We launch top growth marketers into our ventures (and) new heights - literally.

Venture-building is a demanding process. For one to thrive in the startup studio world, you need to be proactive, forthcoming and open to working in a constantly dynamic environment. As we figured out that not everyone is cut out for this, we thought of what we could do to attract the right kind of people to our teams. That's how the Launchpad Academy was born.

Our Launchpad Academy was started by Sharon Klaver to train, empower and develop data-driven and creative marketing specialists who are then placed with the studio and its ventures following a rigorous 6-month traineeship. One of the core offerings of a startup studio is best-in-class resources for its ventures, of which growth is a critical part. Product-led growth is our venture mantra; but to get there, we need a team of marketers who have perfected the art of getting early-stage startups off the grounds and into people's attention. What if we said we have cracked the code to achieving the perfect growth marketer-venture fit? This is different to conventional growth marketing efforts, and we figured that the best way to harness this skill is to grow them ourselves through Launchpad.

The end result? We have a multi-faceted growth team with a diverse skillset across the entire spectrum of marketing needs in the B2B sector. In September, we will commence the 3rd cohort of the Launchpad program, with the 4th following in February 2023. Look out on our socials and our website to see what the youngblood will be getting up to at Builders Studio.

News from our universe 🪐

• To be an evergreen studio, we need a constant stream of well-researched, data-driven ideas as per market trends. For this, welcome, Giannis Filandros as our new Venture Analyst. He is joining the studio to help create disruptive venture ideas to add to our spark cellar.

• As I hinted above, we are commencing our third cohort of the Launchpad in September, this time with two new trainees! With experience in the business, creative and cultural sectors, Daria Sazonova and Veronica Perjan are joining us; we are very excited to see what they have in store for us.

• I hosted the fourth Bootcamp with our dear friends the GSSN earlier this month. We spoke about the right team composition for a studio and what a team looks like beyond the founders to the always-engaged cohort, and thoroughly enjoyed the process. Do you want to learn about creating the perfect studio playbook? Take a look at the Bootcamp program here.

What we’re following 👀

• Every failure is a precedent for success - and multi-exit entrepreneur Joe Procopio shares how some iconic failures in the tech world set the stage for some of the most successful products ever created globally. Read on here.

• Rachel Greenberg shares her insights stemming from years of experience in EdTech on the unfortunate mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make, and how to spot them right away. Find out what they are here.

• As much as we'd like to prevent it, startups do fail; The key on how to come out of it wiser is to look for all the learnings the journey provides you with. Nik Kotov shares his honest experience starting a venture during COVID, and what he learnt from it despite it not taking off. Read here.

Come build with us 🧑‍💻

Check out our open positions, and share around if you know anyone who could fit the following profiles:

• Head of People at Builders

• Growth Marketing Trainee at Builders

We are always on the lookout for Future Founders to join the team. Come build with us.

Until next time,

Michael van Lier

Managing Director at Builders