Press on Afroleft

The Other Side of the Sunset

Mon, 09 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Admittedly it’s taken us longer than it should have, but here’s the story behind Fruitful and how we raised over £500,000 of venture funding, built and shipped a marketplace that attracted £1.8million of lending, captured the minds of recognised experts in the field as well as pitching some of the world’s leading venture capital firms, all before running — quite quicky — into a brick wall.

We spent 10 months building product…

We ran in to a trademark battle, so we went through two changes to our brand name.

We settled on Fruitful and drew it out on the beach just to make sure.

We worked all hours under the sun and probably contributed a fair bit in helping Pact Coffee secure their series A.

How to Pitch Your Product to the Press

Sat, 04 Apr 2015 08:55:00 +0000

Last Tuesday I popped in to DoES Liverpool to see Matthew Hughes give a talk on how to pitch your product to the press. He’s a tech journalist at MakeUseOf — so he had some lessons to share from the other side of the table.

In no real order:

Be as concise as possible - journos receive mountains of product pitches each week.
Sounds stupid but: There’s a difference between product pitches and press releases. The former is an anchor to entice the journo to sign-up for your product, check it out and write a review.
If you have notable investors > name drop them. This adds validation.
You need to entice the journo - lead with the problems you’re solving.
Personalisation is important. Do your research on the journo. What have they written in the past that might make them want to write about your product?
Gifts are cool, but not bribes $$$. UPDATE from Matthew: “Should probably clarify I meant gifts with no monetary value though, and after an article has been published. ;)”
Obvz grammar is super important.
Journos like phone numbers for follow up - so share yours.
Don’t talk about yourself (founders) - especially if it’s a product pitch.

Bookmarks:

press.farm find journalists to write about your product.
blonde20.com good PR agency. Do retainers from around £4,000 a month — much more competitive that London agencies we’ve spoken to.
uber.com/presskit Uber’s press kit is a good example.

Judging on PC World's Generation Y Campaign

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:09:00 +0000

Just under a year ago I was invited on to the judging panel for PC World’s Generation Y campaign. The initiative focused on discovering and rewarding young business people and entrepreneurs in the technology space.

The applicants and their companies / projects / ideas were outstanding. A crystal clear reminder that even during tough economic times with the right attitude, a good idea and an internet connection – the limits are endless.

The City Newsletter

Mon, 07 May 2012 18:59:00 +0000

The University of Liverpool’s Management School publishes a bi-monthly newsletter called ‘The City’. With a special emphasis on the alumni, the newsletter covers topics such as big business news and regional economic comment, through to local start-up achievements.

This month they did a tiny piece on yours truly. Other highlights include Richard Branson’s visit during this year’s GEC, as well as recent achievements from the brilliant Sife Liverpool.

You can download a copy here.