The post Key insights from the QEEMA roundtable discussion with municipalities of Keserwan and El Metn appeared first on Berytech.

In the world of entrepreneurship, great ideas are abundant, but memorable pitches are rare. According to Georges Diab, Entrepreneurship and Pitching Specialist, the difference between a strong pitch and a forgettable one often has little to do with the business model itself. 

1. It’s About Storytelling, Not Slides 

A strong pitch doesn’t just present a product; it tells a story. Founders who can translate their idea into a clear, human narrative, from the problem they’ve witnessed to the solution they’ve built, stand out immediately. 

As Diab puts it, “Investors connect with people, not with numbers. When you turn your pitch into a story, you move from explaining a business to inspiring belief in a vision.” The best founders craft their pitches like storytellers: structured, emotional, and purposeful. They guide listeners through the journey rather than overwhelm them with data. 

2. Depth of Understanding Builds Trust 

While storytelling draws investors in, it’s deep business understanding that keeps them there. Strong founders don’t just repeat their financials; they own them. They understand the mechanisms behind their growth, their market, and their scalability model, and can communicate that fluently. 

“Knowing your numbers isn’t just about showing credibility,” Diab explains. “It’s about proving that you understand how your business actually works and how it can evolve.” 

3. Authenticity Over Performance 

Perhaps the most overlooked ingredient is authenticity. Founders who approach investors as human beings, not judges, create genuine connection. 
“When you realize that pitching isn’t about selling, but about sharing something meaningful, everything shifts,” Diab says. “You stop performing and start communicating.” 

At its core, a memorable pitch isn’t about perfection, it’s about clarity, confidence, and connection. Investors aren’t just funding businesses; they’re backing people who believe in their stories enough to make them real. 

The post Beyond the Business Model: What Truly Sets a Strong Pitch Apart  appeared first on Berytech.

In marketing, the principles rarely change, only the platforms do. For John Tebaa, effective digital marketing isn’t about luck or big budgets. It’s about clarity, persistence, and knowing how to make the system work for you.

“Marketing never really differs between one product and another,” Tebaa explains. “When people have a need, and your product offers real value, your job is to let them know it solves that need.”

1. From Value to Visibility

The key, he says, is to shift focus from selling a product to selling a solution. “If you’re not solving a problem, you’re not selling,” he emphasizes. Once people recognize their problem in your message, they’ll naturally want to hear how you can solve it.

2. Master the Algorithm, Don’t Fight It

Tebaa views social media platforms not as obstacles but as amplifiers, if you understand their logic. “The algorithm isn’t against you,” he says. “If your message is clear and relevant, it will deliver it to the people who need it.”

He points out that the best-performing formats today, short videos like Reels and Stories, reward content that’s shared, especially when engagement happens beyond the platform. The algorithm notices that and boosts it automatically.

3. Test, Learn, and Scale

Unlike traditional advertising, digital marketing gives you freedom to experiment without heavy investment. “We can always test and validate,” Tebaa notes. “Once you have one good piece of content that performs well, you can scale it up.”

This cycle of testing and refining allows marketers to learn fast and adjust based on real feedback, not assumptions.

4. Build Networks That Amplify

Growth isn’t only about algorithms; it’s also about people. Tebaa highlights the importance of community and collaboration: “If you know how to build good networks, you can use those networks to push your content further. Every share expands your reach.”

5. Consistency Wins

Finally, he insists that results come through steady effort. Digital visibility is a process, not a moment. “As long as you keep creating, adapting, and staying consistent,” he says, “the growth will happen.”

In the end, Tebaa’s approach demystifies digital marketing. It’s not about hacking the algorithm, it’s about understanding it, working with it, and letting persistence turn clarity into momentum.

The post Cracking the Code: How to Make the Algorithm Work for You appeared first on Berytech.

There is a growing understanding across Lebanon’s economic and innovation landscape: the country’s most pressing challenges won’t be solved by surface-level fixes. Across energy, agriculture, and waste, short-term responses may have eased immediate pressures but have fallen short of addressing the deeper systemic challenges. Real progress demands going beyond systems to transform underlying systems that either enable or obstruct sustainable development.  

That’s precisely what Lebanon Clusters 2025 set out to address. By bringing together over 150 stakeholders from the public and private sectors, academia and civil society, the convening didn’t just celebrate collaboration and circularity, it challenged everyone to critically examine how systems work today, and how they could work better, together. 

At the center of that shift in thinking is the role of clusters: collaborative ecosystems built around shared value, circular thinking, and long-term competitiveness. A proven model worldwide, clusters are now taking on new relevance in shaping Lebanon’s path toward sustainable growth. 

