Hi all, my passion is scaling early stage tech companies to the next level of growth and funding by leveraging the power of strategic finance and planning. I'm based in San Francisco and have been working with tech startups for 10+ years with 20+ years of finance experience. Look forward to connecting!

This is an interesting read from the British Computer Society - The biggest cyber attacks of 2024 | BCS

Hello everyone, I’ve been absent from the group for the past several weeks. My best friend and beloved husband was killed in a traffic incident on Sunday, August 25 while riding his motorcycle. He had the right of way and a woman driving a U-Haul hit and killed him. She had a stop sign but most likely did not stop and ran through it. I’m not sharing this to garner sympathy but rather to ensure you all consider taking the time to get your affairs in order. We had a trust for our home and a few other things in order but the rest is a bit of a mess. I’m slowly working things though with our trust attorney, financial planner, and soon, an injury attorney. Passwords weren’t very well documented either. He had such a lovely brain but organization wasn’t his strong suit. As for my fledgling business, it has been on hold for the past several weeks and while I was really feeling like I had made progress, I’m glad I didn’t have any current paying clients. It’s given me time to grieve and work through all of these tasks. I will be back soon (a few more weeks) and then I’ll be asking for your help. I’ll be seeking the following projects: build out marketing strategies, ideal client profiles, customer journeys, goal setting, audits (lead magnets, SEO, website/landing pages, etc.) On my website, you can find my services. www.thesavvycmo.com Some final thoughts…Be sure to tell your loved ones how much you love and care for them. Give them an extra long hug tonight. And add a date on your calendar to get your affairs in order. Your loved ones will thank you. With gratitude, Michelle Silva

What people see when they land on your website is critical to the success of your business. Customers need to know that you understand their difficulties and that you are uniquely capable of solving their problems. They also need to know it within three to five seconds of landing on your site because, no matter how much they want a solution, multiple studies show that people will bounce off your site if they don't see what they need right away. Here are some things to keep in mind as you assess and write copy for your website. Just in case you are unfamiliar with the term "copy" it refers to the written word in sales and marketing material. 1. Clarify the problem you solve. People want solutions to their challenges, so show that you understand their frustrations. You need to know who your ideal customer is and exactly what problem you solve in order to do this effectively. 2. Focus on what's in it for them. Instead of talking about how great you are, focus on how your customer's life will improve. 3. Build trust and empathy. Use case studies and testimonials to show that you understand their problems and have successfully produced results for others. If you don't have any customer experiences to draw on, make it your mission to develop something. Until then, focus on demonstrating your expertise in other ways, such as offering tools, use cases or free assessments. Never post phoney testimonials. 4. Outline a clear path or steps the customer can take to solve their problem using your product or service. If you guide people toward making a decision to contact you or purchase something, for example, you increase the likelihood that they will. 5. Include a very visible call to action at the top, middle and bottom of your website. Be strategic in your placement. Invite people to book meetings, download e-books, etc. 6. Mention the consequences of not addressing their problem. 7. Use clear language. Avoid jargon, acronyms and intellectual language. The less people have to think when they read, the better. Even the best newspapers write at an 8th grade reading level. Be very concise. Avoid lengthy paragraphs and fancy fonts. Keep it very simple. If someone has to focus and think about what you are saying on your website, you will lose them eternally. 8. Use visuals that support your message. The text and the images need to contribute to the clarity of your message. They should never be a distraction or require effort to understand. 9. One last thing. Write with humans in mind. Bots don't buy. Use key words that are relevant but don't obscure your message for high ranking SEO.

Employee Retention Specialist Doug Brown from Manage 2 Retain chats with Renee Cormier of the Fractional Referral Network.