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  • Private Equity Branding Enhances Valuation Through Storytelling

    Private Equity Branding Enhances Valuation Through Storytelling
    Jan 9 2026
    Private equity branding remains one of the most underestimated levers for value creation in the investment world. While PE firms excel at identifying promising companies and optimising their financial structures, branding is frequently treated as an afterthought, reduced to logos and colour palettes rather than strategic assets. Yet the evidence suggests otherwise: strategic brand investment can dramatically shift market perception and, ultimately, company valuation. Marc Rust, Creative Director and Brand Strategist at Consequently Creative, has spent years demonstrating that branding deserves a seat at the strategy table. His striking claim that he transformed an $80 million company to look like a $120 million company through branding alone captures the essence of what strategic messaging can achieve when properly deployed. How Private Equity Branding Is Transforming Company Valuation With Storytelling The term “branding” itself creates immediate problems in private equity settings. At networking events, Rust finds that mentioning branding triggers what he calls “cognitive disruption” Beyond Logos: Redefining What Branding Actually Means The term “branding” itself creates immediate problems in professional settings. At networking events, Rust finds that mentioning branding triggers what he calls “cognitive disruption” – people immediately think of visual identity work that seems irrelevant to serious investment activities. Many professionals lack any clear definition of what branding encompasses, while others dismiss it as superficial design work. This misconception misses the fundamental truth: branding and messaging represent a powerful force for business growth that should inform strategy from the outset, not be bolted on afterwards as a cosmetic exercise. The real definition of branding, Rust argues, is “what you stand for in the minds of the people that you’re trying to reach, convert, and move into action.” This is not something companies own outright; rather, it is something they can influence through deliberate effort and sustained investment. The critical distinction lies between what companies do and why it matters. Most organisations focus their communications on deliverables and capabilities. Yet answering the question of why it matters opens doors to deeper insight about audience pain points, goals, and outcomes. This shift acknowledges that messaging exists not for the company but for its buyers, requiring communication in their language rather than internal jargon. The Evolution of Private Equity Strategy The private equity landscape has fundamentally changed over the past decade. The old-school approach – acquiring a company, trimming the fat, making it lean and mean, then finding a suitable buyer – no longer resonates with contemporary markets or the talent those markets require. Successful PE firms have embraced a different philosophy: nurturing acquired companies, building genuine value over time, and then pursuing exit strategies that reflect accumulated worth. This evolution makes branding more important than ever because value creation depends on perception as much as operational reality. When thinking about branding in private Equity, most people immediately think of visual identity work. All that seems irrelevant to serious investment activities even though it’s blatantly wrong, Mac Rust believes. Visual made with Midjourney Effective branding requires understanding multiple audiences simultaneously. Internal alignment comes first – the people who build products and deliver services need clarity about what their company stands for, especially during periods of transition. Post-acquisition, this alignment frequently suffers as employees wonder about new leadership, potential job losses, and strategic direction. Consequently Creative addresses this turbulence by bringing teams together to celebrate what they stand for, building stories around acquisition rationale and forward-looking plans grounded in existing strengths rather than imposed transformations. Beyond internal audiences, companies must establish clear market positioning relative to competitors and ecosystem partners. Finally, there are the buyers who will drive revenue growth during the holding period and, ultimately, the acquiring company that represents the exit opportunity. Each audience requires thoughtful attention, and branding provides the framework for addressing all of them coherently while maintaining a consistent core narrative. The Valuation Premium of Strong Brands Buyers demonstrably pay premiums for assets with strong brand equity. Companies that look more upscale and feel right command higher prices regardless of sector. This premium extends across every touchpoint: market presence, customer service quality, sales process sophistication, product presentation, and how offerings are described and positioned. The key lies in making everything about the audience – ...
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    43 Min.
