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A nice Sunday exercise

Hello fellow productivity enthusiasts! Today I decided to experiment with Shopify and created a website dedicated to increasing productivity by using low-tech tools, such as traveler's notebooks, pens, and paper. As a tech entrepreneur, this was a refreshing change of pace for me, and I had a lot of fun

👋 From San Diego

Hi everyone, yesterday I arrived in San Diego. It’s the first time in two years that I am back in the United States. And it is great to be back. It has been a while since I’ve traveled as far as this. A nine hour time difference is

Why I will never have 1000 Twitter followers

Hi everyone, I was just wondering… Am I the only person who is paranoid enough to block a couple of hundred Twitter followers a year? Because they look somewhat dodgy or I feel they would never interacts with me anyways, so I would rather simply delete them/block them? On

Twitter-Fan Rant — Why I'm Not Quitting, Yet.

The last couple of weeks have been hard for anyone who is a diehard Twitter fan. I am probably one of them. Change is never easy, but I know that this is actually one that might be for the better. Let me tell you why. I have been using Twitter

Elon Musk now owns Twitter — These are his first actions

Twitter has a new owner and not just anyone, Elon Musk has taken over the reins at the little blue bird. These are the first things he is going to change and focus on to "clean up" the platform and bring it to prosper.

About the GANDT starter program for digital professionals and online consultants

About the GANDT starter program for digital professionals and online marketers. Find out more if you are interested in taking your career to the next level, or if you need help from online professionals in your organization.

Thoughts on rising CACs — challenges for organizations and online marketers, especially

Rising customer acquisition cost or a growing concern for brands and companies, alike. These are some of the reasons for it. And, what you can do about it.

Product drops on Twitter, feature release

Don't believe the hype. Or maybe do. It is very important for retailers to create enough traction and hype around their products before dropping them. Whereas Instagram and Facebook have had features that allow users to plan events far into the future, Twitter did not. But this has changed. With

Work takes me places I had never thought of visiting

I can finally travel again, hooray. I absolutely love to visit new places. It is one of the things that I have been missing most since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. My work gives me a chance to see what life is like in different parts of the world, and gives

E-commerce growth normalizes as a percentage of retail sales — but why

According to trend research from the US Census Bureau, e-commerce sales as a percentage of total retail volume, has slowed down considerably. Why this is a good thing? Enjoy the read.

Visual traction is the only relevant brand and communication KPI

As a marketer there are so many exciting things that we could be working on every single day. The retailer and brands that I work with, Understand that things have to move forward or else they will become obsolete. One thing I see every day are teams who swamp themselves

Poll: Should consultancies show their prices on the website

One quick poll at the end of the week: do you think consultancies should be transparent with their pricing policies? Or is every single project—and client—so unique and individual that it is impossible to standardize pricing? > Should consultancies show their prices on their websites? — Remco Livain (@rlivain) May

New reality — get back in the flow

Today was another day in which I didn’t manage to get back in the flow — work/life = off. Our little girl woke us up nice and late(!) at 6:00am, so I got up and hopped on the train to Zurich. However, I had told myself that I had

Twitter + Elon Musk… IMHO…

Twitter + Elon Musk has been a match made in heaven. Now, the Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur is set on buying the social media platform „of his dreams“ and make some big changes. Should he be allowed to do so, and is it a good idea — read on…

The difference between managing and leading

The role of founding team members changes over time, but few recognize that a being a good leader does not necessarily make them a great manager, too. Here is why.

Digital marketing did not get more complex, but channel-focused

Attribution models of today, are not what they were yesterday—a mind shift for many online marketers and companies, alike.

Why I’m switching my blog from WordPress to ghost

I love to write, it is an activity that helps me relax and put things into perspective. wordPress has been my go to CMS for years. I love the flexibility of the platform and the way that it create enables creators to be themselves, with no strings attached. The versatility

Documenting the journey and your work—team collaboration

working out loud is one of the most fundamental principles that I live by every single day. Collaboration is the only way forward. Here is a part of my journey and a real life example of what happens when things go wrong.

Investing in relationships, doesn’t always pay off

There are so many days in the week… well, at least six that are not Monday’s. But on (any given) Monday I feel the urge to share my thought on the new, upcoming week – for whatever reason. The start of the week hardly ever starts as I had imagined

Diary of an entrepreneur: about work and health

Good morning everyone, I hope you started the day well. I got up this morning in Munich. I love to be in the city. And the first thing I did was do a 20 minute workout. It was the perfect way to start the day. Yet, it makes me wonder

Diary of an entrepreneur: Friday blues and tough decisions

Another “week” has come to an end, at least for the team. I don’t really feel like this will be a well deserved and relaxing weekend, just yet. It doesn’t happen often that I feel like I’m starting into the weekend on Fridays at all to be

Diary of an entrepreneur: About Monday’s and my focus points this week

September 13, 2021, by Remco Livain A new week, new chances. Monday’s are my strong days. I love to get right back into business, get stuff done and work on what motivates me most. Yes, you heard that right: work on what motivates me most. > The good news is

Diary of an entrepreneur: you cannot control everything

Today I will and have to keep it short. Something happened and it forces me to shift my priorities within a split second. After I got home from Essen, late last night, I knew there were tons of things I would have to address with the leadership round at work.

Diary of an entrepreneur, travel week

Travel week, it is all about balance I love these weeks. Travel weeks are the ones in which I get a lot done. I do have to admit that I wasn’t really looking forward to it this weekend. There’s just so much I have to do at the

Diary of an entrepreneur: when to be creative during the week

An entrepreneur has the challenge of choice. You can do so many things at the same time, you need to figure out where to put your focus. Most people try to work on their client tasks during the week, with the idea that this is when they are most productive.

