Archita Fritz

Fractional Product Marketing Leader | I help operationalize product roadmaps for commercial success | Strategic Board Advisor | Workplace Culture

I help private equity–backed CEOs and value creation teams turn fragmented go-to-market efforts into a system that drives top-line growth, margin expansion, and commercial readiness for exit.

Most of the companies I support are post-acquisition, sitting around $15M–$50M in ARR, and moving fast toward their growth targets. But behind the scenes? The GTM motion is often still being driven by legacy sales instincts, founder-era marketing, and a whole lot of duct tape.

The symptoms are familiar:
⟶ Sales blaming marketing.
⟶ Marketing running plays that don’t align to revenue.
⟶ No clear ICP, no pricing discipline, and no real GTM narrative investors can buy into.

That’s where I come in.

With 20+ years across global MedTech, SaaS, and industrial technology—leading product launches in 80+ markets—I now partner with portcos as a short-term operator to unblock growth and build real commercial infrastructure.

Here’s how I support the PE lifecycle:

In the first 100 days
→ Run a GTM audit, identify gaps, and prioritize high-ROI quick wins.
→ Bring visibility to what’s actually driving pipeline, not just vanity metrics.

During the build phase
→ Align sales, marketing, and product around one repeatable commercial motion.
→ Fix positioning, pricing, segmentation, and campaign logic.
→ Install weekly operating cadence, dashboards, and conversion discipline.

As you scale
→ Shift from hero selling to system selling.
→ Equip reps with enablement that sticks, and codify what works.
→ Build segment-level GTM plays that actually reduce CAC over time.

Ahead of exit
→ Translate the growth story into buyer-ready clarity.
→ Highlight pipeline velocity, retention drivers, and future upside.
→ Package GTM IP as repeatable, not founder-dependent.

I’ve done this across portcos of AKKR, EQT, Cinven, and Nordic Capital, and across sectors from life sciences to enterprise SaaS.

Outside of portcos, I sit on four boards, keynote international stages, and host the Embracing Only podcast on leadership, identity, and transformation.

If you want marketing to “look busy,” hire an agency. If you want a GTM system that builds enterprise value, call me.

👉🏽 Learn more here: https://calendly.com/archita-e-fm/1-1-work-with-archita-intro-call

What my clients say:

“Archita turned GTM chaos into clarity! And she did it fast!”
— David Hall Rode, CEO, Blue Mountain (AKKR Portco)

“She built our product marketing function and aligned commercial with product.”
— Patrick Hughes, CRO, CluePoints (EQT Portco)

Chief Marketing Officer

We rise by lifting others! Driven by a commitment to build psychologically safe workplaces where people can unapologetically be themselves Archita is resolutely focused to work with partners who want to look beyond metrics to help shape cultures of belonging and cancel out the silent acceptance of bullying and harassment in the workplace.

Archita is the strategy and marketing lead on campaigns, partnerships, products and promotion. If you want to partner with Speak Out on organisational campaigns or partnerships please connect with her.

New client, new year.
First week at Veristat and I got to be onsite for their Commercial Kick Off Meeting! 

Within the first five minutes, I somehow became the Rock, Paper, Scissors Champion! 
(Truly not sure if I peaked there, but it set the tone.)

I love being remote, but a week onsite upfront compresses relationship + context in a way that’s hard to replicate.

A few things I’m taking with me:

👉🏽 Commercial + Operations came together in a real way. You could feel how both sides contribute to the outcome, not in theory, in practice.

👉🏽 They brought in a customer, a family member, and two partners to speak. Hearing from a Veristat team member sharing what it’s like to be a family member navigating finding clinical trials for your loved one, and how that experience changes the way you think about timelines, communication, rigor, and care really struck a nerve. There wasn’t one dry eye in the room with folks recognizing the impact of the work they do.  

👉🏽 The trust Veristat has earned with sponsors is undeniable. There aren’t many teams sponsors rely on to take them from data → direction → regulatory submission with that level of confidence.

Personal bonus: I worked with Andrew (AJ) Mills for a minute many moons ago, so it’s been a joy to reconnect and jump in with his team again.

And I’m genuinely excited to partner with Kim Boericke as CEO, first time I’ve gotten to work this closely with a woman CEO, and you can already feel the clarity she’s bringing.

Grateful for the welcome, Veristat. Let’s go.

Archita Fritz 

Partner to Private Equity CEOs | GTM & Value Creation | Board Member | 2 x Top 100 Product Marketing Leader

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A friend said something to me this week that I can’t stop thinking about.

She met our friend group when we were in our late 20s, because she was marrying one of our friends.

And she told me:

“I remember being genuinely surprised by how many of you were chasing a title like it had a deadline. Like you’d decided, that by this age, I have to be that… or I’ve failed.”

