Tim Hanlon

🗞️ Breaking News: Red Ventures Selling CNET at a huge Loss❗️ Context: Red Ventures, the privately held digital media and marketing juggernaut based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, is selling CNET, one of the largest tech publishers on the web, to Ziff Davis for just $100 million. For context: Red Ventures bought CNET for approximately $500 million. Reason for the Sale: Total traffic to CNET has dropped by a staggering 50% over the last three years. The main driver behind this decline is a 68% drop in organic traffic (loss off Google rankings and traffic). Tables turned: This sale is a stunning turn of events for CNET, which once bought Ziff Davis (then a tech magazine firm) in a deal worth roughly $1.6 billion - more than two decades ago. Catch Up: - Ziff Davis trades publicly with a market value of $1.94 billion. The company lost about half of its marketcap over the course of the last 48 months. Strategic rationale: If Ziff Davis is able to ink a content licencing deal with Google, Bing/Microsoft or ChatGPT (or else e.g. X.AI) - like Reddit did - it might turn out to be a very smart deal …

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"Oracle’s exit from ad tech, following billions of dollars worth of investments over the past decade, represents a pivotal moment for advertisers to re-evaluate their roster of tech partners, and to set a higher standard for advertising effectiveness." Technology is inextricably tied to marketing now, particularly in how we understand and reach clients. Learning how to manage adtech efficiently impacts success and marketing efforts. Those affected by Oracle's decision will trigger a transition phase. "A suitable alternative, for example, would allow clients to seamlessly leverage advanced contextual targeting directly within their DSP, thanks to the IAB’s Content Taxonomy." #Adtech #Oracle #MarketingTech #MarketingLeadership

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Great time on the Embracing Erosion podcast w/Devon O'Rourke! We talked about: 🚀 How to scale a company from concept to 9-figure exit 🔄 How to break away from the traditional consulting model and apply product approaches ⏩ Why it’s important to iterate quickly and often with messaging 💸📈What signals are important to pay attention to when investing in startups and much more!

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I had the pleasure of being introduced to Ralph Allen, COO at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP by Trish Lilley and he was kind enough not only to speak at CMO Series Live, but also to record this CMO Series Podcast with Passle's Edward Lovatt. Worth a listen if you are interested in how to drive new business at a law firm. I love the chat about Painkillers vs Vitamins - (15.24min) #legalmarketing #leadership #Podcast

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I love this! Thank you to Rachel Brown from Beauty Independent to kick-off this exchange with Andrew Ross' provocative thesis and have us all react to it. I truly enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on the topic of the shortening lifecycle of beauty brands. Here is a snippet of mine: "Because beauty brand lifespans are shortening, it is important that we are able to differentiate brands with staying power from brands that will end up being a flash in the pan. There are much more of the latter than the former in the market right now, and if a brand is not well-positioned, it will be challenging for that brand to survive over the long-term. That’s why we focus on understanding each brand’s differentiators and long-term relevance." See more here: https://lnkd.in/esVbwnu2 and you will discover what Kevin Murphy, Odile Roujol, Rich Gersten, Tina Henry Bou-Saba, Oliver Nordlinger, Claire Chang, Manica Blain, Sonya Brown, George Birman had to say. #beautyindustry #beautyinvesting Stride Consumer Partners

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Practice your #voting skills and help us highlight #regenerativefinance at SXSW!

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If retailers feel that their world has been turned upside down by the newer generations of shoppers and the technology the world is embracing, we at Silicon Road Ventures wish to contend that this is only the beginning. Though recent headlines trumpet how the old-guard retailers are going out of business, the reality is that retail sales have grown and continue to do so. In this competitive landscape, the key to survival is not just adapting to change, but embracing it. Retailers who innovate and build stores, in real life or virtually, that cater to consumers' evolving needs, will emerge victorious. I'm speaking with Walmart's Ram Rampalli about the role of strategic investing in guiding innovation and getting retailers into the investment game at NRF Nexus (nexus.nrf.com). We'll discuss this and the recent trend of retailers making strategic investments in retail tech startups. If you're going, I'd love to connect.

