As founders we’ve become commercial Swiss Army knives. We know how (and how not) to sell, communicate and innovate - having learned from our own mistakes, with our own money.
Our approach is ruthlessly practical, cutting through complexity to get things done.
Strategic advice drawn from real business experience.
Strategy and fundraising
The best strategy and fundraising advice comes from people with experience running businesses. We’ve pitched across continents and sat on both sides of the investment table, giving rare perspective on what actually works.
Our advice is direct and practical - because we’re business owners too. No fancy frameworks or ‘consultant speak’, just clear direction based on lived experience.
We’ll tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to - because we can’t afford to waste your time, or ours.
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We’ve built companies, served in Embassies and closed deals across four continents and three decades.
This isn’t theoretical knowledge - it’s hands-on experience across sectors as diverse as aerospace, ecology, energy, FMCG and tech.
Think of us as your commercial Swiss Army knife - we've an unusual ability to wrap our heads around complex commercial problems.
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We've pitched from pre-seed to Series A on both sides of the Atlantic (for ourselves and others), and worked as investment scouts and advisers for corporates, family offices and government agencies.
At infrastructure scale we've connected project developers to institutional capital, and at the other end of the spectrum have bootstrapped startups from nothing but that precious first trickle of revenue.
We've been pitched at too - interviewing founders and helping conduct due diligence for angel and venture capital investors.
From digital marketing, events and public affairs to PR, print, radio and TV - our experience spans the full gamut of the communications spectrum.
We’ve convened and compèred industry fora, done live TV and radio interviews, managed press packs and supervised live broadcast events.
As importantly we still do the actual work ourselves too - from writing web copy and killer press releases to briefing documents and persuasive pitch decks.
With Blackdown your communications are in safe and experienced hands.
Marketing and communications
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Having worked in diplomatic missions at the intersection of industry, policy and regulation, we understand how to navigate complex stakeholder environments. From regulatory monitoring to mapping influence networks, Blackdown can help you engage effectively with government and industry bodies.
We bring real-world diplomatic experience to your public affairs challenges. Whether engaging with multinational organisations or managing sensitive stakeholder relationships, we understand how decisions actually get made - and how to influence them.
Our background in commercial diplomacy means we're equally comfortable in boardrooms and government offices. We can help you plan and execute everything from public speaking engagements to ministerial meetings, ensuring your message lands with impact.
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Print media remains a powerful way to build credibility and reach decision makers.
We've secured coverage in most UK national daily newspapers (including the FT, Guardian, Independent, Telegraph and Times) and mastered the art of matching publications to campaign objectives.
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Broadcast media requires careful management and precise execution. We’ve handled everything from live outside broadcasts to prime time interviews and long-form features across major networks including the BBC, Channel 4, CNN, ITV and Sky News.
We’ve managed press packs, produced social media content that’s garnered hundreds of thousands of views and been interviewed on live television and radio ourselves. We understand what makes for compelling broadcast content, how to prepare executives for media appearances and which approach to deploy for maximum impact.
Whether you need high-end corporate video, authentic social content or mainstream media coverage - we bring practical and informed experience of what works.
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We were coding shopping carts in the 90s and pushing the boundaries of search marketing a decade later. We’ve run digital campaigns for startups, SMEs and global brands alike - always focused on measurable results.
Forget the fad and fashion changing agencies, and work with a team who’ve had to make digital actually deliver, for decades.
Our real-world experience includes supporting SMEs with their steps into export markets, the build-up of complex pan-European supply chains and greenfield setup of satellite operations in markets as diverse as Australia and India.
Our international network and practical approach help you navigate everything from site selection in neighbouring countries to first deals in frontier markets.
As always we focus on executable strategies that deliver results, not just theory.
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A well-executed PR campaign driven by real relationships and good old fashioned hustle can deliver outstanding returns.
We’ve secured coverage across major media outlets and run events as diverse as startup pitch competitions and private dinners at royal palaces.
Most importantly we understand when PR makes commercial sense, and how to craft a compelling narrative that can save you a fortune in paid media spend.
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At times of crisis, experience matters. We’ve managed complex incidents and have national level emergency response training.
We use this experience to help organisations maintain control and protect their reputation when it matters most - delivering appropriate messaging that strikes the right tone - even at the most challenging times.
AI and innovation
Innovation demands practical experience as well as technical understanding. We’ve built careers at the cutting edge of technology and innovation - from search engines in the early 2000s to drones and AI infrastructure today.
Our work as scouts for investors and corporates gives us unique insight; understanding both how innovators best interface with corporates and capital, and what breakthrough technologies companies are actually searching for.