I laughed when she said it, because she was right.

Back then, we used to call it “ambition”, but what it also meant to most of us was “don’t be left behind!”

We were all trying to stay ahead of our insecurity.
 
And what’s wild is… I see the grown-up version of that same chase all the time now.

It is usually not “VP by 30.”

But it’s more like, 

“We need to look further along by the next board meeting.”
“We’ll fix the foundation after we hit the number.”
“Just get through this quarter.”

I get why people say it. I’ve said it too.
Usually it means we’re in scramble mode.

A few years ago, I started asking myself a different question…

𝑨𝒎 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒕…
𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰’𝒎 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 “𝑰’𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅” 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈?

And then, separately, this week I flew in to celebrate a different and very dear friend—mid-week—for her wedding.

I cleared the time properly and showed up without negotiating with myself. We laughed and danced so hard our face and feet hurt.

And for once I wasn’t doing that mental math of what I “should” be doing instead.

And I had this quiet thought on the way home: I’m really glad I don’t live in that frantic chase mode the way I used to.

👉🏽 What was your “by ___” deadline that you have finally loosened the grip on? 

PS: And LinkedIN can you please take a moment to celebrate my gorgeous and dearest friend Sneha on her wedding day!

Archita Fritz at Sneha and Chris Rossi wedding in New York City 

Best thing I’ve done this year so far: breakfast with two women I respect.

Just coffee, tea, some scones were involved and a bit of laughter, with the kind of conversation that puts you back in the right headspace. 

Shea Conboy’s growth over the years has been a joy to watch. 
This past week I got to say it in person.

She was on my team many moons ago, and seeing what she’s built since then is genuinely brilliant. From building social media and event capability from the ground up at various life science companies to starting to build her impact in product marketing, so proud of everything! 

 I left that part of the breakfast feeling properly proud.

And then I finally met Kisha Wynter in person. Author of Your Power Unleashed and a guest on our  Embracing "Only" Podcast  in person for the firs time.  

We talked women in leadership, boardrooms, sponsorship, timing…and every so often we’d stop and laugh: “That’s literally in your book.”

On the way out, I caught myself thinking how often the right conversations get pushed “until things calm down”. 

If you care about women in leadership, your calendar has to show it.

I love catch-ups like this, because In Private Equity land, it’s easy to live in spreadsheets and operating reviews. Breakfast like this pulls you back to what actually moves companies...the people.

Who are you making time for this month?

PS: Check out the link to Kisha's book and her episode in the comments below.

Archita Fritz advisor to Private Equity CEO's and Shea Conboy

Archita Fritz Advisor to Private Equity CEO's and Kisha Wynter author of the book Your Power Unleashed.

These are all the things I would rather do than sit down and do homework with the three littles who live in my home rent free:

✪ Get grilled by a PE sponsor on CAC payback.

✪ Walk into a board meeting with one slide and pure courage.

✪ Explain (again) that “pipeline” isn’t a strategy.

✪ Untangle a CRM that’s 47 versions of “called - no answer.”

✪ Run win/loss calls where the feedback is: “Pricing.”

✪ Rewrite positioning while Legal replaces every verb with “may.”

✪ Align five execs on one ICP without anyone saying “everyone.”

✪ Explain our investor story using chaos, caffeine, and a prayer.

✪ Do a “quick” launch that somehow needs 14 approvals.

——

Because the mental health damage of doing homework and test prep with little humans is something else.

To every parent doing the nightly and weekend sit-down, I see you! 

PS: Anyone else have to take a mid-homework walk outside the house to save themselves from absolutely losing it?

PPS: Picture below courtesy my mid lunch walk last week in the middle of a Sales Kick off meeting! Trying to channel in those calm vibes right now.

Kicking off 2026 with a proud board moment: Inflectiv Group has made a minority investment in psLondon.

Huge congratulations to James Rose, Jan-Philipp Matthewes and the Inflectiv team, and a genuine welcome to Robert Pepper, Tony Speight, and everyone at psLondon. Excited to have you in the Inflectiv collective and for what we’ll build together.

Press release in the comments. 

Proud to share this marks Inflectiv Group’s third strategic addition, building a collaborative network of founder-led independents — now alongside Fresh Air and Hue & Cry | Certified B Corp.  

We’re continuing to grow selectively, making minority equity investments where there’s real alignment on quality, leadership, and culture.  
If you’re a founder exploring that kind of partnership, my DMs are open.

You want to be “easy to work with.”
But a lot of you learn the wrong version of it.

Last week, someone I’d never met got combative over email. This person was several levels senior to me.

All I’d asked for was time on the calendar.

The reply wasn’t neutral, it was defensive and a tone that felt like: “know your place.”

