Bowery’s Sales Summit Closing the Year Strong

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Bowery Capital wrapped up its fourth and final thought leadership Summit for the year, closing out a quarterly Series bringing together similar roles beyond the CEO to learn from some of the biggest leaders in SaaS. One hundred attendees came together with a goal of learning tactical lessons from some of the most experienced executives in the space. CROs, Heads of Sales, and CEOs from Slack, Stripe, Yext, Bitly, and more discussed themes around hiring, culture, sales velocity, and what it takes to successfully scale.

One of the best parts about being onsite running these events is the having access to elite thought leaders and a front row seat to insights and content. Here are my top five tips I learned from these Sales Execs (in no particular order):

1. Slack’s motto when building a “freemium” model: Build a product people love (make them want to buy the product).

2. Lesson Learned from CEO of Bitly on scaling: Everybody is in sales. Recruit your allies. Nobody wins unless everybody wins.

3. Everyone is always trying to master email marketing: SalesLoft discovered ending with a colon (:) is 35 percent better than ending with a comma (,)—I personally prefer a dash!

4. Hiring Strategy (and applicable across not just sales teams): Your starting pitching pitcher (i.e your first hire) won’t be your closer.

5. Even if prospects aren’t ready to speak now, keep ‘em warm with insightful content:  Give them a reason to come back.

Reflection: My Time as a cred Intern

From working at Greenbrier’s Crisis Con to pitching clients for top tech events, our fall intern Helen Matt was an essential part of the cred team. During her time here, she worked behind the scenes assisting with the planning of several events and securing some great wins for our clients. Don’t just take our word for it—check out what Helen had to say about her five months as an intern at cred:

cred: Describe a typical day in the life of a cred Intern.

Helen Matt: My days are usually filled with a wide variety of projects! I really appreciate that I had the chance to see all aspects of the company, from the speaking side to the events side and social media/website strategy.

cred: What was one of your favorite projects that you got to tackle?

HM: When I first started, I was introduced to NGP Capital’s World of Connections conference planning and I worked on it up to the day of the conference. When it finally all came together and I got to see my work pay off, it was so rewarding!

cred: What was one thing that surprised you about working at cred?

HM: I was really surprised to see how much goes on behind the scenes when securing speaking opportunities! From the initial outreach to keeping relationships with event organizers, the whole process is very calculated and requires a lot of hard work!

cred: Biggest takeaway?

HM: With any small company/startup, the work everyone does on a daily basis REALLY matters (even if you’re an intern!). It is really important to stay organized to finish all of your projects on time.

cred: What do you think makes a successful intern?

HM: An internship is all about learning. To get the most out of your experience, I think you should be open to projects from all sides of the company to find out what you do/don’t like. I also think it’s important to take initiative and spearhead tasks that need to be completed instead of waiting for someone to tell you to start.

cred: What’s one thing you’ll miss about cred?

HM: The people, of course! The company culture is awesome and everyone is so nice and supportive. They definitely made the Ohio to San Francisco transition very smooth.

cred: What event was your favorite?

HM: Again, it would have to be NGP. Seeing an event come together after months of work is so rewarding!

Interested in applying for the cred Intern program? Email work@credpr.com.

Speaking 101: Storytelling Elements for Public Speaking

Whether you are speaking to a small room of five people or an auditorium of 5,000, storytelling will make your presentation memorable. Studies show people are more likely to retain information when it is told through story. Here are some helpful tips to get you started:

1. Keep it simple.

Make sure the details you’re sharing are necessary to the story. Too much information can be overwhelming for the audience and make your story hard to remember. It’s easy to add fluff, but it’s hard to refine your thoughts to align with what matters.

• Tip: Edit, edit, edit. Read through your story multiple times and take out unnecessary fluff.

2. Use emotion.

Make people care about what you’re saying. Yes, statistics and data can be helpful, but using a genuine, real world example that utilizes emotion has been proven to be more effective. It makes the information stick with your audience and has a lasting impact.

• Tip: Use names! Giving a face to a story makes it more personable and memorable.

3. End strong.

Every good story has clear conflict resolution. This is where your message should be clearly defined without open ends. It should be obvious and leave the audience feeling inspired! Use wording that will resonate with your audience and remember to keep it short and sweet.

• Tip: Try limiting your message to one sentence or just a few words. Setting a word limit can help center and focus your thoughts.

Digital Transformation at World of Connections 2018

On November 14, Nokia Growth Partners hosted its fourth annual World of Connections event at the Golden Gate Club in San Francisco. This year, 300 entrepreneurs, innovators, and technology leaders gathered to hear industry executives discuss this year’s theme of Digital Transformation. With a packed schedule consisting of three simultaneous tracks running throughout the day, attendees could listen in on sessions covering Intelligent Enterprise, Smart Mobility, and Digital Health.