  • Inside the Ebook Self-Publishing Industry

    Inside the Ebook Self-Publishing Industry
    Dec 3 2025
    The ebook self-publishing landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade. What was once viewed with scepticism by the publishing industry has become a legitimate and often preferred path for authors worldwide. To understand the current state of this evolving market, we spoke with Kris Austin, whose platform Draft2Digital serves over 300,000 authors publishing more than a million titles across global markets. From Oklahoma City, he shared his insights on how independent authors are reshaping the publishing world. Inside the Ebook Self-Publishing Industry With market shares amounting to 40% of sales in the US, ebooks present new opportunities for writers who are able to benefit from self-publishing platforms like Self2digital. Can you introduce Draft2Digital and its mission? Draft2Digital currently serves over 300,000 authors who are independently publishing more than a million titles. We have been operating since 2012, and the industry has changed considerably during that period. Our goal is to help authors achieve their dreams by removing technical barriers and making the publishing process as streamlined and straightforward as possible. What languages and markets do you cover? We have published books in over a hundred languages. While English remains predominant, approximately 15 to 20 percent of sales come from non-English titles, with Spanish and German ranking as the second and third most popular languages. Our distribution reaches 180 countries, and about 40 percent of all sales occur outside the United States. ebook self publishing industry entrepreneur Kris Austin talked to us from Oklahoma City, OK. How has self-publishing evolved since 2012? When we started in 2012, self-publishing was still in its early stages. The real catalyst came in 2007 when Amazon released the Kindle, which sparked the explosion of digital books. Back then, there was significant stigma attached to being an independent author; many felt they were not as credible as traditionally published writers. Today, that perception has completely shifted. Many authors now choose self-publishing as their first option. We also see numerous hybrid authors who move between traditional and independent publishing, depending on their goals. The focus has shifted to the quality of the book and reader demand rather than the publishing model itself. What types of books dominate the ebook market? The majority of our ebooks are genre fiction: romance, fantasy, mysteries, and thrillers. These narrative fiction categories account for approximately 80 percent of ebook sales. Our print-on-demand service shows a different pattern, with roughly 40 percent fiction and 60 percent non-fiction. All these books are intended for consumer readers purchasing for personal enjoyment. Genre fiction (romance, fantasy, mysteries, and thrillers) amounts to approximately 80 percent of ebook sales Wit ebook self-publishing, authors can find readers anywhere in the world without leaving their homes. Image created with Midjourney Is ebook self-publishing viable for image-heavy books like photography? It is possible, though more demanding. Image-heavy books typically require a professional formatter to achieve the desired layout, particularly in digital formats where presentation can be challenging. For print editions, colour printing and layout involve additional complexity compared to text-only publications. What determines success in ebook self-publishing? The most successful authors treat publishing as a business. After creating a book they are proud of, they focus on marketing, discoverability, sales, and distribution. They approach it with an entrepreneurial mindset. However, it can also work as a part-time endeavour, particularly for authors writing series with multiple titles. One advantage of independent publishing is that you do not need a massive readership to succeed. Indie authors typically retain 60 to 80 percent of their sales revenue, allowing them to price competitively and target niche markets effectively. Even with just 2,000 potential readers, if you capture that audience and build loyalty, you can build a sustainable career. Indie authors typically retain 60 to 80 percent of their sales revenue If writing is your dream, ebook self-publishing could make it real draft2digital claims. How does Draft2Digital help authors reach global audiences? First, availability is essential. Authors upload their manuscript in Word format to our website, along with a cover image. I recommend not spending more than 100 dollars on a cover when starting out. Our system converts everything to digital formats and distributes to thousands of stores, including major online retailers, smaller platforms, and libraries across the US, UK, and Australia, typically within a few days. Accurate metadata, including title, description, and category, is crucial for helping readers find your book. What marketing strategies work for unknown authors? ...
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    18 Min.