In the past, I would have gone along with it. I  would have been extra polite, over-explained and tried to smooth it over.

I don’t do that anymore.

I stopped the email thread and moved it to a call.
On the call, this is what I said.

“We all want growth and a good way to work together. If that’s true, we’ll be fine. If what you actually want is friction or positioning, then this won’t be a good use of either of our time. Either outcome is okay, I just want it to be clear.”

Once that was said out loud, the defensiveness dropped and the real constraints came out. It turned into a productive discussion instead of a drawn-out thread.

By the end, they suggested spending more time together, not less.

Most people tolerate bad behavior because they want to be easy to work with. 

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆.

Going into this week: don’t confuse “easy to work with” with “easy to push around.”
If the tone is off at the start, address it early.

You’ll save yourself weeks of stress, and you’ll get better work out of the relationship.

This week I got to do one of my favorite things: sit across the table from two C-suite leaders I genuinely love thinking with.

David Hall Rode and Amira Modi, thank you for the time, the candor, and the quality of the thinking.

I’m on my way back to Dusseldorf and smiling thinking about how grateful I am for leaders like them in my orbit. 

With David, we can brainstorm in 80 directions in 20 minutes… and somehow it doesn’t turn into chaos, it turns into clarity.

And then there’s Amira, who is the kind of leader who can zoom out to strategy and zoom in to the detail that will make or break execution.

She’s also one of the few women C-suite leaders in healthcare who brings both deep industry credibility and real commercial clarity. I’m lucky to have them both in my orbit.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞?

Because this is what separates teams that move from teams that stall.

Most teams don’t struggle because they lack ideas. They struggle because they can’t turn messy thinking into a clear direction people can execute.

What that looks like:
➟ People keep the real concerns to themselves because it’s not worth the friction
➟ The group talks through ten options and chooses none
➟ Everyone “agrees” in the room, then nothing changes after

What strong leaders do instead:
➟ Make it easy to say the unfinished thing out loud
➟ Keep the pace without steamrolling people
➟ Pull a real decision out of the noise
➟ End with a clear “here’s what we’re doing next”

It sounds very basic, but it really isn’t. And it’s a big reason some companies move faster with the same resources.

I’m grateful for leaders who make clarity feel normal and execution feel possible.

Archita Fractional Marketing Leader for Blue Mountain and other Private Equity Backed Middle Market Portfolio Companies 

This week I caught myself working like something was on fire, even though nothing was.

I’m onboarding a new client, and the engagement is off to a strong start. The work is clear, the team is aligned, and the trust is already there. 

I’ve been doing this independently for nearly three years, so none of this is new.

And yet, more than once this week, I caught myself pushing as if I still needed to earn the right to be here.

It was a strange moment of self-awareness, the kind where you can see your own behavior while it’s happening. I found myself asking a question I didn’t expect to be asking at this stage: 

👉🏾 Why am I going this hard when nothing is actually wrong?

This isn't new work or a new room, and it certainly isn’t about proving competence. By any rational measure, I already belong here.

And yet, something in me still behaves like 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭.

That question matters because it doesn’t point to a workload issue. 
It points to an identity issue. 

If you’re doing well in your role or building something that’s finally working, notice what shows up anyway. 

Pay attention to 
the extra effort that isn’t required, 
the urgency that isn’t real, 
the impulse to prove yourself in rooms that have already said yes. 

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒙 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 
𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒖𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈.

I don’t have a neat answer yet.
Right now, I’m sitting with the question instead of rushing past it. 

Because something tells me this isn’t about working more or less. It’s about updating who I think I need to be in rooms that have already said yes.

PS: I came across a photo of one of my old teams I had the privilege of leading many moons ago. They were one of the first groups that ever held up a mirror to me around this pattern. Seeing that picture again felt like a quiet reminder I needed more than advice.

We’re in a pilot phase rolling out a suite of AI solutions at a PE-backed company.
And the impatience is… Olympic level.

Week 2:
“Why isn’t the AI delivering value yet?”

Because AI isn’t a vending machine.
You don’t insert “tool” and get “pipeline” back.

In the pilot stage, you’re not “deploying AI.”

You’re validating the conditions that make AI worth using

➟ Data integrity (what we think is true vs what’s actually in the system)
➟ Use case fit (what works in generic SaaS ≠ what works in this industry)
➟ Signal quality (which inputs predict response, and which are noise)
➟ Customer reality (how buyers actually reply, in the wild)
➟ Workflow adoption (if humans don’t use it, it doesn’t exist)

So yes, we should push for outcomes. But if you treat a pilot like a finished product, you don’t speed things up, you just create noise, churn, and “AI doesn’t work” opinions before you’ve even set it up properly.

If you’re a revenue leader in a PE-backed company, here’s the better question than “Why isn’t it working yet?”

