I'm a big fan of quotes. Though if you ask me to recite any of my favourites, I'd probably draw blank. The point is, that regardless of whether we remember great quotes word-for-word, we remember how they made us feel when we read them. More importantly, we always remember how powerful quotes inspired us to act.
A quote is experience, delivered in a neat and tidy package. A simple form of storytelling.
I will say this quote by Ben Franklin is one of my favourites: "When you're finished changing, you're finished."
I'd wager that anyone in the tech world would agree that Mr. Franklin's quote is the perfect definition of our gritty reality - especially in today's climate. Technology comes and goes, but it's the innovators who change that lead and succeed. On a personal level, this particular quote is a statement I've stood by. Professionally, it's been a catalyst and the inspiration behind the vision for Flare.
I've lived through the tech life cycle alongside peers and leaders who have lived the cycle many times over. The sector itself is changing. It's full of endless possibilities, endless narratives - and unknowns.
We know that the simple key to success (and survival) in tech is growth.
Grow your customer base.
Grow your revenue.
Grow your funding.
Grow your business.
Grow your brand.
Simple, right?
Scaling a high-growth company is no easy feat. I deliberately put brand last on the list because today, brand expansion (or whatever you might call it) is one of the toughest mysteries to crack. The very definition of brand building has changed so much over the last 10 years that it looks nothing like its former self. If you're a tech leader, I'm sure you've heard many brand definitions from your board members, stakeholders and your very own leadership team.
The truth is that today's brand puzzle contains lots of different pieces. However one part of the puzzle that hasn't changed (the puzzle board, if you will) is that brand isn't necessarily tangible. At its core, brand is a combination of words, imagery and stories that blend together to make people feel and act a certain way. When you build a solid brand, you gain advocates, broaden reach and awareness, generate interest in your product and most importantly - grow revenue.
The brand challenge exists for every company, regardless of size or sector. However the challenge is particularly tricky in tech, an industry driven by change and a clock that seems to move faster than the normal world. Figuring out and owning brand has never been more critical.
Therein lies the origin of Flare. We exist to support growing tech start-ups and scale-ups who are trying to navigate the complex growth chain. These are companies who are busy, bootstrapped, and hyper-focused on success. Our job is to help start-up and scale-up teams identify their fastest path to market influence.
We combine content generation, brand identity work and influencer relations like media and analyst engagement to land innovative new brands on the mainstream map...all while ticking all the growth checkboxes.
We're an alternative to traditional PR and marketing agencies, because tech is NOT traditional - nor should it be. As a start-up or scale-up founder, driving change through narrative ownership has never been more critical.
Because as the wise Mr. Franklin said, "when you're finished changing, you're finished."
Never stop evolving, my friends.