AskAnAngel Interviews Pivigo's New CRO, Adam Baker

AAA: Thanks for joining us today, Adam. I wanted just to start our interview, really, by giving listeners who aren't familiar with Pivigo a kind of elevator description. How would you describe Pivigo as a company, or the business model of the company?

Adam Baker: Pivigo is a marketplace that connects exceptional data science talent with companies that are looking for, not just for data science, but have projects and are looking for ways in which they can translate their data into tangible business outcomes. So, for example, we can work with entities, to predict their varying end-client balances, for example. This can help them manage their cash flow. So, lots of tangible business cases;that's what Pivigo does.

AAA: Your title within Pivigo is Chief Revenue Officer. I was quite interested in that. Do you see more instances of that job title, or is that really a little bit of a one off? Or is that something particularly that's happening, perhaps, for early-stage businesses, where some of the roles are slightly hybridised, if that's not unfair? And I was just wondering how that fitted in or how that might differ from a head of sales or a CFO-type role. So, just to get a sense of what your mandate is, I guess, commercially?

Adam Baker: 

Yeah, the CRO role is becoming ever more prevalent. And particularly with mid to late stage start-up companies, the role, requires more than just a head of sales force, it requires a very kind of strategic role. And the ability to be able to look at how you go product to then, obviously, monetize it. And it involves lots of discussions about scale and ... It's more than just about sales itself. But ultimately, obviously, it's about revenue and how we can build revenue.

 

AAA:,As now part of a company that's one of the better known data science groups and obviously involved with applying artificial intelligence or machine learning to commercial channels, what are some of the most interesting or most exciting trends, I suppose, or developments that you're seeing right now in data science or AI. If maybe you could just name two or three that you're seeing, particularly in the UK?

Adam Baker: 

Sure... AI's a bit of a buzz at the moment, it's kind of a buzzword. I think data science is the more interesting term, and I think that we're seeing ... Sorry, as a data science company we're seeing more prediction analysts move to the cloud, for example, as customers realise that they've got lots of data they can process and they're doing some very complex data-mining. They need to move to the cloud, because it's, obviously it's quicker, and.. way more cost-efficient. And for example, if a company's using Hadoop, it's a great way of being on the cloud and clearly helps with that, because you're processing huge volumes of data, be it structured or unstructured.

The other kind of, I think, really interesting thing at that stage at the moment is security. And so, as more companies think about data and more companies generate it.. it goes into the cloud, and you've then got to think about security and cyber-security and so, a lot of companies, are building their own deep learning algorithms to detect anomalies in the data to be able to, obviously, predict fraud and such like. So, I think that's very interesting.

Adam Baker: 

And obviously, Elon Musk is about to launch Tesla's first self-driving car, and so I think that's super interesting. And apparently it can now drive west to east coast across the US, unaided. But, to think, AI in that respect, where it's really making transformation in everyday life that could potentially lead to more self-driving cars than human-driving cars, obviously, it's a very interesting time.

AAA: And moving a little bit from the states to nearer to home, are you optimistic about London as a continuing growth point for tech, both within Europe and globally, given some of the changes that are going on in the UK? I won't use the B word, but are you optimistic about the future for early stage business here and for angel investing?

Adam Baker: 

Yes, absolutely. I think that there was some uncertainty, there still is uncertainty, but the initial period of real uncertainty, I think, has passed and we're still seeing the emergence of some great companies coming into the market. There's still lots of opportunities, it's just the very nature of technology means that there's always iteration; there are always market opportunities. And London is a fantastic city for that. It's not only got really, really good and world class support from the government to help entrepreneurs and to facilitate those connections and business growth, but it's also got, now, lots of experienced entrepreneurs that have started companies, have built companies and either failed or succeeded and that brings an extraordinary amount of experience and knowhow into the city and into the UK itself.