“What do we need to make this work reliably, and at scale?”

If you’re in the messy middle of an AI pilot right now, what’s the biggest friction point you are navigating?

👉🏾  data, use cases, adoption, or expectations?

AI is not like a vending machine, you cannot put stuff in and hope to get pipeline out.

In a lot of mid-market PE portfolio companies, the issue isn’t lead generation. 

It’s that the company hasn’t agreed on the rules of the funnel, so leads get handled differently depending on who touches them. 

Marketing passes names,
Sales disputes quality, 
follow-up is inconsistent, 

and the CEO ends up asking for “more pipeline” when the real problem is a messy handoff.

There are other things that matter, and deal velocity is increasingly the bigger constraint I’m seeing, but without a clean handoff you can’t tell what’s working, what’s broken, or what to fix next.

When I’m brought in to steady this quickly, I put a basic GTM system in place in the first two weeks:

➟ 𝑫𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 “𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅” 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈
One page that Sales and Marketing both agree to. If you can’t say the same sentence, you don’t have a funnel.

➟ 𝑫𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆.
Fit, intent, recency, and engagement, it doesn’t have to be perfect, but consistent enough to run the week on.

➟ 𝑺𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘-𝒖𝒑 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆. 
Who responds, how fast, and what happens when it doesn’t happen.

➟  𝑹𝒖𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅.
Routing, speed, fit, or follow-through, then fix one failure point each week.

This is not complicated. It’s just missing in more companies than anyone wants to admit.

In a recent engagement, this system helped moved leads from roughly 5–10 SQLs a month to 170+ sales-qualified leads in 60 days. 

Not because we “did more marketing,” but because we stopped debating opinions and installed a system the team could run.

If you’re a CEO and this feels familiar, ask one question in your next commercial meeting: what happens in the first 24 hours after a lead is marked sales-qualified? If the answer isn’t clear, start there.

Why Private Equity PE Portcos don’t have a Lead Gen Problem. They have a systems problem. “We don’t have enough leads” is the biggest misplaced diagnosis in private equity portcos

At Christmas, I was lightly chiding my brother-in-law about how much he cares about football. 

Because I genuinely don’t relate. 

I’m not wired to tie my mood to something I can’t control for three hours on a Saturday/Sunday. My brain files it under: “entertaining… but not emotionally binding.” 

Also, I know basically nothing about American football. 

My strongest credential is still that I once stood on the inside of a football field because I was crowned University Homecoming Queen in 2004. That’s the whole resume!

Fast forward to Saturday, Jan 17. 
The Buffalo Bills lost 33–30 to the Denver Broncos.

My BIL and his entire family are huge Buffalo Bills fans. 
Like it affects the entire "household mood" fans.

So you can imagine, the family chat lit up immediately.

 And it wasn’t just analysis. It turned into people fast:
“He’s such a good guy.”
“He does so much with kids.”
“He deserves a ring.”

Bills fans… I’m sorry. 
That one looked painful.

---
And it made me think about something I see in Private Equity-backed leadership teams after a miss:

𝘐𝘯 𝘗𝘌, 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵.

The room starts hunting for the person attached to the number. Usually it is because we want the chaos to make sense, so we pin the story to a person.

In sports, it can swing either way just as fast:
one moment, one person… 
and suddenly it’s either pile-on or protective loyalty.

A few things I’ve seen the best PE teams do instead:

➜ Separate “bad outcome” from “bad decision.” 
Sometimes the call was right and the timing just didn’t cooperate. 
Sometimes you got lucky and you shouldn’t repeat it.

➜ Force specificity. 
Not “we need to execute.”
More like: “3 deals slipped 30 days” or 
“churn ticked up in X segment.”

➜ Make the next step small and real. 
One fix, one owner, one date, before the next LT/board call.

➜ Do a quick ‘what changed’ review. 
What we thought, what happened, what we’re changing. 
No courtroom or character trial.

Pinning it on one person is the quickest way to feel like you’ve explained it. It’s rarely the quickest way to improve it.

PS: Serious question...are you a “watch with people” fan or a “do not speak to me during the game” fan?

Picture credit: AP Photo/Jack Dempsey

Good products don't sell themselves.
At least, they don't do it twice.

Most companies find their first "big win" through sheer grit and a great product. But when they try to launch the second or third product, the wheels usually start to wobble.

If your revenue is plateauing despite a great roadmap, the gap is likely in your Product Marketing foundation. Transitioning from a single-product company to a multi-product powerhouse requires a specific shift in "muscle memory." 

👉🏾 You have to move from selling a tool to selling a solution universe.

I helped a team navigate this exact pivot. 

They had the talent and the tech, but their growth was capped by their position. By building a repeatable "pre-commercialisation" engine, they unlocked a 40% revenue lift across their entire portfolio.

