Ash Ali

Co-Founder & Growth Hacker

Uhubs

At Uhubs, we empower sales teams to unlock their full potential by transforming skill development into a precise, data-driven unfair advantage. 

By industrialising the monitoring and tracking of essential sales skills, we provide leaders with rapid insights to identify growth opportunities that genuinely drive revenue impact. 

Uhubs streamlines skill development, enabling modern sales teams to achieve measurable success faster and more effectively.

Co-Founder

The Unfair Advantage

The new Book "The Unfair Advantage" uncovers the secret behind why some startups make it and others don’t. Available in Jan 2020- Pre-order book from Amazon, WHSmiths, Foyles & Waterstones.

Wrapping up my experience as the first UK Marketing Director of £3.5 billion company JUST EAT into a practical narrative, I break apart the different types of unfair advantages swimming just under the surface of your favourite success stories. Every single one of them has an unfair advantage within the MILES structure (Money, Intelligence & Insight, Location & Luck, Education & Expertise, Status).  Out on January 9th 2020!

I've done keynotes on "Startup Marketing", "How to find your unfair advantage", "My personal/JUST EAT success story", "The first 3 years in startups" and have been part of several panel debates, pitch judging and discussions.

Author, Keynote Speaker & Co-Founder

Private angel Investments in seed stage startups across the globe. Mentorship and advice to startup entrepreneurs in various sectors and markets with a specific focus on online marketplaces, mobile app's and interesting social & community projects.

If you have startup requiring seed capital, an experienced startup advisor or non-executive role get in touch. 

- Idea assessment, including market sizing, competitive analysis, go to market strategy
- Applying lean methodology techniques to launch MVPs and find product market fit
- Growth Hacking
- Product and business development
- Digital marketing strategy
- Capital raising including marketing materials and business introductions
- Entrepreneur Mentorship & Advisor
- Lean startup
- EIR or non exec roles

Mentor @PiLabs @turn8 @istarter @TeamPK

Startup Investor, Advisor & Mentor

University of Warwick - Warwick Business School

Guest Lecturer

Spinks

Advising the senior Spinks team on continual growth for being the talent partner to the Start-Up / Scale Up sector.

Spinks Advisory Board Member

Royal Holloway, University of London

UCL School of Management

Loughborough University

Imperial College Business School

ESCP Business School

Washplus - Dubai's Laundry App

Acquired by new player in GCC with great ambitions. 

Seed investor and marketing advisor to Dubai's leading on-demand laundry and dry cleaning app, washplus. 

Founded in Dubai Silicon Oasis as part of Dubai's smart city drive we have an awesome vision and a very strong founding team and set of angel investors. 

Have been featured in 7 days, Time Out Dubai, Dubai Chronicle and Ahlan!

Washplus - On demand Laundry App

Co-Founder of Uhubs | Bestselling Author: 'The Unfair Advantage' | Empowering SaaS Sales Leaders to Exceed Targets

Hey there! I’m Ash Ali, an entrepreneurial spirit who thrives on turning ideas into reality. 

Best known as the first marketing director at Just Eat, I helped scale it to Series A which then went onto become UK’s first tech unicorns.

But my journey didn't start in the usual boardroom. Without a formal degree, I carved my path through sheer grit, instinct, and a knack for seeing opportunities where others see obstacles. 

Today, I leverage my 20 plus years experience to mentor, invest in, and fuel the next generation of startups.

I co-authored "The Unfair Advantage: How You Already Have What It Takes to Succeed" which won Business Book of the Year.

Our book dives into leveraging your unique traits for success — something I live by and encourage others to recognise in themselves.

I'm currently leading Uhubs, a cutting-edge B2B sales performance startup that empowers sales leaders to define and measure excellence in their teams. 

Our unique Pulse technology provides real-time insights and metrics, helping businesses understand "what good looks like" in sales performance. 

It's about bringing clarity and precision to skills for better sales strategies, enabling teams to thrive in today's competitive markets.

My personal philosophy is to:

"Embrace your unique journey, your most significant 'unfair advantage' might just be something you already possess."

If you’re an entrepreneur at heart, a sales leader looking to elevate your team, or just want to chat about the startup world's highs and lows, feel free to connect! 

