Eric Holtzclaw

Liger

As Chief Strategist of Liger, Eric evaluates businesses to improve products, services, support and marketing strategies for overall effectiveness. Along the way, Eric teaches companies how to understand their customers better so they build solid teams that deliver to customer expectations.

A trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies and small business owners alike, Eric uses his extensive experience starting, growing and running his own businesses in concert with a knowledge base from over a decade of business and consumer interviews to accelerate a deeper understanding of the true behaviors, motivations, goals, preferences and expectations of customers and teams.  

A sought after speaker, writer and thought leader, Eric's passion is to apply customer-based knowledge to emerging trends in technology creating new opportunities and improving existing business models.

Chief Strategist

Tarkenton Private Capital

Actively guiding the firm's investment strategies and shaping the future of innovative startups and early-stage companies in the portfolio.

Collaborate closely with entrepreneurs, founders, and CEO's, guiding them through growth challenges, refining business models, and providing valuable industry connections. Analyze market trends, identify emerging opportunities, and contribute to portfolio optimization. Contribute to the success of both the firm and the startups we support, fostering innovation and driving impactful returns on investment.

Principal

PossibleNOW

Provide strategic direction for the adoption of the MyPreferences platform within enterprise clients. MyPreferences allows companies to "Listen, Remember and Respond" to their customers' desires for overall engagement and customized experience.

Formation of a Professional Services Organization within PossibleNOW to assist Fortune 500 companies with both the strategic evaluation of enterprise-wide preference management and the implementation of the MyPreferences SaaS solution.  

Serve as the interface between PossibleNOW and industry analysts, potential PSO partners and vendors.  Establishment of proprietary research and best practices for the centralization of preference management and maximizing user adoption with an eye toward existing and future marketing needs.

Chief Strategy Officer

Mansueto Ventures

Weekly column on Inc.com providing advice to business owners and entrepreneurs.  The column covers trends in technology, leadership, employee management and research.

http://www.inc.com/author/eric-holtzclaw

Columnist, Lean Forward on Inc.com

User Insight

As CEO of User Insight, Eric Holtzclaw oversaw strategic service offerings and ensured operational excellence and innovation across the business. 

User Insight's body of work gave Eric the unique opportunity to interview thousands of users across industries where they work, live and play to truly understand "why" they do what they do within different contexts.  User Insight delivers over 150 projects a year supporting the world's largest brands.  This vantage point provided a unique perspective and understanding of the dramatic impact created by relationship-based technologies and a preview of the future based on the "Internet of Things".

Chief Executive Officer

CyberSource

Part of the leadership for a new team tasked with creating a professional services arm within CyberSource to support deployment and extension of CyberSource's core payment and fraud offerings.

Specific highlights include:

- Responsible for negotiating relationship with order fulfillment partner and rollout to organization 
- Creation of stored value offerings
- Supporting United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia in development of emerging markets
- Development of statements of work, pricing and pitches of key high profile projects

Practice Manager

Silicon Graphics

Created Internet Services practice for SGI's newly formed Professional Services organization that generated $30 million a quarter in new business

Responsible for identifying partner companies to add new solutions for extension of SGI hardware

Advised SGI's customers on solutions based on SGI hardware to take advantage of emerging Internet technology to extend and expand upon their core businesses

Solutions Architect, Practice Lead

PrimeWire

Created an employee benefit enrollment system to streamline benefit enrollment for employers working with independent agents.

VP, Technology

OneCoast Network

OneCoast is a consolidation of Manufacturer Representative Agencies from across the United States into one larger entity.

Responsibilities included:

- The application of technology to increase efficiency 
- Centralization of the back office operations
- Creation of enabling technology to equip in-field sales reps
- Development of order entry and commission system for showroom sales
- Build out of corporate headquarters and data center

OneCoast was the one of the largest venture capital backed entities in Atlanta in 1997.

Thomson Reuters

Projects included KnowX, KeyCite, WestLaw on the Web and WestLaw Europe.

Director of Product Development

Marketing isn’t just about tactics—it’s about discipline, consistency, and strategy. At Liger, we don’t use cookie-cutter marketing. We specialize in bringing complex businesses to market—financial services, fintech, insurance, PEOs, and more—to clarify their message, amplify their brand, and drive real business growth.

With decades of experience launching, growing, and advising companies, I’ve seen firsthand how the right marketing can transform businesses. I’ve helped Fortune 500 giants and scrappy startups alike, using a mix of research, strategy, and storytelling to uncover what truly drives customer behavior.

Why Work with Liger?

We take brands from being invisible to unforgettable through:
- Strategic Positioning – Crafting messaging that cuts through the noise
- Creative Storytelling – Turning complex ideas into compelling narratives
- Smart Execution – Driving measurable growth with tailored marketing

As a founder of multiple startups—including one of the first profitable internet enterprises—and two, three-time Inc. 5000 honorees, I understand what it takes to scale a business. My experience spans creating new divisions in established companies to challenge the status quo and leading teams that turn bold ideas into real impact.

Let’s connect and explore how Liger can help you become the market leader in your space.

