Independent Advisory · Munich / Berlin
Helping founders turn ambitious companies into clear market stories.
Most companies start communicating before they decide what they want to be known for.
I help founders make the positioning decisions that shape every communication afterwards, from fundraising and hiring to media and market perception.
01 — Background
Built from the inside. Applied across founders.
My communications experience has been built inside companies, venture capital and founder-led businesses.
The experience that shaped my approach most was AUTO1 Group, where communications evolved from a largely founder-led function into a global communications organisation supporting hypergrowth, international expansion and IPO readiness.
I later led communications and marketing at HV Capital, supporting selected portfolio founders on narrative and communications priorities. Since 2023, I have worked independently, combining founder advisory with a number of entrepreneurial projects.
Supported founders from
- Marketplaces
- FinTech
- Climate Tech
- SaaS
- Deep Tech
- Consumer Products
Typical moments
- Fundraising rounds
- Market expansion
- Product launches
- Founder visibility
- Messaging no longer fits
- First communications hire
- Increased media attention
- Leadership transitions
02 — Who I work with
A small number of companies, chosen carefully.
Seed Companies
Making the first positioning decisions before the market makes them for you.
Series A Companies
Turning early traction into a clear story for customers, investors and media.
Growth Companies
Keeping positioning clear as the company scales into new markets and reaches wider audiences.
VC Platform Teams
Helping portfolio founders navigate communications challenges across different stages of growth.
Leadership Teams
Creating alignment around how the company is explained internally and externally.
03 — Typical triggers
When founders usually call.
Everyone explains the company differently.
Founder visibility becomes a business priority.
Media interest grows, but communications stays reactive.
The company knows what it stands for. The market doesn't.
04 — Why this matters
Positioning is a business asset.
How a company explains itself affects fundraising, sales, hiring and every important conversation that follows. When that story is unclear, every downstream function pays for it.
Clear positioning reduces the time people need to understand what you do. Fix it once, at the source. Everything else becomes easier afterwards.
Investors
Clearer investment cases built on consistent positioning and proof.
Customers
Buyers understand the company faster and explain it more easily inside their own organisations.
Talent
Great people join companies they understand and believe in.
Media
Journalists publish what they can verify quickly. Clear positioning and proof make that process easier.
05 — The Sprint
Founder Narrative Sprint.
An eight-week engagement designed to help founders make the positioning decisions that shape every communication that follows.
Founder time
~2-3 hrs / week
Duration
8 weeks
Week 1–2
Research & Discovery
Founder, leadership and selected customer conversations. Review of the website, decks, press coverage and existing communications. Understanding where the story breaks down - and why.
Week 2–4
Founder & Leadership Sessions
Working sessions that force the positioning decisions most companies postpone. Defining one narrative, one point of view and one language the leadership team can consistently use.
Week 4–6
Visibility Strategy
Turning positioning into decisions. Choosing the few channels that matter for the company's next twelve months - fundraising, hiring, launches and expansion.
Week 6–8
Activation Planning
Turning decisions into execution. A practical 90-day communications roadmap with clear priorities, ownership and sequencing.
06 — Deliverables
What you walk away with.
Every deliverable exists to make future communications decisions faster and more consistent. The result is a clearer story, sharper positioning and a practical basis for media, founder visibility and future communications work.
Narrative & Positioning Framework
Key Messaging Architecture
Proof & Evidence Library
Founder Perspective Document
Topics to Own
Visibility Prioritisation Framework
Story Angle Library
Prioritised Media & Podcast Landscape
90-Day Activation Plan
07 — From narrative to visibility
Relevance, not reach.
A clear narrative only creates value when the right people encounter it in the right places. The goal isn't visibility for its own sake. It's choosing the channels where credibility compounds at the stage the company is in.
- Earned Media
- Podcasts
- Speaking
- Founder Visibility
- Industry Networks
- Strategic Partnerships
- Owned Platforms
08 — Earned media
A practical approach to earned media.
The decision rule
If the story only works because the company is in it, it is not a story yet.
