A seasoned professional with over 25 years experience in B2B Marketing and Business Development in both the UK and US, Paul Gowan joined Connectd's Transition to Portfolio programme to transfer his vast experience and skills into a Fractional Executive career.
The programme's really been instrumental in so many areas, from the mentoring through to the platform itself
The programme's really been instrumental in so many areas, from the mentoring through to the platform itself, which allows you to engage with startups.When you're embarking on a fractional exec path, which can be a big change, you need those tools and foundations to evolve your career and Connectd gives you that.
There's three elements of the programme that have really helped me. The first is the training; covering things like financials within startups, for example, has been so useful. Many of us on the programme have come from large corporations and so deeper insight into the financials, funding and the important KPIs was essential. The second part is of course the mentorship; having a mentor to share ideas and approaches, and leveraging their experience was hugely valuable. Finally, getting that first pro bono role assigned to you truly gets you started on the path In my case, I'm still working closely with that startup that I first got placed with.
Getting started on your first pro bono engagement is obviously key; that gives you that springboard to get moving. At the start, it can often feel a bit like a flywheel where it's difficult to get moving but as you move into your next engagements it becomes easier.The Connectd program continues to support you as you're engaging those new opportunities, helping you to sharpen your skills for what is often a new environment.
In some startups, it may not always be obvious how you can apply your skill set, but often by discussing the business, and where they need most help, you can often find areas to which you can bring your expertise. I found this with one of my startups; we discussed scaling and realised that driving partnerships in new adjacent markets was key for them. That's actually where they needed my help even though that wasn't the nature of the initial engagement.
There are two areas to touch on. Firstly, the regular Transition to Portfolio events, which complement the on demand training. A recent session focussed on financial KPIs, planning and strategy to help drive startups growth. This is essential knowledge when engaging new businesses and, as I mentioned earlier, you're often coming from a more corporate world, so understanding the different frameworks of financial KPIs for startups is important.
Secondly, working with a mentor to help support what I would call the kind of cadence of planning and managing the business, with respect to those KPIs. Something as simple as running a monthly review to determine what KPIs you should be using to manage and plan. These are what I'd call simple processes, and checks and balances that are often missing from startups as they're so focused on growth. So I think those are the key elements that help you cement your engagement.
Absolutely. Completing the training, attending the online events - which I really encourage people to do - having a mentor to guide you through those initial engagements, and getting that first pro pro bono assignment, they're all crucial as part of that overall career path. The programme helps you move out your comfort zone and supports you as you look to apply those skill sets to new domains and industries.
Many skill sets are transferable, which is why I think many people are on the programme; it helps you identify what those skills are, how to apply them, effectively making you more relevant and attractive to businesses.