I'm always open to sharing ideas, speaking at events and conferences and specialise in GTM, Marketing, Sales and everything to do with starting tech startups.

Co-founder - We're hiring!

Uhubs helps busy sales leaders at top SaaS companies optimise their sales enablement to develop reps and grow revenue, by uncovering blind spots on performance, motivation and skills.

The Uhubs Pulse platform visualises each team’s development needs for personalised upskilling & provides data-driven coaching recommendations that are saving Sales Managers 40+ hrs per quarter and helping reps ramp up 30% faster.

Supercharge your sales team by booking a demo with us today.

Oliver Knowles

Scribeless

Handwritten letters stand out. Ensure your message is heard, and drive positive ROI through locally sent, personalized mailers.

Sales and Operations Manager. (Fractional)

OK-Digital

Remember, people buy from people, but trust is the key ingredient. :)

Have a look at the wonderful feedback I've received from clients during our collaborations.

Know someone, who might benefit from a conversation with me? Let's connect and explore how I can help.

Fractional Business Development Director

Bonanza Studios | Growth Consultancy

As the Growth and Opportunity Lead over at Bonanza, my role is all about spotting and chasing the best growth opportunities for the business.

Bonanza.studios - Works with SaaS startups to nail market fit, optimise cash flow, and drive customer acquisition—without the guesswork.

Growth and Opportunity Lead at Bonanza (Fractional Contract)

Leadable

Outbound sales in an ABM style needs to be relevant and personalized to every prospect. We handle all of this so that your sales team can break through the noise with Tier 1 accounts.

https://www.leadable.io

Head of Sales

Brightmile

Head of Sales Development

Backed by one of the world's largest insurers, Brightmile is the simplest and fastest way to improve your drivers’ safety and reduce your business risk. Brightmile harnesses new technology to deliver AI-powered real-time, contextual prevention whilst engaging drivers. I lead the demand generation side of our business.

Account Manager

Outbound sales to Enterprise needs to be uniquely personalized to every prospect. We handle all of this so that your sales team can focus on closing.

https://www.leadable.io

Client Growth Manager (Fractional)

GatherContent

GatherContent is a Content Operations Platform that helps teams produce effective content, at scale. Customers use our platform to manage the people, and process, for producing effective content that meets user needs and business goals.

We work with leading digital agencies, higher education institutions, governments, non-profits and membership organisations. Some of our customers include Digitas LBI, Harvard University, The Australian Government and Doctors without Borders.

We launched in 2012 and now help thousands of customers, all over the world. Our team is fully remote, working from all over the UK.

Senior Account Executive

TINT (tintup.com)

Head of Europe 

TINT (tintup.com) is a simple, yet powerful solution that lets you aggregate, curate, and display any social media feeds onto your websites, mobile apps, Facebook Pages, retail displays and event walls. It's social engagement, anywhere. Trusted by over 45,000+ brands worldwide.

European Sales & Marketing at TINT (tintup.com) 

Mubaloo Limited

As part of The Mubaloo Group TRW designs and builds enterprise grade websites that empower users and transform business.

TRW shape user experiences around giving more choice to customers, and powerful tools to staff. This helps our clients drive internal efficiencies, improve customer retention and acquisition

Business Development Manager

Kudan

Specialists in mobile Augmented Reality

Kudan is a market leading Augmented Reality specialist. We create award winning solutions through big ideas and technology.

Our services span strategy to core technology development with specialists in digital marketing strategy, 3D and graphic design and computer vision.

Through our AR solutions and strategic planning, we drive footfall, traceability and integrate on and off-line activity in your campaigns. With our AR, your offline activity is now as measurable as digital campaigns.

We have our own technology, an industry-leading track record – and we know how to make a difference.

Clients: ebay, MI (kraft), Diageo, BBC, Monster Energy Drink, Pieminister, Mothercare, Singtel, Universal Music...

Helping business owners build, own & master their outbound sales/GTM Playbook (OK-Digital)

Are you at the helm of an early-stage SaaS company and ready to set up your initial outbound sales function? 

Do you aim to devise a process that's both predictable and scalable, helping you unlock your next round of funding?

Or perhaps you're a founder or sales leader with a compact sales team, still figuring out the intricacies of outbound sales? 

Are you eager to cultivate these essential skills within your team instead of relying on external outsourcing?