  • Web writing : words retain all their magic

    Web writing : words retain all their magic
    Oct 27 2025
    Whereas artificial intelligence is reinventing Web writing, the written word has never been more valuable. Selim Niederhoffer, a copywriting trainer and bestselling author, has recently been exploring how marketing professionals can still succeed amidst “enshitification“, online influence, and automation. Meet an expert who remains confident in the power of words. Copywriting in the age of AI: why words retain all their magic Niederhoffer is adamant: despite GenAI, the written word retains its magic — image produced with Midjourney Human vs. AI Selim, a seasoned copywriter and author is keen on using what he calls “magic words.” Ask him why and his answer might surprise you in this age of sheer automation. “I’ve already been thinking about magic words for years. I want to dig deeper, show real examples and, most importantly, explain why they actually work.” Pen and paper His approach remains resolutely traditional. “I genuinely work with a pen and paper.” This approach reveals something fundamental about Web writing: it works when you truly understand the psychology behind it, not when you just mechanically apply copywriting techniques. Selim bases his work on well-established principles of persuasion. Selim Niederhoffer still believes in the virtues of word magic in Web writing — image produced with Midjourney “When there’s a principle of persuasion, there’s usually a word that goes with it. Take urgency or scarcity, for example. If something’s rare, that means limited places, running out of stock… that sort of thing. That’s how I build my word cluster. The research then extends to field observation. “I look at what my clients are using, what’s going on at Burger King, McDonald’s, Nike. I check out the major brands too – what they’re doing on YouTube, on LinkedIn.” Eventually, Selim identified 55 magic words but trimmed them down to 50. It’s an approach that perfectly shows what still sets humans apart from machines: the ability to critically analyse and curate with discrimination. However, it’s worth adding nuance. Selim can’t conceal that he genuinely “loves” ChatGPT. As we’ll see later, this raises some legitimate questions. Thank you! the ultimate magic word Among the 50 words he’s analysed, the first is also the simplest: thank you! For Selim, this should be essential for every business. “How many times have you walked out of a shop where the sales assistant just didn’t seem to have noticed you? Whether you bought anything, or didn’t doesn’t make any difference, once the transaction’s done, you’re out the door.” Yet some brands know how to thank their customers. “Nespresso or Apple, for example: the Nespresso employee comes out from behind her counter, she hands you your product. Thank you for your visit. Have a nice day! That’s how it should be.” For Selim, saying “thank you!” is more than just being polite, it’s a way of life. “You can go further: thank you for your visit, thank you for subscribing to the newsletter, thank you for your comment. You need to constantly think in terms of gratitude.” This approach fits into what Gary Vaynerchuk called The Thank You Economy. “We’re in an attention economy,” Selim explains. The stakes are high in Web writing: how do you maintain this human dimension at corporate scale? “For me, the essence of business is that there’s a person in front of you who’s exchanging something with you. That’s really the foundation. But today, how do you keep that at corporate scale?” Data confirms an intuition: gratitude improves customer experience and encourages loyalty. A valuable lesson for all those who practice Web writing and seek to create a lasting connection with their audiences. You need to seek to create a connection with your audiences — image produced with Midjourney AI and Web writing: threat or opportunity? The conversation inevitably turns to artificial intelligence. For Selim, AI is first and foremost an incredible productivity tool. “If I’ve got a newsletter to write, I’ll use AI. Sales pages? AI. The thing is, AI works brilliantly for me. I’ve even become clearer in my writing,” he admits without hesitation. But he’s not entirely starry-eyed about it. He’s identified three major pitfalls that professionals absolutely must avoid. The three pitfalls of AI in copywriting The first pitfall is wordiness. “ChatGPT tends to waffle because it’s been trained on Reddit, Wikipedia, and similar sources. However, in real life, when we write, we cut down to the core, deleting most of what we initially write.”The second limitation is related to syntax. “AI tools have their favourite phrases. It can be a bit clunky. It’s got that ‘ChatGPT-ish’ quality – you know it when you see it. After a while, you can spot AI-written text a mile off.”The third issue, and the most surreptitious one, is lack of personality. “When we just...
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    10 Min.