The day kicked off with an inspirational talk from Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri about the power of communication and value in addressing world problems. The schedule then split into the three key themes, each featuring varying formats of keynote speakers, panels, and fireside chats.

Smart Mobility, one of the most popular tracks of the day, drew speakers from Ford, Uber Freight, Lime, and BMW i Ventures to touch on topics ranging from autonomous driving technology to the implications of smarter commutes creating smarter cities.

Boasting another large crowd, Google Product Management Director Sampath Srivinas kicked off the cybersecurity session debating the increasingly prevalent topic of authentication. He was followed by a series of ‘innovator views’–emerging companies disrupting the space–who are tackling securing your workforce and addressing security threats.

As the three successful tracks wrapped up for the day, attendees gathered one last time to hear from Oracle Executive Vice President Amit Zavery on the industries most likely to be transformed by software and the factors driving rapid adaptation. As the final keynote came to a close, everyone headed outside to conclude the day with a cocktail reception and networking.

Check out some highlights from the conference below!

RampUp on the Road and Across the Pond

We hit the road and the skies with RampUp this fall, making our way to Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, New York, and London for cred’s inaugural international event.

The speaker line-up was truly impressive across all cities—including representation from Starbucks, GameStop, Barclay’s, Google, and Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt, co-authors of the best-selling Freakonomics. These amazing speakers drew the crowds with record-breaking attendance at all five events, allowing us to reach more than 1,300 martech leaders across the world. Amazing venues and features like the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and RampPups in NYC made sure everyone left happy.  

RampUp’s content is always stellar with a focus on the top current priorities for marketers ranging from the importance of data privacy and integrity to customer-centricity to the artful balance of creativity and data. We were thrilled to be a part of bringing these engaging topics to London for RampUp’s first European event.

In London, more than 300 attendees joined us at the prestigious Savoy Hotel, the sister property to Fairmont San Francisco where RampUp SF is hosted each year. A few key takeaways from London:

• Standing room only for the GDPR session proved that it’s still a relevant topic in the UK and across the Europe. Speakers discussed why GDPR should be viewed as an opportunity to better educate consumers worldwide about the value exchange between consumers and marketers.

• The rapidly evolving TV landscape is creating more opportunities than ever for digital ads and should not be overlooked as a key piece of the omnichannel puzzle.

• As Phil Jones, Head of EMEA Partnerships, Ads & Research at Google discussed in the closing fireside chat, consumer trust is decreasing as consumer expectations are increasing. Innovation and data-driven decision-making are critical to bridging these gaps between users and advertisers.

It’s been an amazing year with RampUp, but in true event planner style, our eyes are set to the future for RampUp 2019 in February 25-26. Less than 100 days to go!

If you’re interested in RampUp updates, or want to learn more about how we can help you with your event, email us: events@credpr.com.

Check out some of our favorite fall moments:

RampUp: Chicago

RampUp: Dallas

RampUp: Philadelphia

RampUp: New York

RampUp: New York

RampUp: New York

RampUp: London

credTen: Top Ten Conferences in Design 2018

There are conferences tailored for specific audiences like marketers, women entrepreneurs, and even blockchain enthusiasts, but there’s another big industry that deserves the spotlight for its innovative events—design. Gone are the days of boring design presentations in stuffy conference rooms, these days design-focused events are bringing together creatives/designers from across the globe in fun, creative, and interactive environments.  

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

IxDA Interaction Conference
February 3 - 8 | Seattle
Similar to SXSW but for designers/creatives, Interaction is a week-long event that hosts an Education Summit, leadership retreat, workshops, and culminates with a three-day conference. Focusing on “Design in the Wild” the 2019 event gathers designers from across the world to explore the edges of interactive design.
Tickets: $1,500

Harvard’s xDesign
February TBD | Cambridge
Started in 2012 in collaboration with the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard Business School, and Harvard College, xDesign brings together over 500 creative thinkers, students, and notable designers to discuss the impact of design across industries.
Tickets: TBD

AIGA Design Conference
April 4 - 6 | Pasadena
AIGA is back this year! This annual conference, which skipped 2018, brings together practitioners, researchers, and academics to discuss how design is changing and the impact it has on their fields.
Tickets: $1,400

Creative South
April 11 - 13 | Columbus, SC
An hour away from Atlanta, on the border between Georgia and Alabama, sits Columbus, South Carolina, home to Creative South. With a focus on the process and experience of design, this three-day conference gives designers actionable insights and takeaways they can use in their own practices.
Tickets: $447

HOW Design Live
May 7 - 10 | Chicago
Starting out as the HOW magazine in 1985 (which still exists today) HOW has transformed itself into one of the premier design events in the world. In May, over 4,000 attendees will converge in Chicago for four days of discussion around all things design and branding.  
Tickets: $1,295

