Last week, SPN had the chance to speak with Ali Schwanke, founder and CEO of Simple Strat. In short, Simple Strat is a Lincoln-based marketing agency that helps B2B companies with growth marketing through a variety of services including inbound and digital marketing, video, and sales enablement. However, Ali and her co-founder Tyler are also excited to tackle newly identified problems within the marketing industry with their new product, BrandPlan.
So, what is BrandPlan, and what does it do?
BrandPlan is a product that empowers marketers and agencies to build, visualize, and communicate marketing strategies with ease. With BrandPlan, you can strategize faster and communicate your strategy to stakeholders more easily than ever before. Even better, BrandPlan provides you with one place to visualize everything you’ve planned, when it’s happening, what it involves, who it’s meant for, and how it contributes to the success of your organization.
Thanks to our sponsor
“BrandPlan was created in response to a need we saw among marketers and executives,” said Ali. “Companies continue to ask for marketers and agencies to be strategic – keeping the big picture in mind, focusing on strategy first. However, due to the chaotic nature of the marketing department, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the “doing” and lose sight of how all the pieces fit together. We saw an opportunity to solve this for ourselves, but then discovered that our message struck a nerve with other marketers across the country. “
The team has released a front-end demo of their new product online and will be showcasing it live during the Startup Showcase Oct 21-22 at the I/O Summit in Lincoln. In addition, BrandPlan will also be presented at 1 Million Cups in October. According to Ali, early users of their new product will get perks such as special pricing, custom setup, a free user seat, and more – all of which are outlined on their website.
Ali Schwanke founded Simple Strat in 2016 with the help of co-founder Tyler Samani-Sprunk. The company currently holds an office in the Haymarket at 720 O Street, which was a “necessary upgrade” from their previous space due to fast growth said Ali.
“We love being located in the Haymarket, near many innovative companies and startups. It’s inevitable that you run into another founder for a quick chat, sometimes on the sidewalk!” she said.
Simple Strat currently has 9 employees. In the last 12 months, the company has added three new full-time employees, as well as a team of interns. Simple Strat is also seeking to add a Digital Marketing Specialist to the team within the next few months. Additionally, Ali stated that her company plans to spend a lot of time in the upcoming months working on honing and refining processes, building their team, and continuing to grow their business and new product.
SPN also had the privilege to ask Ali what she would have done differently looking back, here is what she had to say:
“I think I would have spent quite a bit more time talking to fellow entrepreneurs and developing systems from the start,” said Ali. “Especially after getting involved with organizations like Pipeline, and having to have very candid conversations with other entrepreneurs and founders, you realize the sheer amount of knowledge and experience in the region that can really help you achieve your goals.”
Ali also added that she would have looked to generate business nationwide through industry verticals (which they now have) as she feels this would have helped her company establish greater notoriety and expertise earlier in the company’s journey.
To learn more about Simple Strat and their team, visit SimpleStrat.com. For an inside look at their product and the innovative way they’re solving problems for marketers, visit https://www.GetBrandPlan.com.
