AI Marketing Masters by Annika Helendi

Helping marketers and solopreneurs leverage AI so they could easily do a 5-person job alone. 

Follow my Youtube channel for free automation tutorials and join the AI Marketing Masters community to get access to all the shortcuts - blueprints, templates and prompts.

Founder

astronaut.marketing

Custom SEO-driven growth strategies for B2B SaaS startups in the $1-10M ARR range.
// Strategy creation, consulting and advisory
// Open to fractional CMO roles

Fractional CMO, Growth Consultant, SEO Strategist

Blessed Pirate

Get weekly LinkedIn posts for publishing. Build your personal brand as an expert - https://blessedpirate.com

ContentFly

* Developed and implemented the go-to-market strategy
* Bootstrapped ContentFly to $500k ARR in 2019
* Developed and launched 2 add-on products

Co-Founder & CMO

Dashbird

* Developed and implemented the go-to-market strategy
* Built the initial marketing team
* Raised a seed round of $800k in 2018

Teamweek 

* Took over and lead a 12-person internationally distributed team 
* Revamped the business and turned it profitable in 2 months. 
* Grew the revenue by 100% in 2017 (to $700k ARR).

Toggl

* Generated 1.8 million signups over 4 years without a marketing budget (60% year-over-year growth)
* Put together and lead the initial marketing team
* Worked with cross-functional teams to create growth loops, improve the product experience and customer lifetime value.

Head Of Marketing

🪭AI fangirl. Founder. Marketer.

📌 Helping B2B startups grow since 2012

📌 Generated close to 2 million SEO signups in Toggl (and helped to generate many more millions through my consulting work)

📌Favorite roles: founder, CEO, CMO, fractional CMO, SEO strategist, growth consultant

📌Career highlights: made Teamweek profitable and scaled it to €700k ARR with a fully distributed remote team, raised a seed round for Dashbird, launched a bunch of bootstrapped startups during Covid that all failed, been able to avoid having a boss for over 5 years, worked with over a 100 founders, launched a profitable side-business (Blessed Pirate).

Annika Helendi

pawaTech

Product Owner

BalanceBee OU

During the years, the topics of maintaining work-life balance have become more important. While I am not excluded and studying this for myself, I understand that it has roots in how we feel, how we see ourselves, and how confident we are about ourselves. 

When looking for services within this area, it was a challenging and time-consuming part for me. And time is the most precious asset we have. 

Once again, looking at it from the client's perspective, I wanted to have something where I could go to one place, learn about available services on the market, find everything I need, quickly book and pay at the time when it suits me. 
Since I did not find it in the area I am in, I decided to build it. 

After learning the market and seeing the challenges that some specialists have, I understood that my solution will be a perfect fit for them as well from the CRM point of view. 
Such a win-win solution.

Up till now, I led the entire process, from conceptualising the idea, done market research, built UX/UI design template, built a team, formulated a comprehensive business plan, seeking potential investors, presenting pitch, developed a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), launched it, to acquiring clients and executing marketing strategies on social media platforms. Additionally, designed programs aimed at building client-specialist relationships and increasing overall brand awareness within available resources.

Product Manager  B2B, B2C

Onboarding Power

I find the onboarding stage crucially important, whether dealing with external or internal clients. And I believe that happy employees contribute to the satisfaction of external clients. That's why I choose to focus on employees as a primary step.

To streamline the onboarding process and ensure high quality, thorough planning is essential. 
My knowledge and experience from project management, leadership, and software knowledge step in and play an important role. 
At the same time, it highly depends on the leader’s change management skills. Therefore, my program includes the services of a business coach who supports the leader and employees.

Within my offer, I have developed a 2-month program with a holistic approach to onboarding management. The methods used can later be applied to other fields, supporting effective company budget management.

Provide expert guidance to SMEs in refining their employee onboarding process. This includes a thorough analysis of the current state, identifying gaps, strategic planning, detailed design, and seamless implementation, complete with KPI management. I also help clients in applying diverse methodologies to ensure a comprehensive view, facilitate automation where applicable, and ensure they are set for success.

Onboarding Consultant/Coach  B2B

These are freelancing projects for startups. Here, we collaborated with clients to identify goals, review the existing stage, and build a plan for improvement. In some cases, I had to design workflows from scratch, while in other cases, the existing setup had to be adjusted to meet new plan requirements.

- Designed software structure maps for client needs. 
- Created UX/UI mock-ups for improvement. 
- Identified functionality gaps and suggested enhancements. 
- Implemented software changes with full support. 
- Established streamlined operational processes.