1️⃣ Defining the Operating Model: 
↳ Moving away from ad-hoc launches toward repeatable playbooks.

2️⃣ Pre-commercialisation is more than just feedback: 
↳It’s about doing the heavy lifting, market sizing, competitor mapping, and message testing, long before the sales team ever sees the product. If you haven't validated that a "gap in the market" is actually a "market in the gap," you’re just setting your reps up to fail.

3️⃣ Internal Readiness: 
↳ Ensuring Sales knows not only what the product is, but also where it fits in the broader universe.

I’ve attached the one-pager we used to guide this process. If your team is struggling to move beyond your first "big win," I hope this roadmap helps you find some clarity this week.

Roadmap to take your company from a single product to a multi product universe. How to scale your company from a single product to a multi product solution. How Product Marketing can help you grow your product roadmap. How to commercialize your product roadmap.

Callum Laing

I take companies public and run a $100m MAS regulated fund. 
I am a partner at the Unity Group, the founder of Global Investment Leaders Directive (GILD) for capital raisers.  And I run the Veblen Director Programme, for first time board members.  
Author of 'Boardroom Blueprint - Boost your career with a board seat in 60 days'
My exclusive network of UHNW individuals meet every quarter for lunch at the 'Captable' Singapore (coming to Dubai soon) 

Founder & former CEO / Chair of MBH Corporation PLC, an agglomeration of small, profitable companies from around the world.  Grew it to $180m in revenue.
Advisor to multiple public and private boards.  

Involved in more than 100 M&A transactions and $500m in shareholder value creation.

Best selling author of 3 other business books, I've published over 2500 interviews with Entrepreneurs and Investors around the world. EnterpriseZone.cc
Host of the daily 'CallumConnects' micro-podcast (top 5% worldwide, top 25 for entrepreneurs, 500+ episodes).

Previously served as Singapore High Commissioner to the World Business Angel Investment Forum, an Ambassador to DealGateway.com and on the Board of Advisors to Kinguin, a $100m turnover eGaming business.

The Agglomeration model helps small businesses to scale using publicly listed holding companies.

If you're interested in taking your business, investments or career to the next level, press the blue Follow button above.  

Author of: 
"Progressive Partnerships - The Future of Business" 
"Entrepreneurial Investing - Connecting sophisticated capital to talented small business"
"Boardroom Blueprint - Boost your career with a board seat in 60 days"
Co-author of:
"Agglomerate - Idea to IPO in 12 months"

Member

The Veblen Director Program is designed to get you that elusive first PLC Director position and to provide you with an enviable global network of other Directors that you can call on at will for the rest of your career.

One of the fastest ways to get what you want is to help someone else get what they want.

When I first admired the work of Jeremy Harbour, I didn’t ask him for a job or a role. Instead, I offered to set up and promote his companies in Asia on a zero-risk basis. I would do the work, generate sales, and he would only share in the upside.

That simple offer led to something far bigger. Jeremy liked the way I operated, shared another idea with me, and we ended up becoming business partners.

Years later, I applied the same approach to Tiger 21, one of the most respected networks for ultra-high-net-worth individuals. I wanted to work with them, so I reached out and offered to introduce them to prospects in Asia and the Middle East. That led to the creation of a feeder business which is opening up incredible opportunities.

The principle has never changed: start by creating value for the people you admire.

Today, the internet makes this easier than ever. Affiliate marketing is the most obvious version, almost every business will pay for quality leads. If you already have a network, no matter how small, you have something you can start with.

So ask yourself: who would you love to work with, and what could you offer them right now that makes it a no-brainer to say yes?


Send me a connection request and I’ll show you exactly how to apply this.

Successful Investor / Entrepreneur and M&A practitioner. I also help ambitious people to raise money, get board seats and take companies public.

I was in a room recently where everyone had a networth of at least $30m. 

You would think that level of wealth would kill off any insecurity, but it was the opposite. Almost everyone in there admitted they felt like they didn't belong.

I see this all the time with the directors I work with at Veblen and even with my own kids. If you care about what you're doing, you're going to feel some doubt. 

The only real difference I've noticed with high-achievers is they don't wait for the insecurity to vanish before they show up. They just do it anyway.

We often mistake "readiness" for "fearlessness." But if you wait until you aren't nervous, you'll probably be waiting forever.

What's something you're currently overthinking instead of just doing?



For free copies of my books and other goodies, please send me a connection request

Jeremy Harbour told me to sell. I ignored the advice.

At the time, my business was profitable and I was having a lot of fun running it. It had prestige and it was a great lead generator for my other ventures. I was convinced it was a keeper. 

Jeremy’s take was simpler: "The best time to sell a business is now. You never know what’s coming around the corner."