How traditional retailer can create their online marketing strategy

The online marketplace has grown exponentially in the last decade. The online marketplace is changing how traditional retailers are marketing their products online. As online shopping becomes more popular, it can be difficult to create a strong online marketing strategy for retailer. Traditional retail make more than 90% of their

What is in focus today? About GDPR, midnight thoughts and shifting attention, constantly

Diary of an entrepreneur, 2 September, 2021 | Remco Livain Diary of an entrepreneur: introduction and my daily thoughts on the topic of focus. Why did I get so nervous about a potential lack of GDPR compliance in our (old) client contracts, this morning? It was not requested by anyone, and

How to create a social media strategy for your brand

Setting social media strategy can be daunting for any brand. Here are some tips and tricks on how to create social media strategy that works, by not being too corporate or boring. Social Media is the key marketing channel for any brand. It’s where you build your community and

LinkedIn have decided to stop using their stories feature

LinkedIn has been around for a long time and gained a lot of popularity. It’s an excellent platform to connect with people who work in the same industry as you do, but also to connect with potential employers and future employees. As it turns out, LinkedIn is not only

Swiss Retail Federation and GANDT collaboration, makes me proud

Hi, guys, I hope you’re doing great and you have gotten off to a fantastic start this week. I know I have, we have just recently announced our nice collaboration with Swiss Retail Federation [https://www.swiss-retail.ch]. To me personally, this is a bit of a highlight for

Otter.ai is absolutely amazing

> I recently discovered Otter.ai and am fascinated by it. It is such a powerful tool that makes my life so much better. Read, and listen to, the Otter recording and transcript below. PS: I didn’t change a single word in the transcription. Otter is absolutely amazing, just listen

Twitter launch is premium Twitter blue subscription in Australia and Canada

https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2021/introducing-twitter-blue.html Twitter is the first of the major social media platforms to launch a subscription-based model. It’s users are able to use a number of new features that are only available to premium users. For a small fee it

6 Reasons why Twitter should launch a premium subscription

What I’ve learned from working with a professional copywriter, after one session

I love to work on my writing skills. It does not really matter what the topic is, I just like to write. Yet, writing isn’t something that comes natural to everyone. In the last couple of months, I learned first-hand that my team have great ideas, but make for

NPR Music on YouTube, how did I miss this?

Sunday morning, relaxing on the couch with my laptop at hand to work on my todo list for the upcoming week. Of course, I have got some music running in the background. I love music. Any type of music, really. I know that YouTube is the biggest music streaming service

What are Slack Posts and how to use them

I have been using Slack for a great number of years. But today I discovered a simple feature, that I would have loved to know more about quite some time ago: Slack Posts. A Slack Post [https://slack.com/help/articles/203950418-Use-posts-in-Slack] can be created on any desktop device, using

Still no iPhone innovation from Apple in 2021

The Mercedes EQS, my dream EV? Maybe.

I have been thinking about going electric for years now. Not merely because I want to contribute to lowering emissions. Electric cars are just very cool, tech and innovative. I am drawn to innovation and love 99% of all things that have a screen. > EVs make the air we breath

My first time using an iPad app on my Mac Mini M1

I recently upgrades my home office setup with a Mac Mini M1 (2021), making it my main driver when I’m at home. After a week of working with it, I have to say that I am mightily impressed by the speed and ease of use. The price, power, form

Drafts is the most confusing app I have ever used

I really wanted this to work. I wanted to like and love the drafts app [https://getdrafts.com/]. But after 5 days of agony, I could not bare to spend another second with it. The app is confusing. The user experience is terrible on MacOS. And I just don‘t

The psychology behind brand colors

The psychology of colors in logos and other corporate design elements is a science in itself. The brand image is a powerful tool, one that allows a company to put its values and ways of working in the right light. > Just look at the app icons on your phone, which

There is nothing Instant about Instagram anymore

Key UK online retailer form lobby to fight digital tax | thoughts and opinion

Facebook bans all news in Australia – that is a big deal | Opinion piece

The largest social media platform in the world, has decided to block news sites from publishing posts to their user’s walls. The Australian government would like to pass a law, that forces networks (like Facebook) to pay for the distribution of content.  Facebook does not agree with this. The

Krisp.ai raises additional funds to build an even stronger team of developers

There are not many applications out there that solve “real-world” problems. But Krisp is one of those single purpose (desktop) applications that not only solves a problem, it supports a new lifestyle. Krisp allows the user to be wherever they would like to be, in a restaurant enjoying a late

Atlassian feels Notion heat and gives Trello a major overhaul

Trello was one of the first project management tools, that brought the Kaban-method to desktop and mobile users alike. Mostly geared towards smaller teams, it uses an ingenious card system to sort tasks and projects. However, the heat was put on by new productivity tools, like Notion.so [https://notion.

It is all about content remuneration, and Twitter is leading the way

Facebook wants to build their own Clubhouse | opinion

One app took the world by storm in the last few months, and that was Clubhouse. The live podcast/discussion round app, has inspired millions to share their opinions in a new format. The idea behind Clubhouse [https://www.joinclubhouse.com/], which is only available for iOS users at the

My writing challenge needs a new strategy —and more accountability

I started the year with the ambition to write more, and I did. For some reason I have to keep telling myself that I did, though. The thing is, my writing is too scattered across different mediums, that it does not seem like I followed through on my own challenge.

Why my bullet journal lacks tasks

I picked up my first bullet journal in 2020. I love the simplicity of it and the monthly migration process, that forces me to reevaluate my priorities. We face new opportunities, constantly. It makes life interesting, dynamic and fast. However, for most of the work we do it is not

Readwise: my favorite productivity of the year (2020)

I love to write, I love to read.  And, i am someone who loves to highlight / take notes when reading. There are times when I finish 2-3 books per week. So you could probably say, that I am a bit of a bookworm. 📚🐛 However, most of my notes simply get

Clubhouse, what‘s the hype

What is Clubhouse? If you have missed the hottest and most hyped social media app, you‘ve probably been too busy skiing. It is hard to escape the Clubhouse-madness that has been released at the beginning of this year. > Clubhouse is essentially a live podcast app. It allows its users

New year resolution comes early this year: I have to write more

The burden of focus, as an entrepreneur

A beautiful „side effect“ of my work as a consultant and being my own „boss“ is that I can fairly freely decide what it is I would like to work on. Focus is one of the key elements of any entrepreneur’s success. As my consultancy has started to grow

Intertwined relationships, about work- and life long friendships

I see every interaction with people around me as a singular relationship; one that needs attention, interaction and love to succeed. These interactions come and go, but I realize that I need to invest the time and effort to keep them up. At the end of the day, it is