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With social platforms and genAI taking a piece of search, curious how big players are faring? The Wall Street Journal published a great chart last night summarizing our figures. While there won't be a change in the rank order of major players, we see market share percentages continuing to evolve in the new era. Called 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙜𝙡𝙚’𝙨 𝙂𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙤𝙣 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙎𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙠𝙏𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙄 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙥 𝙈𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚, the WSJ article dives into the changing dynamics of search and is well worth a read: https://lnkd.in/eqGH4E4B Clients should be sure to also check out research by EMARKETER analysts Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf & Jasmine Enberg for a deeper dive into the impact of #genAI & TikTok on #search respectively.

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The practical application of AI to help manufacturers eliminate unplanned downtime is key to our current and future offering. We do not label ourselves as purely an AI company, as that is one component of our value delivery, but I can say we have a world class team of AI Engineers building incredible tech alongside a team of world class Condition Monitoring Engineers. I am bullish and excited to see how Central Ohio emerges as a global AI hub with Intel as an anchor. cc: Brian Graham, Seyed Mohammad Parvasi, Ph.D., Jaidev Krishnan, Matt Longhouse, Chris Berry

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1871 Corporate Innovation Summit is a special event during which we convene our corporate community to network and discuss new innovations, lessons learned, and best practices through an interactive format. https://lnkd.in/gYVnmUAr?

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Why are benchmarks based on historic performance still valuable? Real-time data is available - so why not drive decisions based upon the latest signals and not historic data that may already be obsolete??? 👆 Immediately after Carilu Dietrich, Jon Miller, Bill Macaitis and I announced our Marketing Benchmarking Alliance Program on Tuesday there have been many positive comments on the value and need for this type of information and some questions on the details... 💣 There have also been a few questions on the "VALUE" of historic benchmarks to inform decisions when real or near time data is available to inform program, channel or individual activity decisions 👇 below is my take on the value and limitations of benchmarks which is based upon hundreds if not thousands of discussions on the topic of how benchmarks are created and used 👉 Benchmarks serve as guidelines for how similar companies performance metrics compare to your own - NOT ABSOLUTES - key here is to ensure the benchmarks are based upon companies similar to yours using a 80/20 rule as no company is JUST LIKE YOURS - Example: comparing % pipeline sourced by Marketing for a company or companies with >$50K ACV using a Sales-Led motion when yours is a < $5K product using a PLG motion is NOT valuable 👉 No single metric's benchmark should be the sole justification for setting a goal, as almost all performance metrics are inter-dependent on other metrics and/or strategic priorities - Example: many VC backed companies will be ok with a HIGHER CAC Ratio than the median benchmark or longer CAC Payback Period if the resultant growth rate is in the top quartile or top decile of...wait for it "BENCHMARKS" 👉 Historic performance benchmarks provide good directional insight into how a particular process is performing as measured against certain efficiency or ROI performance metrics using....wait for it "BENCHMARKS" - Similar to grades in school - they provide a measure of performance compared against historic standards and still are useful in understanding how a student is performing against expectations or peer group 👉 Budgets and objectives typically leverage some "historic" measurements ...how else can you establish a baseline? - using benchmarks from 12+ months ago in a fast moving industry or channel can be misleading - but so can making decisions on data that is so new and/or low volume as not to be statistically significant 👉 Certain real-time signals for a dependent variable may be impacted or biased by other independent variables which may not be understood in a very short time horizon 💡 Benchmarks are not a magic 🔮 but they can shed some 🔦 on the trajectory of your performance journey 🗺✈ if used in context of the overall company profile, strategy and priorities 😓 Would love your perspective!!! #b2bsaas #benchmarks #metrics

