at events. Embrace the change of scenery and extract all that you can from the experience.

People appreciate live experiences, even with an abundance of online content available. Watching videos from behind a screen is not the same as watching a speaker live from the audience. People truly value the event experience: learning from speakers in live settings, networking with other attendees, and implementing relevant takeaways.  

Interested in attending more events? See where we’re speaking next and subscribe to our monthly newsletter today!

Speaking 101: How to Leverage Social Media for Your Business

With nearly two-thirds of the population checking social media daily, there has never been a better time to utilize online platforms as a business tool. In fact, last June Instagram, reached a whopping one billion monthly active users, making customer engagement just one click away for most businesses.

For some people, social media may seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. When executed correctly, social media is an incredibly effective marketing tool. It serves to boost brand exposure, encourages two-way communication, and humanizes your brand. No matter your experience with the various social media platforms available today, we’ve compiled eight  cred-approved strategies below to help you drastically improve your online presence.

• Establish a clear goal
  No matter what your goal is, make it SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Once you have established your one clear goal, you and your team can collaborate on how to achieve it. Remember, it needs to be realistic. You won’t get 1,000 followers overnight.
  

• Commit to your brand
  In order for your company to be distinguishable from competitors, it’s important to establish one style for your brand. Every post, retweet, and Instagram story should be in line with your brand. This includes keeping everything consistent, from voice to aesthetics.

  • Pro tip: People are drawn to authentic brands so don’t be afraid to show personality, but always keep it professional. For more tips on developing your personal brand, check out this post.
    

• Stay on top of trends
  Channel your inner Austin Kleon and steal like an artist. When you notice new trends on social media, leverage it to your advantage by improving or expanding upon it. Things are popular for a reason. If you see a creative Instagram story or an engaging tweet, save it and then improve it later to make it your own.

  • Pro tip: Tag your location using Instagram Stories to broaden your reach and then organize your stories into highlights.
    

• Use the right hashtags
  Make it a daily habit to search trending hashtags on Twitter and Instagram to see what people are talking about. By consistently #hashtagging related content on your posts, your account will gain more traction and followers.
  

• Make customer engagement a priority
  Social media has opened the floodgates to instant gratification. In a matter of minutes, you can comment on a post and receive a response, and this makes customers feel important. By interacting with users daily, your company will be on its way to boosting followers and building credibility.
  

• Track your analytics
  Create a business account to learn more about your audience’s behavior and demographics. With Instagram Business Tools you can track your impressions, outreach, profile views, website clicks, and more. With Twitter Analytics, you can measure and boost your impact on Twitter by viewing your impressions. These insights will help you gauge what days and times are best for you to post your content, this way you can provide more timely and relevant content for your followers.
  

• Create a content calendar
  Using business accounts, find out the best times to post on your feed, then plan out your content for the month. By using a calendar, you can keep yourself organized and have your content scheduled ahead of time. This way, you’re never missing a day or struggling to find content to post.

  • Pro tip: Create content ahead of time and save them in your drafts. When the day comes around, all you have to do is press send.
    

• Make a commitment
  Last, but certainly not least: staying on top of mind should be your number one priority. In order to make an impression, you first need to make a commitment. Set reminders to post daily on social media so you never miss a beat.

By making time to post consistent, relevant, and relatable content on social media, you will be able to expand your reach, boost your brand exposure, and engage more frequently with your audience. By using these tips, you will be well on your way to improving your online presence and increasing your brand’s credibility.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

Time to Cast your Votes: SXSW Panel Picker is Live!

Each March, 70,000+ people head to Austin, TX, for SXSW, but did you know the festival and conference gives the public a say in deciding who will appear on its stages? Through PanelPicker, you can vote for the conference sessions you’d most want to see at the event. cred submitted our clients in 15 sessions this year, covering a range of topics from cryptocurrencies and AI exoskeletons to diversity behind the camera and using data for good.

