Managing Director, Cooper Parry Digital | Head of Early Stage, Tech & High Growth |

I lead the CP Digital business, supporting clients with their Digital needs. Responsibilities include all M&A and growth, alongside our Private Equity partners. 

I also lead market activity for CP in the Venture Capital ecosystem (funds & founders).

Our specialist team works with Founders, CFOs and Boards of early stage, scale-up and high growth businesses, navigating challenges spanning accounting, finance, tax, audit, technology, and deal support. 

We are highly active in the scale-up ecosystem and have worked as the accounting partner for leading organisations and communities whilst also building our own community platforms, TechCFO and VentureCEO.

Having started my career at PwC, I went to on to establish and build a successful early stage focussed firm, Acclivity Advisors (which was acquired by Cooper Parry in Jan’23).

Along the way, I wrote the best selling book 'The Finance Playbook for Entrepreneurs', so that entrepreneurs of ALL backgrounds could benefit from the very best teachings.  

My unique experiences and skills have afforded me a number of Board positions across industries within public & private sectors. 

At present, these include:

1. Middlesex County Cricket Club (Board Observer, Chair of Growth Committee)
2. Queen Elizabeth's Global Schools (Chair, International Schools)
3. Labrys (Advisor to the Board)
4. HM Revenue & Customs - ABAB (Board Member)

As well as the above, 

I advise Government on how to innovate for SMEs & entrepreneurs through consultative committees and forums.

All of these roles have shown me the value of sharing what I know beyond my own sector;

And so, I enjoy speaking at universities, schools, accelerators and incubators on a wide variety of relevant entrepreneurship related topics.

Asif Ahmed

Helping entrepreneurs use public speaking to build their brand | Public Speaking Coach | Author of Make It Count | Former COO and TEDxClapham Founder

Why is it, that some people get away with breaking every public speaking rule in the book, yet we still want to listen to what they’ve got to say? 

If there’s one thing I've learned working with some of the most successful leaders of our generation, it’s that there is a big difference between having an idea and being able to communicate it.

That is what turns big thinkers into thought leaders.

As a leader, speaking is an important part of your life. You’ve got to cast a vision, inspire your team, and influence stakeholders. Yet, so many have never paid any attention to the one tool that has the power to unlock even more. 

Your voice.

---

I've spent the last 10 years helping people like you unlock the true potential of your ideas so they get the credibility and respect they deserve.

Public speaking isn't something that's come naturally to me. I've had to hard work at it and have seen first-hand the power of being able to communicate ideas well. 

I've used public speaking to build a business from 4-250 people. Then I founded TEDxClapham and the talks I've worked on since have turned those who delivered them into the go-to people for their subject matter.

⚡️ 15 million views and counting 
⚡️ £310m+ raised  
⚡️ Government legislation changed

I'm brought in by organisations like Adobe, Bloomberg, WeTransfer, Mastercard and Amazon to do the same for them.

Your work is only as good as your ability to communicate it. The earlier you can start, the more impact you'll have.

---

Ways to work with me:   
🚀 Scale-up Founders (£20m+ valuation): Work with me 121
🎤 Solopreneurs, thought leaders and keynote speakers: Apply to join MicDrop
🧠 Organisations: Book me to deliver a workshop or keynote for your team

Enquire here: https://calendly.com/d/cp53-tkn-tm3

Alex Merry

You'll never say it exactly how you want (and that's ok). 

Accepting this is the difference between... 👇

❌ A talk that feels like a memory test
✅ A talk that fees like a conversation

This is why what you choose to do in the 5 minutes before your talk is so important.

It's what will help you get V3 as close as possible to V4. 

---

Instead of rehearsing our lines, we should be reminding ourselves: 

1. WHO we are doing this for 👥
↳ It's always about our audience, never about ourselves.

2. Why this message matters today 👇
↳ If it doesn’t feel urgent to us, it won’t to them.

3. HOW we want them to feel ❤️‍🔥
↳ Pin it down to a single emotion

4. What we want them to walk away with 💡
↳ Your message is their destination

and most importantly of all, that:

5. When we mess up 🤭
↳ It gives our audience a glimpse into who we really are. (And that is precious).

THIS is what clarity and confidence feel like.