Professional experience includes: founding multiple startup companies, including one of the first profitable Internet enterprises; co-founding User Insight which made the Inc 5000 fastest growing companies 3 years in a row; and the creation of new divisions within established companies to encourage a shift in thinking and change in approach.

Chief Strategist & Dojo Master

As Founding Partner and Chief Strategist of Liger Partners, Eric evaluates businesses to improve products, services, support and marketing strategies for overall effectiveness. Along the way, Eric teaches companies how to understand their customers better so they build solid teams that deliver to customer expectations.

A trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies and small business owners alike, Eric uses his extensive experience starting, growing and running his own businesses in concert with a knowledge base from over a decade of business and consumer interviews to accelerate a deeper understanding of the true behaviors, motivations, goals, preferences and expectations of customers and teams.  

A sought after speaker, writer and thought leader, Eric's passion is to apply customer-based knowledge to emerging trends in technology creating new opportunities and improving existing business models.

Positioning for tech companies. Author of the best-selling books Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch.

April Dunford is the world's foremost authority on product positioning for B2B technology companies. As a consultant, April helps companies make complex products easy to understand and love. After a 25-year career as a VP of Marketing at various fast-growing technology firms, she has consulted with 300 technology companies, including Google, Epic Games, Postman, and others. April is the acclaimed author of the best-selling book, "Obviously Awesome," which delves into the art of positioning, and the newly released, "Sales Pitch," which unveils the secrets to crafting a winning sales narrative in the market.

April Dunford

ANNOUNCEMENT - The new updated and expanded Obviously Awesome is coming!!! 🎉 🎉 

I've been sitting on this one for a while, so I'm SUPER EXCITED to get this out into the world!! 

Almost 7 years ago, I published Obviously Awesome, my attempt at describing the process I use to position B2B tech products and companies. I didn't expect many people to read it. I was wrong. 

Since then, more than 100,000 people have bought the book, and countless companies have used the process. A few hundred did that with me directly, and many, many more of you worked through the process on your own using the book. I've learned a LOT over the past 7 years, and I decided it was time to bring those learnings back to the book. 

The new edition is coming in FEBRUARY (don't ask me for a specific date - it's Amazon's world, we're just living in it). Here's what's new:

📙 5 STEPS (not 10) - In the first edition, I describe 5 components of positioning and a 10-step process for doing it. Some of you really hated that the number of steps in the process wasn’t equal to the number of components. The first few steps were pre-work, and the final steps are work that follows the exercise. I have repositioned those steps (see what I did there), and we now have 5 components and 5 steps. 

📙 The PRE-WORK section has been expanded to include key decisions a team should make before beginning a positioning exercise. This is based on my work with clients, and I think it will greatly improve any team’s chances of success when following this process.

📙 I have included sections that are more relevant to MULTIPRODUCT companies grappling with how to position their products in a company with multiple offerings. 

📙 Some steps in the process have been significantly expanded—particularly the Differentiated Value step. Most teams told me they got stuck there. I hope this new, improved section helps to clarify the concept.

📙 The final section, What Happens AFTER a Positioning Exercise, has been greatly expanded. This new section reflects my current thinking on how best to create a sales pitch to test positioning and then turn that positioning into messaging.

📙 For the first time, there will be a HARDCOVER edition. Most of you won't care, but I have seen some seriously well-loved (but also beat-up and scraggly) paperbacks at conferences, and I decided some of you need a copy that’s a little more durable!

🎙️ To go with the book, I'm reviving the Positioning PODCAST and will release a new series of episodes that dive into the book's new material. 
✍ The same goes for the NEWSLETTER (always the best way to follow my stuff). 

A new podcast episode and newsletter article drop TOMORROW - links in the comments.

You don't want to start any positioning work before making a key set of decisions

1️⃣ Is now the right time? 
Do we have enough customer experience to understand how prospects make decisions? Have we worked with enough customers to know - at least at a high level - what makes a good-fit customer different from a bad-fit customer? If the answer is no, we might want to develop a positioning thesis and tighten our positioning after we have closed more business.

2️⃣ Are we clear who this positioning is for? 
Positioning for customers is not the same as positioning for investors or employees. If we start working on positioning and half the team thinks we are building a sales pitch, the other half thinks we are building an investor pitch, very bad things will happen. 

3️⃣ What exactly are we positioning?  
Are we positioning the company, a product, or a group of products? The answer to this question might require deeper thinking about your go-to-market strategy. Getting a clear answer to this question will save you from having to debate this point mid-way through your positioning work.  

4️⃣ Which persona are you positioning for? Teams outside the sales team may not understand what a deal champion is and may be overly focused on positioning for other personas. When we talk about "value," we need to be clear about who perceives it. 

If you don't make these decisions up front, I can guarantee you will regret it. I've seen many teams rush into positioning work, only to stop midway to debate these points and backtrack to redo work they have already started. 

(I'm covering this topic in more detail in the newsletter and the podcast this week - links in comments)

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Eric Holtzclaw

April Dunford

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taplio

The Battle

Eric Holtzclaw

April Dunford

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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);}April Dunford's LinkedIn Performance

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