And then there's, obviously, money. And again, what we're seeing is we're seeing entrepreneurs that maybe founded companies 15, 10 years ago, that have got some excess ... That have now become high net worth themselves and are investing back into the ecosystem, which means that there's increasingly more angel money in the UK than there ever has been. I think that it's probably not as easy to raise money anymore and I think that the economy and the uncertainty around moving out of Europe doesn't help with that, but I think also it's more competitive.

What you've seen is the emergence of a really thriving tech community in the UK, particularly in London, which has brought lots of entrepreneurs to the UK, not just from ... And within London, which is great, and there's obviously a lot more competition for money. So, I think all those things factored in, it's probably not as easy to raise money as it used to be, but look, if you've got a great business and you've got a great team and you're in a good market, you'll raise money. There's definitely money there, the market's thriving, the support network is bigger and better, I think, than it ever has been, so I'm very encouraged by that.

AAA: That's certainly very true. I see a lot of bridges between entrepreneurs and angel investing. They're not segregated; people who have made money come back and put their money back into the start-up ecosphere and I certainly see that in the syndicates to which I'm a part.

So, I just have one last question, really, for you, Adam. I think in the sense of your own strategy going forward, I wondered ... We sometimes hear a lot of discussion about the potential for social media to facilitate growth and scale and the use of content marketing explaining the mission of the business. What kind of contribution do you see that making to Pivigo's progress in the next couple of years? Because Pivigo's kind of a couple of years in. So, do you see a role for that type of marketing or content marketing in the next couple of years for you?

Adam Baker:       

I think that most companies today are trying to become publishers and promote themselves as well on social media, it gives them the platform. And certainly distribute the content that they create. So, certainly, social for us is really important. We run some data science programmes, where, essentially, we train ... Essentially, we take PhDs that have just graduated and we connect them with the companies that have projects and, over a five week period, give them real life experience of working on a real challenge and the programme that we run once a year in London and twice a year virtually, and we use social media to be able to attract and engage with PhDs, and also businesses as well. I think social media is really important for us. As it is for most businesses.

AAA: Adam, I want to thank you very much indeed for your time right now, at what is obviously a very busy time for you so recently joining Pivigo. So, thanks to you and for your time in sharing your insights.

Adam Baker:   My pleasure. Thanks, Mike, good talking to you.

AAA: This is Mike Davis, signing off for today. Please sign up at www.AskAnAngel.com for more content like this direct to your inbox, direct from early stage business and from the world of angel investing.

[Disclosure: the interviewer is an Angel Investor in Pivigo]

7 Key Elements for a Successful (Online) Marketing Strategy

Marketing and Sales strategies seem to be one of the areas that for some reason are one of the weaker areas of a number of early stage businesses that I see (or it may be that having spent a chunk of my career in that space, I’m looking at it more closely and critically). I've also had some requests for more on Digital and Social media marketing in our hub’s pages, so here’s proof that we’re listening..☺ 

For those reasons, I wanted to cover some key areas that we look at as potential investors; both when assessing the (sales) potential of businesses in their chosen markets and that can help any business benchmark themselves against.

There are very many contributors on Social media platforms and the Web supplying great detail on the ever-evolving tactical side of digital marketing generally; content marketing, use of video, on Facebook advertising, on Twitter, Instagram and so on.

But before you flex those creative or presentational muscles, there’s essential groundwork to do; even where there is no digital side at all, these elements really matter.

 

A comprehensive marketing and sales strategy combines at least these 7 areas

We’ll look again in future at my take on those tactical digital parts within what should be a comprehensive and consultative approach, but for now I want to concentrate on giving you some of the key nuggets behind an overall strategy, despite the difficulty in doing justice to the detail needed. I'll call this the "Seven Stages to the Holy Grail of Marketing"; in other words a congruent, fluent and integrated approach to your sales and marketing from customer outreach to accounts payable.

Let's get started on our seven:

1)   Have you exactly and precisely defined the problem you solve for your demographic; in other words, your niche? Can you precisely describe an avatar for your model customer(s) or your ideal customer?