If you're giving a presentation this week, you could do a lot worse than reminding yourself of just one of these things before you're passed the mic.

---

♻️ Repost if you found this useful and follow Alex Merry for tips on how to communicate BIG ideas

If it wasn't for many of the people in this room, my business wouldn't have made it 18 months...👇

So when a text came through from Dan Murray few weeks back asking if I'd drop everything for two days to come and give a talk, I jumped at the opportunity.

In fact, I paid to be there.
Just like everyone else.

No special treatment for speakers. 
A very unpopular take these days - not every speaking op has to be transactional.

Why? 

Because generosity is at the heart of what it is to be a Foundr.

I count myself extremely lucky to be a member (not least because I'm punching and I probably wouldn't get in by today's selection criteria).

But also because my experience as a member has shaped so much of how we've built MicDrop. 

The values, the culture and the way we show up for each other - so much of it has come from watching Foundrs do it first.

So thank you Foundrs for everything - 7 years in and you're still showing me how it's done 🙏.

If you're giving a talk this week, remember... 👇


1. Less is more 🤐
2. Showing > telling 🪄
3. Embrace your quirks 🤪
4. It's not a memory test 🧠
5. Your time slot isn't a target ⏳
6. Be selective with your numbers 📈
7. Your personal story is not a requirement 💔
8. Lead with your words, not with your slides 🛝
9. Analogies will help you to simplify the complex 🤷
10. A title slide is a terrible first impression - remove it 🥱
11. Distil your presentation down to one single sentence ☝️
12. Start with a question that challenges your audience's beliefs 🤔
13. Allow for moments of spontaneity; they'll make it more memorable 😀
14. When you 'mess up,' you give your audience a glimpse into the real you 🫶
15. Your message is only as good as the examples and stories you use to drive them home ⚡️

You've got this 💪.

---

♻️ Repost if you found this useful and follow Alex Merry for tips on how to communicate big ideas.

I used to think that product launch success = selling out in minutes...👇

Rarely does a day goes by without someone announcing a product launch success story on LinkedIn.

My problem with these posts is that they make it look deceptively easy and that can lure others into thinking that they're failing when they're not.

I can't help but think that a more interesting post would be to share the brutal reality.

---

We've opened MicDrop's doors to new members 5 times in the last 3 years and 'sold out' 4/5 times. 

Most recently with our March intake. 
We hit our goal with 3 days to spare. 

Not once has a launch been easy.

Every single one has required months of work, most of which you never see. 

---

I've personally spoken with 68 prospective members to fill our 20 spaces - that's 17 hours of conversations.

Demand that's come from:

✅ Member recommendations
↳ Word of mouth is always our most powerful lever. 

✅ 15 x newsletters 
↳ Each taking a couple of hours to write (with a subscriber base I've been building for 3 years)
 
✅ ~40 LinkedIn posts
↳ Each taking 1-2 hours to write (with a following I've been building for 5 years)

The North Star? Quality over quantity - we've never turned so many away.

---

Oh and then there's product development. 

The culmination of hours and hours of member interviews, reading feedback survey individually to understand what will make MicDrop their most valuable investment. 

It's why this year we're:

🎤 Running our first event at SXSW London
🎯 Curating a two day Stage at Ideas Fest
🤝 Launching hand-matched mastermind groups
📚 Rolling out a Speaker Foundations course
🤖 Investing £££££ in AI

Make no mistake about it, at times, it's been BRUTAL.

But we've hit our goal - and we've evolved more in the last 8 weeks than we have in the last 18 months.

---

So this morning, I'm trying to take a moment to appreciate how far we've come while signing books for our final three members - beautiful morning for it!

Tomorrow, we welcome our new members and our attention turns to giving them the best start to their member journey's possible.

Whenever I'm suffering from a lack of confidence before a talk, I watch this video...👇

Why? Because confidence is fickle. 