Why I ordered AirPods Max

My last, substantial purchase of the year are a pair of headphones. Not just any headphones, but the ridiculously (over-)priced Apple AirPods Max [https://www.apple.com/chde/airpods-max/?afid=p238%7Cscejy8WHQ-dc_mtid_chlvzsjfw0_pcrid_485079281895_pgrid_114232307669_&cid=wwa-ch-kwgo-wearables-slid---productid--Brand-AirPodsMax-Announce] . Yes, I really did it. I have shelled out

Choosing a coffee maker is hard

In only three weeks, we will be moving into a new office space with our GANDT-team [https://www.gandt.ch]. It is in the same building we are in right now, but there is one major difference, we won‘t have a dedicated kitchen area and we lack a coffee

Quibi confirms it’s shutting down

Barely six month after Jeff Katzenberg / Meg Whitman-lead Quibi launched, the company announced it’s closing up shop. Confirming the details leaked from a call [https://www.engadget.com/quibi-shutting-down-report-195306262.html] with investors, Quibi’s leaders said in a letter [https://quibi-hq.medium.com/an-open-letter-from-quibi-8af6b415377f] that the service’s lack

Twitter releases audio tweets (on iOS)

Big tech product updates are not always worth a blog post. But Twitter’s Audio Tweets feature release on iOS has certainly caught my attention. The addition of Audio Tweets might be the biggest Twitter feature launch since the increased character limit from 140 to 280 characters. > Twitter has released

Canon Reimagine Event July 9 2020

I cannot believe what I am about to say: I am truly excited about the upcoming Canon live event on July 9th. Especially as a big fan of MFT cameras and an Olympus-lover, it pains me to say that this might very well be the start of a new era.

Quibi caves under pressure, adds AirPlay support

What is this about? * Quibi is a mobile only video streaming platform * Under pressure of its viewers, the company has decided to add Chromecast and AirPlay support * Did the mobile only concept fail to catch on? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 💡Quibi has been discontinued, but I think this is still a very interesting

My (Fri-)day of home office, a weird blessing

If there is one thing Corona has taught me, with regards to my working routines, it is that I enjoy my morning rituals. There is nothing more fulfilling than starting the day with a fresh mind after a good nights sleep. The last couple of months have forced me, and

Why smart cyclists train with watts

Watts and watts/kg are the magic numbers in cycling. There is not a single metric that is more important than the number of watts a cyclist can produce for a certain amount of time. Used correctly, watts can help you better understand how your energy is being transferred to

Alibaba Luxury Soho aims to help luxury brands lower overstock

Alibaba is dipping its toes into the luxury fashion pond. Not for the first time, but this time it is serious. Luxury Soho is distinctly different from Luxury Pavillon as it is more boutique style and “last season-” / “evergreen products-driven”.

VAM might be a vanity metric, but I like it

Cyclists are a strange bunch of people, especially the data cracks. But if there is one thing I love most about cycling, it is exactly that, the data. A few weeks ago, I installed a power meter on my Canyon cyclocross bike. It took me about an hour and a

Better late than never, LinkedIn rolls out „stories“

Well, it is official, LinkedIn has rolled out its stories function in Brazil. The stories feature holds the most prominent placement of all CTA elements on the Instagram app and will use the exact same placement on its LinkedIn app. Right at the top of any user‘s app and

Why I needed to learn to type differently

Preface by author Remco Livain – Why I need to improve on my typing skills Breaking habits is hard, especially those you have become accustomed to over long periods of time. Typing is one of them, for me. I am not the slowest typer in the world, but my typing could

Direct mail still works if you avoid common mistakes

Direct mail works, if the target group makes sense and is not advertised to, too much. It sort of makes sense, everyone wants to be part of a close(d) community. Furthermore, it is important to create a sense of exclusivity and knowledge. > Julian Shapiro Contributor Julian Shapiro is the

LVMH buys Tiffany & Co, strengthening position as luxury retail market leader

> Luxury group LVMH is buying Tiffany & Co for more than $16bn (£12.5bn). The companies have entered into a definitive agreement whereby LVMH will acquire Tiffany for $135 per share in cash, in a transaction with an equity value of approximately €14.7 billion (£11.41bn) or $16.2 billion

17 Responsibilities Of Non-Technical Founders In A Startup And My Advice

Are you a tech entrepreneur, but not a coder? Neither am I. Here is what I have learned about my role as a founder in tech startups for more than 15 years. > There is no such thing as being the idea person in a startup. Idea generation is not a

Why did the Spark Email App receive a design update?

> Spark is a great email client, it is fast and reliable, but unfortunately heavily overpriced. Okay, I admit it, I was very tempted to “switch” from using my native iOS mail client to whatever is better. And Spark seems like a great alternative. It ticks many of the boxes I

What’s going on with TikTok?

> TikTok is described by Mark Zuckerberg as the single biggest threat to Facebook. Maybe rightfully so, but the app has a very long way to go. Attracting users is not enough to run a viable business model. TikTok has struggled to find the right advertizing modes (or not really tried

Google is putting new limits on political ads, blocking advertisers from targeting people based on their politics

Media companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter have taken a stand on political ads in the last couple of days. An interesting development that defines the roles and responsibilities of these media outlets within the current day society. It is challenging for Google and Facebook to not get caught

This is hands down the best Macbook I have ever owned

I cannot believe how happy I am to have my “old” keyboard back. About a year ago, I switched back from my Windows machine to a MacBook Air and regretted it within days. The problem wasn’t so much the machine, it’s portability is unparalleled and it’s great

Google Changes GTIN Requirement Product Listing Ads

Retailer all over the world will be delighted to hear that Google has decided it is no longer a necessity to have GTINs for each and every product for its Product Listing Ad (PLA) product. GTINs are essentially a unique product code that can be used to identify one single

Active Recovery Is Not For Entrepreneurs

Any sportsman or woman will know the concept of active recovery. You lower the intensity of your training significantly, after a prolonged period of heavy duty training, to recover from the work you‘ve done. These training sessions can be a pain, but also a blessing; they remind you that

Entrepreneurial Thought: My Perception Of Time

One of the things I struggle with most as an entrepreneur, is to acknowledge that my perception of time is different from everyone around me. It is hard to focus on one thing for a full day. There are so many things that keep me busy. Things that preoccupy my