                            

2)    How do you reach them? What has to happen for them to get into your customer relationship system, list, to see your advert or for you to achieve their awareness as a named entity or associated with a solution to their problem? In other words, where are they present, physically or online, and how do you get to them?

                            

3)    When you reach them, how do you engage with them? This relates to 1): What exactly is their problem? How well do you understand that, in all its practical consequences and myriad detail for them? In other words, you need to be able to precisely define them and describe them to reach them, and that's key, particularly when you want to use very segmented advertising. The tone of the campaign and individual ads have to account for the traffic types you interact with, their current awareness level of the issue and business targeting them, from no clue about the issue and company through to existing customer, fully engaged and aware

4)    Is the product/service you offer something they truly want – you may think you know what they need, but if it’s not bridged from what they want or combined with it, they may not bother to explore further. Some call this the value of benefits or results versus product or service features, followed by ‘social proof’, and testimonials. Are you even selling to the people who own that problem or who care enough to pay money to fix it?

5)    This will sound obvious, but how exactly does your product or business solve that problem for them, or the product ‘fit’ part to the issue and how do you show them that you are solving, or capable of solving, that problem? This is the product architecture part - Is the product or service appropriately structured to address that problem; how and what do you offer them to show that you can help? In other words, how do you monetize the relationship you have built by finding, reaching and engaging?  

6)   Do you have a clear value ladder into which that product fits that's suitable for that customer? If you're looking at, primarily, a high-ticket product, how do you build them into that high-ticket sale – is there a progression of trust through multiple levels before they’re prepared to pay that much and have achieved familiarity with your offering and vision where appropriate? It may not be a digitally- fulfilled product by that point. 

7)      Last and definitely not least, and perhaps the one with the most potential detail, what kind of a sales ‘funnel’ precisely do you have or need? How do customers move through it and what is their total experience through it with your company? You may have established a value ladder of products and pricing points, but how do people move up and down that? How are they sold up to that level? How are they caught on a down sell when they refuse at a level?

You need chapter and verse on this last item. Whether you are selling a digitally-fulfilled product online, whether you are backing it with a sales force, whether you're using direct marketing, or whether you're perhaps selling off a presentational stage at trade shows with an appointment close, all of those previous seven have to be absolutely defined for a successful strategy.

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Anatomy of an Angel Investing Pitch session and meeting: Part III The Devil in the detail: Due diligence (documentation and legals)

In terms of garnering immediate interest to engage investors in the due diligence leading to placement of actual funds (after the documentation is complete, Shareholder Agreements signed etc), there is some element of a binary process going on that isn't always justified by the eventual end result at exit. The hot ticket business which has 80% of the room signed up to and quickly mentally filling its allocation and (on the other side) the 'jane-no-mates' scrabbling for interest may be following on direct from one another in the running order. 

The beginning of what can be an incredibly searching due diligence process begins there and then in the pitching room. First questions come direct to the founder, immediately after the pitch itself: Where are your revenue projections from, why such a high valuation, who in your team is the marketer? 

This process continues amongst the investors with the business founder and/or team members no longer in the room (perhaps waiting and wondering next door), as the degree of interest in the room and immediate issues are rapidly unveiled amongst the potential investor group and therefore quite quickly apparent to all and sundry. At that point one investor may likely be asked or offer (based on previous sectoral experience or investment) to be a co-ordinator for the round or rather lead 'cat-herder' of what can often be a geographically dispersed and very busy group of angel investors.

If it's a follow-on round with the group, including previous investors, the status of existing group investors in the business and their opinion can be highly significant in coalescing and heightening collective interest in the round, at least if they remain positive about the business's trajectory and especially if they are also themselves following on again in this round.

