Sara Baack

Often taken for granted, this subject carries so much weight. especially in times when startup culture world over is on the run. if the fund seeker knows the requirement and chemistry of the fund provider, they may chose the right time and path. so simply explained below.

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Derek Lusk’s latest “Meaning Makers” newsletter stopped me in my tracks. I’ll read it at least once more because of its richness in content and depth. It’s Thursday afternoon and I had just gotten off a call with an executive who shared a desire for “personal transformation” to be confident in the ability to lead across disciplines and functions—like in the c-suite. I sensed the individual expressing a lack of the “right stuff” to operate effectively at that level and we briefly touched on which “C” were we talking about: - Capability ? - Confidence? Back to this thought-provoking newsletter. It’s addressing the question many people are facing - what makes a visionary leader. Studies show that well over half the people in companies say they don’t see it or receive it. Hint—as you read this newsletter, count the number of times you see the word human or related to humanity. Now, hone in on that and you’re on your way to becoming more in tune with visionary leadership!

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As a fractional CMO (or executive as a service), I’m often asked, "What are the critical traits needed for a fractional CMO to excel?" While the foundation includes many of the same qualities expected from a full-time CMO, there are unique aspects that define success in this role. First, a fractional CMO must be equipped with solid marketing acumen and proven leadership expertise. The ability to seamlessly integrate into an executive leadership team and make immediate, meaningful contributions is vital. The essence of being a fractional CMO is the capacity to step in, deliver rapid results, and steer the marketing team through strategic shifts with agility. But what sets apart the exceptional fractional CMO from the good one? It starts with being an exceptional listener. This trait enables the executive to synthesize diverse perspectives and unify them into a consistent, impactful strategy. This listening ability fuels big-picture thinking, which then channels into actionable, tactical communications that propel growth and foster innovation. In a landscape where businesses need adaptable leadership that scales with their needs, these traits make a fractional CMO an invaluable asset. It’s more than filling a seat at the table; it’s about catalyzing transformation, aligning teams, and driving sustainable growth from day one. What do you think are the essential qualities of a great fractional CMO? #FractionalCMO, #Leadership, #ExecutiveAsAService #FractionalLeadership #CMO

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Having to repost due to length... Kim Kyllesbech Larsen - thank you for the excellent expansion, I truly appreciate it. I did listen based on your initial recommendation because I do like your taste (in everything except fish it appears 🙂 ). A couple of thoughts: 1. I am having a large number of these conversations at the moment in parallel. They tend to be very polarized and black/white. I do believe this is an AI bubble while at the same time, I believe AI is as significant shift, if not greater, as web 2.0/smartphone/mobile broadband. So we are in a land of greys rather than yes/no's. I did not and do not believe the same is true with web 3.0, crypto, metaverse, or any of these other very utopian ideas. De-centralization? Pull another one. It is a swapping of the middleman at best. A company that starts with "Do no evil" always has to drop the slogan at some point... The end of fiat currency is closely linked to the end of other social structures. I am sorry but if you are fighting for survival, clever crypto is less important. And metaverse... AI is different in my mind since for the first time it is making the cost of human "creativity" near-zero marginal cost. In the same way computers replaced "human computers", computers are now replacing the very complicated processes where human brains were needed to do "high order thinking" but in reality human brains were really doing complicated low order thinking relying on massive data. Think legal document drafting, pattern spotting (doctors), coding! If software is eating the world, thinking software changes everything alone... Now do I think people will lose their shirts? Yes. I also think those that can afford to or do so slightly more intelligently will end up winning in the long run. Those who can afford and spend intelligently will benefit through participation. So the ones to avoid are the shallow startups doing no more than painting a thin veneer on other people's engines of understanding. Can you spot the difference? I am not sure most financial experts can, and generalities don't help. This is not me discounting the podcast, or the experts speaking at all. I am just not sure it helps me, I don't believe this time putting your head in the sand is a good idea, nor blindly following the crowd. 2. I love the way history is always rewritten with strokes of certainty. Nothing was obvious as we lived through the previous waves of change. What we should be doing is studying what we did discover was true rather than speaking of the obvious certainty of what happened after the fact. Everybody mocked the impact of the internet in the 90s and called the believers delusional. Nobody saw that mobile apps would change industries the way they did. Nobody accounted for what else would be done. How many of you own torches? (flashlights for our American colleagues). Who thought a flash on a phone could be used as a more accessible light source for 90% of the uses. (see comments)