I thought he was wrong. Then the global financial crisis hit.

My two biggest sponsors defaulted on what they owed me. What could have been a massive exit turned into years of grinding just to sell for a fraction of its former value. It was a brutal lesson in the cost of pride.

The upside was that Jeremy and I became business partners later and have been building together for over ten years. But that missed exit still stings when I think about the timing.

When it comes to exits, do you think it is better to sell a year too early or a day too late?


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For free copies of my books and other goodies, please send me a connection request

This is so cool!!!!!!

Most people are truly terrible at articulating their own value.

It is the classic "bottle" problem, you can't read the label from the inside.

We built a tool for our Veblen Members to solve this.  To help them frame their experience into a great pitch for the boardroom. 

And I would love for you to try it too.

1 - It scans your CV or LinkedIn profile.
2- You are interviewed for 3 minutes by our AI analyst (this is really cool).
3 - It generates your "Board Manifesto."

You get a one-liner, an in-depth LinkedIn bio, and a full-page pitch for a press release or your website.
It also shares with you so areas to work on.

Try it here: https://lnkd.in/gUcqDchd

Take the test and share your one-liner in the comments. Is it accurate?

Think Graham Norton's couch meets LinkedIn Live - unscripted, dynamic conversations with business leaders at the cutting edge of entrepreneurship, investment, and growth

Tune into the conversations that normally happen behind closed doors. Learn about some of the big plans for '26.

Format: 45-minute live streamed panel. No script. No agenda. Just a chance to hear business leaders on a virtual couch discussing what's working for them.

This episode's guests:

Alicia Teltz - LinkedIn & Personal Branding Strategist | Ex-LinkedIn Executive

Raja Skogland - CEO & Investor | 3x Top 100 Most Influential Women in European VC

Inner Circle Conversations - Where Influential Voices Discuss What Matters

One of the best indicators of whether a project is worth pursuing has nothing to do with the project itself.

For me, the real question is: who am I going to meet along the way?

There are projects I wouldn’t normally be interested in, but I’ll say yes because of the people I’ll get to spend time with. And there are others that look exciting on the surface, but if the people involved aren’t the kind I want to be around, it’s an easy pass.

Opportunities are never just about money or prestige. They’re about proximity.

If a project gets you in the room with people who energise you, challenge you, or open doors to new possibilities, that’s worth far more than the project itself.

Question: How do you decide if an opportunity is worth your time, the project itself, or the people it brings you close to?


Send me a connection request and I’ll send you a load of cool assets.

Happy Birthday Dolly Parton!

I've been an entrepreneur for most of my adult life (and much of my childhood!) and so it often surprises me how few people understand the value of owning assets.

Dolly Parton turns 80 today, and she's a great example of someone who understood the difference early on.

In the 1970s, Elvis Presley wanted to record a cover of "I Will Always Love You." His manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had a standard rule: the artist had to hand over 50% of the publishing rights if Elvis was going to sing it.  

For a young songwriter, having the biggest star on the planet cover your song was the ultimate "I've made it" moment. Most people would've leapt at the chance.

But Dolly said no, she walked away from the deal because she was confident in the long term value of her intellectual property. 

Decades later, that single decision has earned her tens of millions in royalties. It's the reason she has the capital to build theme parks, hotels, and her incredible philanthropic foundation today.

For many people, your ‘Elvis’ opportunity is keeping the ‘safe’ job.  A predictable revenue stream today, rather than building an asset that can deliver tomorrow.  
It might not be the wrong choice, but remember that it is a choice.

As you think about what you’re building and creating in ‘26, you need to ask yourself is it something that just satisfies a need now, or is it something that will build a foundation for you in the future?

Happy 80th birthday to an amazing deal maker and philanthropist in Nashville.

I acquired my first company with zero capital in the bank.

Back in 2006, the organizers of the Koh Samui Yacht Regatta had run out of cash. I lacked the personal funds to buy the business, but I spotted a different way forward. By bringing forward revenue from future sponsors, I was able to fund the acquisition using the company's own potential.

That single transaction shifted my entire professional identity. It was the moment I stopped acting as an operator and began thinking as an owner.

The learning curve was steep and unforgiving. However, stepping into that void forced me to understand the mechanics of ownership through immediate action.

Everything changed once I realized that capital is not always the primary barrier to entry.

Think back to your own career. When did you experience a fundamental shift in your professional perspective?


For access to a bunch of free resources, send me a connection request!

Stop sending your pitch deck as an opening move.

I’ve seen founders spend weeks on 30-page business plans and beautiful slides only to have them completely ignored. 

When I first started raising capital, I thought the deck was my ticket into the room, but I was wrong.