  • The Truth About the Environmental Impact of AI

    The Truth About the Environmental Impact of AI
    Oct 20 2025
    Commentary on the environmental impact of AI often swings wildly between doom-and-gloom catastrophism and blind techno-optimism. But where’s the truth in all this? On July 24, 2025—the symbolic date of Earth Overshoot Day—we sat down with Yves Grandmontagne, founder and editor-in-chief of DCMAG (Data Centre Magazine*), to get his take on AI and its real environmental impact. It is worthy of note that Yves and I explored Silicon Valley’s infrastructure innovators together through extensive press tours some time ago. This provided us with firsthand insight into the tech industry’s approach to these challenges. The current annotated transcript of our interview is a summary of our thorough, nuanced, and let’s admit it, quite lengthy discussion. You are therefore encouraged to treat this article as your starting point for diving deeper into this extremely complex topic. Exploring the Real Environmental Impact of AI What’s the real environmental impact of AI? An employee keeps watch over the cooling units at Orange’s data centre in Val de Rueil in Normandy, France — Photo antimuseum.com * DCMag is only available in French This post summarises what turned out to be an incredibly rich hour-long conversation. The sheer complexity of this topic forced us to dig into multiple technical, economic, and environmental angles—making any kind of comprehensive analysis near inconceivable. Drawing on his deep expertise in the data centre and AI sectors, Yves Grandmontagne gives us some much-needed factual perspective on a debate that’s often polarised between doomsday scenarios and over-the-top techno-optimism. To tackle this properly, we decided to take recent quotes—both positive and negative—and fact-check them with our expert. Yves’s analysis helps us cut through the noise and understand what’s really at stake in this technological breakthrough. Environmental Impact of AI: Reality Check Time TLDR: Environmental Impact of AI The electricity consumption issue is more nuanced than you think* – AI will represent 20-30% of data centre consumption (not twice that number), and only 2-4% of overall electricity consumption Energy efficiency gains are actually remarkable – Over the last decade: number of data centres x2, floor space x4, but energy consumption up only 6%Beware of dubious comparisons – Comparing a ChatGPT query to Google search is methodologically flawed (completely different technologies and services)Water consumption varies massively by geography – Huge issue in the US, but Europe has been using smarter closed-loop systems for agesTech innovations look promising – New technologies (direct liquid cooling, immersion cooling) are slashing water and energy consumptionAI might actually be part of the solution – Can optimise energy mix management and electricity transport, which is currently our main bottleneckLet’s get some perspective here – Data centre impact remains pretty marginal compared to the chemical industry (32% of French energy consumption) or agriculture *All numbers by Yves Grandmontagne at Data Centre Magazine Bottom line: The impact is “real but massively overstated”—we need to put things in context and remain cool and collected. So here are the quotes about the environmental impact of AI that we wanted to fact-check with Yves. Rumours vs Reality: Decoding the Doomsday Predictions Predictions of Booming Electricity Consumption The first claim I put to Yves Grandmontagne was Synth Media’s prediction [Fr] that “AI’s growth could double data centre electricity consumption by 2026.” His response immediately throws cold water on this alarmist take: “It’s absolutely true that AI is rolling out infrastructure at breakneck speed and eating up more space in data centres. Sure, it’s going to significantly bump up their energy consumption—no question about that. But will consumption actually double? I seriously doubt it. AI should account for somewhere between 20 and 30% of global data centre consumption worldwide.” A data centre server rack — photo antimuseum.com AI should account for somewhere between 20 and 30% of global data centre consumption worldwide This reality check reveals something consistent throughout Yves Grandmontagne’s analysis: the absolute need to put numbers in context. The expert points out that this increase is just part of the natural progression tied to our ever-growing digital habits. “What’s driving this consumption increase is our daily usage, whether that’s for work or for personal reasons,” he reminds us, highlighting our collective responsibility in this evolution. It’s a topic we’ve tackled before with a broader focus on digital consumption. The most striking part of his analysis is about the energy efficiency angle. Contrary to popular belief, data centres aren’t following a consumption curve that mirrors data growth. This improving efficiency is something that gets completely overlooked ...
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    23 Min.
  • Is the AI Bubble About to Burst?

    Is the AI Bubble About to Burst?