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Powering the future…

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While it's poor form to give your customers no advance notice, three growth-stage #shutdowns (#Bench, #Polywork and #Level) in a week is not particularly newsworthy. At those stages, the power law is still very much in play and losses are to be expected. The bigger issue is at the Late Stage, where the glut of unicorns keeps on staggering forward. We are in year 4 of a 20 year "de-leveraging" that will quietly work its way through boardrooms and increasingly complex structure on cap tables. Too much money going into too many companies at valuations they can never grow into.

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Your gut health impacts your overall heath in many ways and improving it is easy if you eat enough fiber, but 95% of Americans do not. My cousin and her cofounder are launching delicious 100% organic Daily Fiber Boost to help solve this problem. They just launched on Kickstarter and need help hitting their goal. If you are up for improving your gut health and helping my cousin, simply kick the link below and it will take you to their Kickstarter page where you can pre-order by becoming a backer. Get up to 20% OFF by becoming a backer. Thanks https://lnkd.in/efRFaSRs

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NEW PODCAST - I chatted with Zane Ball former head of data centers, current head of AI for Intel Corporation about everything the energy business needs to hear from Silicon Valley about the continued growth of the Cloud and AI. Zane’s pretty thoughtful and lays out the Uber Electricty demand case AND a more moderate case for power demand. His key premise is that market forces are pretty powerful: how much AI will we be willing to pay for? Energy prices will drive innovations and there’s a lot of potential for continued developments in energy efficiency. This is a must listen for anyone in the energy business because if we aren’t courting Silicon Valley, they’ll choose nukes and not natural gas. Watch it https://lnkd.in/eFjkYskq or listen https://lnkd.in/eAUQAWxi

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Too many small and mid-sized businesses struggle with capital constraints out of fear and misunderstanding. Sourcing the capital required to remove those constraints is key to unlocking the value creation potential of these companies. https://lnkd.in/gRYTKEmN #smallbusiness #businesstransformation

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September 14 2024 – 5 Notable Articles To Read Article: Verizon’s $9.6B Bid for Frontier Expands Broadband Takeaway: Verizon is set to acquire a fiber competitor in a deal valued at $20B, including debt, to expand its high-speed internet services. Source: Bloomberg Link: https://lnkd.in/dYQ8_SZq Article: Morgan Stanley to debut first Pathway-branded ETFs Takeaway: Morgan Stanley intends to convert two of its flagship equity funds, with a combined $3B in assets, into its first-ever ETFs under the "Morgan Stanley Pathway" brand, according to a regulatory filing. Source: Financial Times Link: https://lnkd.in/dqhrFQyi Article: Romania’s 40% Stock Rally Makes It a Standout of Global Markets Takeaway: The BET index has been one of the world's top performers over the past 12 months, with optimism fueled by the economy and expectations of an upgrade to emerging market status boosting sentiment. Source: Bloomberg News Link: https://lnkd.in/dc6hbr3y Article: South Africa Lures BYD With Critical Minerals, Car Output Skills Takeaway: The trade minister views electric vehicles as key to Africa's industrialization efforts, while China has committed $10B in private sector investments on the continent. Source: Bloomberg Link: https://lnkd.in/dn9xJxj9 Article: European fund classification system expands Takeaway: The latest update introduces several new fund categories in response to recent market developments. The EFC now includes classifications for crypto asset funds, foreign exchange funds, and ultra-short bond funds. At its most detailed level, the system now comprises over 880 fund subcategories, offering classification that meets the evolving needs of the investment community. Source: Funds Europe Link: https://lnkd.in/dXdhrmWZ #news #research #business #investing

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https://lnkd.in/epW-S5CY Well worth a read. A very thoughtful market based piece by Alison Grantham on a concerning trend.

