Katie Vanneck

A new leadership team has taken charge at Bristol’s oldest commercial graphic design agency.   The Bristol-based Burleigh Design agency is set for a new era following co-owner Greg Corrigan’s retirement with Jonathon Galvin-Wright joining forces with co-owner director Fraser Ebbs at the helm. https://lnkd.in/ezPXsQha

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What a day. BBC Radio 4 with Woman's Hour in the morning. Then across to the other building in Broadcasting House for BBC Radio London in the afternoon. All to talk about the new Barriers to Equal Parenting research by Working Families sponsored by Wates Group. The research is important. It shows the reality for so many working dads. It exposes the stigma around male caring. It puts in to numbers the stories we have all heard about dads being told to get their wife to do school pick-up and that taking the full parental leave available is career suicide. But it also points to the fact that so many dads want to be more involved in their children's life and that there are progressive employers that are doing the deep culture change work to encourage dads Parenting Out Loud. On Thursday, Working Families are hosting a webinar to present the research and discuss what employers can do to support working dads to improve the wellbeing of the whole family and address workplace gender inequities. Read more about the research and register for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/eyzBEp7k #EqualParenting #ParentingOutLoud #WorkingFamilies #WorkingDads

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Joanna Jensen is an entrepreneurial breath of fresh air. She's no nonsense, passionate, energetic and tells it like it is: her new book, Making Business Child's Play is a must read. She joined us as part of our Great British Brands breakfast series, sponsored by Rathbones. Here are her top ten takeaways: business owners, listen up! 1) Lead with a commercial lens Solve a real problem, but treat it as a business from day one. Joanna came from banking and deliberately separated emotion from execution: governance, reporting and investor expectations shape how you run. Build with optionality (sale or scale), unit economics that work, and a plan for outside capital – it will change cadence. 2) Challenge industry ‘rules’ New founders can question legacy behaviour. When a retailer told her she “couldn’t” raise prices, Joanna held the line – politely but firmly – and won. The lesson: know your numbers, know your value, and don’t inherit other people’s constraints. 3) Make joy a strategy Entrepreneurship is 24/7. The only sustainable path is to enjoy the work – retool, reprioritise, or rescope if you’re not. 4) Know your consumer (for real, not vibes) Don’t guess who buys, why, where, or at what price – prove it. Commission cost-effective research, mine public sources, and keep validating messages and price points. Evidence beats hunches. 5) Market where your audience is Meta isn’t a strategy; it’s one channel. Blend OOH, TV, radio, magazines, newsletters and especially events. Track what works for your customer, not what’s fashionable, and beware the spend flywheel that says little about real satisfaction. 6) Speak to the decision-makers Women control most household spend – build creative, messaging and media plans that respect this. Make sure those crafting your content can credibly speak to your core buyer; don’t let a single demographic define tone. 7) Guard your IP before you pitch Register names and marks early—before distributor meetings and shows. Joanna’s brand lost its name and logo in one market to a ‘friendly’ visitor who registered them first. Use the Madrid Protocol where sensible, and keep an IP lawyer close. 8) Be fund-ready (and fund-worthy) SEIS/EIS can unlock capital – learn the rules, meet lead investors, and show real ‘skin in the game’. Present a crisp deck: market size, competitive proof, consumer data, route-to-market, margins and a credible plan. A strong lead investor makes it easier for others to follow. 9) Build margin through disciplined distribution DTC establishes presence; retail unlocks volume. Obsess over basics – units per SKU per store per week, category averages, and how scale improves COGS. Prime organic moments (early Facebook virality; receptionist sampling) and use them to accelerate listings and renegotiate on facts. 10) Define the brand in one sentence – and stick to it Distil your promise until it’s repeatable and emotionally true.

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