Are you riding a unicorn or a three-legged stool?

Question to VC’s, equity partners and investors…

Which is more important? Team, product or market?

I am willing to bet that you answered “All of the above”…

After all…

Your portfolio companies need market match, great products and most importantly a team that “gets it” and that you can work with, right?

I think of this a three legged stool. With three legs it remains stable, can stand on its own and provides a solid base to build on.

But stools are not very fast.

In fact, they are pretty much stuck in one spot unless you pick it up and move it yourself.

Now, unicorns are fast, right?

Question: Have you ever seen a unicorn with just three legs?

Would you prefer your portfolio companies to be three legged stools or 4 legged unicorns?

The answer is simple – we all want our investments to be potential unicorns (and they have 4 legs, not 3!).

Whether you are investing in SaaS companies, the latest apps, or any start-up, or existing business – 4 is the right number…. 4 legs.

And yet we all concentrate on just 3…

Team, market and product.

When your portfolio companies get their first round of funding, they spend every hour proving the market and product, chasing revenue, trying to get traction before the money runs out so they can get another round of funding.

But they are running on just 3 legs.

And it’s hard.

Look, I speak with start-up executives nearly every day and there is a consistent message they have for me. Time is their biggest enemy, They are in a constant race against time, and money, and literally spend no time thinking about the 4th leg of their business.

What is this leg?

Reputation.

In a Harris Poll conducted in February 2021 ( so not a ?long forgotten study from the 80’s), 55% of respondents claim that they changed their purchase decision based on their opinion of the CEO.

And over 80% felt that the reputation of the executive team drives market value, even more than the product itself.

You see, in this age of rapid information flow, the whole concept of B2B has become flawed. The consumers of your goods and services are not companies, or organizations – they are people. It is people who make the buy decision for corporates, it is people who make the buy decision for themselves, it is even people who make the buy decisions for other people.

B2B is dead.

Person to person is the new age of business.

And this is accomplished through the 4th leg – reputation.

Your portfolio companies must start building the reputations of their executive teams now, or they will become irrelevant and unknowable – and nobody buys from people they don’t know.

It is no longer enough to build a great product brand, a great business story and a great product.

Your team needs to be known and understood in the marketplace – not just the CEO but all the CXO’s.

What will happen if you work on the 4th leg?

-?????????Customers will buy from you because they trust the executive team

-?????????The best human capital will be attracted to you because they want to work with the best (and they know your leadership is the best)

-?????????Investors will flock to you because they understand your core characteristics

The end result?

Higher valuations and bigger exits.

It’s a no brainer – so why do most companies ignore this pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

#1 Reason: Time. There isn’t enough time to work this out when there are products to create, markets to dominate, and cash flow to worry about. Who wants to spend endless hours on social media when they could be designing the next killer app?

#2 Reason: Knowledge. They don’t have the knowledge to build reputation quickly and powerfully. They know what they are good at – not what platforms they need, or how to create reputation. That is all Greek to them.

#3 Reason: Comfort. It is uncomfortable to express personal opinions, share personal stories or be visible. What if nobody likes me?

#4 Reason: Fear. How can the Company ensure the reputation of its executives aligns with the product and brand stories of the company? What if they say something wrong?

These are all valid reasons for not creating and leveraging your reputation assets. After all, who cares about reputation when there are sales to be made?

Umm…you weren’t listening.

Your buyers care.

If they don’t know you – they won’t buy from you.

The markets are changing. Have changed. And the year of Covid simply accelerated that change.

There is some good news.

Dr. Kent Gustavosn (a 25 year expert in visibility and reputation creation) and I (a 40 year business geek all the way to Wall St) have joined forces to bring you a new product, the Reputation Playbook.

With over $6 billion of market valuation experience, award winning designs, and hundreds of authority platforms launched for executives and entrepreneurs, we know what it takes to build true reputation capital.

-?????????Personal branding is where it starts (Who are you really and do you project that through your brand?)

-?????????How do you apply trend-jacking principals to ensure a steady stream of content ideas? (Don’t worry, content creation becomes a breeze when you follow our systems)

-?????????Strategic messaging as a backbone to results. (Who do you want to influence and what actions do you want them to take?)

-?????????What authority platforms should you build, and when? (Do you even know what platforms work and which are a total waste of time and money?)

-?????????What simple steps will drive community growth and involvement?

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Our process:

Step 1: Start> Executive Brand Strategy Development

Each member of your executive team is unique. By leveraging their personal brand and individual thought leadership, grow the value of your organization.

Step 2: Reach> Influencing Your Optimal Audience

Who are you trying to influence? What do they want? What messaging and strategy is needed to get your optimal results?

Step 3: Design> Creating Effective Authority Platforms

What platforms will provide the most authority to your optimal audience? A thought leader style book, interview podcast, articles, publications etc?

Step 4: Build> Community Growth and Agitation

Your reputation and influence are your most valuable assets. They will build community engagement and organizational resonance across networks.

Step 5: Go> Delivering your custom playbook.

Every great team has a playbook. This is yours.

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Our playbook has been designed to reduce your executives time commitment as much as possible. In just 5 - 6 weeks you will have a complete playbook that you can implement yourself quickly and easily.

Alternatively our team of subject matter experts can do it for you, or with you. The choice is yours.

So, there you have it in a nutshell.

The Reputation Capital Playbook has been designed specifically for busy executives like you.

Don’t you think it is time to take a good long look at your reputation and start making it work for you?

www.thoughtpartnergroup.com

Don’t look now but your reputation is showing – make sure it is the right one.

For more information, feel free to connect with me and ask. :)