You can explore all our sessions below. We’d love if you voted for your favorites; PanelPicker closes August 30!

cred Client: Ayasdi
Trust Challenge: Why Explainable AI is not Enough

cred Client: Foundation Capital
Unlocking the Blockchain Trilemma
Watch out Silicon Valley: Rising LATAM Rech Scene

cred Client: Hawke Media
Where’s My Money? Surviving Shifts in Advertising

cred Client: Mighteor
Women in Film Behind-the-Scenes

cred Client: MuteSix
For Women, by Women, Knowing Your Audience

cred Client: Olivela
Innovation in Retail & Purpose: CARE & Olivela

cred Client: Periscope Data
Strategies for the Diversity & Inclusion Journey
Data for Good: Conversation with Crisis Text Line

cred Client: Ripple
Blockchain Behind the Hype: The Ripple Effect

cred Client: Selligent Marketing Cloud
Marketing in the Era of the Entitled Customer

cred Client: SoulTour
Working with Soul: Ritual Designs in the Workplace

cred Client: Voicera
Powering Productivity at Work with AI Exoskeletons
Behind the Intelligence: Active and Passive A.I.

cred Client: 500 Startups
Made in China: Crypto, Exchanges, Trust and More

credTen: Top Ten Conferences in Female Entrepreneurship 2018

Here at cred, we pride ourselves on working with passionate and accomplished speakers. In particular, we work with a number of inspiring female founders who are blazing trails and creating lasting impact within their industries. From advertising to artificial intelligence and machine learning, women are disrupting, innovating and paving the way for female leadership.

In this edition of our credTen series, we’re featuring the top 10 events worth checking out for female entrepreneurs.

BlogHer Creators Summit
August 8 - 9 | New York
#BlogHer18 Creators Summit will gather 2,000 attendees to celebrate women telling their stories to inspire and educate communities across the globe. Focused on the blogging and social media industries, the conference will feature talks from Jessica Alba, Gabrielle Union, Uzo Aduba, and more.
Tickets: $350*

Grace Hopper Celebration
September 26 - 28 | Houston
Named in honor of Grace Hopper, an American computer scientist and pioneer in computer programming (she invented one of the first compiler related tools), the Grace Hopper Celebration is an annual gathering of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront.
Tickets: $1,150*

Yellow Conference
August 23 - 24, 2018 | Los Angeles
Hosted in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, Yellow Conference is a gathering of 500 women who desire to fight for a better tomorrow; the ones who are willing to roll up their sleeves, step out in courage, and use their creativity for good. This year’s theme is “Our Ownership” and will explore what it means to own our stories, dreams, visions, passions, and abilities we have.
Tickets: $377*

Create & Cultivate
August 25, 2018 | Chicago
A one-day conference with a focus to entertain, enlighten, and inform women around key topics surrounding #sidehustle life, the ever-changing digital landscape, entrepreneurship, and the real talk that comes with being a modern working woman.
Tickets: $350*

Brit + Co #CreateGood
August 24 - September 24, 2018 | Los Angeles
October 17 - 21, 2018 | New York City
Brit + Co’s #CreateGood experience is a digital, social, and experiential conversation leaning into these needs and empowering women to be their best selves. Hosted in both LA and NYC, the event will feature talks by world-class speakers, creativity workshops, live performances, and more.
Tickets: $35*

Startup Grind Global Conference
February 12 - 13, 2019 | San Jose
With 5,000 founders and investors, more than 40 keynote and fireside sessions, and over 50 exhibiting startups, this is Startup Grind's largest event. Over two days of programing, the entrepreneurs in the audience will hear stories, tactics, and lessons learned from founders from companies like LinkedIn, Slack, and Tesla.
Tickets: $255*

Watermark Conference for Women
February 22, 2019 | San Jose
The mission of the Watermark Conference for Women is to promote, communicate, and amplify the influence of women in the workplace and beyond. The organization was founded 25 years ago and this will be their 5th year hosting the conference, with past events featuring motivational talks and educational programming from the likes of Amal Clooney, Hillary Clinton, and Diane von Furstenburg.
Tickets: $225*