Product management Consultant  B2B

PARiM Workforce Software

This company's software is primarily designed for recording employees' work and off-time, with additional functionality to maintain employee records and generate reports. The software included multiple user roles, having desktop and mobile versions. 

As the role was new, I had a great opportunity to build everything from the ground up, including learning options, materials for teaching clients on software usage, and introducing reporting.

This client-facing role involved clients globally, across different business sectors. On average, I handled around 35 clients simultaneously. While most clients were in their onboarding stage. There were existing clients too, requiring support to train their employees on our software during transitions or educate them on new functionalities released.

As a result, I 
- Designed flexible learning options for clients. 
- Provided tailored coaching and support for system implementation. 
- Improved client onboarding, saving up to 40% of time. 
- Introduced a holistic system approach based on feedback. 
- Enhanced communication and reporting for onboarding.

Global Onboarding and Learning and Development (L&D) Manager (SaaS)  B2B

VerticalScope Inc.

This company is similar to Skype, managing an online community. However, while with Skype it was about one product in many languages, here it involved English across 2K+ different independent topics/products sites.

Initially, the role was open for building a team of community support members here in Tallinn, which was highly exciting for me. However, there were 3 company restructures and 5 manager changes during my time with the company, causing changes in priorities. As a result, my team was primarily located in the US and Canada.

As usual, I began by learning the existing stage, understanding the strengths and challenges present. Based on my findings, refinement of role responsibilities was needed, and process optimization was required to eliminate legacy steps.

Additionally, the existing approach of managing cases across 2K+ communities was inefficient, and a new approach was necessary to enhance client communication and trust. The approach I introduced in the past proved helpful here too.

As a result, I 
- Led and optimised a 10-member support team. 
- Restructured processes and roles for efficiency. 
- Simplified approvals and empowered decision-making. 
- Redesigned software for better alignment and efficiency. 
- Initiated 2 strategic projects to enhance client trust and feedback.

Director of Community Management  B2B, B2C

Kuehne+Nagel

This role required practical knowledge of the challenges faced by recruiters and candidates. This was crucial to effectively communicate issues at the regional level of management (6) and set the right priorities in software development—skills and knowledge I had acquired from my previous roles. 

My clients were around 700 recruiters,  plus HR managers including country level worldwide. In total over 3K HR employees. Additionally software served all candidates applying for open positions within the company.

I began by independently learning all integrated systems, as there was no documentation available. This allowed me to gain a comprehensive understanding of the existing stage and propose improved solutions.
I identified gaps in software setup, processes, communication flow, and documentation, implementing solutions across the board. Additionally, I found a way to negotiate better service conditions with vendors.

As a result, I 
- Implemented documentation for 3 HR systems. 
- Completed 52 projects in 8 months. 
- Established framework for request submission and prioritisation. 
- Conducted regular meetings with third parties for case updates. 
- Restructured team for improved efficiency and timeliness. 
- Negotiated enhanced contracts with vendors. 
- Led global team training, reducing costs by 50%. 
- Improved communication flow and project visibility.

Volunteer
Contact for internship programs at Kuehne + Nagel
Represented Kuehne + Nagel at TTU University - career days
Initiated participation of Kuehne + Nagel employees in Back to School Program

Product Owner / HR Specialist Global e-Recruitment  B2C

Skype

My knowledge and skills in recruitment, client communication, education in HR, and ability to manage volumes played a significant role here. When I joined, I had to manage the 2nd busiest language community out of 6. No need to say, with my love for clarity and efficiency, I achieved this within the first two months. Following that success, I began exploring further opportunities to develop the community across other languages too to increase customer satisfaction and trust.
Facing restrictions in budget and human resources, I still found a solution. I initiated projects that encouraged active volunteer participation and collaborated with universities through a developed program for students. At the same time, I reviewed our vendor contributions, realigning their time and input on the community to make it more effective and within budget.
To manage all of the above, I developed processes, structure, introduced data collection and reporting, and established KPIs.
Since the volumes were growing fast and we needed software to manage the data, within the restrictions we had, I made a decision to build a basic but our own system. That was a perfect fit within our collaboration with the university.