Clusters as a Response to Structural Problems 

In his keynote address, Mr. Nehmat Frem, President and CEO of INDEVCO Group and Member of the Parliament of Lebanon, set the tone by calling for a deeper, more courageous kind of reform. He reminded the audience that Lebanon’s challenges, like the enduring waste crisis, are not short-term obstacles but long-standing structural issues that cannot be solved with temporary fixes. These problems, he argued, demand systemic responses rooted in shared responsibility and long-term thinking. 

That same logic applies across sectors: 

• Agrifood, where small producers remain disconnected from innovation, markets, and one another. 

• Energy, where sustainable alternatives are still under-leveraged. 

• Waste, where valorization is the exception, not the norm. 

• Clusters offer a way forward, not as short term interventions, but as permanent structures for transformation. 

Why Clusters? Why Now? 

Lebanon Clusters 2025 made a timely case for scaling cluster development across sectors, by demonstrating what clusters can achieve when fully activated: 

1. They reinforce resilience through collaboration. 

Clusters bring together industries, researchers, and service providers, fostering coordination and shared purpose that strengthen the wider economic landscape. 

2. They activate cross-sector circularity. 

Clusters move beyond vertical silos. Waste becomes input, energy circulates more efficiently, and food systems plug directly into innovation. Circularity becomes practical, not conceptual. 

3. They formalize what often remains informal. 

Clusters transform sporadic partnerships to intentional, governed ecosystems, the very backbone needed for systems to evolve. 

From Vision to Infrastructure 

What made Lebanon Clusters 2025 stand out was not simply the what of collaboration, but the how behind organizing and sustaining it. 

During a fireside chat moderated by Mr. Nicolas Farhat, Deputy General Manager at Berytech, panelists explored both global and local perspectives. Mr. Alejandro Gallego Alcaide, Director of International Business at AMEC, shared international best practices, while Dr. Marc Bou Zeidan, Executive Director of QOOT, grounded the discussion in Lebanon’s agrifood context. The takeaway was clear: clusters succeed only when shaped by real sector needs, not imposed from above. 

That same thread continued in the session on organizational models, where Ms. Lara Khoury, Director of Programs at Berytech, unpacked differences among chambers, syndicates, associations, and clusters. She emphasized that clusters should be positioned not as another network but as adaptable, forward-thinking engines of innovation and competitiveness. 

In the policy and legal session, Ms. Jessica Hajjar, Programs Manager at Berytech, and Maître Julien Khoury, Intellectual Property Specialist, made a strong case for official cluster recognition. Their intervention reinforced a central truth: if clusters are to become genuine economic infrastructure, they require legal clarity, policy integration, and long-term commitment. 

The event also showcased the tangible progress made by Lebanon’s emerging clusters, particularly in waste valorization and sustainable energy. 

Ms. Ingrid Salloum, Manager of QEEMA, highlighted how the Waste Valorization Cluster is connecting key industry players to transform waste challenges into circular economy opportunities. 

Mr. Youssef Yammine, Manager of the Sustainable Energy Cluster, emphasized energy’s pivotal role in enabling circularity across sectors and driving Lebanon’s green transition. 

Not a Celebration, a Realignment 

Building on these examples, Lebanon Clusters 2025 marked a decisive shift from isolated initiatives to a coordinated future, one where actors such as QEEMA, the Sustainable Energy Cluster, QOOT, and Euromed Clusters Forward work in sync to build new cycles of shared value. 

The presence of Euromed Clusters Forward, which also brought perspectives from Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, added a valuable layer of regional exchange, showing how Lebanon’s emerging cluster ecosystem is part of a wider Mediterranean effort toward innovation-driven circularity. 

Together, Lebanon’s three clusters form interconnected pillars of the country’s circular economy: QEEMA drives waste valorization and resource recovery, the Sustainable Energy Cluster advances renewable solutions and efficiency, and QOOT fosters innovation across the agrifood value chain. Their convergence demonstrates how cross-sector collaboration can unlock new business models and shared economic value. 

A Quiet but Fundamental Shift 

If Lebanon’s past is a story of brilliant individuals and initiatives, its future must be built on coherence, structure, and systems that can hold together through change. 

Clusters don’t promise overnight transformation, but they do offer something far more powerful: a stable platform for long-term, circular progress, where innovation is not just invented, but embedded. 

Because at the end of the day, progress begins not with new ideas, but with how we organize the ones we already have. 

Next Steps & Acknowledgment 

This event was held under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, with the support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the European Union. 

To explore collaboration opportunities with any of the clusters, interested partners are invited to fill out the collaboration interest form:  

Learn more at www.qeema.org , www.secluster.org, and www.qoot.org. 

The post From Fragmentation to Function: Why Clusters Matter Now More Than Ever in Lebanon  appeared first on Berytech.

With the rising relevance of social startups, here are five ways to increase your startup’s social impact, paired with valuable tips from industry experts.