    Sep 30 2025
    Will the AI bubble burst or is GenAI here to stay? The artificial intelligence industry is experiencing unprecedented financial euphoria. Yet, the current situation is very confusing. AI investments are reaching dizzying heights. Let’s mention OpenAI’s $40 billion funding round at $300 billion valuation and Mistral AI’s €1.7 billion funding round. Yet, some commentators are very critical of the situation. For instance, Ed Zitron predicts that the AI bubble will burst in Q4 2025. All this is fueling intense, rather than rational, debate. I wanted to confront these concerns with the expertise of Bernhard Schaffrik, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research. His analysis is insightful and nuanced. In his mind, there will be some sort of correction, but at the same time, GenAI is too popular to disappear. When Will the AI Bubble Burst? Is the AI bubble about to burst or is GenAI here to stay? Forrester’s Schaffrik predicts corrections but says GenAI is too popular to go — photo by Forrester.com Forrester’s Bernhard Schaffrik is recognized as one of the most insightful experts in artificial intelligence. He provides a nuanced analysis that transcends simple financial considerations. His perspective on the AI bubble burst scenario offers first-hand insights for understanding where this transformative technology is truly heading. The AI Bubble: Financial Reality, Technological Continuity The question of a potential AI bubble burst cannot receive a univocal answer. As Bernhard Schaffrik rightfully points out, it all depends on one’s perspective. This duality of vision probably constitutes one of the keys to understanding the current situation and the likelihood of an AI bubble burst. Like us, Schaffrik righfully points out that the main issue with AI is societal and philosophical — image generated with Adobe Firefly “It’s almost impossible to get a one-sentence response from an analyst. Allow me two sentences. Number one is, of course, it always depends on the role or the profile you’re asking. If we are talking about financial investors, then yes, there are strong signals of this being a bubble because there is so much money being pumped into it—more than $120 billion US dollars in capital expenditure on AI infrastructure alone, just by the Magnificent Seven tech providers. So that bubble could burst,” explains Forrester’s expert. This assessment gains particular relevance when considering Google’s $9 billion AI data center investment in Oklahoma for advanced AI training infrastructure. This financial perspective, however, tells only part of the story. Technological adoption follows a different logic from financial markets, as Schaffrik confirmed during our exchange about the AI bubble burst potential. “But now, if you put yourself in the shoes of enterprise decision makers, tech decision makers, also AI users, there are many who would say, ‘I don’t care if that bubble bursts, the technology is there, and it won’t go away.’ “Regardless of the amounts all the financial transactions surrounding the AI industry, people are actually using this technology. And they like what they are seeing. It might not be the disruptive, transformative value some are surmising. It’s probably more incremental than that, but the adoption of that technology is undeniable.” The Revenue Challenge: A $25 Billion Gap to Bridge Fortune’s analysis reveals a concerning gap between current investments and generated revenues. To justify current investments, AI companies would need to generate $40 billion in annual revenue, while they currently produce only $15 to $20 billion. Schaffrik doesn’t believe in an AI bubble burst right now — image made with Adobe Firefly I was wondering whether this $20-25 billion gap could represent a systemic risk that could trigger an AI bubble burst. Schaffrik remains relatively optimistic on this point: “There is still enough money in that market to back these revenue gaps at least for a while. And what I’m also seeing is that especially when it comes to the largest enterpriseson the planet, they are convinced to continue using that software. And if it comes at a premium which is decent, arguably, maybe a couple percentage points higher than what they are paying today for the software, then this seems to be acceptable.” This acceptance of additional costs by large enterprises stems from the incremental value they perceive, even if it hasn’t yet reached the promised transformation level that might prevent an AI bubble burst scenario. LLM Regression: A Warning Signal? A particularly troubling element in the current ecosystem is the recent NewsGuard study revealing that major LLM systems are no longer progressing but regressing, generating more hallucinations and errors. This observation raises fundamental questions about current technology maturity and its impact on AI bubble burst predictions. “I’m not saying that LLMs and generative AI are ...
