Nexton’s Post

Did you know companies with solid cultures can outperform their competitors by as much as 2x? That's something I experienced firsthand. At my previous startup, we managed to persuade top tech talent from Silicon Valley to move to the Nordics, thanks in large part to our strong culture. For startup founders, creating a positive, values-driven culture is key. Encourage open communication, foster growth, and learning, and let your team know they're appreciated. A robust culture not only draws in the best talent but also boosts team engagement and paves the way for greater business success long term.

Did you know companies with solid cultures can outperform their competitors by as much as 2x? That's something I experienced firsthand. At my last startup, we managed to persuade top tech talent from Silicon Valley to move to the Nordics, thanks in large part to our strong culture. For startup founders, creating a positive, values-driven culture is key. Encourage open communication, foster growth and learning, and let your team know they're appreciated. A robust culture not only draws in the best talent but also boosts team engagement and paves the way for greater business success.

A-players play a crucial role in shaping a startup's success. Their impact on innovation, high-performance standards, and fostering a culture of excellence is unparalleled. Their skills and work ethic in the tech industry can significantly boost team productivity and morale, giving them a competitive edge. Learn more about attracting and retaining top talent in your startup with this insightful article below. 🚀 https://lnkd.in/gSmpdAKk

❤️🔥 2024 revealed the best communication work is relationship-based and requires both careful tending and boldness. This year marked my 10th in Berlin and 4th at Earlybird Venture Capital - milestones that deepen my conviction: European tech thrives through authentic connections and well-crafted narratives. Key moments shaping the story: 🇪🇺 Strengthened cross-border ties through Dublin-Berlin-London ecosystem exchanges 🙌 Expanded mentorship via Techstars Berlin, helping early-stage teams 🎙Featured on Black Unicorn PR podcast on strategic communications in VC 4️⃣ Celebrated 4 years of building Earlybird's communications practice 🧭 Led comms strategy for Vision Lab's 5th cohort, amplifying founder voices Three posts captured the vibe: 💥 "4 Years in Communications at Earlybird" Together we're shaping a European story that is cautiously optimistic. https://lnkd.in/ed9WtsXW 🇮🇪 "Dublin Learnings" Why ecosystem connections matter: From founders to economists, each convo expands horizons. https://lnkd.in/eWBiafkc ✍️ "What's behind building a meaningful personal brand?" Use your authentic voice while staying true to your vision. https://lnkd.in/e49Tmt-G Looking ahead, 2025 is an opp to amplify European founder narratives and strengthen relationships between startup ecosystems. Thanks to the journalists, teammates, founders & operators I got to collaborate with, and to Coauthor & Aline Noizet for inspiring this reflective post. #Communications #EuropeanTech #EBVCgang #LinkedInRewind

Starting my own business was a challenge, but 2024 has been a rewarding year. I had the joy of working with Fast-Growth Startups, Scaling Product Companies, and Recruiting Agencies, helping them navigate the challenges of building strong teams and streamlining operations. What makes me especially proud? Collaborating again with people I once hired as a manager—seeing them thrive in their careers and partnering with them now feels like a full-circle moment. This year was all about finding simple, scalable solutions—whether through Fractional Heads of Talent, AI automation, or Agile processes. Growth doesn’t have to mean chaos, and I’m here to prove it. Here’s to turning challenges into wins and celebrating the journey!

Last chance to join our Miami Immersion Program!🚨Applications are closing soon for our final program of the year, starting October 21st. 👉Here’s what’s in it for you: 💡1:1 mentorship from industry experts  You’ll get advice tailored to your business, not one-size-fits-all solutions. 🎯Tailored product-market fit for the US market  Entering a new market isn’t easy, but with personalized feedback, you’ll adjust your product to meet the exact needs of US consumers. 🌐Access to Miami’s tech ecosystem  You’ll tap into one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the US, gaining support from a vibrant community. 🤝Strategic connections  Connect with key players who could be your next investors, partners, or allies. 👥Actionable feedback  Not just theory, but practical, hands-on advice to sharpen your strategy. With this kind of support, your startup could be the next big success story!🚀 Applications are closing soon. This is your moment. Don’t let it slip away! Apply now 👉 https://bit.ly/3RM0n25 #ManaTech #MiamiImmersionProgram #USMarketExpansion