Earned media starts with something the audience already cares about. The company becomes the proof inside that story – not the reason the story exists.
Pre-pitch checklist
- Does the story exist beyond the company itself?
- Is there a reason this matters this quarter, not next year?
- Can a journalist verify the core claim in one call?
- Is there a named spokesperson with a real point of view?
- Is this the right outlet, or just the biggest one?
Start with the reader.
Built around what the audience already cares about, not what the company wants to say.
Explain why it matters now.
Timing gives a story momentum. A real moment turns a company update into something worth covering.
Connect the company to the story.
The company is the proof inside a broader story – not the reason the story exists.
09 — Turning stories into coverage
Media relations, built around relevance.
Story angles
Find the story worth telling before deciding who should hear it.
Journalist relationships
Build trust over time, not just around a single announcement.
Personalised outreach
Write for one journalist, never for a media list.
Media relevance
Join conversations where the company has something meaningful to add.
10 — After the Sprint
What happens after the Sprint?
The Sprint is designed to leave the company with a clear narrative and a practical system it can continue to use long after the engagement ends. From there, the next step depends on the company. Some teams already have an internal communications lead who takes ownership. Some use the Sprint to hire their first communications person. Others continue with senior support while the function is being built.
Internal execution
The narrative, messaging, proof library and 90-Day Activation Plan live in a single working document the team owns. Most companies continue independently from week nine.
First communications hire
When the time is right, the Sprint becomes the foundation for the first communications hire - defining the role, priorities, success metrics and the first 90 days.
Continued support
Where ongoing strategic support is useful, I stay involved through a small number of advisory engagements with clear monthly priorities.
11 — Ongoing engagement
Fractional Head of Communications.
For companies that need senior communications judgment alongside execution during periods of growth, fundraising or change. Focused on narrative, earned media and founder visibility.
Typical support includes
- Earned media strategy
- Story development & positioning
- Media strategy & outreach
- Journalist relationships
- Press materials where relevant
- Founder positioning
- Speaking strategy & opportunities
- Podcast strategy & opportunities
- Communications planning around company milestones
- Ongoing strategic sparring with founders and leadership teams
What this is not
- Social media management
- Content creation at scale
- Creative production
- Community management
- High-volume agency execution
The goal is to turn the Sprint into consistent execution. Better decisions, stronger stories and clearer communications around the moments that matter.
Where additional specialist support is needed, I help identify the right people and coordinate the work around a clear communications strategy.
12 — Working model
A lean extension of the team.
I work with a small number of companies at any one time. That is a deliberate choice. The work requires close collaboration, honest conversations and the perspective of someone who has built communications from the inside.
Active engagements
Small number of active engagements
Founders & Leadership Teams Supported
20+
Years in communications
10+
Based between
Munich / Berlin
Operating principles
Clarity before volume.
Nothing goes out until the leadership team can explain the company in one paragraph everyone believes.
Decisions, not decks.
Every working session ends with a written decision the team can act on the same week.
Earned, not bought.
Visibility is built through credibility with journalists, peers and industry operators - not paid distribution.
Founder time is the scarcest resource.
Engagements are designed around roughly two focused hours per week.
Built to be handed over.
Every output is documented so an in-house team or future hire can continue without losing context.
Say no to the wrong work.
Engagements that are not the right fit are declined early. Long-term trust matters more than utilisation.
13 — Background
Communications experience built inside companies, venture capital and founder-led businesses.
2023 – Present
Independent Advisory
Developing founder advisory alongside a number of entrepreneurial projects.
2021 – 2023
HV Capital
VP Communications & Marketing
Led communications and marketing at HV Capital. Worked with selected portfolio founders on narrative, positioning and communications priorities.
2017 – 2021
AUTO1 Group
Head of Communications
Built and led the communications function through hypergrowth, international expansion and IPO readiness.
Earlier communications experience includes IMG / WME and Auctionata.
14 — Contact
Let's have a conversation.
The best way to see if there's a fit is a short conversation. No deck. No pitch.