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    27 Min.
  • AI Agents, Beyond the Hype

    AI Agents, Beyond the Hype
    Sep 25 2025
    The world of artificial intelligence is evolving at breakneck speed, and nowhere is this more conspicuous than in the emergence of AI agents. As organizations grapple with separating genuine innovation from marketing hype, we sat down with Ed Keisling, Chief AI Officer at Progress Software, to cut through the noise and understand what AI agents really mean for businesses today. Ed brings a unique perspective, having taken on his new role in February 2025 at a time when the industry is proclaiming this as “the year of agents.” His insights reveal both the tremendous potential and the current limitations of this transformative technology. As always, time is of the essence. AI Agents, Beyond the Hype Preogress Software’s Ed Keisling did a great job debunking the myths surrounding AI Agents and showing what the future holds beyond the hype – photo Progress Software. The Rise of the Chief AI Officer: A Strategic Imperative The creation of Chief AI Officer roles across the technology industry signals more than just a trend—it represents a fundamental shift in how businesses view artificial intelligence. As Ed explains, “AI needs to be a strategic pillar of a business to drive innovation and growth. It really reflects the pace at which technology is evolving, and having somebody that is accountable to follow all these latest updates and really look at it through the lens of new risks and opportunities.” This observation resonates with the broader digital transformation patterns we’ve witnessed over the past decade. Just as Chief Digital Officers emerged to guide organizations through the digital transformation revolution, Chief AI Officers are now stepping up to navigate the AI transformation. The role isn’t merely about implementing technology—it’s about strategic thinking, risk assessment, and identifying genuine business opportunities in a rapidly changing landscape. AI agents: the promise with tools like Manus is that they would behave like your favourite dog. Go search, Rover…! — photo by antimuseum.com Defining AI Agents: Beyond the Buzzwords One of the most persistent challenges in the AI space is the confusion surrounding terminology. AI agents, in particular, have become an overloaded term that means different things to different people. Ed provides valuable clarity by positioning agents on a spectrum of AI capabilities. “When generative AI came out, it was generally reactive,” Ed notes. “We would go to ChatGPT, provide a prompt, and it would generate a response based on its training patterns. Agents are moving along that spectrum in terms of capabilities—they have the ability to perceive their environment, access to audio, video, documents, and crucially, the ability to reason, plan, and learn from their actions.” Unfortunately, Rover isn’t always willing to search in the right direction… — photo by antimuseum.com Traditional automation relies on strict rule-based systems—the digital equivalent of if-then-else logic. Chatbots, while more sophisticated, remain predominantly reactive. AI agents represent a step toward proactive, reasoning systems that can adapt to changing circumstances. AI agents represent a step toward proactive, reasoning systems that can adapt to changing circumstances The evolution doesn’t stop there. Ed introduces the concept of “agentic AI“—a broader paradigm where multiple agents collaborate, passing context between each other to accomplish complex tasks. This represents the holy grail of AI automation: systems that can dynamically adapt to real-time situations without constant human intervention. Reality Check: Why Perfect Automation Remains Elusive Despite the exciting potential, Ed provides a sobering reality check about current capabilities. His observation about the Pareto principle in AI is particularly insightful: “AI is the ultimate manifestation of the 80/20 rule. You can very rapidly get to value with 20% of the work achieving 80% of the results, but actually getting it to work 100% of the time is still very, very difficult.” This phenomenon explains why AI demonstrations look so compelling while real-world implementations often fall short of expectations. The gap between proof-of-concept and production-ready systems remains significant, requiring careful planning, clean data, and well-defined business processes. As always, I should add, “the more it changes, the more it stays the same,”as the French poet would have it. RAG Technology: Making AI Practical for Business While pure AI agents may still be evolving, Progress Software’s acquisition of Nuclia, an agentic RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) provider, demonstrates a more immediate and practical application of AI technology. Ed explains the fundamental problem RAG solves: “Large language models have been trained on the entirety of the Internet, giving them broad general knowledge, but they don’t have access to data stored behind ...