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🔥 I love how the new category of "Network Management" software has been emerging this year, helping people make and receive better introductions through the strength of their networks. Last year we launched a new product called GetroConnect - Getro's niche-focused network management solution for VC/PE - and now have ~80 customers using the product. Here are a few of my favorite recent examples of how customers are saving time and driving more network-value with GetroConnect: 🕵‍♂️ Talent Searches A VC Portfolio Manager at an early stage fund used GetroConnect to filter their network for senior software engineers with early-stage experience and located in Vietnam, identifying 8 top candidates with Seed to Series A experience for the portco to interview. 🛫 Cultivating Fund Relationships A GP at an early stage SaaS focused fund used GetroConnect to filter the contacts of the entire fund to identify high potential targets for an upcoming business trip to Miami. 🔍 Activating Networks for Portco Self-Service An early-stage fund created a pre-vetted network of 20,000+ contacts using GetroConnect to share with all of their portcos, enabling them to ask for targeted talent, sales, and advisor intros on-demand. 📈 Tracking Outcomes A Head of Talent at an early stage fund focused on DEI uses the GetroConnect Hires report to showcase the value they’ve driven to their portcos via the introductions they’ve facilitated - including 20 hires last year! We'll be continuing to innovate in this space and have a few huge features planned and coming soon. Stay tuned...

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🌟 Join Crane’s Exclusive CXO Advisory Board! 🌟 What Scott doesn’t mention below is that the “Fill in the Blank” survey is the path for enterprise tech executives to apply for a spot on Crane’s CXO Advisory Board, where your expertise will directly influence and shape the future of technology startups. To be considered, simply complete our “Fill in the Blank” survey. #CXOAdvisory #EnterpriseTech #TechLeadership #Innovation #CraneVenturePartners #FillInTheBlank #TechFounders

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This is truly the HBO series Succession in real life. And this is one of those situations where real life may actually be even more interesting than the fictionalized account. If you haven't watched the show Succession, here is a summary and my take: https://lnkd.in/eFm43YXe

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A great conversation between Fred Destin and Aarish Shah on the intricacies of the VC-Founder relationship. I've lived the balancing act and it's a tricky one. Great advice. Wanted especially to give a shoutout to Fred Destin because it is unusual to seriously engage the question of how investors can add value to entrepreneurs. (There is no end to the resources on how entrepreneurs can get into the minds of investors.) Entrepreneurs and investors need each other. Thanks, Fred, for this contribution to the conversation.

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Grid, schmid, indeed! Much rightful rage directed at Centerpoint here in Houston over the past week, and I wonder if its CEO may last the week? But after the big Texas grid freeze failure of 2021, I decided to put in my own solar+battery system so that it never happened again. It sailed through the blackout with ease - wouldn't have even known we lost power except for the notification sent to my phone by my SPAN smart panel. My desktop computer didn't see the slightest hiccup. Now our own outage only lasted ~12 hours, so wasn't able to give every aspect the full stress test, but approach sunset on the first day w 94% in my battery when the power came back on, and am confident based on prior experience in managing these 2x Tesla Energy batteries, that we would have been fine. Wouldn't have cranked the 2 A/C's as hard as usual during the night, but am confident would have made it to sunrise (and next recharge cycle) just fine. In an island of darkness, our home also became refuge for family, and for that I am doubly grateful. The future of energy is not only electric, but more decentralized. The rapidly declining cost of batteries, and a bit more improvement in software, will make such options accessible for many more people. And then, they too, will never have to go through the pain of an extended outage again! https://lnkd.in/d2ssrphd

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