-I built and led a global team of 82 client support members in under 2 years
-Spearheaded recruitment, onboarding, and L&D strategies
-Successfully launched a project with minimal resources, reaching 90% coverage
-Advocated for contributor recognition and swiftly implemented it
-Collaborated closely with TTU and secured approval for the EURES internship program 
-Attained MS Certification for community contributors

Volunteer
Represented Skype at TTU University - career days
Represented Skype at BEST debates at TTU University
Speaker at IEEE-WIE Career Talk (Skype)
Mentor and judge at first Ida-Virumaa (Narva) Hackhaton
Mentor and member of participant evaluation team at Skype Hackhaton
Done office tours for international visitors at Skype
Speaker at Tech Sisters event

Skype Community Engagement Program Manager	B2B, B2C

This time, the role was more specialized and involved high volumes. On average, was responsible for between 6 to 16 new joiners weekly in both temporary and permanent setups. I was responsible for all aspects of their onboarding, from introducing them to contract requirements, collecting necessary documentation, and preparing setups to meeting them on their first day, showing them around, and teaching them how to use the time reporting software. By the way, I did not have access to it myself, yet I still found a way to manage it and understand every angle, including bugs.
When I initially joined, there was limited documentation on the role, and a significant portion I had to learn independently. Coming from my background where thorough documentation was the norm, I applied that approach here and ensured the role had all the necessary documentation on processes and requirements.
Having quickly learned the role, I dived into optimization, began structuring processes, initiated reporting and forecasting, and established role-specific KPIs. Simultaneously, I was directly involved in the introduction of the new CRM.

As a result, I 
- streamlined onboarding for fixed-term employees. 
- Implemented effective documentation management and audit process. 
- Optimised administration processes, leading to a 30% rise in client satisfaction. 
- Successfully identified and recovered over €2.2 million in the initial audit. 
- Developed system usage manuals and process maps for seamless onboarding. 
- Translated recruitment strategy into actionable tasks during CRM implementation

Recruitment/On-boarding Coordinator (Vodafone)

Esri Ireland

Here, I started my office career and faced a steep learning curve while starting higher education at the same time. Before the company had temporary roles to support daily tasks, affecting the overall image and management reality. And then permanent role was open.
Due to my love for clarity and order, the first thing I tackled was ensuring everything was clear, from my workplace and its setup to inventory. Then, I filled in the gaps.
Throughout the time I was with the company and its development, I had the privilege of taking on more responsibilities and learning the business from multiple perspectives. In addition to managing HR tasks and trainings for internal and external clients, I supported sales, marketing, and accounts.

At that time, the company had around 25 employees, and our primary focus was on B2G, with some B2B setups. At that time, the company decided to transition from software specifically written for them to a new CRM, and I was part of the team working on the transfer.

As a result, I 
- improved training suit by 60% to match client needs. 
- Created compliant employee handbook and services.  
- Cut training material costs and distribution expenses by 80%.  
- Streamlined processes for sales, marketing, and training. 
- Boosted client survey response rate by 50% with online tool. 
- Supported the transfer of processes from existing set up to new CRM.

HR/Training Coordinator

I enjoy optimisation management as I believe it allows me to influence change and enhance the world of customer experience. Being a demanding customer myself, working directly with customers and understanding the entire customer journey helps me identify pain points.

Throughout my career, I've worked with products in various capacities and managed different processes, including sorting client case issues, teaching clients software usage, providing solutions based on their needs, designing and redesigning software, prioritizing feature development, and researching the market and competitors. These experiences have given me deep knowledge of customer behavior, the ability to identify values, and offer solutions that fit their needs, even when the software was originally designed for a different purpose.

I thrive in environments that are about innovation and are fast driven, and I consistently initiate development projects. With over 15 years in IT (SaaS), engaging with internal and external clients, I enjoy hands-on roles involving client needs identification, competitor research, staying up-to-date with developments, planning, solution offer and development, coordination, meetings, budget management, process refinement, KPI implementation, client teaching, and team leadership.

I've supported four companies in transitioning HR and case management software, aligning processes with new setups. In one instance, we built a custom HR tool, and I've assisted companies in setting up, learning, and educating employees on software.

Having my analytical and decision-making skills, I swiftly identify gaps and implement solutions for increased efficiency while working in cross-functional global teams.

🔦In short
15+ years of managing external and internal clients
12+ years in IT
10+ years of project management - business and IT
9+ years in process optimization for startups and large organizations
5+ years of building and leading teams ranging from 6 to 80+ people, located worldwide
2+ year of Product Management

💻Tools used
- PM/PO - Planview, Asana, Pivotal Tracker, Trello, Product Board
- HR/CRM - Lumesse Talenk Link, EVO, Taleo, Broadbean, Cornerstone (Recruitment), HR Bamboo, vBulletin, GreenTree, Field Glass, Pipedrive, Custify, PARiM, Back Office, SAP (ZE1+ZE2)
- Case Management - Jira, Intercom, Zendesk, Bugzilla
- Processes mapping - Lucidchart, Miro, draw.io, MS Visio
- Online Community Mng - Lithium, Xenforo

☎️Interested in scheduling a discovery call?
https://rb.gy/iosolz

taplio

The Battle

Annika Helendi

Maria Grigor

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