Leading with a pitch deck usually marks you out as an amateur. High-level deals don't start with PDFs; they start with informal conversations, text messages, and casual chats. That’s where you actually build the trust and interest required to move forward.

You should only send the assets once someone has agreed in principle that they like what you’re creating. The deck is there to back up the vision, not to sell it for you.

What’s the most effective way you’ve seen someone spark investor interest without ever showing a slide?

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For free copies of my books and other goodies, please send me a connection request

I get asked about my most expensive mistakes on every podcast. Usually, the host is looking for a horror story about a bad deal or a lost fortune.

I’ve had plenty of both, but I don’t actually categorize them as mistakes anymore. It’s a mental trap to look back and wonder what would have happened if I’d taken a different path. You can never truly know the alternative outcome.

For me, those expensive moments were just the price of entry. They reshaped my thinking and ultimately got me to where I am today. I’d much rather take the lesson and go find some brand new mistakes to make in the future. If you aren't failing occasionally, you probably aren't moving fast enough.

Do you view your past setbacks as mistakes, or do you see them as necessary tuition for your current success?


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For free copies of my books and other goodies, please send me a connection request

Don’t Apply for Board Seats. Create Them.

At the Veblen Director Programme, one of our core mantras is: don’t apply for board seats, create them.

It’s not just about board seats, it’s about agency.

Too many people spend their careers waiting for permission. Waiting for someone else to open the door, to hand them the title, to play by rules they didn’t write.

The people who really change their trajectory don’t play someone else’s game. They design their own. They create opportunities rather than compete for the scraps.

It’s a subtle but profound shift: from asking “Will they pick me?” to declaring “Here’s the value I’m creating, here’s the room I’m building, come join me.”

And it applies everywhere: careers, businesses, relationships, even health.

So the question is, where in your own life are you still waiting for permission, when you could be creating the opportunity instead?

I have watched many founders kill deals through desperation. 

I’ve been on both sides of the table, and I’ve learned that capital raising isn't really about the pitch, it's about the positioning.

When I’m advising founders, I tell them the second you look like you need the money, you’ve already lost. I’ve found it’s much more effective to position a deal as just one of many you have access to, which changes the dynamic from a "please" to a "perhaps."

Instead of opening a laptop, I start by asking the investor about their last win. If my deal doesn’t match their criteria, I don’t pitch it. I’ll actually tell them it’s not a fit and offer to find them something else later.

It’s incredibly hard to do when you’re close to a project, but it transforms you from a founder looking for a check into a dealmaker looking for a partner. 

Relationships close deals, not slides delivered to the wrong person.

How do you filter an investor's "real" criteria before you ever show them your deck?

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For free copies of my books and other goodies, please send me a connection request

I was great at earning money until I tried to make some.

It took me nearly two years into my entrepreneurial journey to realize I was playing the wrong game.

 In my corporate career, I was an expert at earning. I knew how to navigate politics, align with the right teams, and get HR to approve a pay rise.

But making money is different. Making money requires you to convince a complete stranger to part with their cash in exchange for value you’ve created. 

That is a much harder skill to master and I definitely had to learn it the hard way.

Once I understood that shift in perspective, everything changed. One is about navigating a system, the other is about creating one.

At VeblenDirectors.com once our members are sat on a couple of boards, it unlocks Level 2 ‘Learn to Earn’ this is where we teach how you can turn a ‘free’ board seat into multiple streams of income. 

Once you have this knowledge you know you’ll always be able to generate an income by providing value.

When did you first realize the rules of the game had changed for you?

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For free copies of my books and other goodies, please send me a connection request

Stop Treating Your Goals Like They’re the Finish Line

One of the mantras at the Veblen Director Programme is simple: a board seat is not the final board seat, it’s just a stepping stone to the next.

It’s a mindset that goes far beyond the boardroom.

Too often we idealise our goals; fitness, money, career, you name it. We tell ourselves, “Once I hit that, everything will be fine.”

But two things usually happen:
We reach the goal and immediately shift the bar higher.

Or we miss it, and it feels devastating.

That’s why I think it’s much healthier to view goals as stepping stones rather than finish lines. Each milestone is just part of a longer journey.

That perspective removes the pressure and gives you freedom to keep moving forward.

Question: What’s a goal you once thought was the “end game” that actually turned out to be just a stepping stone?

I spent thousands on a business program I barely remember now. At the time, I thought I was buying an education. I’d just finished my business degree and was hungry for mindset shifts and "non-traditional" ideas.
Looking back twenty years later, the curriculum wasn't the prize. The real ROI came from the people in the room. Some became my closest friends, others became business partners I still work with today.

That one community triggered more deals and opportunities than any textbook ever could. It’s why I spend so much of my time now building communities like Veblen or helping others build their own. Content is easy to find, but the right room is rare.