Stand Up Lift Up - PBWC Annual Conference
April TBD | San Francisco
At last year’s event, PBWC convened 6,000 attendees for a sold-out and content-rich day of powerful conversations about equality, diversity and change. Keynotes included Rosie Rios, former Treasurer of the United States, Maria Shriver, author & activist, and Jane Fonda, award-winning actress.
Tickets: $TDB
 

Forbes Women’s Summit
June TBD | New York
Featuring keynote conversations, panel discussions, one-on-one interviews and speaker spotlights, the Forbes Women’s Summit brings together the voices and insights of a diverse range of female luminaries from the worlds of business, entertainment and politics.
Tickets: Invite  Only- Request to Attend!

Inc. Women’s Summit
TBD | New York
Surround yourself with savvy female business leaders with diverse backgrounds, passions, and pursuits for a day of dynamic exchanges and innovative business ideas. Speakers will share their stories—and lessons learned along the way—about defying the odds and reinventing business their own way.
Tickets: $TBD

*Standard/general registration rates at time of publication.

Want to speak at these events? Get in touch to learn more about our speaker management services: speak@credpr.com.

Inspiration On-The-Go

Here at cred, we work with a list of clients who have turned inklings of ideas and moments of inspiration into influential businesses. While collaborating with these founders and funders, one of the biggest lessons I’ve taken away is that inspiration can be found in the most everyday experiences, and you can inject creativity into even the most routine projects. 

What’s one everyday experience most of us share? The commute to work. Whether you’re on a train, catching a bus, walking to work, or sitting in traffic on the highway, you’re probably wearing headphones, scrolling through the news on your phone, or reading a book. For me, this is a time for catching up on news or listening to music, but I find that the entertainment I use to drown out BART noise often shows itself in my work. 

Below are a few of the things I’m enjoying on my way into work, then incorporating into my work day: 

What I’m Listening To (Podcast Edition):  ZigZag

While listening to a recent episode of 99pi, I heard a preview of a new show called ZigZag— ”mini-stories about entrepreneurship, deciding how to align your values with your ambitions, and building strong partnerships”—and immediately subscribed. At cred, we work with many clients on both sides of these partnerships, both founders and investors; and while we know their stories—the successes, the challenges, the roadblocks—it’s a completely different experience to listen live as the hosts, Manoush and Jen, allow listeners to sit in on a meeting with a potential investor, or be a fly on the wall during their conversation weighing the pros and cons of building a business with venture funding. I’ll be tuning in over the next few weeks, to follow their progress and get an up-close and personal look into the life of an entrepreneur.

What I’m Listening to (Playlist Edition): Hit Parade’s “Feat. Don’t Fail Me Now” Playlist

Can you tell that the backup vocals in Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” are Mick Jagger? Or that the high pitched voice in David Bowie’s “Fame” is John Lennon? You wouldn’t know from the way the songs are credited. A recent episode of Hit Parade explored how the music industry went decades without crediting featured artists, and they made this playlist of songs featuring uncredited artists—a lot of them music industry royalty. How has this fit into my work day? In the cred office, almost every project we work on is a group effort, and listening to this playlist has been a low-key reminder to collaborate whenever possible, ask for ideas, always give a shout out to people who helped push a project toward the finish line. (Bonus: This playlist functions as a great lineup of classic hits, for when you need to throw on your headphones and focus).

What I’m Watching: Explained

If you’re someone who prefers to watch a quick episode of TV on your train ride, Explained may be the show for you. After many, many coworkers recommended this show, I had to check it out (at home, not in transit), and it’s the episode on cryptocurrency that really stuck with me. We work with leaders at the forefront of the blockchain space—a huge sphere of innovation to learn the basics on—and this quick lesson was the perfect primer on currency exchanges. If you’re more inclined to written word than ledgers, the episode on the exclamation point is another great choice.

