Interview with Ivelina AG, Founder @Business Clinic®️ by newtrend
Sumar articol
Ivelina Atanasova-Genchev (Ivelina AG) is a Fractional CMO and creator of the BRAVO Method and Business Clinic®️ by newtrend, with over 20 years in growth marketing and business innovation. Her strategic expertise and commitment to delivering tangible outcomes have driven substantial growth across various industries. Ivelina is passionate about promoting gender equity through female entrepreneurship, believing it crucial for societal progress.
She has received numerous accolades, including the “John Atanasov” award from the President of Bulgaria for her contributions to computer sciences. Ivelina is also the President of DigitalKidZ®️ Foundation, which supports adults and children in developing digital literacy skills. Triple TEDx speaker and a regular speaker in marketing, business strategy, and education, she advocates for a neuroscience-based, holistic approach to education and business.
Learn more about her work at https://ivatanasova.com.
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Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Growing up in Bulgaria during a period of economic hardship profoundly shaped my early life. Born in 1983 to a working-class family, I was directly exposed to our struggling economy. My mother, driven by a need to overcome long-term unemployment, opened a small grocery store during these lean times. Despite her empathy and commitment, the business succumbed in less than three years, overwhelmed by debts from customers who couldn’t pay. This experience served as my first poignant lesson in entrepreneurship, highlighting common pitfalls such as inadequate funding, the absence of a clear strategy, and a lack of a solid business plan.
Far from being discouraged, this early setback fueled my desire to understand what distinguishes successful ventures from those that fail. At the age of 14, I began working at my mother’s grocery store. I quickly realized that enthusiasm alone was insufficient for business success. This prompted me to create the BRAVO framework—a strategic approach to customer engagement, marketing, and business management. This methodology not only helped me navigate daily challenges but also ignited my passion for business development and marketing.
Over the following 25 years, I polished and refined the BRAVO method, culminating in its publication last year, and developed thebravo.ai – an AI-powered tool that seamlessly integrates with the brand book, ensuring every piece of content created is a reflection of the brand’s unique identity.
My journey, informed by these early lessons and subsequent experiences, inspired me to become a business consultant. I now focus on helping other entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of starting and growing their businesses. I am proud to be the first successful entrepreneur in my family, specializing in strategic marketing and business growth. My work involves helping companies thrive globally, whether through public offerings, sales, expansion, or scaling to new heights.
The insights I’ve gained through overcoming adversity have equipped me with a deep understanding of business dynamics, which I am eager to leverage in my role here.
Can you give us an overview of Business Clinic®️ by newtrend and Ivelina A.G?
As a serial entrepreneur, I oversee a suite of brands, all centered around marketing and business enhancement. Each of these ventures is guided by our proprietary BRAVO methodology and caters to distinct aspects of the business lifecycle.
Business Clinic serves as the ’emergency department’ of our group. Hosted online at Business Clinic, our mission is to support companies in critical transitions, whether that involves executing a successful exit, salvaging a business incurring losses, or navigating through digital transformation. We offer a trademark partnership program where freelancers and companies can get educated, certified, and become part of our global network, enhancing their business services significantly.
Newtrend Agency, with branches in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Brussels, Belgium, focuses on empowering startups. We provide comprehensive 360-marketing services that include SEO, web development, design, strategy formulation, social media management, communication, market entry strategies, and consulting on venture fund and business angel engagements.
In addition to managing these brands, I also engage personally as an interim Chief Marketing Officer, business coach, or mentor at the C-manager level. My role involves supporting leaders in building their personal brands and enhancing their media presence.
In today’s hyper-competitive market, our group stands out by not just offering solutions but also partnering with our clients to ensure their success, leveraging our unique blend of innovative strategies and personalized, in-depth consulting.
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Marketing strategies can vary significantly across different industries and stages of a company. Based on your experience, what marketing strategies have been most effective for you, and how have these evolved as your company has grown?
In my 25 years of experience, the cornerstone has been the BRAVO framework, which ensures sustainability and optimization across all marketing channels and strategies. Here’s how each component of BRAVO has played a crucial role:
- B stands for Brand Purpose: Every successful marketing strategy starts by defining the brand’s mission and core values and clarifying the company’s “why”. This step grounds all further marketing efforts, ensuring they align with the value that aims to deliver to customers.
- R is for Relevant Target Audience: Understanding the audience profile is key. By defining the ideal customers and their demographics, behaviors, and needs, tailoring the marketing messages and engagement strategies to resonate deeply with them.
- A represents Archetype Branding: This involves crafting a distinctive brand identity based on archetypal principles that forge a strong emotional connection with the audience. It helps in establishing a memorable and relatable brand persona.
- V and (unique) Value Proposition: A compelling value proposition that distinguishes offerings from competitors, clearly outlining the unique benefits that our customers can expect.
- O stands for Omni-Channel Presence and notably User Experience: Establishing a robust presence across multiple channels has been crucial. This ensures that the brand engages with its audience effectively wherever they are, leveraging both digital and traditional platforms.
This holistic approach not only allows marketing strategies to evolve as the company grows but also ensures that they remain effective and integrated, driving success across all stages of business development.
Digital marketing has many tactics, channels, formats, etc. Can you tell us how you choose the best ones and how do you decide where to put your efforts for the best ROI?
In digital marketing, the selection of tactics, channels, and formats is crucial and must align precisely with the unique resources and goals of each client—considering time, people, and budget. At our company, each strategy is crafted through a process that is deeply personal and bespoke. We begin with extensive research to understand the specific needs and objectives of our client. This involves a blend of coaching to clarify goals and psychology to grasp customer behaviors and preferences, ensuring our approach is both holistic and client-centric.
