Angeley Mullins of Latana Brand Tracking.
Tell us about yourself?
My background is in commercial leadership focused on marketing, brand, go-to-market, growth marketing, and international expansion. My experience spans between hyper growth startups at all stages ( Series A, B, C, D, etc.) to large corporations.. I also have a special interest in product discovery, product launches, and user experience. I started my career in the US and have since moved internationally and am now in Europe.I am currently the CMO & CGO at Latana.
What do you think is the single biggest misconception people have when it comes to startups?
There is a lot of glamour around startups and it seems that many people do not understand how much work is going on behind the scenes. In many cases startups can be even more challenging because you are ” building the plane whilst flying it”. Meaning that everything is usually happening so quickly that the people best suited to startups are those who know how to strategise, create, operate, and execute in a hyper-speed environment.
If you could go back in time to any moment from your journey, and give yourself one tip, what would it be?
Build your inner strength first- you are going to need it. It is your inner strength that carries you as a leader and also in your life. It’s one of the most important skills that nobody seems to give enough value to.
What makes you stand out as an entrepreneur?
I believe what makes both a stand out entrepreneur and leader is not only the topics they choose to champion but also who they help along the way. Many times in the media there are stories about the progress of a business and success milestones such as revenue growth or entering a new market, but not much about how they achieved it. Behind every great entrepreneur and leader is a great team.
What are some of the best working habits you’ve gained over the past couple of years?
Taking a step back and looking 10 steps ahead- This especially applies to the startup and hyper-growth environments. When you are leading a company at a faster pace, it can be easy to just focus on getting everything done. However taking a moment to really think about the larger picture and anticipate what will happen with your business 10 steps in the future is what helps businesses grow in the right direction. In larger organisations there are always quarterly business reviews and H1/H2 planning sessions for the business. However in a hyper growth environment, changes in the business can happen at such a quick pace that they cannot be planned out 6 months in advance. This is why always making sure there is a “moment of reflection” even on a weekly basis can help to make sure your own working habits are in alignment to what is needed within the organisation.
Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?
The main idea behind latana is the quest to understand human perception and consumer behaviour by finding a way to ask people questions globally and turning that into insights.
Where do you see your business in five years?
Latana’s goal is to become the google analytics for brand insights. This is something that Latana has been striving for and we are on our way there! The second version of our dashboard has really made insights for marketing and brand leaders extremely relevant and helps them understand not only their brand awareness but also other KPIs relevant to how consumers perceive their brand.
What do you think the biggest challenge will be for you in getting there?
This is of course the same challenge for every company growing in a fast environment:: more people, and more resources to help us get there sooner!
Talk to us about your biggest success story so far?
The application of Latana’s technology is vast and even though our primary goal is to help marketing & brand leaders, we have also used our technology to collect data on the perception of democracy around the world. Early this year we produced the democracy perception index (in partnership with the alliance of democracies) which is the world’s largest study on how people perceive democracy, representative of over 75% of the global population. It was presented at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit in which renowned global leaders and technology leaders presented their views on democracy using insights from Latana. It was a very proud moment for everyone at Latana.
How do clients and customers find you? Are you much of a salesperson for yourself?
I am always available on LinkedIn for questions! As far as a salesperson for myself.. i always believe an individual’s work speaks for itself.
What one tip would you give to fellow startup founders?
Keep going! As a founder there are always many challenges along the way however continuing to push forward is the one thing that will be the most beneficial as you grow.
And finally, what do you hope the future brings both you personally, and your business?
I am looking forward the future of technology and innovation ( especially AI and machine learning) and how that will influence how consumers buy and also the insights that companies will be able to understand about what matters most to their target audiences.
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