From experimentation in our own prototyping studio to working with giants like NVIDIA and SuperMicro on GPU cluster design, we retain our own entrepreneurial outlook while remaining grounded in business reality.
This dual perspective helps us separate genuine innovation from hype - and deliver real value for our clients.
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Product development demands more than great ideas - it needs a practical understanding of what can be built and sold, and at what price.
Having built our own prototyping facilities for New Product Development (NPD), and brought several ideas to market at our own expense, we have practical experience that helps us identify what’s commercially viable as well as technically possible.
We combine this with a solid understanding of both the opportunities and constraints of modern production, especially in developed, high-cost economies.
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Technology moves fast, but not all change matters to your business.
We’ve spent years helping both investors and companies like Rolls-Royce identify and evaluate emerging technologies. In doing so we’ve developed practical tools and approaches to sort signal from noise, which we bring to our client projects.
Let Blackdown help you focus on the developments most likely to impact your business - we scan the horizon for you, so you can focus on the here and now.
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AI’s not as new as it might seem - we were working on sentiment analysis with machine learning two decades ago. Whilst today’s developments are extraordinary, separating practical value from the hype requires a combination of technical understanding and business experience.
We’re working on the full stack of AI - from collaborating with NVIDIA, SuperMicro and others on AI data centre infrastructure, to implanting practical solutions with SMEs - like using generative AI to reduce product photography costs.
For complex projects we coordinate with a network of experienced AI Research Engineers, Cloud Architects and Data Centre specialists, matching expertise precisely to client requirements.
Sales / growth strategy
Businesses live or die by their ability to sell. As founders we’ve built sales operations from the ground up - learning through necessity what works and what doesn’t, to keep our companies alive.
From winning enterprise contracts with Rolls-Royce to scaling direct-to-consumer operations, we know both when to pursue opportunities and (as importantly) when to walk away.
We bring practical knowledge of what works in B2B and B2C sales, strategic partnerships and market expansion - because we’ve built and tested these strategies ourselves.
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We understand consumer sales from both sides - having built our own FMCG and e-commerce brands from scratch and run campaigns for global brands like Porsche and TUI.
This perspective means we understand both the realities of building with limited resource and effectively deploying larger budgets.
Whether you’re building in-house capability or managing external partners, we’ll help you avoid expensive mistakes - with proven experience of what actually works.
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Enterprise sales can transform your business, or kill it. In closing deals with global companies like Rolls-Royce and Lufthansa, we’ve also learned when to walk away from opportunities that risked bleeding our businesses dry.
We’ve supported successful sales efforts with huge clients like Bank of America and Barclays too, so understand both the risks of lengthy sales cycles and the financial security that can come from building long-term relationships with top tier customers.
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Strategic partnerships can accelerate growth or destroy a business - we’ve experienced both firsthand. The right partners can amplify your capabilities and extend your reach into new markets. The wrong ones can drain resource and damage your brand.
We help identify, approach and structure partnerships that deliver real value, not just impressive logos. From distribution agreements to supply chain security, Blackdown brings practical experience of what makes partnerships work, and when to walk away.
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International expansion demands more than mere market analysis, it requires a practical understanding of how to execute on the ground. We’ve guided companies from first international deals to setting up across continents - learning what works, and what doesn’t.
Our real-world experience includes supporting SMEs with their steps into export markets, the build-up of complex pan-European supply chains and greenfield setup of satellite operations in markets as diverse as Australia and India.
Our international network and practical approach help you navigate everything from site selection in neighbouring countries to first deals in frontier markets.
As always we focus on executable strategies that deliver results, not just theory.
Operational efficiency
Operations are where strategy meets reality. The daily work of serving customers and managing suppliers is what makes or breaks a business - and as founders, we understand this firsthand.
We get our hands dirty because we know that’s where real insights come from. In our own businesses we prioritise spending time at the coalface because it’s how you spot problems, identify waste and find opportunities to improve.
We bring this same hands-on commitment to our clients. Whether resolving supply chain issues or handling tough customer conversations, we focus on the practical improvements that directly impact your bottom line.
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Growing businesses often develop costly inefficiencies. When you’ve built companies with your own money, you develop a ruthless eye for waste and bloat.
We bring this founder’s perspective to your operations. Our approach isn’t about arbitrary cost-cutting - it’s about identifying where money and time is being wasted, and where opportunities are being missed.
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It’s hard to see the full picture when buried in everyday detail. Fresh, external eyes can often spot bottlenecks and opportunities that internal teams miss.
Combing data analysis with real-world experience we map and analyse operations to identify what’s working and what isn’t, helping you understand where to focus your efforts for maximum impact.