Forgot my wallet; Oh, this will be a challenge and hardcore Apple Pay test

It was bound to happen at some point. Today, I finally did it. I forgot my wallet at home. Usually, not that big of a deal, right? Well unless you‘re just about to board a plane; I haven‘t felt this insecure in quite some time. But, should I

Facebook to remove „red dots“ – icon badges to lower our anxiety levels

Facebook is one of the most influencial companies in the world; when they raise a point, and they do not do so very often, maybe it is a good time to listen. This time around, a small product improve gives us some insight into the “social” direction Facebook is thinking

Millennials need structure and a place to sit

Thoughts on: How to use word of mouth effectively to fuel B2B sales

B2B sales are not very easy to come by. It takes a lot of effort to work your way into the minds and hearts of a company and to promote your products. Therefore, it is important to come up with strategies that help you promote your B2B business effectively. I

Why short term potential should not be called quick wins

There is one term I have never truly understood, “quick wins”. It is a term I hear far too often when meeting (new) clients. Middle managers want and need to show results, quickly. Speed is of the essence and it’s all about showing traction. Hence the term quick wins

Things organizations forget when pursuing digital innovation

Digital innovation in organizations is the single largest challenge of organizations, this century. New technological advancements and breakthroughs are part of our daily lives. It is hard enough to keep up with all the exciting possibilities as individuals, let alone as an organization. If your organization struggles to keep up

WWDC19 Apple, what have you got up your sleeve for us today?

We are only a few hours away from Apple‘s annual developer conference. For Apple fans one of the (two) most important day(s) of the year. I really enjoy watching these conferences. Even-though it feels as if these meetings have become more of an evil necessity to the larger

Why look at others?

Points of reference help us determine where we are today, whether or not we should change something and if we match expectations. If you want to know how you are doing, you need to compare yourself to others. That is how we were raised, that is how we determine whether

Should entrepreneurs track their time?

We work a lot, we can work as much as we want, really. To a certain extent the amount of hours entrepreneurs put into their life’s work is disproportionate to what they will ever get out of it. Do you feel like you don’t know where your days

Things Entrepreneurs in service businesses should do more

Being an entrepreneur in a service industry is challenging. There is a constant struggle for cash flow, battle for good quality employees and the need to serve each and every customer as if your life depends on it. Even-though this might sound exaggerated, it reflects a large part of my

Why I spend less time on social media when traveling

There are days in which I spend way too much time by myself. I focus on my own thoughts, my problems and my own to do list. It is easier to spend time wondering about your own problems than those of others. However, it is far more gratifying to take

Facebook Portal misses out on most promising target group

One of the biggest pains in the office, are video calls. Laptops and Tablets simply don’t cut it and a good video calling system is really expensive. That’s why I was really excited to see the features of the Facebook Portal. After it first launched a couple of

Google Duplex is a game changer

When Google introduces a feature, it has the power to change the way we use the internet. Google is more than just the gateway to the world wide web, the tools they create are installed on nearly 80% (Android) mobile devices worldwide. Hence, the I/O developer conference is a

Silent retreat – constant communication wears you down

I can fully relate to the fact that you need peace of mind sometimes. We live in a world in which we are subjected to constant triggers, and we are always asked to be available. For those who work in tech, you’ll know that your phone/laptop or tablet

How to “manage” the challenges of a growing organization

The main challenge in starting your own business is not in managing its day to day operations, it is managing growth. The main issue is that an entrepreneur is intrinsically drawn to development. When things don’t move forward, it feels as though you (as a founder or manager) are

Why casual meet-ups are crucial to innovation success

Entrepreneur vs. Corporate | Different short term goals

Why do startups and entrepreneurs get things done? Is it their expertise, the time they spend on one particular topic or a specific soft skill that is inherited to them? In this post, I want to touch upon some of my observations on the differences in short term goals between

An Entrepreneur Must Communicate, Incrementally

Communication is incredibly easy. Especially the amount of communication: Just, over, do it. Share your thoughts, share your work, talk about your challengesWhen you communicate too much, no one is going to hate you for it. Communicating a lot, does not mean asking for someone else’s opinion every day,

Quick Thought: Creative Design Is A Constant Systematic Process

How do you measure the impact of design and creativity; should you measure it at all? This is a tricky question, but when it comes to digital- performance marketing, it should be an easy one to answer. We do not like to measure the results of our creative work. However,

Exciting week ahead: Monday brief

An exciting week coming up, yet again. I can’t wait to get started, but I am not fully up for it just yet. So I thought I would jot down a few thoughts, and tell you what’s on my mind, before I get started and get lost in

About entrepreneurial courage and Januaries

Did you start your year courageously? The year just got started, it’s cold outside, in Switzerland it snows and unless you are an outdoorsy kind of person, there’s not much to look forward to. January is the Monday of all months; the first few days of the year

#PenguinAwarenessDay ; flashback to a great penguin encounter in South Africa

Twitter can be a great source of inspiration, sometimes. Today, a trending hashtag threw me back to 2017. Two years ago we had a few magical encounters with Penguins in South Africa. These little guys are seriously adorable. https://twitter.com/rlivain/status/1086978416321150976 Hence, I thought it would be

Receipts are an entrepreneurial nightmare

How much time do you spend on your receipts? If there is one thing entrepreneurs highly underestimate, it is bookkeeping. I know accounting is not my stronghold, not because I do not know how to do it, I really do not like it either. Of course, I know I have

Single-focus tasks = iPad, multi-focus tasks = MacBook

iPad Pro 12.9” vs MacBook Air (2018)Which is “better”and Why I carry both with me, most days… A luxury of entrepreneurship is that I am fairly free to choose the device I want to work with. The Apple eco-system works well for me, hence I carry both

Why social-, organic reach is not the deciding factor for success in luxury goods

Do you buy everything you aspire to own? Are there brands you follow, love, but would never buy anything of? Does your organic content reach dreamers, or prospective customers?One of the biggest challenges for marketers for luxury goods(, retailer and brands) is to segment prospective customers from dreamers. A

Luxury brands must learn understand their product life cycles

When brands launch a new product, they pour all of their hopes and dreams into the opening event. The start is the most crucial, as it determines the hype-size. Yet, with so many strong luxury brands out there, how do luxury brands manage to keep the attention on themselves, when

Zwift Adds Pro Teams in 2019, First True eSports?