Some days we have it, 
Other days we don't. 

We don't get to choose when it shows up. 
Nor do we get to keep it when it does.

---

It would be easy to watch this video and think: 
"Look how confident he is."

But what I see is someone choosing courage. 
And there is a big difference.

---

Confidence is belief in your ability.
Courage is action despite doubt.

One is built through repetition and success.
[And is still extremely unreliable.]

The other shows up in uncertainty and risk.
And can unlock new levels of potential.

Put another way:
Confidence is a state.
Courage is a decision.

---

We can't manufacture confidence before high-stakes moments, but we can choose courage in them.

That's what Michael Pollack did.*
And this video is a little reminder that we can too. 

Footnote: 
He's since gone on to write music for Miley Cyrus, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Lizzo, Selena Gomez, Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson.

---

♻️ Repost if you found this useful and follow Alex Merry for more content like this.

I'm taking to the stage at Ideas Fest Encore next Wednesday. The topic...?


Ideas that Land: Communication Secrets of the 1%. 

It's for anyone who's:
1. Fed up with speaking into the void 🔇
2. Realised their message has gone stale 🥱
3. Done with playing it safe 💡

I've spent the last decade studying communication outliers and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that there's a big difference between having a great idea and being able to communicate it. 

The 1%? 

They break every rule in the book.
It's why we can't stop listening.

In the session, I'll be sharing the fundamental principles that will change the way you communicate your ideas forever. So you can lead with: 

1. Original thinking 💡
2. Personality 🫶
3. Vision 🔮

The way you were always meant to.

---

MicDrop is hosting the Think Tank stage at Ideas Fest this year. 

This session is going to be the perfect warm up for some of the unbelievable thought leaders we'll be showcasing. 

The details: 
📆 Wednesday 18th March 11am-11pm
🗺️ Babel Beerhouse, King's Cross, London

If you haven't got your ticket yet (it's free), but you'd like to come along: https://lnkd.in/eCPdTiez

If you're already coming and would like to book into my session (I've been told spaces are already limited): https://lnkd.in/er3gSUBS

If you're a thought leader, what's the best way to get noticed by an event planner?

That was one of the questions I posed Lisa James in yesterday's MicDrop Masterclass. 

And she shared an extraordinary story...

---

Lisa was working on an event for a corporate client who thought they needed a motivational speaker.

What Lisa helped them realise was that they actually needed an expert on finding your flow state. 

So she set out to find someone 🕵️‍♀️.

And struggled until she remembered she had a book on flow sitting on her self!

She then reached out to the author on LinkedIn who: 
a) Wasn't a speaker 
b) Lived in Asia 

They got on a chemistry call and ultimately convinced them to change their plans and fly over to the UK and deliver this talk.

---

There are so many gems in this story (and from the session in general):

𝟭. 𝗔𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 🧩
↳ Speakers are often just one small piece of a very large puzzle.  

𝟮. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 + 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗶𝘁 > 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 🧠
↳ Thought leaders would do well to spend more time showcasing their expertise than constantly reminding everyone that they're a speaker and hoping enquiries come their way.

𝟯. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 ✨
↳ When an event planner puts a speaker forward for a talk, they're putting their reputation on the line (so make it easy for them - see point 4)

𝟰. 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 '𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗻' 🧑‍🌾
↳ That's insider lingo for session outline - bonus points for including energy state and transition moments. (If you'd like to see one of mine, comment 'Straw man' below).

𝟱. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 😮
↳ Event planners love it when speakers say: "You know what could make this even better..."

𝟲. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱, 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 🧲
↳ In this example, it was a book. She also mentioned finding speakers through LinkedIn, newsletter articles, meeting people at events and of course, recommendation.

But perhaps most important of all was the through line from our conversation. 

---

Everything we talked about was about creating magical experiences. She spoke about this at The DO Lectures last year. 