1. Work on a Scaled Business Model

A business model that is sustainable and scalable would contribute to the main component of any startup, which is trust. A startup’s business model must be consistently replicated and scaled up to make a lasting impact. Identifying the products alongside the services the startup plans to work on, targeting the markets, and any anticipated expenses are all discussed in this step. A transparent business model helps developing companies attract investors, recruit talent, and motivate management and staff.  Established startups are recommended to update their business model regularly, and this step helps anticipate trends and challenges. This step builds trust internally and allows investors to evaluate companies that interest them and employees to understand the future of a company they may aspire to join. 

Nour Sardouk, Ph.D. candidate at Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (Cnam) of Paris expresses, “Any startup should compel a social narrative as a fundamental step. By clearly addressing the problem that the startup aims to tackle and understanding the social issue that the problem is creating would impact in creating a solution.”

2. Invest in Sustainable Assets

Some startups require working space, an investment that requires building assets for employees and customers. Having an energy-efficient startup ensures sustainability and reduces energy consumption. Moreover, its economic benefits may result in low energy bills per business. Investing in human capital development through activities and engaging events is another asset that directly affects cognitive and emotional development, resulting in better education and quality of life. Human capital contributes to knowledge alongside experience and abilities that individuals bring to a workspace, and managing it effectively contributes to forming a valuable asset for any startup. 

On this point, Nour Sardouk adds “Integrating a social impact into brand identity is a strategic move that acknowledges commitment to social responsibility. By incorporating visual messages, logos, and schemes, you would always remind the employees and visitors about the values and mission of a startup. Social media is another asset that requires investment to pay back in the future. This as an opportunity to showcase your products or services alongside the positive change your startup is driving.”

3. The Team Building Process

An impact startup must have a team of passionate and committed individuals dedicated to making the company successful. A solid startup team is essential for the success of any business venture. They can work together effectively to achieve the desired goals. The most crucial factor for creating a successful startup team is having individuals with complementary skills. Each individual should bring something unique, whether it’s knowledge or experience.  

The director of Fouad Makhzoumi Innovation Center at the Lebanese American University LAU, Annie Seferian, shares her insights by saying, “The business’ success is tied to attitude. Everyday ethics within the team and knowing the values would help achieve more significant outcomes. Fostering collaboration alongside innovation and embracing equity are all components that enhance the impact on the social levels of every startup.”

4. Creating Shared Value via Public-Private Community Partnerships

The social impact thrives when efforts from startups, the government, and the community connect. This requires more attention to community involvement, reducing inclusivity. Social entrepreneurs recognize the importance of active participation from all stakeholders to create sustainable solutions. Creating shared value alongside solutions involves maximizing economic growth alongside social progress. Startups must focus on community needs, developing the framework to improve mutual and social gain, and that happens through contributing to the wealth of knowledge and expertise by sharing created value.  

Sarah Makhoul, the holder of a Ph.D. in Business Science, shares inspiring words with Berytech, targeting startup founders and encouraging them to focus on their pursuits because that would make any dream a reality. She expresses, “Positivity at work, finding joy in every step, and focusing on the goals by reaching out to the people with a clear roadmap ensures clarity to the journey. A clear map leads to clear roads, paving the way to achieving all the aspirations.” 

5. Stay Updated and Adopt Technology

In a time where technology plays a transformative role, social impact bears the potential of technology adoption. A startup should recognize the significance of technology in helping find solutions and use it wisely to improve social impact. Empowering work colleagues and business owners to leverage technology for self-sufficiency, employability, and opportunity creation is done through research, alongside taking risks and trusting the process.  

Sanaa Hajj, who holds a Ph.D. in management sciences, discusses adopting a visionary social mission incorporating sustainability initiatives that positively affect human and environmental causes. She expresses, “Try to engage community members and stakeholders with events to share updates alongside knowledge. This leads to a successful impact on both the social and business levels.”

Conclusion

In a generation where the role of entrepreneurship extends beyond financial growth, identifying its vital contribution to societal development is critical. As the younger generation aims for more dynamic and creative roles, the importance of small businesses and startups in shaping economies and career paths becomes obvious. Entrepreneurship with a social impact arises as a transformative addition challenging standard profit-driven norms. In fact, nowadays, abiding with the social implications opens new opportunities to new markets and investors. While making money is essential for growth, the best impact startups are driven by a passion to make a favorable difference in the earth. Having a scaled business model, investing in sustainable assets, building a team spirit, creating partnerships with public sectors, and using technology are all examples that reflect the theme of social impact and how to turn it into something tangible. 

About the program: Berytech implementing the ‘From Innovation to Creation Program.’ 

The “From Innovation to Creation Program” aims to enhance the capabilities of innovation stakeholders in Lebanon. Funded by the European Union and implemented by Berytech in partnership with Spark, it actively engages in social and green entrepreneurship. This program aims to boost the capabilities of established and emerging innovation support organizations, such as tech hubs, accelerators, incubators, university entrepreneurship centers, and organizations, by supplying them with the needed knowledge and means to sustain the development and growth of social and green startups.  

