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Think Like a Brand. Act Like a Startup: Drive Growth and Innovation by Balancing Stability and Agility by Lauren Perkins

June 16, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

In her new book, Think Like a Brand. Act Like a Startup: Drive Growth and Innovation by Balancing Stability and Agility, Lauren Perkins helps you to transform your business with a hybrid approach to achieve revolutionary innovation and long-term success.


Experienced startup founder and CMO turned corporate innovator Lauren Perkins has discovered the key to creating business success: companies must integrate the best aspects of brands and startups to build resilient ventures and accelerate growth. In her book, Think Like a Brand. Act Like a Startup: Drive Growth and Innovation by Balancing Stability and Agility, she shares fascinating insights and methodologies to achieve success.

During her fifteen years in the business trenches, Lauren Perkins has developed a keen sense of pattern recognition by remaining vigilant to the dynamics of today’s most successful brands and startups. She believes in an approach that blends an established brand’s ability to leverage infrastructure and generate customer loyalty with a startup’s responsiveness to change and challenges; this combination supports customer-centricity.

In her book, Think Like a Brand. Act Like a Startup: Drive Growth and Innovation by Balancing Stability and Agility, Lauren lays out this new approach that shows you how to

· harness the combined power of brand stability and startup agility,

· challenge your assumptions and embrace innovative ways of thinking and working,

· prepare to weather the crises your organization will face, and

· cultivate a hybrid approach to capitalize on the strengths of each while minimizing the weaknesses.

By thinking like a brand and acting like a startup, Lauren reveals how to build successful, sustainable ventures that not only survive but thrive in a world of constant change.

Author Quotes

The most successful startups embrace curiosity. They constantly challenge conventional wisdom and ask why, what if, and why not. They focus on fresh possibilities rather than on what already is. Startups look to the horizon, not to their feet.

Startups use speed to their advantage and operate with a sense of urgency. In contrast to big companies, startups are not slowed down by inflexible policies or processes. Their agility allows them to take advantage of opportunities as they appear.

Startups are about testing the unknowns and the possibilities of implementing a unique concept to disrupt traditional business or provide a unique product or service.

About the author

An expert at scale, Lauren Perkins has started and helmed multiple companies before pivoting to corporate innovation and venture building, helping thousands of startups and innovators prevail. She’s best known as a General Assembly founding instructor, Columbia University entrepreneur in residence, Microsoft for Startups managing director, and the author of The Community Manager's Playbook.

www.laurenperkins.io


Why LoA loves it…

When building a startup business with big growth ambitions, it pays to learn from those who have both experience and the necessary insights into how it’s done. In her new book, Think Like a Brand. Act Like a Startup, Lauren Perkins comes equipped with a vast amount of practical knowledge and expertise to help you achieve those ambitions. By thinking like a brand and acting like a startup, Lauren reveals how to build successful, sustainable ventures that not only survive but thrive in a world of constant change. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa

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Contemporary South African Chic…Knowing exactly how to spot a gap in the marketplace is key to the success of any fashion brand, and Mapholo Ratau, founder of Ledikana in South Africa, has achieved that goal. For h Image of the Day / The 1964 Brand

Modern relaxed fashion…Olakunmi Oni is the founder of The 1964 Brand in Nigeria, a fashion business that proudly promotes self-care through minimalist clothing for the modern woman. Loyal patrons of The 1964 Image of the Day / Adèle Dejak

Big bold accessories…We are big fans of luxury jewellery and accessories made with love and passion on the African continent, and Adèle Dejak in Kenya is the epitome of handmade luxury. The brand c Image of the Day / ReelFruit
 
Healthy snack treats…We love showcasing Africa’s women agribusiness builders, and ReelFruit, founded by Affiong Williams, is inspirational - it’s the largest fruit processing, packaging and distributi Image of the Day / Dokmai Rwanda

Made in Rwanda Handbag…A passion for handcrafted accessories, combined with a sense of pride for ‘Made in Rwanda’ products, inspired Dokmai Rwanda founder, Bernadette Umunyana, to create a company Image of the Day / Eki Silk

Silk Serenity…Nothing is quite as luxurious as silk, that’s why we love the ‘Africa on Silk’ collections from Eki, founded by Hazel Eki Osunde. Her latest Deep Dive Collection is inspired by the p Image of the Day / The Nanjala Company

Pot plants delivered… Give gifts that will last, such as these stunning plants in individual pots from The Nanjala Company in Kenya, founded by Teresa Nanjala Lubano. This online store creates customized Image of the Day / Sari for Change

Sustainable Sari Glamour - If you want to wear a robe that makes you feel and look glamorous, then Rayana Edwards, founder of Harem in South Africa, has a range of fabulous robes all made from sari fabrics. She has Image of the Day / MonChoco

Pure chocolate heaven…If you are a chocolate lover, then you need to experience raw chocolate at its finest, and Dana Mroueh, founder of MonChoco an artisan chocolatier in Côte d’Ivoire, has just what y

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