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    28 Min.
  • Voluntourism: Changing the World from Your Hotel

    Voluntourism: Changing the World from Your Hotel
    Jul 29 2025
    In an era of overtourism, where mass travel increasingly strains destinations worldwide, Christopher Hill offers a compelling alternative with his voluntourism/volunteer travel business, Hands-Up Holidays. As a founder and managing director of this company, Hill has built a business model that demonstrates how travel companies can be forces for good rather than exploitation. His approach to volunteer travel challenges the conventional wisdom that luxury and social responsibility cannot coexist. Voluntourism: When Volunteer Travel and Luxury Coexist For Mutual Benefit Voluntourism is a portmanteau expression combining “volunteer” and “tourism” — Photo from Hands Up blog post on Earth Day Eco-Luxury Inspiration (Mexico – conservation of turtles in Baja California by Christopher Hill) What makes Hands Up Holidays’ philosophy particularly noteworthy is its commitment to controlled growth, prioritising quality experiences over scale. Rather than pursuing rapid expansion that could compromise his mission, Christopher Hill maintains personal oversight of every client interaction, proving that sustainable business practices can create more meaningful outcomes for travellers and communities alike. Operating across over 30 countries, Hands Up Holidays represents a fascinating case study in how the apparent contradiction between luxury accommodations and volunteer work can enhance both experiences. Here is the account of our interview. What kind of work are your clients doing during their volunteer travel? We offer a great variety of projects. Our most popular initiatives are building projects, which can range from small-scale but highly tangible endeavours like constructing or installing eco-friendly stoves in village homes to larger undertakings such as helping build houses or renovating school classrooms. Beyond construction, we focus heavily on wildlife conservation projects, where families might care for elephants or participate in sea turtle protection programs. The third major area involves educational support, particularly serving as reading partners in local schools. Each project is carefully selected to ensure meaningful impact while being suitable for family participation. Nayara Tented Camp – The tented camp was built on stilts and a lot of space was left between tents to plant trees and palms between them. Thousands of trees and indigenous bushes have been planted to reforest and repair damage done by cattle farmers. Energy and water conservation measures are in place. The majority of the team is from the local town, and free transport and health services are provided. What triggered your shift from London finance to voluntourism? It was quite a dramatic shift, and in true dramatic fashion, I experienced my own road to Damascus moment in South Africa. This happened about six years into my career in London’s financial sector. During a trip there, beyond the traditional safari experiences and stays at beautiful lodges throughout Cape Town and the Garden Route, I participated in building a house for a family in one of the townships. This experience was genuinely life-changing in two fundamental ways. First, it enabled me to interact authentically with local people, gaining real insights into their lives and sharing stories with them – something that had been missing from my previous travels despite being quite fortunate to travel extensively. Second, the satisfaction of helping and making a tangible difference in their lives by providing this family with a proper home was profound. This experience made me realise that I had developed solid business skills but wanted to apply them to something more meaningful and fulfilling. That became the catalyst for establishing what would become Hands Up Holidays three years later. How did you safely visit townships when tourists are typically advised to avoid them? I should emphasise that there are legitimate reasons for caution. I was fortunate to be in the capable hands of my former London flatmate, who had moved to South Africa and become a professional tour guide, developing his own network of trusted relationships there. He was the one who took me into the townships, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend just showing up there independently. While chances are you’d be fine, you need to remain cautious. I should also mention that there’s a concerning trend of township tourism that can devolve into mere voyeurism, which we absolutely oppose. However, there are ethical township visits that focus on the positive developments happening in these communities and provide genuine opportunities for meaningful interaction. How do you reconcile the apparent contradiction between luxury and volunteer work? Luxury and volunteering don’t immediately seem like natural partners. However, when you examine it more deeply, the luxury component serves as the means to facilitate participation from people who want to make a difference but aren’...
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    20 Min.