Berytech’s Role in this program aims to implement various activities for selected innovation stakeholders through training in social and green entrepreneurship by doing boot camps to create an environmental impact. This will enable these organizations to enhance their services for startups, making them more oriented towards impact. 

The post 5 Ways to Improve Your Startup’s Social Impact appeared first on Berytech.

In today’s developing landscape, the role of startups in tackling sustainability challenges is essential. Topics such as clean energy, health treatments, and innovative solutions nowadays should manage pollution, sustainability regarding resources, and the spread of diseases, especially with climate change impacting the land during the current era. Adding to the shift to renewable energy, startups also focus on inventing clean technologies to help reduce the environmental impact in production areas covering food, reducing waste, and tackling air pollution. Understanding the dynamics of the knowledge flood, funding landscapes, and the impact of environmental policies is required.   

Knowledge Spillover

• Green Knowledge: Green knowledge won’t only shape the path of any startup but also empower traditional industries. An example of that is the Mouneh scene that escalated in Lebanon after applying innovation to it, and that’s how the country started observing different methods of creation when it comes to thinking about this traditional asset. 

• How is it spread? Knowledge can spread in a city as workers move across firms; the same happens in agriculture. It is the humans who have been learning and empowering methods.   

To understand the impact of this aspect, this article will refer to experts in the field of startups, sustainability, and ecology. Layan Bekai, Mostafa Khalil, and Youmna Iskandarani will give their insights by discussing a roadmap that enables a better ecological impact. These elements will provide methods to help startups figure out their journey toward a more environmentally conscious world.  

In this regard, Layan Bekai, an experienced Management Consultant, discusses the integration of gamification into sustainability actions, turning eco-goals into engaging challenges that enhance excitement. 

• Recycling alongside energy conservation: According to Layan, the integration of gamification will create an element of competition and engagement within the startup, leading to discovering a purpose among mainly environmentally oriented colleagues. This shift in eco-goal practice falls under the umbrella of green entrepreneurship. It makes sustainability simpler and more engaging throughout a startup’s journey. 

Integrating Sustainable Practices to Attract Investors   

• Climate change and shifting to a resource-efficient economy: This has created multiple global actors intending to solve environmental issues. Experts agree that within the past decade, entrepreneurs, through their startups, have become oriented toward solving the most pressing societal challenges through business models and technological, financial, and social innovations. 

In this regard, Digital Marketing Consultant Mostafa Khalil offers entrepreneurs insights to communicate their impact better. In an interview with Berytech, he stresses the importance of integrating sustainable practices. 

• Transparent communication: This happens by advising entrepreneurs to go beyond the financial realm and encourage a holistic sustainability approach. Khalil believes that incorporating sustainable practices within a startup affects every aspect of the business, from sourcing materials and energy to waste management, mentioning that “engaged and informed employees can be powerful advocates for your green initiatives.”
  
  Advocating for renewable energy sources, reducing water consumption, and recycling waste or reusing materials are all considered ways to support a startup’s green practices. A big part of education is done through advocacy, which requires minimal assets, such as offering employees training on sustainability topics and providing resources to help reduce environmental footprint.
  
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Startups aiming to produce goods can track their environmental impact using key performance indicators (KPIs), such as measuring their carbon footprint, energy usage, and waste generation. This valuable data allows the startup to set targets for improvement, communicate the progress to stakeholders, publish it on the website, and show it to customers, investors, and the public. Such aspects will attract investors, considering that investors might have extra knowledge regarding policies and what can benefit them and the startup shortly. 

International Conferences, Green Innovation, and Development Practices

• Sustainable Development and Green Innovation: This is a significant topic since countries worldwide are formulating environmental regulations to take a more assertive stance toward green innovation and shifting from fossil fuels. The annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (Lately COP 28, hosted in Dubai, UAE) is a significant event for policymakers. Such international conferences shape the world of startups since they affect policies and the production of raw materials. They set a roadmap for the world with its mega-companies to startups.   
  
  Food expert and Business Development Specialist Youmna Iskandarani suggests that nowadays, discovering bottlenecks in the system requires documentation as a critical element, with all its shapes and formats, whether ideas, advice, tips, or more technical, knowing the type and quantity of waste produced at a facility is crucial to keep going.
  
• Embracing sustainable practices: This point focuses on including sustainability in every business element, from the sourcing phase to manufacturing and distribution or disposal. Iskandarani encourages startups to keep an open mind through research, stating, “Have the researcher spirit within you.” At the end of the day, knowledge spillover is done through collaboration, learning from others, and communication is always crucial. When asked about an example, she adds, “Collaborate with other businesses, organizations, and experts in the sustainability space to share knowledge and resources.” 