99U Conference
May 8 - 10 | New York
99U is a two-day conference that brings together over 1,000 designers, creatives, entrepreneurs, and researchers to help them supercharge their work and make their big ideas happen. Featuring past speakers like Seth Godin, Simon Sinek, Brené Brown, and others, this conference is one that creatives/designers simply can’t miss.
Tickets: $999

Design Thinkers
May 28 - 29 | Vancouver
October 24 - 25 | Toronto
Held in both Vancouver in the spring and Toronto in the fall, RGD's DesignThinkers is Canada's only annual conference for visual communicators. Over two days, attendees will gain in-depth insight into trends and best practices in branding, design thinking, and design management.
Tickets: $675

AWWWards San Francisco
May 8 - 9 | San Francisco
AWWWards, the most-visited digital design awards platform in the world, is coming back to San Francisco for their summer conference. Featuring speakers from the likes of Dribbble, Google, and Airbnb, this two-day conference aims at helping designers and developers discover trends, new technologies, and the secrets of the Internet.
Tickets: $425

IDSA Interaction Conference
September TBD | Chicago
Hailed as “A New Kind of Design Conference” IDSA’s Interaction Conference discusses the power of design. With speakers like the VP of Design at Fitbit, Director of Global Design Innovation at PepsiCo, Inc., and many others, this conference brings together diverse perspectives to discuss the future of design.
Tickets: TBD

Seattle Interactive Conference
October 17 - 18 | Seattle
Part design, part marketing, and part general tech, Seattle Interactive Conference brings together the best of each world. With speakers like Jeff Miller, Head of Creative Strategy at Snapchat; Alex Chung, CEO of Giphy; and our cred speaker Jeremy Bailey, Creative Director of Product at FreshBooks, this two-day conference needs to be on your list.
Tickets: $499

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

Introducing credSac!

Sacramento: the farm-to-fork capital, home of Lady Bird and, now, the location of cred’s second office! We opened the doors to our first location outside the Bay Area in late October at CoWo Campus, a coworking space for entrepreneurs and creatives alike. With a lots of natural light, a spacious private office, and flexible community space, credSac’s ready to get some more inspiring speakers onstage!

Senior associate (and Sacramento native!) Anastasia, led our expansion by touring various coworking spaces on the grid and helping hire two more PR pros to join the family—Arianne Ortegaray and Claire Nobles. She also teamed up with CEO Caitlin and Managing Director Stephanie to furnish and decorate the new space. . .and most importantly, to test all of Ikea’s desk chairs to find the comfiest ones.

In case you’re not familiar with Sactown, we asked our credSac team to share their favorite parts of working and living in the state capital:

Claire, Coordinator
The people here make this city feel like a small town—everyone’s super friendly, and there are tons of startups that call Sacramento home. Also, love the craft beer here. There are over 60 breweries in the area and seems like new ones pop up every day.

Arianne, Associate
I’m new to Sacramento, so everyday I feel like I get to discover something new about the city! There’s a lot of cute little neighborhoods with new restaurants, bars, and coffee shops popping up all the time. It’s also close to different national parks, which makes it easy to spend weekends exploring the outdoors.

Anastasia, Senior Associate
Sacramento is my hometown so I may be a little biased - but I’ve lived all over the US and the world (Germany, Australia, New York, Florida, Ohio, Massachusetts, etc.) and it’s really one of my favorite places. #1 thing I’d call out is our system of river trails—for those who love to get outside for walks, runs or bike rides - this town is for you.

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The credSac office closed. Check out our brand new office in SF.

Mastering Crisis Communications @ CrisisCon

CrisisCon, the inaugural conference hosted by Greenbrier Partners on all things crisis management, took place in San Francisco’s historic Fort Mason district last Thursday. Over the course of this half-day event, professionals from across the communications and PR ecosystem gathered for an afternoon of insightful conversations by industry experts around the applications of proven crisis practices and management, and real-life stories from the trenches.

The agenda kicked off with a fireside chat between Lane Kasselman, founder of Greenbrier, and Peter Ragone, principal at PWR, LLC, to discuss the nature of a crisis and how to determine if you’re in one.

• Key Takeaway: A crisis to one person will not be a crisis to another.

Nairi Hourdajian, VP at Canaan, followed their session with an impactful solo talk on “The Art of the Deal: Crisis Style.”

• Key Takeaway: You can’t spin your way out of a bad story.

Before breaking for cocktails and a networking reception, the afternoon concluded with panels around damage control and recovering from a crisis. Panelists included speakers from companies such as Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and Strava. Closing the event was an intimate fireside chat between President of the Center for American Progress Action Fund Jennifer Palmieri and The Messina Group CEO Jim Messina.

Looking to learn how to get ahead of a crisis? Get in touch with Greenbrier Partners!