When you're looking at joining a new group or program, what's the one "green flag" that tells you the community is actually high-quality?


For free copies of my books and other goodies, please send me a connection request

The most valuable asset you own is a high-level introduction. 

Many people seem to spend their lives polishing a CV that nobody reads, or studying for certificates that only serve to show you’re good at studying. 

In my experience the real progress happens through the people you know. 
Early on, mentors gave me the perspective I lacked. 

Eventually, business partners provided the leverage I needed to grow. 

Today, my network provides access to opportunities that are never advertised. 

Introductions have done more for my businesses than any certificate or academic qualification ever could. 

I am curious to know who opened the most important door for you.



P.S. If you would like to get access to a bunch of free resources, send me a connection request!

Stop taking advice from companies that have already won the game.

Aspiring entrepreneurs often look for guidance in the wrong places. You search for best practices and end up with strategies designed for massive corporations.

What works for an enterprise like Google is useless when you are fighting for survival. Those organizations have systems and resources that you simply do not possess yet. If you try to run a Fortune 500 playbook as a startup of one or two people, you will move too slowly to stay alive.

In the early stages, success comes from scrappy moves and asymmetric advantages. You need the tactics that secure your first client and your first dollar, not a corporate handbook.

Be careful when using AI for strategy as well. It is trained on the public internet, which means it defaulted to big business logic.

The best lessons usually come from those just a few steps ahead of you, not those at the finish line.

Where have you found the most practical advice for your own journey?



 If you would like a free tool used by hundreds of people to analyse and improve their Linkedin profile you can get it here: https://lnkd.in/gdC2HyMB

At a certain point in your career, opportunities start chasing you.

In the Veblen Director Programme, I see it all the time. Once someone has secured three or four board seats, suddenly the floodgates open. Invitations multiply. The real game becomes swapping out low-value boards for high-performing ones with the people you most want to work alongside.

I experience the same thing. I’m inundated with board opportunities, and most of them I filter into the Veblen network. But there are a few boards I would pay to be on. Not because I need the board experience, but because of who else is sitting at that table.

That’s the real superpower: knowing who you want to work with and then figuring out how you can help them get what they want. It’s the fastest way I know to go further, faster.

So here’s the question: if you could choose, who is the one person you would most want to sit on a board with?


Send me a connection request with ‘Veblen’ for more info on how we could get you on a board in the next couple of weeks.

I thought being technically good was enough to run a company. I found out the hard way with my first business, Network IT, right as the dot-com boom was peaking.

I knew the tech inside out. I understood the engineers and I knew the market, but I had absolutely no idea how to actually run a business. I didn't understand partnerships, marketing, or how to even read a balance sheet.
While the market was booming, my ignorance didn't matter. When the crash hit, it became painfully obvious that I was just a technician playing at being a CEO. 

That blind leap taught me more about survival than any of my later successes ever did.

We often talk about "technical debt" in software, but I think "management debt" is what actually kills many startups - and careers!

What was the biggest gap in your knowledge when you took your first big leap?


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For free copies of my books and other goodies, please send me a connection request

When two people who impact millions get together to discuss business, growth and leadership, you don't ask when, you just sign up!

Amazing opportunity to learn from two greats: Masami Sato and Daniel Priestley.

If you've already had a chance to be impacted by either of these 2, would love to hear about it in the comments.

Founder & CEO of B1G1 | Empowering businesses to become a force for good | Join me to discover ‘the Power of Small’ in creating a better world for all.

Over the years, I’ve had many conversations about business, growth, and leadership.

But there are only a handful of people I choose to sit down with when I want to talk about the things that aren’t usually said out loud.

Daniel Priestley is one of those people.

Dan has known me since the very early days of B1G1 — not just the public story, but the uncertain, messy, quietly hopeful parts too.

Yes, we’ve spoken about strategy and growth.

But we’ve also spoken about:
• what it really feels like to build something that matters
• how leadership quietly changes you
• how the digital world amplifies your voice… and sometimes your loneliness
• and how easy it is to keep moving forward without ever pausing to ask what kind of life your business is actually creating.

That’s what this upcoming ‘open’ (in every sense of that word) conversation is about.

A real, honest conversation about leadership, impact, and the unspoken experiences of growing a business in today’s digital world.

We’ll also open the space for questions — the ones you don’t always get to ask.
And at the end, I’ll be sharing something very close to my heart: the quiet launch of a new B1G1 initiative designed for families, young people and anyone who wants to make making a difference a way of life.

I’d love you to join us next week. 

I think you’ll be more than thrilled that you did.

Register here: https://lnkd.in/gw2PiUBU

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The Battle

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taplio

The Battle

Archita Fritz

Callum Laing

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Archita Fritz's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreArchita Fritz's LinkedIn Performance