Do you have a favorite podcast, book, movie, or song that’s inspiring your work? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

The Power of Why

What is it that separates our favorite companies (looking at you Southwest Airlines) and leaders (hello Sheryl Sandberg) from the rest? Simon Sinek believes the answer lies in cultivating a strong sense of “Why.” These leaders, companies, and products have a clearly defined purpose.

Simon, an unshakable optimist, leadership guru, and visionary founder—is the author behind the best-selling book Start with Why and the influential TED talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.” Guided by his principles of inspiration and mission-driven living, cred spent the last month exploring our own Why. Here’s what we learned!

1. Start with a Map: Seeking the Why behind personal and professional actions is an extremely daunting task. To alleviate confusion, Simon introduces a clear framework for organization called the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is a schematic that helps visualize the What, How, and Why behind a person or product. Here’s the breakdown:

• WHAT: These are products or services.

  • If we take cred for example, the WHAT is securing speaking opportunities for clients.

• HOW: These illustrate the action behind a company or individual’s What.

  • For cred, our Hows are writing pitches, contacting event organizers, and building positive industry relationships.

• WHY: The core purpose, cause, or belief!

  • cred’s Why is to connect speakers to engaged audiences so that they build thought leadership and create environments that inspire.

2. Craft your Purpose Statement: Once you’ve defined the What, How, and Why, it’s time to reflect on its relevance in your own life. This can take shape in many ways, but we found it helpful to create sentences with a handy template: To___ so that ___.

The first blank represents contribution—the thing you or your company does to bring about results—and the second blank represents the impact of that contribution. Plug in the blanks and - Voila! - you’ve got a purpose. While it’s never as easy as that, finding purpose is possible and an extremely rewarding journey!

3. Share: Success goes where energy flows! Once you’ve built a purpose statement, share it in the comments below. We’d love to celebrate your mission!

RampUp on the Road: A Tale of Four Cities

4 cities, 5 days, 35 speakers, and 350+ brand marketers.

The fun doesn’t stop in March for RampUp. This Spring, we traveled across the US with RampUp on the Road, spreading the word of people-based marketing in four beautiful cities: Charlotte, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

RampUp on the Road provides the opportunity to bring the most stellar content and speakers from the March event (you can catch up 2018’s recap here) to regional audiences in a smaller, more intimate setting. And in the spirit of customized targeting, each roadshow’s agenda and sessions are catered to the most relevant local industries and fields from FinServ and Insurance in Charlotte to Entertainment and Auto in Los Angeles.

Common topics covered at all roadshows centered around the importance of data (1st, 2nd and 3rd party), the blending worlds of TV and digital, and the creation, implementation, and measurement of a people-based strategy. We love hearing real accounts of lessons learned and success stories straight from the brand marketers facing these challenges everyday and helping to create an environment where they can all connect on the future of the industry.

Popular sessions focused on customer-centricity and targeted marketing. Standing-room-only presentations in every city featured engaging speakers- including Newcombe Clark, Global Director of Rapid Learning at AIG in Charlotte, Erin Gulden, AVP, Director of Content Marketing at US Bank in Minneapolis, and Andrew Christe, SET Data Manager at Southeast Toyota Distributors in LA. The roadshow in Seattle brought a lively discussion among Amy Ball, Advertising Senior Program Manager at REI, Tesäen Chavis, DMP Owner at Uber, and Kyle Roemer, Practice Leader of Analytics at Slalom Consulting in Seattle.

We also made sure to incorporate some bonus adventures including test-rides in porsches in LA and catching a hometown Mariners victory at Safeco Field in Seattle.

And the US tour continues… Fall is just around the corner. We’re looking forward to hitting four more cities: Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, and New York, see you soon at RampUp on the Road!

Interested in participating in one of these upcoming events or planning something like it? Let’s connect at events@credpr.com.