After all is said and done, expressions of immediate interest to join the due diligence process in subsequent days, weeks and sometimes months via group communications over Doodle, Skype, or PowWowNow are logged and everyone can get down to the remainder of the evening's fun of networking, swapping business and investing war stories, recent holiday experiences and all the other subjects that like-minded, and entrepreneurial folks on both sides of the investing equation as investors or early stage founders and co-founders love to share with one another. 

Many cross the divide either way on multiple occasions.

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Anatomy of an Angel Investing Pitch session and meeting: Part II The heart of the matter - The business pitches and questions

After the introductory niceties, and required disclaimers such as PS 13/3 statements on HNWI etc or perhaps news of recent rounds, exits and so on, the drama of the pitch and Q&A sessions begins, perhaps the most familiar to external onlookers or newbies.. Up to that point, the businesses have often not had contact on the evening with the syndicate members, perhaps waiting in an adjacent room to get their chance to pitch, to preserve a level playing field. 

It is often under-appreciated how much it takes even to get to pitch to many syndicates. Seeding calls, checklists from the syndicates for staff, and the work to produce a business summary or seeking a formal business plan may whittle as many as 100 potential pitching businesses down to just three-five to present, and even then there are no guarantees. They may have as little as 10 minutes to present, with 5 minutes for questions, although I've seen even shorter pitches in some large "website to live" events with 10-12 businesses.

If you are pitching with an especially strong cohort you may shine a little less brightly than some, or if first up and followed by very strong businesses further along in the progress to profitability ( its rare to see one without at least 12-18 months of revenue at least) suffer the same fate. Some may be relatively better defined or pitched by their respective founders.

In those cases, those angels who showed early interest for due diligence may quickly be distracted by even more alluring prospects of early multiple exits, recent comparable IPOs or such like. Angels have a degree of herd mentality too, or may tend to be influenced by a more experienced angel who has the luxury of an already diversified portfolio or one which is yielding exits as well as more investing opportunities. A little judicious use of the 'scarcity' lever works with even these sophisticated individuals if there is a hint with rapidly growing business that this will be the last angel round before a VC process next time, or that there is a capped investment level at this valuation.

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Anatomy of an Angel Investor Pitch Session Part I

Ever wanted to be a fly on the wall at a real 'Angels Den'..

If you haven't attended an Angel investment pitching session or meeting, this is how it looks.

Clue: its not like a certain famous TV programme (No one is going to be offering 40% of their business for £30k, and I've never been to a meeting with fewer than 20 angels; 20-30 is perhaps more typical, at least in London).

All angel syndicates have their own specific character; some have full time staffers, perhaps part of a larger fund or private equity structure, others linked to an (business) educational institution. Some may themselves be somewhat bootstrapped and sustained with love and sheer commitment as a second career, although increasingly there are annual fees to belong to what can be rather powerful and well-connected networks, plus a success fee for businesses sufficiently far along to pitch and attract investment money from investors.

Those cover costs, perhaps also providing legal and taxation support and training for potential and current investors, as well as curating deal flow and some early DD and information gathering of potential firms to invest in. Early stage business investing, despite the high risks, is very tax-efficient within SEIS and EIS wrappers.

Angel syndicates may also provide at least some support, pitch training and advice of a type to busy founders of early-stage business that you might associate more with accelerators or incubators, even before these syndicates have committed funds and charged their funding success fees.

The knowledge, contacts and advisory aspects of angels are sometimes under-appreciated by those not close to early-stage business or syndicates, but such help may bring some founders back to angels for repeat rounds beyond the point where you might think Series A or PE/VC rounds might seem more likely. At such times, multiple informally-connected syndicates may club together to absorb a hefty funding round, or work together with sympathetic and empathetic VC firms, family offices, Trusts or charities in suitable cases.

The quality of experience and real-life strategic and tactical advice available in some syndicates is highly attractive to founders, providing potential board members, detailed advice, seed investors at the beginning of their revenue stream, or simply contacts to find suitable recruits to fill gaps in small multi-tasking teams.

Copyright ©Mike Davis/ AskAnAngel Ltd 2017

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