Benefit from being trapped within the Green Prison Boundaries

• Effective Policy Design: Strict policies may be necessary to transition to a low-carbon economy, but more is needed to motivate new startups.  Policies should also be adjusted to suit a national or regional entrepreneurship ecosystem. Policymakers should consider entrepreneurs as essential players in reducing carbon emissions. Simultaneously, entrepreneurs should not consider themselves trapped in “the green prison”, But instead, leverage these policies to “greenify” their processes and impact. The green prison refers to a situation in which entrepreneurs in the climate-tech or green technology sector find themselves constrained or trapped within policies. 

About the program: Berytech Implementing the ‘From Innovation to Creation’ Program

• From Innovation to Creation Program: The program aims to enhance the capabilities of innovation stakeholders in Lebanon. Funded by the European Union and implemented by Berytech in partnership with Spark, it actively engages in social and green entrepreneurship. This program aims to boost the capabilities of established and emerging innovation support organizations, such as tech hubs, accelerators, incubators, university entrepreneurship centers, and organizations, by supplying them with the needed knowledge and means to sustain the development and growth of social and green startups. 

• Berytech’s Role: This program aims to implement various activities for selected innovation stakeholders through training in social and green entrepreneurship by doing boot camps to create an environmental impact. This will enable these organizations to enhance their services for startups, making them more oriented towards impact.

Conclusion

Collaboration can be vital in promoting cultural change and solving innovation challenges. Yet, organizations must demonstrate effective knowledge management and learning processes. In today’s evolving business world, environmental and social impact has become essential for CSR purposes and business growth. Startups can now use sustainable approaches to reach their business goals, such as attracting investors and opening new markets. 

The post 5 Ways to Improve Your Startup’s Environmental Impact appeared first on Berytech.

A company’s success in the modern digital world can be greatly influenced by its social media presence. 

In this article, which is a part of our series tackling social media for entrepreneurs and startups, we will go over some Instagram tips and tricks to benefit from this platform and to market your startup in 2023, look at some of the free online tools that can be used to build a strong online presence, and discuss the challenges that entrepreneurs encounter when establishing their brand and online presence. 

Instagram To Promote your Startup 

Instagram is a crucial tool for entrepreneurs who want to grow their brand, engage with potential customers, and promote their startup. 

Entrepreneurs can use Instagram to increase traffic, generate leads, and sales with the right tools and tactics. They can also increase their Instagram presence and gain more followers by posting engaging content frequently, making use of significant hashtags, and responding to customer questions. 

In general, Instagram can be a potent tool for small businesses, offering a special chance to interact with clients and present their products and services to a large audience. 

Ten Free Tools To Use on Instagram 

Here are ten free resources entrepreneurs can use to expand their Instagram presence and attract more followers without making a sizable investment: 

• Hashtagify: Using this tool, you can find popular hashtags in your niche and monitor how they perform on Instagram. 

• Later: You can plan, schedule, and publish your Instagram posts in advance using this scheduling and planning tool. 

• Canva: You can design graphics and images for your Instagram posts using Canva, a graphic design program. 

• Hootsuite: With the help of this social media management tool, you can control several social media accounts, including Instagram, from a single dashboard. 

• VSCO: You can use a variety of filters and tools in the photo editing app VSCO to help you produce beautiful photos for your Instagram feed. 

• LinkTree: Using the tool LinkTree, you can design a clickable landing page for your Instagram account where you can promote your products, services, and website links. 

• Snapseed: Offers you a variety of sophisticated editing tools, such as filters, adjustments, and touch-up tools, are available in the photo editing app Snapseed. 

• InShot: Is a feature-rich mobile photo and video editing app that enables you to drill down into a wide range of editing and enhancement options, making it ideal for producing captivating short form videos and reels. 

• Planoly: You can preview and schedule your Instagram feed ahead of time using Planoly, a visual planning and scheduling tool. 

• MOJO: Helps you create incredible Instagram stories, reels, and social media posts using the app. It has over 500 unique animated templates, original text styles, background music and so much more. 

Hundreds of free tools such as the above are constantly evolving, so it’s critical to stay updated with the newest trends and best online tools in order to maximize the potential of growing your brand on Instagram. 

Instagram Challenges for Startups 

Entrepreneurs need to adapt their Instagram strategies in 2023 to better reflect audience preferences, behaviors, and habits as Instagram keeps releasing new features and increases usage of the short video format REELs. 

We’ll talk about the top five challenges that Instagram startups are having and the solutions to those problems. 

• Hashtags: Instagram heavily utilizes hashtags. It is critical to know how many you should use since they can be challenging to crack. Leaning into niche communities is preferable, because despite having fewer posts, niche hashtags typically have a more devoted community following them. 

• Influencer Marketing: When you’re a startup, you typically don’t try to spend a lot of money to partner with influencers who are well-paid because it might seem like a waste of money. Consider collaborating with bloggers who may have fewer followers but a more active community (known as micro influencers). 