  • AI Sales Enablement: 20% Time Savings for Sales and 50% for Marketing

    AI Sales Enablement: 20% Time Savings for Sales and 50% for Marketing
    Jul 4 2025
    AI is radically transforming the B2B sales landscape and accelerating the shift towards intelligent sales enablement. At a major B2B event which took place in Paris in July 2025, I met with Stephane Renger, co-founder and managing director of Salesapps. The leading European sales enablement vendor has placed AI at the heart of its innovation strategy. In this interview conducted at the event, Stephane explains how AI agents are revolutionising commercial efficiency whilst maximising security and privacy. A fascinating dive into the future of AI-powered sales enablement that’s redefining commercial performance standards. AI Saves Time for Sales and Marketing Teams AI-powered sales enablement : Stephane Renger is the co-founder and General Manager of European sales enablement company Salesapps. How is AI transforming sales enablement and sales in general? Stephane Renger: At Salesapps, we’re working on AI agents with the goal of bringing greater efficiency to sales teams, while maximising data privacy and security. Specifically, what do these AI agents do? S.R. We developed three types of intelligent agents for our AI-powered sales enablement solution. The ‘company profiler‘ AI agent analyses the targeted business regarding its strengths, weaknesses, products, competition, news…,The ‘individual profiler’ agent describes the buyer’s profile: background, interests, pain points… Then we use content enrichment agents with metadata to generate sales presentations and pitches,Finally, our ‘conversational agent’ restructures meeting minutes and reports. Once again, this major B2B event took place in the prestigious premises of the Parc des Princes in Paris, with a focus on AI-powered sales enablement. What are the efficiency gains from the implementation of AI within sales enablement? S.R. They are quite blatant, mainly in terms of time savings. Thanks to AI, salespeople quickly access information that used to take hours to research. For a complete sales team, there is at least 20% time saving, which equates to one working day every week. Marketing teams and content managers can save up to 50% of their time. Is this an opportunity for getting rid of salespeople? S.R. No, it’s not. Salespeople only spend one third of their time actually selling. Two thirds are devoted to paperwork, CRM, preparation. Automation frees up their time from what isn’t their core business. Are certain sales roles more threatened than others? S.R. It depends mainly on the products being sold. The buyer only spends 5% of their time with the salesperson, 80% of the purchasing process happens on the web. So the remaining 5% must involve a complex buying process to require human intervention. In other cases, self-service is way sufficient, even in B2B. In a nutshell, Sales Enablement becomes AI-Powered Sales? S. R. For the past two years, we’ve been talking more about ‘AI-powered sales enablement’ than traditional Sales Enablement. This concept is more immediately understandable and evokes innovation in the commercial approach. Worthy of note, for English-speaking markets, we keep that term ‘sales enablement’, but for French-speaking markets, ‘Modern Selling’ is the term of choice. It is more meaningful, especially when discussing AI agent integration, for French-speaking audiences who do not always understand the word ‘enablement’. What can you tell us about reliability and security concerns? S.R. Classic AI models, be it Gemini, ChatGPT, or others are used to research public information. If I want to know who you are or what your company does, there’s nothing better than such a tool that will browse the web, LinkedIn, and other sources to obtain this information. But if I want to process proprietary information, an internal document database, some meeting minutes, an internal conversation, etc., we must ensure data privacy and security at all cost. In this case, we’d rather work with on-premise language models that we can monitor end-to-end. We’ll feed them with this internal information and secure that information. What are your views regarding the future of AI-powered Sales Enablement? S.R. It’s very difficult to predict the future even three to six months from now. Our focus revolves around artificial intelligence. Its performance is increasingly impressive and prices more affordable. Right now, I’m particularly focused on sales coaching and training, and commercial skills development. Simulation and capturing a real-life interview in audio is already possible, but video is still relatively expensive, almost €50 per hour. With the lightning-fast progress in synthetic voices and images, I’m convinced that within three to six months, we’ll be able to offer much more advanced technologies at prices that will allow widespread distribution of this type of agent to sales populations and businesses. In Conclusion: The AI-Powered Sales Revolution These past ten years, ...
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    19 Min.