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One of the things we see quite often at Grit Capital Partners, is a newly minted CEO. We see a big difference in the transition to CEO based upon the historical lane the CEO is coming from. There are different new muscles if you are coming from Product, Engineering, Finance, etc. In this article, we go deep on the CRO to CEO transition, which includes some thoughts from Rosie O'Meara, a particularly fine example of someone who has made the transition quite well. What were your biggest transition moments? https://lnkd.in/eEB-K2ZU

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"Real transformative change goes beyond episodic efficiency efforts or organizational restructurings. It instead aims to reprogram an organization’s very DNA and embed a new operating model, guided by a bold strategy, to reach a company’s full potential". I couldn't agree more with this statement, true for any type of organization, at any maturity stage and regardless of their mission and objectives. Through my experience threading complex transformation projects, I can never emphasize enough the utmost importance of: - A crystal clear mission, to which the strategy will unlock enablers and leverage key differentiating factors, - A path with clear objectives and well-defined target indicators to ensure not only a data-driven approach to road mapping, but also to ensure a focus on where value is created, and - An organization-wide engagement program, from the board to executives and associates, from conception to implementation and on-going improvement. Engagement is key! #StrategicTranformation #DigitalTransformation #TransformativeChange #OrganizationalDNA #OperatingModel #Strategy #Mission #Objectives #DataDriven #ValueCreation #EngagementProgram #Leadership #TrueNorth #Roadmapping #CostOptimization #Growth #OrganizationalEffectiveness #DigitalEnablement #ChiefTransformationOfficer #Alignment #PhasedTransformation #ContinuousImprovement Defining your 'True North' - This McKinsey article outlines how companies can successfully transform by defining a clear "true north" strategy. It emphasizes focusing on four work streams: cost optimization, growth, organizational effectiveness, and digital enablement. Transformations should move through phases, starting with quick wins and then scaling initiatives. Making transformation part of everyday operations, with strong leadership and integration, ensures lasting impact. The role of the chief transformation officer is vital in aligning strategic goals with daily business activities. https://lnkd.in/gyyS6eJy

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With tremendous activity in the Chicago startup scene across multiple industries, we recently decided to start bringing some sense to it all. Introducing the TechNexus Venture Collaborative #ReinventingIndustry series! Every few weeks we'll be detailing the scope of local ventures in a specific sector. Here is the first in HealthTech with more to come. I invite you to check it out, think and provide your insights too. (kudos to Joey Alfieri on this work)

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With a proliferation of VC firms, it’s more imperative than ever to articulate your firm’s differentiation. Need some tips to stand out? I contributed some thoughts to this article from the authors of The Venture Fund Blueprint. Important components to consider - ✅ Find Your Niche ✅ Show LPs Where You Fit ✅ Define Your Simple Biz Model ✅ Gain Strong Referrals Plus ✨ tactical strategies ✨ to implement the above Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gU-EmrWe

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Does brand matter for early stage companies? "this is what I think about when I think about branding (for early-stage companies). The creation of massive advantage through language, design, and imagination. The framing of evaluation criteria that force everyone else to be judged relative to you. A unique lens that guides every decision you make toward solidifying and continuing to establish your differences. And the building and strengthening of an emotional relationship that binds your most important stakeholders to you more strongly over time." New article up at Brand Capital: https://lnkd.in/esZZj9tH