• Post Timing: Targeting the right audience at the right time is more crucial than ever, given that social media algorithms favor recent content. 

The HubSpot Instagram Engagement Report provides some clear insights: 

• The most popular content is posted between 6 and 9 o’clock in the evening. 
• The least engaging hours are from 5 AM to 12 PM in the morning. 
• The engagement rate is roughly the same from Monday to Friday, but the weekend has a slight advantage. 

Source: HubSpot

• Captions: Lead with your startup voice, this is the most crucial “rule.” The first error you can make is to ignore the caption completely. Remember that your captions need to be less technical and more compelling and memorable. 

• What type of post to share: Do not assume that images are the most engaging type of content on Instagram. Understand the shift towards REELs and long duration story sharing, and keep a keen eye on the Carousel Posts, which contain a variety of media (video or images) that users can scroll through. 

Finally, remember that social media can help your startup achieve its communication objectives, follow your social media strategy, get good use from free online resources, avoid bombarding your followers with irrelevant posts, and maintain your focus on achieving your specific goals to tailor your Instagram presence.  

The post Instagram Tips and Tricks to succeed in 2023 appeared first on Berytech.

Over 1.7 million pieces of content, 66K photos shared by users, and 500 hours watched on YouTube, every minute. The latest DOMO.inc report, ‘Data Never Sleeps‘ is massive and the numbers are astounding. This data alone should get you going to develop your strategy, set your goals, and begin optimizing your company’s social media presence.

In this article, we will discuss the most effective ways to get started on social media with less investment and more creative and strategic thinking, by utilizing free and organic tools provided by various major social media platforms.

Launch Your Startup’s Online Presence Today

Knowing where to begin and how to begin is the key to success when creating your startup’s online presence from scratch. There are millions of social media networks available, but you should concentrate on those that are relevant to your business and sector, will aid your growth, or will boost your ROIs – Return on Investment – and keep in mind that time is an investment.

You should consider where your target customers might be by researching where they might look for your product, brand, or idea. People obviously use the internet to find what they need, so if you provide a service, would it be advantageous to build a YouTube channel? Have a Twitter account? or simply a Facebook page?

These questions are important, especially in the beginning when you will be relying on the 3Fs (Friends, Family, Fools), so where do your friends spend most of their time? Which social media platform does your family often use? Answering these questions may provide you with free marketing because these folks will be the first to share your success.

Create your Startup’s Social Channels

My advice is to use the same handles across all media, make it easy to remember, and even if your startup name is extremely complex, it is okay to re-evaluate the name because no one knows you yet.

Begin with the major platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, set the page name and account handle, and begin by inviting your family and friends to like and follow your page.

Develop Your Branding Online & Offline

It is critical to invest time in developing your visual branding; you do not need to hire a graphic designer or spend a lot of money; simply be simple; simplicity is crucial to continuity.

Generate a logo to use as a profile picture across channels. You can use Canva, an incredible tool that allows you to create all the graphics you need in all sizes for all major social media applications by using free pre-set designs.

Build Authentic Consistent Content

After you’ve completed your profile and bio, make your first post and present your idea, whether on Instagram with a short, uncomplicated caption or on Facebook with a more extensive one.

The following are the keys to making good content:

• Be Genuine: Don’t sell something you can’t afford to offer, regardless if it’s a brand or a service; consumers want to interact with genuine content. Detailed photographs will not help, and technical and intricate sentences will not pique someone’s interest; keep it simple.

• Schedule your material: Use free tools to schedule your content, such as Facebook’s creator studio. This will assist you in creating material for multiple platforms ahead of time.

• Engage with your audience: Remember, people prefer to engage with businesses that make them feel authentic, as if they are speaking with a real person rather than an instant response message or a robot.

• Use AI platforms to generate captions: If you are not a native language speaker, there are hundreds of free internet tools that can assist you in making your captions look more professional and appealing. Use Grammarly to check your grammar mistakes, it’s free and will help you a lot.

• Call to Action (CTA): encourage visitors to perform an action, such as clicking on a link, swiping for additional visuals, or visiting your website. You should always trigger your followers to what is hidden.

Keep Social Trends In Check

Since social media platforms are constantly evolving and improving, you should be keen to stay on top of every trend.

Keeping up with trends can lead to viral posts, regardless of your follower numbers. Creating trendy, creative, and genuine REELs on Instagram for example can provide you with the necessary exposure, with the help of the platform’s algorithms.

Catch Your Audience at the Best Time

Approximately every platform’s algorithm promotes recency, it is critical to publish when your followers are online. This means that assuming everything else is equal, a recent post will appear higher in the newsfeed than an older one.

Hootsuite recently shared The Best Time to Post on Instagram in 2022, after analyzing over 30,000 Instagram posts from businesses of all sizes to find the absolute best times to post.

