Mavin Digital Mashup

Yesterday I had the terrific opportunity to join Amy Millman, President of Springboard Enterprises, a venture-catalyst organization focused on supporting women led high-growth potential businesses. Our social meeting for coffee can be described as “our first date.” Which blossomed into an event at In Good Company Workplaces sponsored by Columbia Business School Women’s Entrepreneur Network. I met Amy for the first time at the Springboard Enterprises Winners’ Circle Dinner last October 30. On both occasions Amy sizzled with her knowledge and insight into women and their challenges around growing their startups and shaping them to be compelling organizations for angel investors, venture capitalists and the investor universe at large.

Insights from Amy Millman on Adding That Sizzle to your Entrepreneur Brand

• OWN your brand and yourself every second of the day. Every moment.
• Share your story with a compelling narrative, gusto, energy and passion. As entrepreneurs always be in your razzle dazzle Shirley Temple character.  SPARKLE and people will take notice.
• Insight is key. Know the person at the other side of the table. Know your audience. When you know your audience only then will you be able to share a compelling narrative about your brand.
• Always be ON. Network. Make that connection in any space you are in. It is a relationship game. When asked about my business development efforts on how I find the clients for Mavin Digital, Inc. I always refer to the growing network in my contacts database. Behind each connection is a story. It could be a Linkedin or Facebook connection. A small conversation at a cafe, an art exhibit, a networking event, a house party, referrals, the elevator and lately the laundry room in my new building. Absolutely! The power of your “rolodex” is an ingredient to your success.
• A business case with your brand’s personal touch is necessary. Amy noted that most women entrepreneurs have a tendency to focus on sharing their brand story by focusing on the feature lists and functions. A feature list and function set does not captivate the investor audience. An investor always wants to hear the punch line. How do you make something interesting and exciting? How will you help transform and change lives?

“A solid business case, powerful network, your sparkle and a little bit of luck are key ingredients to your success as an entrepreneur”, Amy Millman. Gia Machlin, President and CEO of her latest EcoPlum (she previously sold her software company) also added “make sure to know what your goals are”. I personally thought that I would want to scale when the opportunity came. Though the advantages of maintaining a boutique digital media operation is more lucrative at the moment. I achieve scale by reinvesting the value of our services in startup companies that sparkle while delivering for medium to large advertising agencies and brand relationships.

Yesterday was a very special day for me. Besides getting to see Amy Millman in action, I had the opportunity to meet and engage with accomplished women entrepreneurs. To name a few:

• Gia Machlin, President and CEO, EcoPlum
• Tami Kesselman, President, Ivy Girl Advisors
• Kaia Peterka, Designer Kaia Peterka
• Kathleen Rhew, Counsel
• Paula Schafer, Special Events

The event was organized by Columbia University’s Entrepreneurship Program and sponsored by the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center at Columbia Business School for all women entrepreneurs in the tri-state area.

What is your brand’s grade on the sparkle scale?

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Tags: Brand, Columbia Business School Women's Entrepreneur Network, Entrepreneur, springboard enterprises

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 3:26 pm and is filed under Brand, Entrepreneur. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.