eSports are one of the most exciting and growing sport-categories in the world. Great gamers have become “athletes” and show off their skills at huge, professionally organized events. Some of these events, especially in Asia, take place in huge venues. Football stadiums, concert- and eventhalls are packed with fans who

Opinion: Congressional Hearings should be done by industry insiders

Congressional hearings seem to be a trending topic. After Mr. Pichai refused to join the tech-table a few months back, he is up for a nice session today. However, the toughest job of all might not be Pichai’s today, but that of the congressmen. Let’s be fair, it

Digital Innovation: Understanding growth KPI‘s

The single most difficult thing to do in any new project is measuring the impact and success of your work. One of the most common mistakes in measuring project success is an early focus on top level revenue. Of course, it is not more than natural to focus on top

Gadget: Second generation NEO 2 Smart – gotta start saving

I absolutely love my smart trainer. I think I actually spent more time on my smart trainer this year than I did out on the road. To some, this might be a little sad but I really love being able to ride whenever I want in any weather condition. Next

Blog: WordPress on iPad – a nightmare

I have a bit of a love, hate relationship with WordPress on mobile devices. My main concern is that the interfaces are not aligned. The mobile WordPress experience is so much different from that on a desktop browser/computer. When it comes to usability, the app works just fine. But

News: Instagram adds voice messages to DMs

Instagram is the social media platform with the highest engagement rates in the western world. The instagram ecosystem has substantially evolved in the last 24 months. The addition of “stories” and “quick polls” have catapulted the number of messages that are being sent back and forth with the app. The

When your news anchor was created with Artificial Intelligence – he might look like this

The boundaries between the human and digital world are fading. Possibly faster than we might think. Today, we might have just gotten a first taste of what our news anchors will look like in a few years time. https://www.fastcompany.com/90264587/watch-chinas-new-ai-anchor-read-the-news Xinhua, China’s state-run press agency,

Entrepreneurship Series: Work when others don‘t

The life of an entrepreneur is filled with uncertainty. There is a hardly a day that goes by in which things go according to plan. By plan I actually mean: Timeplan. Thus, I have made a habit of working when others don‘t. Here is how this time strategy can

Tech Series: The new iPad Pro (3rd gen 12.9) will be my „go to device“

For those who know me well, I am a bit of a gadget-guy. I have used the top line of pretty much every single big brand on the market (Apple, Microsoft, HP, Lenovo, Acer) as my go to device in my daily work at some point in the last 10-15

Entrepreneurship Series: Goal-Ownership in a Growing Team

When your organization grows, you face new challenges. It is very important to make sure that your team works on solutions. But if you want to get things done, it is equally important that they are able to show “goal-ownership.” Here are some of my thoughts on why it is

Innovation Series: Employee involvement

Corporate innovation brings about many organizational challenges. Company-wide acceptance for digitalization and change management topics is not easy to reach. However, it can help to focus the company’s attention on one topic that all agree on, namely: how to make work more pleasurable. Get employee acceptance for your innovation

Self Improvement: Communicate more clearly

The way we communicate has changed dramatically. The introduction of digital tools, especially email and smartphones, has transformed our behavior. I consider myself lucky to have been born at a time in which we used both traditional media as well as our new digital tools. I love to write, and

Entrepreneurship Series: Quick Growth Hacking

Startup founders have loads of huge challenges on their hands. Needless to say, growth hacking is possibly the most relevant one. A startup can be either a young company or an “actual” industry-disruptor. Regardless of the category, your business is in, you will need to grow your business. Make your

Innovation Series: Fashion Retail Ecosystem Development

The businesses and the ecosystem we work and live in, change. Over the last decade, we have seen a rapid increase in new technology and business models. One of the most prominently hit industries is the retail industry. But, why are retailer having such a hard time? Here are some

Entrepreneurship Series: Investor interest, avoiding a mismatch

To bootstrap or not to bootstrap, this is a question I get regularly. It is also something I think about a lot. Investors can help your business forward, push you to find your boundaries and they promote change. But how important are external investors to your business really? Here are

Digital Innovation Series: Where To Start

Innovation starts from within an organization. Although many external factors accelerate the urgency for change, an organization needs to organize itself around long-term, constant change. But, where do you commence? Get ready to start innovating Here are a few ideas that will help you determine the initial focus areas of

Opinion Series: on Link Tax and EU censorship laws

When the EU get together to discuss legislation on digital issues, all tech firms and entrepreneurs hold their breath. This time it might actually be more important than ever to breath out quickly and open our mouths and speak up, though. EU passes controversial digital legislation Some of the legislation

Digital Innovation Series: Start Small, Communicate Big

Innovation from within a larger corporate organization takes a lot of convincing. Your peers, colleagues and senior management need to see that you want to move things forward. There are a number of things that can help you get your message across to both your colleagues and management. How to

Entrepreneurship Series: Goal-to-Goal Focus Relevant Output

Working day and night to reach your goals? Work hard, play hard. One of the most cited startup credos, if not the single most important one for all first time digital-hustlers. It has a ring to it, is exciting and there is indeed truth to it, too. However, it is

Tech Series: Apple Event SEP18 – no innovation please

Slow and steady platform innovations, please When we think of innovation and especially when it comes to tech, we think of Apple. Cupertino’s tech-behemoth has grown out to be the most respected hardware tech player in the world. Today Apple will reveal its latest and greatest gadgets. What will

Entrepreneurship Series: Why Do You Want To Start Your Own Business?

Is Entrepreneurship right for you? It is tempting, it might even be cool; starting a (digital) business of your own, is a new way of working. Startups appeal to a new group of enthusiastic workers, who are taking the market by storm. The conventional career route is about to become

Entrepreneurship Series: What does it mean to pivot your business ​

Long-term goals do not always align with the status quoPivoting means changing direction. It is something startups do constantly, at least the good ones. It is key to understand when it is time to pivot, make a change to your business model, or focus on an entirely new customer segment.