Finally, setting up your startup’s social presence for success gives your time to focus on what’s important, working on developing your solution, building your customer database, pitching to investors and scaling your startup. Having a strong online presence will help you flow through your startup’s journey.

The post Social Media for Startups: Tips and Tricks appeared first on Berytech.

Natasha-Christina Akda is the Attorney and Lead Counsel of the NCA Group. She advises businesses and organizations in the arts, private enterprise, and the non-profit sector on considerations and issues arising from entity creation, conventional and alternative financing, corporate structuring, regulatory compliance, strategic development, and governmental affairs. 

Natasha-Christina was a guest speaker at Berytech’s Euro-Med Scale Up Innovation Day where she shared some tips for Lebanese entrepreneurs on how to reach out to the Lebanese diaspora and what to keep in mind in a talk titled: The Power of Diaspora For Economic Development.  

Melting Borders 

Being an entrepreneur is a difficult endeavor and without the proper resources and the proper support to make sure you are going to see your venture through successfully, it is just a compounding of difficulties.  

The entrepreneurial ecosystem in the MENA region and Lebanon, in particular, is not one that culturally allows for economic risk, personal experimentation, or failure that is an inherent part of being an entrepreneur. There is the difficulty that comes from infrastructure, lack of resources, and lack of legal protection. To navigate that successfully, you must pivot and look at what is outside of what is readily available at your fingertips, and the greatest resource for you is the diaspora.  

With the multiple crises hitting Lebanon, you realize the importance of melting borders to get to a place of not only creative entrepreneurship but also a place of basic survival. The diaspora becomes more important with the role that it plays and the access that it gives not only to capital but also to its networks and its other more intangible resources that become more essential. 

Connect to the Diaspora 

There is a broad spectrum of ways you can benefit from the diaspora, and you need to start by leaning on technology. You are only one zoom call away from your next partner, your next client, your next investor. To be able to take advantage of that, you have to put yourself out there, participate, don’t be afraid to get creative and remember that the diaspora in itself has a very unique demographic. They have very cross-cultural knowledge, they understand where you are coming from, they have established a base in whatever new home they have chosen for themselves but their connection back to their homeland never disappears, they are just as invested in seeing crises resolved as you are, and they are there to empower you to do so.  

One of the best examples that I have seen of this is a project that I am honored to be able to participate with is a non-profit organization called Jobs for Lebanon. This is an organization of approximately 70 volunteers, people who are of the Lebanese diaspora who are based all over the world, from San Francisco to New York to Paris to Italy to Beirut itself. It is an online platform that is meant to connect employers throughout the world with individuals in Lebanon who are seeking employment or organizations or businesses in Lebanon who are seeking projects that they can source themselves to. We have seen, so far, a little over 7000 candidates apply to the platform, nearly 1000 job opportunities, and most of them if not all of them are coming from the diaspora. It is really beautiful to see this international ecosystem that is dedicated to supporting the people within the country to meet the challenges that they are facing.  

Keep Legal Compliance in Mind  

That being said, the diaspora is a phenomenal resource, and being able to combine that with technology is incredible, but remember that when you are operating in a cross-border environment there are compliance requirements that you need to be aware of, not only in your home jurisdiction but in whatever jurisdiction you are going to be presenting yourself in.   

It is very important to set yourself up to become comfortable with best practices globally and not just regionally so you can easily navigate whenever compliance issues may come up. When looking at a world without borders connected by the internet, you do need to make sure you have done all the research so that you don’t trip on something that could have been easily avoided so you can make use of all the resources around the globe that are ready to support you and your venture in whatever you are looking to do.   

The Euro-Med Scale Up Innovation Day 

The Euro-Med Scale-Up Innovation Day was organized by Berytech under the EU-funded THE NEXT SOCIETY initiative as the first virtual event for scaling-up Mediterranean startups through the COVID-19 challenges and consequences on startups, businesses and economies. 

More than 1,000 people of the region’s most entrepreneurial minds signed up for the six-hour event that gathered more than 50 speakers and 40 exhibitors from more than 15 countries. The event included around 40 activities from power talks, success stories, discussion panels, growth workshops, virtual exhibitions, and live networking. The event saw more than 250 one-to-one meetings happening to solidify the exchange of knowledge and support and the forging of new partnerships. Read more about the event. 

The post Leveraging the Power of the Diaspora to Grow Your Startup appeared first on Berytech.

Stephan Morais is the founder and Managing General Partner of Indico Capital Partners, a leading venture capital firm based in Portugal. Indico focuses on software as a service, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, fintech, cybersecurity, and digital companies, targeting investments at Pre-Seed to Series A level. The fund’s portfolio of companies has raised an excess of 550 million euros in the last 2 years.  