Maybe I can help?

I'm a fractional Business Development Director (BDD) with a personalised approach to drive growth. 

Here's what I offer:

✅ ICP/Persona & Messaging Mapping
✅ List Building & Enrichment
✅ Cadence & Email Sequences
✅ Calling Script Writing
✅ Fractional SDR
✅ Playbook Documentation
✅ Tech Stack Implementation

Ready to Drive Predictable Growth? Build, Own & Master Your Outbound Sales / GTM Playbook 🚀
Connect with me at oliver@ok-digital.co.uk - +44 (0) 7990012125.

Yesterday I did something I've maybe done 2-3 times in my entire 20-year sales career.

I stopped a software demo early and walked out.

Here's what happened:

Last week I posted looking for a specific solution for one of my clients. 

Got some good DMs, followed up with everyone. 

One SDR and rep seemed friendly, asked me to join a meeting with their AE.

I made my requirements crystal clear. 

Pushed back twice to qualify properly.... asked directly if they could actually show me what I needed. Got confirmation they could.

Showed up to the demo.

They didn't know who I was. AE was unprepared and a bit aggressive. 

When I reminded them what I was looking for, they went ahead and tried to present something completely different. 

Pushed me towards what they wanted to show, not what I actually needed to see.

So I politely shut it down. "Look, let's not do this."

I get it being an SDR is tough, especially this time of year when you're scrambling to hit quota and you need meetings to show up. 

But here's the thing:If someone gives you information to prepare for a call, use it. Don't just tell the prospect what they want to hear to get them on the calendar. 

t's wasting your time, the AE's time, and everyone else's time. 

And it's never going to convert.

Anyone else had to walk out of a demo?

I blend modern outbound tech with old-school sales craft to build systems that actually convert.

I think this might be my favorite cold email I've ever received.

They've 100% cracked the code to book meetings with sales folks.

"A FREE PATAGONIA FLEECE.......!!!"

Where do I sign 😎

*𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.

I've got subscriptions to Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT. 

I try to keep on top of what they're all doing because the arms race between them is pretty interesting to watch.

But when I look at my actual usage over the last few months, a pattern's emerged.

Claude handles most of my copywriting and deep thinking around messaging. 

Gemini I'm in constantly for two things: the Google Workspace integration for working directly in Sheets and Slides is slick, and when I need to pull research or insights from documents already sitting in my Drive or Gmail, that native access is genuinely useful for account research and technical digging.

ChatGPT though? I'm just not going back to it as much anymore. 

Not because I decided to stop using it, I just find myself naturally reaching for the other two.

All three have their limitations and strengths, but Claude and Gemini have become my day to day tools without me really planning for that to happen.

What are you noticing with your own usage? 

Are you gravitating towards one or two, or still jumping between all of them?

#HappyFridayLinkedIn

Happy Friday to all my fellow sales folk.

For all those who are hitting the phones today, I salute you and wish you all have meaningful conversations today.

To give you a better chance, we all know that your data and lists are probably the most important things for investment.

I've been recently using BetterEnrich which uses waterfall sourcing across 17 providers for both mobile and email.

I have been seeing great connection rates and quality across all the data that I've pulled for my clients' campaigns.

The pricing is also way better than the other household name waterfall provider that, in my opinion, charges far too much per credit. 😘

If there's one place that you look to invest your money in, it's data quality. 

Can't recommend this enough.

Reach out to Abu Rayhan and he'll get you set up.

*And to confirm, this is not a sponsored post in any way. I'm just always happy to share tools and services that I use myself.

Quick ask for the Salesforce crowd...

Looking for recommendations on sales engagement tools that work natively within Salesforce.

Need something for sequences, task management, and dialling that keeps reps working directly in the CRM - not switching between multiple platforms.

The goal: avoid the sync issues that come with external tools. Want everything happening in one place.

What are you using? What's actually working well for outbound teams?

Appreciate any recommendations 👍

Question for my fellow cold callers:

Has anyone actually managed to get past Android and iOS call screening?

😅  ❄️ ☎️

taplio

The Battle

Ash Ali

Oliver Knowles

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taplio

The Battle

Ash Ali

Oliver Knowles

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);}Oliver Knowles's LinkedIn Performance

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