Entrepreneurship Series: Focus on the style of your content

How do you present yourself and your business? Communication is one of the most crucial things to “get right” for an aspiring entrepreneur. Unless you are an absolute natural at presenting yourself and your content, you will constantly challenge the way you do what you do. Here are a few

Five Ideas How To Use Periscope Audio

Audio is the new way to go Periscope is “back”. Well it was never really gone, but Twitter has finally released a new updated feature that might make it a little bit more appealing to the masses again. When Periscope was first released, it was a break-through in the way

EU digital taxation is coming

Taxation on digital services will hinder innovation Where there is money, there is legislation. In this case, the European Union is targeting all revenues made by digital services within the EU. And they are coming for the big tech multinationals fast. By the end of this calendar year, the EU

Taking Gutenberg for a spin

A whole new way to write your content on WordPress WordPress has been my go to platform for blogging ever since I started publishing content on the internet. I have always loved the fact that it is so versatile and easy to work with. But in the last few years,

Periscope Audio Only Launches on Twitter

For those of you who have already forgotten about Periscope, I could not blame you, Twitter has just given it an interesting update and twist Periscope had quite a run for a while, as it became the first real live streaming platform for video content. Everyone could basically become a

Investors in digital projects seem scared of commitment

Digital race to the finish line; Investors need a new approach to digital investments “What is your exit plan? When do you plan on reaching profitability? How high is your burn rate?” I think all startups have heard these quotes from investors ever too often. It feels a little silly

Amazon prime day, another disappointment for Swiss customers

Nothing fun about an empty shopping cart; another disappointing Prime Day It is confusing really, some products are available, some aren’t. Amazon Prime day was there yesterday. But, for Swiss customers of the giant retailer, this meant another year of frustration. I love amazon, not because of their top

Digitalization a mere project; an absolute no-go for any organization

Digital Change Management is crucial to long-term business success, here is why Why would I continue to invest in digital? Oh, how often I have heard these words in the last few weeks. It can be frustrating to work with great traditional entrepreneurs and organizations sometimes. I might have underestimated

Fashion Tech Berlin | highly competent and innovative

There are good conferences and great conferences; the FTB was definitely the latter this time around Trade fairs can be a dime a dozen sometimes. It is hard to find the right person to talk to; it is a big challenge for event organizers to bring a competent group of

Marketing teams are a special bunch – listen to them

Marketing teams still have a bit of a bad reputation. They are generally loud, are the ones who “represent” your company and thus believe they are important. And their communication methods tend to cause a stirr from time to time, because they love to push the boundaries of what they

My personal venture; what I love about venture building

When I look back at the things that I have done in the last decade, I think that they have always involved some form of venture building. It took me a while to realize that there was actually a term for that what I love to do most; coaching, teaching,

The creative quest of an online marketeer

I started my professional life behind a computer screen; A beautiful blank, black canvas that didn’t even exist merely two generations ago. More than a decade in, I have learned to be a knowledgeable online marketeer. My laptop, tablet and phone have become an extension of my selfexpression. They

I tried to switch to OneNote and failed miserably

If you spend most of your time behind a computer screen, you will probably know what I am talking about. Every now and again, I start to question my apps and tools setup. Sometimes because I feel that I am paying for the exact same service twice, sometimes because my

How to find an investor? Start by looking at yourself

How to find the right match When you are looking for an investor, there is nothing worse than getting rejected over and over again. Are you looking for the right type of investor? Are you sure that you really know who you are looking for? In order to reach out

Research results: Why Omni-Channel Retailer must stop sourcing centrally

Omni-Channel Retailer who started out with stationary shops and then found their way to online – acknowledge that the goods that are sold online are not the same as offline. However, they hardly ever take the necessary actions needed to split up the buying for their online and offline stores. Let

3 Things H&M need to do to survive

H&M has had yet another poor quarter – and to many that does not come as a big surprise. The Swedish Fashion Retailer has been struggling to keep its margins up and adapt to new market conditions. Online sales have been poor and there is no real answer to the

Founders read: Short On Time, Here Is How To Deal With Inefficiency

New medium post available on dealing with your time inefficiencies. Focus on those things that count – try to keep your own micromanagement to a minimum and make others truly responsible for their own work. Have a look at the post below to read the full article. I hope you like

How professional social media have changed the job of HR-teams

​Good morning ☀️..! To start the week off well, I thought I would share some insights of an talk I held last week in Glarus at a bi-annual HR-directors meetup. They asked me to speak about how professional social media networks (LinkedIn) can be used in recruitment processes – and how these

How Skinnovation helped me changed my mind on startup-events

Last week I was asked to speak at the Skinnovation in Innsbruck. Skinnovation is a three day event that is hosted by the Tyrolean chamber of commerce and the university of Innsbruck. It brings both startups, investors and innovation managers together in a casual atmosphere. The great thing about Skinnovation

Pyongyang 2018 is on its way

I love the even-numbered years. We are treated to so many great sports events. This year we’ll have the football world championships as well as the winter olympics (Pyongyang). The latter just got off to a fantastic start paired with a beautiful opening ceremony. Go #TeamNL We have got

The smartphone era is coming to an end

Yesterday, Apple announced that it will cut the estimates production of their brand new iPhone X in half. The Cupertino tech giant had thought to sell at least 40 miliion devices [https://www.google.ch/amp/s/9to5mac.com/2018/01/29/iphone-x-sales-production/amp/] this year. But the demand for

Jeff the canoe guy

What we do is who we are The last few weeks I have spend a lot of time thinking about the way we work. What is it exactly that we truly do? Why do we continue to do things that don’t really add any additional value? And importantly, does

My love-hate relationship with LinkedIn

It is pretty safe to say that the majority of today’s workforce is on some sort social business network. Whether your favorite network is Xing or LinkedIn – it really doesn’t matter much. All social business networks serve the same purpose, create a professional environment in which the user

Why I Re-Instated Slack For Team Communication

I’m sure of it all of you know that there are far too many messenger apps out there. Each and every person that we communicate with seems to have their own personal preference. About a year and a half ago, I thought that slack would be the perfect solution

How you as an entrepreneur can “Get things done”

One of the main challenges of being an entrepreneur is getting things done. The list of tasks is huge and the width of the scope of tasks even larger. It is a daily struggle for any aspiring entrepreneur to determine what you should spend your time on. And believe me,

Wo findet man lizenzfreie Bilder für seinem Blog?