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PE - PE Acceleration Toolkit (i.e. not Playbook) What commercial, GTM and growth areas do you cover in your "PE Portfolio Company Toolkit" (i.e. some funds like Vista Equity Partners call it a Playbook but I refer to it as toolkit with the aim of it being a participatory, not a prescriptive playbook)? Some ideas* come to mind - what else? (* i.e. Commercial/GTM/Revenue Growth - not including Product, Engineering, R&D and other functions) 1. Sales Optimization   - Sales Org Structure   - Sales Management Process   - Sales Prospecting & Outbound   - Sales Process Engineering - Pipeline Management - Forecasting & Commit Process - Forecasting Rollups - CEO & Board   - Sales performance metrics and KPIs   - Channel Sales, Partner and alliance programs   - Rev Ops & Sales Enablement   - Sales Quota, Compensation & Incentives   - Sales Tech & Automation 2. Marketing Optimization   - B2B Demand Generation strategy   - Marketing Management - Marketing Process Engineering - Defining Lead Nomenclature - Campaign Management - Strategic Messaging Architecture   - PLG - Product Led Growth   - Digital & Inbound marketing    - Account-based marketing (ABM) - Customer Marketing - Product Marketing - Marketing/Sales Alignment & SLAs   - Marketing Metrics / KPIs   - Marketing Tech & Automation 3. Customer Management, Success and Retention   - Customer onboarding processes   - VOC - collecting and analyzing customer feedback   - Customer Segmentation   - Customer Management Processes   - Proactive customer Engagement   - AM & Expansion Sales   - Renewal strategies   - Customer loyalty strategies   - Customer support optimization   - Customer metrics and KPIs 4. Pricing and Packaging   - Pricing strategies   - Value-based pricing   - Discounting strategies & pricing transparency   - Subscription and usage-based models   - Pricing experimentation and A/B testing   - Competitive pricing analysis 5. Operational Efficiency   - SaaS metrics (CAC, LTV, churn rate, etc.)   - Process automation and workflow optimization 6. Talent & Culture   - Leadership & Management    - Attracting and retaining top talent   - Building a high-performance culture   - Performance Management   - Remote work best practices   - Continuous learning and development 7. Community Building   - Community creation & engagement   - Building an ecosystem around the product   - Customer Advocacy Programs 8. Data and Analytics   - Data-driven decision-making   - Business intelligence (BI) tools and dashboards   - Data governance, security and privacy   - AI applications Other: 9. Product (& GTM Alignment) 10. M&A (Commercial/GTM integration) 11. Finance (Supporting the GTM org) 12. GTM Board Updates & KPIs 13. Etc. ------------------ #pe #privateequity #business

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"The whole premise of the Un-Carrier Movement was about fixing a stupid, broken, arrogant industry." - Jon Freier, President of T-Mobile's U.S. Consumer Group. In 2012, T-Mobile was losing 2 million customers annually and facing a bleak future. The company dared to make radical changes to deliver more value to customers than competitors were willing to offer. This was not just a marketing campaign—it was a strategic overhaul designed to differentiate T-Mobile in a highly competitive market. | "If you treat customers great and you treat 'em | better than your competitors, guess what? | They'll stay." The Un-Carrier strategy involved eliminating contracts, introducing unlimited data plans, and launching innovative programs like T-Mobile Tuesdays. These moves were risky financial bets, but they were based on a core belief: if we deliver materially better value to customers, they will stay longer, buy more, and tell their friends. | "We just decided to have customers win first. | Our employees win second and then our | shareholders ultimately winning after that." This approach aligns with a perspective I’ve often discussed: companies that prioritize customer value ultimately achieve superior financial performance. T-Mobile's strategy perfectly demonstrates how focusing on long-term customer loyalty can drive substantial business growth and market differentiation. | "The biggest risk is not doing all of that. The biggest | risk is just doing exactly the same. Where our business | was, it needed a bold shakeup." These customer-centric innovations led T-Mobile to re-establish itself as a leader in customer satisfaction, dramatically improving its Net Promoter Score (NPS) and outperforming its competitors in both market share and customer loyalty. Since 2012, T-Mobile’s total shareholder returns have exceeded the S&P 500 by at least four times. Want to learn more about the strategies behind this incredible turnaround? Tune in to the latest episode of Customer Confidential with Jon Freier. Listen now: https://lnkd.in/gqwBEaCM #CustomerExperience #Innovation #NPS #TelecomRevolution #CustomerValue

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