INVESTABILITY MUST-HAVES
Details
What makes some startups irresistible to customers, investors, and acquirers, while others stall? This session looks at the hidden factors that shape startup success from the earliest stage. We’ll explore how to listen differently to customer feedback, how to build more than just a product, and how to lay the groundwork for traction, revenue growth, and a stronger future valuation. Whether you’re at idea stage or gaining traction, you’ll walk away with essential insights and practical tools to strengthen your next move.
Rudolf Rodenburg – Brand & Business Strategist
Rudolf is a brand and business strategist with over 25 years of experience. Originally from The Netherlands, he began his career in London’s advertising scene and moved into brand and business strategy with a creative and a strong customer focus.
As co-founder of Athena Associates, Rudolf draws on his experience of how successful companies operate to help startups and scale-ups become more fundable and ready for growth.
• From a brand perspective, this means increasing valuation and survival chances by building a differentiating brand that acts as a moat, creating a loyal, growing, less price-sensitive customer base. Internally, the brand aligns teams and shapes culture.
• From a strategy perspective, it means preparing the organisation to shift from owner-led to team-led, with a lean, flexible strategy that creates ownership and transparency across functions and levels.
Having lived in several European countries and worked globally, he brings a deep understanding of operating in local markets and on a global scale.
Clients include British Airways, Novo Nordisk Pharma and Credit Suisse and he served as Global Communications Director at an NGO with over 40,000 staff. Rudolf holds a Master’s in Business Economics (Marketing & Market Research) and teaches Branding: Strategy & Purpose at BAU University, Barcelona.
INVESTABILITY MUST-HAVES