Es gibt mehrere Möglichkeiten an tolles Bild Material zu gelangen für den eigenen Blog. Nicht jeder ist so kreativ und weiß wie man eine Kamera perfekt bedient. Aber dies ist nicht weiter schlimm, weil es gibt genügend Fotografen auf der Welt die ihre tolle Bilder uns gerne zu Verfügung stellen

Follow me on Medium

It’s always good to try something new. So today I decided to give Medium a shot. As you know on this personal blog here I add a number of articles on topics that interest me or things that go on in my personal life. Next to that on the

Digital day in Switzerland Zürich was a great success

Yesterday was the first time in Swiss history that the full country of focused it’s attention on digital as the main topic of the day. 100 events, 40 companies and four towns celebrated the first ever swiss digital day. Both in Zürich, Lugano, Chur and Geneva there were events

Blume 2000 acquired MIFLORA; a short personal thank you note

Last week Blume 2000 [http://www.blume2000.de/] acquired my and our beloved MIFLORA [http://www.miflora.de/]. I am glad that we have managed to find such a strong and knowledgeable partner that values and believes in the strength of our MIFLORA-Team. The support of the Venture Stars Team

How to deal with ad hoc tasks

Every so many months I set myself a few personal goals that I would like to achieve. The last few weeks have shown me that I could really do with a bit of automization regarding a number of ad hoc daily requests. In this short video, I explain exactly what

How Bloomydays bankrupcy shows lack of longterm investor interest

Bloomydays filed for bankrupcy yesterday. A sad day for the team, the employees and early stage investors. It was a mere 5 years ago when Bloomydays and MIFLORA [www.miflora.de] were founded and went head to head to disrupt the flowers industry. Both with a different approach, but we

A few thoughts for Sebastian Vettel

I don’t blog every day, but sometimes I feel the urge to share my thoughts. Today is one of these days. Something has been keeping me “busy” in the last two days and I cannot seem to let it go. Sebastian Vettel, you really got to me. If there

Democracy in its purest form at the Landsgemeinde in Glarus

We have had our fair share of elections and politics in the last few weeks with the elections in the United States, The Netherlands and France. I have to admit that politics is not something I follow on a daily basis. Maybe that is because it is sometimes unclear to

Election day in the Netherlands – my personal view

Today is election day in the Netherlands. Being Dutch, this is my chance to speak up and have my voice be heard. The Netherlands are not one of the largest countries in the world, but we do generally get a fair bit of media coverage. The situations with Turkey, which

How to improve your digital work-life balance

How to improve your digital work-life balance using these simple tips and tricks. Before I start; do not get me wrong, I love my tech-gadgets and all the IoTs magic in my life and around me. Laptops are fantastic, Tablets are fantastic and mobile phones are true lifesavers. The past

#beautiful #cologne – I ❤the architecture here

Being able to travel for work can be quite something. I feel really blessed to be able to see so many beautiful places all around the world. Tonight I am in Cologne – directly at the Rhein river. I never really had Germany and especially Nordrhein Westfalen on my list of

The moment you realize regular pens are great

I have become accustomed to a great number of digital tools in my life. Most of which I use on a daily basis. I could not really imagine going somewhere without my phone or tablet anymore. It is a little sad, but these digital devices are my personal Swiss pocketknives

High Fashion Retail Stores Face Challenges with High Customer Demographics

Where do customers get their inspiration from? Fashion gives you the opportunity to express your emotions and who you are to the outside world. If you would like to fit into certain group or be a certain person you better dress like your role model. This role model could be

Has Evernote lost my attachments?

Yesterday Evernote sent out a mail to a number of Mac OS users, apologising for the fact that they had lost their attachments. Some of the attachments could be restored (if the users were premium members), whereas others could not. As you can imagine this is something it really worries

Q&A is AMP developed only for and by Google?

As I mentioned in my blog post a few days ago [https://www.livain.com/2016/10/10added-amp-support-to-my-site/], I decided to add AMP-Support to my website. Not just because it is something that Google is pushing for, but I also want to find out (hands-on) what the possibilities and limitations

Google planning to release mobile search index as primary index

Not one, but two search index! Today a number of new rumors hit the press about Google’s new Mobile search index. Search engine land, a trusted source for news on search engine optimization and anything to do with Google for that matter, has released some insights on a new

Added AMP-Support to my site

Good morning everyone, this is probably not going to be the most exciting blog posts for everyone but it is something that really interest me at the moment so I thought I would share a few insights with you. The topic at hand today are accelerated mobile pages. Accelerated mobile

GANDT Ventures – looking for talents

We are looking for the most stunning marketing & venture building talents in Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Europe. Become part of our experienced team of hands-on entrepreneurs and apply now for an exciting job at GANDT Ventures. Currently we have poitions in the following fields: 1. Business Development 2. IT (front,

DMEXCO Shout Out – I can’t make it this year

Quick shout out to anyone at the DMEXCO 2016 in Cologne this year. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it this year, but I wish everyone a fantastic time in Cologne andlots of fun working, networking, meeting new people, and I hope that you will find what you’

Happy Monday from Düsseldorf 

Hi everyone, Just wanted to wish you all a happy Monday and I hope you got off to a great start of your week. I thought I would save myself the trouble of typing today, so I decided to do a short video – I should have really starting doing that

My Apple Watch Series One is showing annoying snake… It does not charge, it does not turn back on!

Apple Watch Snake – nothing pretty about that Can anyone please help me? I have no idea why it does not simply turn back on again. I have tried charging it on three different sockets, my laptop and changed the cable… This thing is driving me mad! I read on Reddit

Müller Milch rechnet mit Dmexco und Digital-Hype ab

Was ich so interessant finde ist, ist das der Marketingchef von Müller Milch ganz konkret anspricht, dass eine starke Marketing-Mix aus online sowie offline Aktivitäten viel wertvoller ist als eine reine digitale Strategie. Dies ist etwas das ich 100 % unterschreiben würde. Ich glaube auch daran, dass mittelfristig sowohl online und

Woche Digital Detox hat gut getan

Endlich zurück aus dem Urlaub! Eine Woche Digital Detox hat gut getan. Der September wird sehr interessant, und ich bin voller Energie wieder heimgekehrt. Letzte Woche Habe ich ein paar Tage die Sonne genießen können in der Algarve zusammen mit Freunde und meine Familie! Es war wirklich herrlich ein bisschen

