Love is in the actions you take for someone other than you, not in the big speeches …
Laura’s field notes from this year’s B For Good Leaders Summit
The B Good Summit from another perspective, that of Laura Tran Investor and Craft Partner for ESG. How did our in-house expert feel about the 2023 summit?
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FIELD NOTES FROM THE B FOR GOOD LEADERS SUMMIT 2023
JP’s reflections on this year’s B For Good Leaders Summit, Beurs van Berlage, May 10/11/12 Amsterdam 2023.
Finding the actionable middle ground (without giggling at dream state doomers, or throwing sharp objects at dead end bankers).
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Why wasting a ton of money is the only way to build a challenger brand for the ages
Ernesto explores the economics and strategies of brand building.
Is it time to embrace the slow build of real brand power and ease up on the crack cocaine of performance marketing?
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Brand, Scale, Retail: The Craftory Mindset
Craftory wisdom - big strategic decisions facing challenger brands.
Craftory co-founder Ernie speaks about what makes a great challenger brand, how to succeed at scale and against shifting markets, what to do about amazon, and why to stay away from physical retail for as long as you can.
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Listen 45 mins >
Why looking out the window with their feet up is the best thing challenger CEOs can do
The consequential difference between busy work and formative work
Inherent in many founders' preference for action over reflection lies a widespread misunderstanding of how businesses grow, and the crucial role played by the CEO in the enablement thereof.
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The Rise of Cause Capital
Challenger brand strategies for a new era.
In the third episode of PHD and eatbigfish’s podcast series Overthrow II, Craftory co-founder Ernesto Schmitt discusses the role of cause for challenger brands and progressive sources of investment. How can challenger brands effect change at scale and what lies ahead for investment in this evolving landscape?
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Listen 25 mins >
The Road to B-Corp
Why we became a certified B Corporation
Since 2018 the Craftory has been amplifying the world’s best challenger brands. So it’s hardly a surprise that for us, it was a natural next step to join the B Corp movement…
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Distribution into 6,000 Wal-Marts? Just say no.
Why succumbing to retail cornucopia is often the ultimate own-goal
In the halcyon days of my confident youth, I got to enjoy - first-hand - the intoxicating power of the shelf. As a director at Tesco (then the world’s third-largest retailer), I witnessed the streams of clammy-palmed growers, producers and account executives coming to tender deference and offerings before their category buyer chieftains.
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The Deceptive Attractiveness of “Non-Consumer-Noticeables”
Shining a light on the slippery slope challenger brands know not to go down.
Beware the attractiveness of corners cut, even if everyone else seems to be cutting away with carefree abandon.
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Gender Lens Investing - Our Take
Investing through the lens of female empowerment.
We’re making investment decisions that aim to earn a financial return and address the challenges that women and girls face across the world.
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The secret to slave-free chocolate is societal change in West Africa
We all want slave-free chocolate but the awkward truth is there simply isn't enough to go around.
Any brand trying to transform this category must tackle the problem of slavery and child labour at its cultural roots ...
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Beware... the Ring of Fire
How not to build your challenger business
The tell-tale signs of a digital challenger brand in trouble are usually unmistakable: sales growth is triple-digit-stellar, margins are high, ROIs are dizzyingly positive – and more often than not the business can boast of delivering all this while remaining just about profitable, too. Conventionally this might be judged a spectacular report card, prompting investors to queue around the block. However peer one level deeper, and chances are the Lookalike Devil may have been doing his ugly worst.
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The Packaging Pickle
Why physical and digital retail shelves demand fundamentally different brand executions
Just how to stand out amongst the 40,000 products stocked by the average supermarket is a problem that is well understood - if not consistently well addressed - by the design conjurers of Big Brands the world over… The woe for insurgent challenger brands is that most of the design rules that make packaged brands win on the physical shelves of Wal-Mart achieve the opposite on the digital shelves of D2C ecommerce.
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When Will Socially Conscious Investing Go Mainstream?
At The Craftory we know that business is more than just about making a profit.
It’s important to us all for your business to make money, but we want to make a profit, sustainably. What’s the state of play and why isn’t socially conscious/cause-driven investment the dominant model?
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Advantages & Disadvantages of Traditional Venture Capital
The benefits of venture capital can be attractive, especially if you’re focused on accelerating the growth of your business quickly.
But isn’t right for every business. Here’s our take on the advantages and disadvantages of venture capital - written as always, with ambitious, cause-driven entrepreneurs in mind.
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Corporate Venture Capital: Advantages & Disadvantages
Corporate venture capital can be an attractive option, especially if you’re looking for innovation expertise, network access and long term strategic support.
Here’s our take on the advantages and disadvantages of corporate venture capital - written as always, with ambitious, cause-driven entrepreneurs in mind.
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Corporate Venture Capital - Deathtraps exposed.
Taking corporate money is a perfect way to limit your valuation and exit options …
The third in our series of short films for challenger entrepreneurs: A candid take on the corporate money death traps every rebel entrepreneur should know.
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Watch: 5:00 MINUTES >
Gender Neutral retail: Revolution or more of the same?
New gender neutral stereotypes are emerging but are they enough?
We are seeing the lines between traditional male and female binaries becoming increasingly blurred and nowhere is this more apparent than in what we choose to wear.
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Meat and Masculinity: Is Meat the Original Status Symbol?
What we eat has consequences for the planet, and this can no longer be ignored.
Understanding why we keep choosing animal products, even when we know they are unsustainable is now critical.
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Growth Death Traps - Finding The Right Skills
This is a film for successful cause-minded entrepreneurs who want more than just capital.
The second in our series of short films for challenger entrepreneurs: How trad investors can BS you with all kinds of mentoring promises, and how The Craftory is designed to be different.
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Watch: 3:30 MINUTES >