We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, we consider the specific context of the client’s industry and the competitive landscape. By integrating these insights, we are able to identify the most effective channels and tactics that promise the best ROI. Whether it’s SEO, content marketing, social media, or more innovative methods like AI-driven targeting, our strategies are designed to leverage the right mix that resonates with the target audience and maximizes return on investment.
This personalized approach allows us to be agile and responsive, continuously refining our strategies based on real-time data and feedback to ensure that we are not only meeting but exceeding client expectations, driving growth and success in a measurable way.
If you could change one thing about digital marketing, what would it be and why?
I would actually choose to maintain its ever-evolving nature. The beauty of digital marketing lies in its constant flux—it demands flexibility and a perpetual willingness to learn. This dynamic environment compels professionals to stay on the cutting edge, continuously adapting to new technologies, trends, and tools.
Embracing this constant change has not only been essential for staying relevant but also fosters innovation within the industry.
By consistently challenging ourselves to predict and adapt to the next trend or master the latest tool, we ensure that our strategies remain effective and innovative. This adaptability enhances our processes and outcomes, keeping us at the forefront of digital marketing excellence. In essence, the relentless pace of change in digital marketing is its greatest strength, pushing the industry toward greater creativity and effectiveness.
What does “success” look like for Business Clinic®️ by newtrend and Ivelina A.G.?
Success is all about making a substantial impact—enabling personal freedom and contributing to societal change, ensuring we have the resources not only to drive our business forward but also to give back to the community significantly. Our engagement with initiatives like DigitalKidZ and Women In Tech & Leadership – Bulgaria exemplifies this vision.
DigitalKidZ is an innovative project that supports parents and elementary school children in mastering technology. It focuses on cultivating digital hygiene and literacy, empowering the younger generation to unlock their potential and build a brighter future. This initiative aligns with our core mission by fostering a society that is more proficient and responsible in its digital interactions.
Meanwhile, Women In Tech is a global organization with a dual mission: to close the gender gap in technology fields and to empower women to embrace technology. This initiative supports female leaders and entrepreneurs, helping to develop a more inclusive and diverse technological landscape.
What trends do you currently see shaping the marketing industry? How are these trends influencing your marketing strategies and decision-making processes?
Currently, several key trends are profoundly influencing the marketing landscape within the tech/SaaS sectors, and these are integral to how we shape our marketing strategies.
Firstly, the demand for video content continues to surge. Video has become an indispensable asset in digital marketing, providing a dynamic and engaging way to communicate complex ideas succinctly and effectively. This trend has led us to prioritize video content across all our digital platforms, enhancing user engagement and improving message retention.
Secondly, the rise of no-code platforms is democratizing technology, enabling small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to compete on a global scale without significant investment in technical resources. This shift has inspired us to integrate no-code solutions in our marketing offerings, allowing us to streamline processes and deliver more agile and responsive marketing services to our clients.
Lastly, artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the marketing industry by enabling more personalized and human-centric approaches. AI’s capability to analyze vast amounts of data and predict consumer behavior is allowing us to refine our value propositions and tailor our services more precisely to meet client needs. This trend is steering our decision-making processes towards more data-driven, customer-focused strategies that anticipate and adapt to user preferences in real time.
Together, these trends are guiding our strategic decisions and helping us maintain a competitive edge by innovating continually and optimizing our marketing efforts to align with the evolving digital landscape.
Reflecting on your journey in digital marketing, what is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned that you would pass on to someone just starting out in this field?
The importance of having the courage to try new things and accept the possibility of failure. I firmly believe in learning by doing. This approach has not only shaped me into an entrepreneur and later a serial entrepreneur but also underpinned my success as a business consultant and author.
My hands-on experiences, which include investing my resources and navigating various challenges, have enriched my understanding and approach to business.
Before others began to invest in my capabilities to help them grow and expand, I had already faced the trials and learned the lessons on my own dime. This direct experience has been crucial in developing the practical insights that I now share with my clients and in my writings.
For those just starting out, embrace every opportunity to experiment and learn. Your experiences, whether they lead to success or teach you how to handle setbacks, will be invaluable assets as you build your career in digital marketing.
In your opinion, what’s the best book in the world:
In my opinion, the best book is one that resonates deeply with you and offers valuable insights into your interests and needs. Considering our discussions about marketing strategies and sustainable growth, I would recommend my own upcoming book, The BRAVO Method: Marketing Strategies for Sustainable Growth.
It encapsulates the essence of the proven strategies we’ve discussed and is tailored for anyone looking to understand and apply effective marketing principles in today’s dynamic environment. The book is set to be published in English by the end of the summer. If you’re interested in more details and staying updated on its release, feel free to add me on LinkedIn.
About Business Clinic®️ by newtrend
Newtrend: A digital marketing agency with a focus on empowering startups and driving business growth, newtrend leverages cutting-edge strategies to deliver comprehensive marketing services. Based in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Brussels, Belgium, the agency specializes in SEO, web development, social media management, and strategic market entry. Newtrend is distinguished by its adoption of the BRAVO method, blending innovative techniques with tailored, data-driven solutions to help businesses excel in competitive markets.
Business Clinic: As the “emergency department” for businesses in crisis or transition, Business Clinic offers strategic interventions to save struggling businesses, facilitate successful exits, and manage digital transformations. Utilizing the proprietary BRAVO methodology, our team of legal, financial, and marketing experts provide tailored support, ensuring companies not only survive but thrive. With a focus on comprehensive recovery and growth strategies, Business Clinic empowers organizations to achieve their full potential and secure optimal outcomes.
Here is how you can find out more about Ivelina AG :
https://business-clinic.online
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Our goal with this interview series by Milk & Cookies Studio is to bridge the gap between SaaS & tech founders and marketing professionals. We bring useful tools and services closer to the community of specialists and we help our community better understand your industry.
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