And like all good speakers, she pinned it down to a single idea: 
Collective Effervescence 🪄

Well worth a watch: https://lnkd.in/epjEx7TQ

Thanks Lisa :-)

---

P.s. MicDrop members the replay is officially live... 🍿 (as are your Speaker One Pager and Straw Man templates)!

The fastest way to build trust with any audience is with 4 magic words...👇

'I got this wrong.'

And yet, most of us spend the opening sections of our talks, workshops, podcasts:

❌ Reeling off our achievements 
❌ Name-dropping clients
❌ Playing the status game

It's almost as if we're trying to convince ourselves as much as our audiences...

---

Credibility is a funny thing.

The more we try to impress an audience, the less impressive we appear. 

If the audience wasn't interested in what we have to say, they wouldn't be in the room - we've already got their good will. 

---

Ernesto Sirolli understood this - notice how he: 

𝟭.  𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 💬
↳  "Everything I do professionally, my whole life, has been shaped by 7 years working as a young man in Africa."

𝟮. 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 🎭
↳ 'Every single project we set up in Africa failed. I was distraught. At 21, I thought we Italians were good people doing good work. Instead, everything we touched, we killed.'

𝟯. 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮 '𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝗽, 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻' 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰 📈📉
↳ The higher the expectation, the harder the fall.

𝟰. 𝗗𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 ⚡️
↳ And that's why it's so powerful.

𝟱. 𝗧𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲 🙂
↳ And it didn't diminish the important point he was trying to make - fun is a trojan horse. 

𝟲. 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 🍅
↳ A masterclass in physicality.

𝟳. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 🎯
↳ So we remember it.

---

Inspired by this clip, we've just opened the call for speakers for our next MicDrop member event: Rethink Talks.

The challenge? To share a moment you got it wrong and how it changed the way you think about your work.

12 speakers, 3 minutes each.
All talks professionally filmed and photographed.

Then we head to dinner with curated tables at local restaurants.  

---

MicDrop is my community for thought leaders who speak. Our doors will open again in June. Head to the bio to join the 12 others already on waitlist.   

P.s. Members: You have two days left to enter the speaker ballot!

1% communicators change the way people think and feel.

Here's how they do it...👇

Communication is a game of psychology. Our job is to: 

✅ Meet the audience where they're at. 
✅ Leave them somewhere that's useful and different.

I talked about this in my session at Ideas Fest Encore yesterday, but what I didn't talk about is the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

---

It's a cognitive bias that says: 'We think we understand the world 
far better than we actually do.'

High Confidence. Low competence.

And it maps out the exact journey that every audience needs to go on if you want to create change.

Here's how you can use the Dunning Kruger Effect to your advantage and create perspective-shifting presentations:

---

𝟭. 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 '𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗱' 🤣
↳ By acknowledging their pre-existing beliefs and feelings (n.b. your audience isn't stupid, but isn't the phrase wonderful?!)

💬 '𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵...'

𝟮. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿 🤔
↳ By challenging their pre-conceptions,

💬 '𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵...'

𝟯. 𝗢𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 💡
↳ By sharing your vision/reframe

💬 '𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘹, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺.'* 

[A very overused AI phrase now, but a useful sentence structure for clarity on your audience's journey]

𝟰. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗮𝘂 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 🌅
↳ With stories that bring your ideas to life.

💬 'I want to share three examples to demonstrate this...'

---

Most people skip the first step. Often because:

1. They don't understand their audience well enough. 
2. It feels risky to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
3. They're too focused on what they want to say.

And they lose the audience before they've even begun.

---

It's why we've spent the last 3 months building a tool called The Audience Whisperer.

The goal? To help thought leaders get inside the heads of their next audience, so their ideas can land 🎯.

We're putting the final touches on it now.
A couple more weeks. 

It'll be free, but we're limiting the first release to a small group.

If you'd like to be one of them, comment shhh and I'll get you the details.

---

P.s. Thanks to Frankie James, Olivia Lane, Tirion (Tiz) Wilson and  everyone who came along to my session yesterday - it was great to meet you all 🙏

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The Battle

Asif Ahmed

Alex Merry

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The Battle

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