Hatch works with a series of experts across the sector who deliver sessions to our community of entrepreneurs on their areas of expertise, from business strategy to brand identity. These sessions consist of presentations and workshop segments, allowing our founders to directly apply all learning to their own businesses and get advice relevant to them.
One of our experts is Collette Philip who has been providing expert sessions to our founders covering the topics of branding and the entrepreneurial mindset.
Previous Experience
Collette is uniquely situated to provide the right branding support for Hatch founders due to her extensive career history in charity and commercial branding teams, as well as the fact that she has been through a Hatch programme herself with her business Brand By Me.
Brand By Me is a brand strategy consultancy focusing on social change, helping leaders and organisations unlock the power of brand to drive social justice and tackle inequity.
She spent over 15 years working in national and global teams on brand and digital strategy before founding the business, using money saved for a career break to self-launch Brand By Me six years ago.
Collette credits the strength of her brand identity in those early stages for her success in getting the business off the ground.
Hatch
The biggest challenge came in 2020 when the business was hit by Brexit uncertainty and the pandemic at the same time, causing a lot of work to be pulled and two big projects cancelled.
This prompted Collette to join the Hatch Accelerator in September 2020, “I needed space to work on my business, and Hatch was great for that.”
At the time there were sweeping conversations around racial justice, and brands were floundering in response. Collette saw some terrible and tokenistic responses as organisations struggled to contribute meaningfully to the conversation, whereas she could see clearly what they needed to do.
This marked the switch from Brand By Me being a very niche service for progressive, equity-focused brands, to an incredibly relevant provider delivering timely and topical support.
As her business grows Collette’s goal remains the same: for Brand By Me to be the go to for brands looking to embed social justice, in whatever form that takes.
“What I really love to do is help leaders build brands that drive social change and positive impact.”
Entrepreneurial Mindset
Seeing herself as an entrepreneur is something that Collette initially struggled with, having never considered starting her own business before. Now she says, “I would never go back, I love running my own business.” She loves the flexibility of being a founder: the flexibility of remit, role, and purpose. “If I’ve got an idea, it’s up to me to make it happen. As a Black woman, in an organisation I always hit a ceiling. Running a business is liberating, there aren’t those limits.”
Expert
Collette is passionate about changing the world, and believes that the most effective way to do that is through supporting equity and social justice-focused brands to thrive.
Being an expert for Hatch is a great way for her to achieve this, and her personal experiences of entrepreneurship bring huge value to those attending her sessions.
“Having been on a Hatch programme gave me a really good understanding of the very diverse needs of female founders.”
As a Black woman who had set up her own business from scratch, and also someone who had been part of the Hatch ecosystem, Collette felt that she could really relate to early-stage founders and teach them the course content in a way that spoke to them.
She has received really positive feedback from founders who have participated in her sessions and, as one of her presentations had been recorded, says that she is always pleased to receive an unexpected LinkedIn mention whenever it’s used in a Hatch programme.
Collette’s key advice:
- Spend some time thinking about your core purpose and vision. Keep it simple, do it early, and write it down.
- Be really clear on your audience – it should not be everyone. Be specific, who will most benefit, and who will take you to your vision.
Collette’s key skills:
- Brand strategy
- Brand vision
- Personal brand
- Entrepreneurial mindset
- Diversity
- Antiracism
- Leadership