🌟Get to Know the Heroes Behind the Scenes We are lucky to have two outstanding associates on our team: our Operations Associate and Business Development Associate - who’ve brought immense value to our team. While we’ll miss them, we’re thrilled to see them take the next steps in their careers! If you’re looking for top-notch talent who understands the startup landscape, you might find your next great team member here! 🚀 Today, we had a quick chat with Louise Chevalier, our Ops Associate! Get to know the person behind the scenes keeping everything on track 👩💻 ✨What attracted you to the startup world? I’m passionate about how startups can bring about significant change in a given space. I especially love to see how startups bridge massive gaps in specific industries or areas, particularly in climate tech and emerging markets, where these ventures can have a significant impact. ✨What do you love most about working in this environment? It's an environment where you can thrive and rapidly take on responsibilities while learning a lot. There are so many problems to be solved, that there’s always something interesting to work on. Founders are incredibly dedicated and highly specialized, while believing they can make anything work. Among the Techstars founders, I’ve enjoyed learning a lot on their specific markets and products, their ways of working or approach to business… ✨What are the core values or principles that drive you? I believe I’m very eager to learn. I always aim to do my best and remain open-minded, especially when facing new challenges. I believe in the power of teamwork to solve complex (and ops!) problems. I also thrive to keep an open heart and open mind, values that are core to the Techstars team and enable me to adapt to make connections easily. ✨What is your superpower? I think I can easily adapt to any given environment. In the past 3 years, I’ve lived in 4 different countries, in Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, before moving to Amsterdam last Summer. I love to connect with multicultural teams and learn from these very dynamic environments. Want to learn more about 2024 cohort? Stay tuned! #givefirst #techstars #abnamro #FutureofFinance #netherlandsfintech

Starting a business in its early days is an entirely different challenge compared to scaling and growing it years later—it demands new skills and perspectives from the business owner. It’s now been 5 years since I founded Pantheon, and the transformation has been remarkable. When we launched, we were managing just over £12 million in client assets; today, that number is just shy of £70 million. Our team has also evolved—from a solo venture supported by a small team of virtual staff to an in-house team, including India Lanyon and Matt Hale, along with the same amazing virtual support. This journey has been incredibly rewarding, but I’ve recently found myself reflecting on how my role has shifted. I now spend significantly more time on the business's day-to-day operations, tackling responsibilities that didn’t even exist when I first started. I’d love to hear from fellow business owners—how did you navigate the transition from startup to a more established company? How did this impact your role and daily responsibilities? Were you as good a leader to a larger team than a smaller team?

The average age of companies I’ve worked for is just over 80 years old – but that’s actually pretty misleading. The youngest company was about four years old when I joined, and the oldest was 165 when I left. (Remember this when you’re looking at “averages.” 🧐 ) For me, there has been a lot of power and growth in toggling between new and old: from big brands to startups, and from fast-growing companies to ones maintaining a legacy. 🥇 My first job out of college was at the AP, founded in 1846. 🐣 After that: Xconomy (RIP), a media startup founded in 2007. 📰 Next stop, The Boston Globe, founded in 1872. Although this was by way of their internal media startup BetaBoston (RIP), which was launched in 2014. ⏩ After working as a reporter and then an analytics/engagement editor at the Globe, I moved to ZoomInfo ... another 2007 baby. What do these experiences have in common? Moving from big brands to startups to growth companies and back again – or looking for new opportunities to innovate within older brands and businesses – has been a great way to build a portfolio of skills I couldn’t get by just sticking to BigCos or startups or scale-ups. So be comfortable stretching and trying new things, new industries, new areas of growth, and new markets. Take a chance on someone who will take a chance on you, and grow together. But never stop looking for growth!

Growth = Fun💃, Growth = Impact💫. And sometimes, Growth = Pain too😆 This week is Alva Labs’ bi-annual get-together in Stockholm (we call it “Stockholm on-site”, no more digital meetings with “can you see my screen?” and “do you hear me?” 😆). As we have colleagues all over Sweden and across Europe working remotely 100%, it's a nice opportunity to actually meet someone you might only ever talk through camera! Our CEO is on a 9-month parental leave (Sweden is amazing, right?), so our former COO- now as Interim CEO- ran the get-together and opened it with the usual rewind-reflect-forward. Someone used to told me, “I think many people idolising the idea of working in a startup. It's extremely painful and requires a lot of resilience. Growing is painful.” He's an angel investor, happened to be also a Swede, who invested in a series of small tech startups and VCs in Vietnam. Up to that point, I indeed thought “oh working in a startup is really cool.” Part of it because I already experienced it. My time at Propzy - a SaaS product for Vietnam real estate market back then in 2015-2016 period - was extraordinary. He did open new perspectives for me when thinking about growth perception, though. Or, I would say it's more about setting the right expectations. I definitely agree with Christopher here. Growth = impact. In any way, growing is a process where you learn, you experience, and you thrive. Somewhere along the road, you'll fall, and then it's the matter of how will you pick yourself up, tend the damages, patch things up, and then grow again, strongly, or slowly, it depends on you and your capabilities. That's when the impacts happen. Because now you have all the readiness to bounce (back) and become more mature and more experience. And yes, it's fun too. I've been learning it everyday since I started my journey in Sweden. After all, you're making the changes impacting everyone and everything around you, including yourself. It's a remarkable journey, one you should not just be doing, but be enjoying every single moment of it too. Let's go Day 2 of the Alva’s Stockholm on-site 💪👏 #growth #personaldevelopment