Early Morning BVB-Surpise

Sometimes you wake up in the morning and you just know something “strange” is going to happen. I got to the airport nicely on time so that I could enjoy my (ahem) well deserved breakfast in the lounge before boarding – sometimes it is nice being a frequent traveller. I felt

Finally, the Olympic Summergames 2016 have started

Finally! The Olympics have officially started last night! I have really been looking forward to this moment. I simply love the summer Olympics. Sure the Winter Olympics were just two years ago, but the summer Olympics are something extra special. I love ‘classical’ sports such as track and field, swimming,

Happy Monday / Weekly Recap

Good Morning everyone, I just wanted to kick off the week well and wish everyone a happy Monday. Last week was a bit of a strange week, with the Brits voting for a BREXIT, Island making it to the knock-out stages of the European Football Championships and the weather changing

Why I think BREXIT would be a disaster

The last year has been a tough one for the EU and its member states. Normally I try to stay out of political debates and I would not exactly say that I know what I am talking about when it comes to politics, but I am concerned that the discussions

Travel Impressions: Düsseldorf from up above

This slideshow requires JavaScript. The last few weeks I have been travelling quite a bit, mostly short distances – one hour flights or bus/train trips between Switzerland, Austria and Germany with GANDT Ventures. The time you spend travelling is usually a bit of a waste of time. Sure you can

Insider Tips: Restaurants and bars in Zurich

When you are new to a town and you don’t really know where to go it sometimes helps to get a few ideas on where to go from some locals. To offer my AirBnB guests a bit of a “better service” I started writing up a nice list of

Facebook Emoticon-Likes, does anyone use them?

I am sure you have noticed that the nice little like button as we know it on Facebook has disappeared. It has been replaced by a number of nice little Emojis that help the user express its feelings in a lot more profound and sophisticated way than a simple like…

Google Removing Right Hand Side Ads Bold Move

Google shocked the online marketing world a few days ago when we noticed that they have slowly but steadily started to remove all right hand side ads on all operating systems (desktop mainly). The right hand side (generally positions 4-8) are said to make up for about 15% of all

GANDT Ventures Launch – Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone…! GANDT Ventures has kicked the year off with a big bang and our official start. Together with a group of strong e-commerce experts I have decided to combine our strengths into a digital / e-commerce SWOT-team and venture builder. By venture builder we mean that we use

Are you using the correct attribution model?

Sales attribution and user journey conversion path optimisation are words that every online marketeer loves. Yet, not many companies manage to implement a clean and fully operational attribution model for their online marketing. The main purpose of marketing attribution is to quantify the influence each advertising impression has on a

Why ZRH Airport is great

Zürich Airport (Kloten) is one of my favourite airports and that is not just because Zürich is my home base(!). Let me walk you through the practicalities of ZRH International Airport and what I love so much about it. 1. Proximity to the centre of town (a mere 10 minutes

How to find the right company name

The last few weeks I have been trying to find a great new name for our Swiss-based consulting business and I noticed that there are a few things I need to think about when choosing the right name. Below you will find a short list of thing that I have

Xpenditure raises $5,7M means no more expense reports

There is one thing that bothers me a lot… Taxes and reimbursements of travel expenses (and everything that comes with it). As an entrepreneur you want to focus your attention on the things that really make a difference and not waste a lot of time with your expenses. I want

Facebook Canvas – Great In-App Shopping Feature (beta)

Most users do not use more than a handful of apps on a daily basis and Facebook is surely one of them. Facebook are now looking into adding a new shopping feature to the regular app and have started rolling out a few beta tests with a feature called Facebook

Dropbox & Adobe make it easier to edit PDFs

There is one file format that I have never really truly understood… PDFs. The main “issue” that I have with them is that it is nearly impossible to edit these files nicely and quickly. Yet I use PDFs on a more than regular basis – especially for contracts and IOs. Now

Not Every Startup Should Be Venture-Backed

Sarah Guo wrote an interesting few lines on the fact that she thinks that not all ventures should be venture backed. What she in my opinion points out rightfully so: Long term goal alignment and personal incentives need to be in line with the companies long term health. If the

80% of your culture is your founder

Here is some great bedtime reading I thought would be more than worthy of re-blogging and sharing. As part of the core team of any business, it is key to understand the impact that your behavior has on the culture of the organization. The article on first round describes what

Develop your longterm company vision before you start

Start-ups have professionalised tremendously in the last couple of years, yet many still make the same unnecessary rookie mistakes. One thing that I have learned in the last few years is that it is not only important to have a plan, but to develop your vision before you start. The

Why I am not excited about the latest Instagram update

Instagram is one of the social network I thoroughly enjoy using and browsing regularly. It has given me a whole new perspective on what the world looks like – when your sole attention is focused on one little non-scalable square. As a hobby photographer, I have come to love the full

Facebook gives Blogging a shot once again

The evolution of user generated content does not always coincide with the evolution of the tools that we use to spread our messages. With the variety of networks out there on which you can share your thoughts, messages and or impressions of an event – it get’s quite hard sometimes

How Juventus are leading the way for Football Clubs on Social Media

We play published a strong article on how European Football Clubs – especially Juventus in this particular case – are using social media to engage with their fans. Juventus have a long history of Italian and international football and a strong following. The “old ladies’ fans” are very dedicated to their club

Your company needs to be authentic

I read an interesting article on Techcrunch this morning, regarding the success of companies and start-ups. The main statement is that successful companies are genuinely authentic in the way they present themselves.If is important to understand that if you are trying to be something that you are not, your

Beautiful, the Mondaine Helvetica 1 smart watch

The big hype about smart watches has still not really hit us yet, and although Apple brought a nice little gadget to the market not everyone is convinced that this is thé absolute must have item this summer. And who can blame them? Smart watches and other wearables are selling

Tour de Suisse – my summer passion

Great weather, being outside, a slight breeze, beautiful Swiss nature and surroundings, doing sports with friends in good company what else could I want? Nothing much really! I really love my newly found sports activity. A colleague of mine started training for a Triathlon a few months ago and got

Project Unleash 12 in Zürich

As of the first of February 2015 I joined the Unleash 12 [http://www.unleash12.com/] team lead by Christian Dietsche & Daniel B. de Roos – as Chief Marketing Officer. Unleash 12 AG is a sports marketing company from Switzerland founded 2012 in Luzern. Through deep integrations with some of the