Stephan was a guest speaker at Berytech’s Euro-Med Scale Up Innovation Day where he shared his experience and tips on scaling from a VC fund point of view. Here’s a roundup of the tips he shared during his talk titled: How to Scaleup Your Ideas from Local to Global. 

Uniqueness 

When you don’t have a local market or if the local market is too small, it becomes a huge advantage to your startup because it forces you to think globally. From day one, it pushes you to think of how to be unique, which is really what is going to differentiate you on a global scale. For you to be that unicorn, you need to have a unique value proposition.  

At Indico, we’ve seen 1700 deals in the last 2 years, and 95% of the pitches are eliminated on the first meeting because they lack that uniqueness. It is the unique way of solving a problem, that is addressed certainly by other competitors, even if they are old school competitors.  

It’s the unique way you are approaching the problem and solving it, that is ten times better than anything else out there that will stand out when you are pitching to a VC. First, you define the problem and then you say: “This is how I’m solving it and this is how I am unique. And this is why I’m way better than anyone else out there.” 

Size Matters 

You are solving a problem. It’s a big problem for a few people, but is it a big problem for a lot of people?  

Size matters and it matters because of the unit economics of the venture capital industry. We are normally very selective, out of 1700 companies, we invest in 17, so that’s a 1% acceptance rate. Despite that fact, we know we’re going to get it wrong because starting a company is inherently hard. What we need is that the few companies that succeed in the portfolio to become massive so we can compensate for the losses that we are going to have in all the other ones.   

Given that we are going to have only a small percent of your company, we need your company to become huge so that our small percentage is still a big return for the fund.  

The Team  

At an early stage, there might not be a lot of traction yet for the solution, or the product is still an MVP, you have maybe a few pilots and you have maybe a few customers. At that stage, what investors want to understand is the team.  

Are these people smart enough? Hardworking enough? Do they have the right background? Is there diversity in the team? Will they think of the difficulties and the problems from many different angles? Do they have the ambition, not only in terms of the hard work, but do they really want to reach the top of the mountain? And not any mountain. Do they really want to reach the top of Everest? It is difficult to try to find such a team, but when and if you do you sign up for success.  

What you also need to demonstrate is a willingness to listen. VCs are normally quite interventive and in tune with the company. If they are good VCs, they will try to add value, so they need to have a team to work with, not a team to lecture but also not a team that doesn’t listen. It needs to be a teamwork through and through. 

Iterate 

The startup journey is rocky and things might not go well all the time. Markets change. You think that the product is going to solve one thing then it ends up solving the other. You think that revenues will come quicker than they normally will or you find new avenues of growth so you need to be able to iterate.  

Iterating means sometimes changing your customer, changing your business model quite often, changing your strategy, changing your pricing, and for sure enriching your team with more senior people and more diverse backgrounds.  

This idea of iteration is key when you are on a path that hopefully will be a successful one, but there will be setbacks. Even the unicorns that we have backed in the past have had and continue to have several setbacks. It doesn’t stop there, real-life starts when companies do their IPO and then there are more setbacks and more iteration needed when you go into the public market.  

Speed  

We always say to our entrepreneurs, perfection is at times nice to have but not a must-have. 

What you need is to execute fast, to iterate, to execute again, to try it out, to go with a sense of urgency. The sense of urgency you see in Silicon Valley, that’s what we need in our markets as well. You need to be ahead of the curve, but not way ahead of the market. Once you spot the opportunity and particularly, once you reconcile the product-market fit, you want to be fast in gaining traction and making sure that your product is at the top of the game.  

You need to be able to deliver momentum because it is the momentum that will keep on helping you to raise capital and it is that capital that will keep you on the top of the game and at the top of the mountain.  

Attitude 

Finally, you need the right attitude. You need stamina for sure, you also need to be positive. Imagine an entrepreneur who only sees the glass half empty. You need to be that person who sees the glass half full. There will be setbacks, competitors that will bring you down, you will be brought down multiple times by customers and multiple times by VCs and you have to keep on believing.  

It is not a sprint, it is a marathon. It is never a couple of years, it is more towards a decade if things go well, and so attitude, being positive and bringing amazing people into your team is important for you to win this race, which is a long term race.  

The Euro-Med Scale Up Innovation Day 

The Euro-Med Scale-Up Innovation Day was organized by Berytech under the EU-funded THE NEXT SOCIETY initiative as the first virtual event for scaling-up Mediterranean startups through the COVID-19 challenges and consequences on startups, businesses and economies. 

More than 1,000 people of the region’s most entrepreneurial minds signed up for the six-hour event that gathered more than 50 speakers and 40 exhibitors from more than 15 countries. The event included around 40 activities from power talks, success stories, discussion panels, growth workshops, virtual exhibitions, and live networking. The event saw more than 250 one-to-one meetings happening to solidify the exchange of knowledge and support and the forging of new partnerships. Read more about the event. 

The post Scaling Tips from a Venture Capitalist appeared first on Berytech.