I turn Startups > Scaleups. PMF and PLG. I write about it at growth-goals.com ✉️ - check it out

👋 I'm Andrew. I love fast-growing Startups. Ex-founder, small-time investor, and I write about Growth/PMF/OKRs.  

I've built high-growth companies in London and Silicon Valley. Over the years, I've sat on all sides of the table as a founder, investor, operator, and advisor. Currently, I have an AI and web3 bias, but I have been everywhere. 

During this journey, I created the Growth/OKR process Core & Explore™, which is now used by thousands of Startups and some large companies. 

Previously, I graduated 500 Startups; was an EIR at Seedcamp; led product and growth at my own Startup; mentored and advised VC funds; and helped behind the scenes at the founder community ICE.

Andrew Crump

I specialise in transforming organisations by unlocking the full potential of their leadership and teams. My journey began with a deep dive into anthropology, fuelling a lifelong fascination with cognitive science, group dynamics, and the powerful role of human connection in organisational success. This foundation, combined with years in innovation consulting, product, and delivery management, has culminated in my passion for the art of the gathering; designing experiences that genuinely connect people to nature, to their purpose, and to each other.

With my brother, I co-founded Momentum Processes. We engineer bespoke offsites for executive teams, leadership groups, and entire companies, as well as founders and VCs. These are not just events; they are strategically designed environments that drive tangible outcomes and deliver significant ROI. We firmly believe that focused time outside the office can save weeks, even months, of burn rate by fostering unparalleled productivity and alignment.

Our offsites are meticulously crafted to achieve powerful results:
- Cultivate a Transformative Feedback Culture: Enabling continuous improvement and growth at all levels.
- Build Inspiring, Accountable Leadership: Empowering managers to drive engagement and performance.
- Foster Dynamic Communication & Collaboration: Unlocking breakthrough innovations and solving complex challenges with precision.
- Ensure Deep Alignment & Commitment to Values: Creating a unified culture where shared principles guide every decision and action.
- Develop an Agile & Resilient Mindset: Equipping teams to navigate change, embrace experimentation, and gain a competitive edge.
- Ignite Proactive Ownership & Deliver Exceptional Results: Empowering individuals to exceed expectations and drive organisational success.

Whether you need expert consultation for agenda design and strategic guidance, or a fully produced event where we handle all the heavy lifting, we partner with you. Our experiences blend strategic workshops (focused on high-performing teams, accountability, and trust) with unique elements like fire-cooking, ice baths, movement practices, and locally sourced incredible food, ensuring deep connection, lasting impact, and unparalleled productivity.

Ready to unlock your team's next breakthrough? Let's design an offsite that delivers beyond your vision.

Contact me directly: maya@momentumprocesses.com
Learn more: www.momentumprocesses.com

Maya Knight

This is one of the simplest and most powerful rituals I’ve done in a long time.

I saw this on Instagram and had to reshare.

We spend so much of our lives in motion.

Meetings, messages, plans, problems, and progress.

Especially now in January! 

It’s so, so easy to mistake movement for direction.

Try this today or this week if you get a chance:

Go outside. Bring a pen and a journal.

Leave your phone behind.

Just you and one question:

“If I keep living exactly like this, where will I end up?”

If the future looks like something you want, then keep going! 

If what you see doesn’t feel like the life you want, then something needs to change.

This could look like:

– Ending one commitment that no longer fits
– Blocking a non-negotiable hour each week for the work that matters
– Starting the conversation you’ve been avoiding
– Redesigning one small part of your week to better reflect your values

In order to create the life you want, you have to actually work towards it. 

Which means putting in small efforts constantly.

This is the power of this small ritual.

It reminds you that the life you’re building is happening in the choices you make this week, not just the plans you make for “someday.”

When you imagine your life continuing exactly as it is right now, what’s one thing you’d like to change?

♻️ Share this with someone who’s been moving a bit too fast without direction
➕ Follow Maya Knight for more reflections on slowing down and building a life that actually fits

Credit: @wethinkdeeply on Instagram

Five books I recommend you all to read in 2026.

These are ones that genuinely help me in my work, whether it’s building offsites or just trying to do work that means something.

1. Scaling People by Claire Hughes Johnson
This is the book on scaling teams without losing what made them good in the first place.

It's about systems and structure, but in a "how do we grow and still give a sh*t about each other" way.

If your company's growing past 50 people and everything feels like it's breaking, read this.

2. The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner
Short book with a big shift.

It's about doing the work for the work itself, not just the outcome.

If you're constantly rushing to the next thing and never actually present in what you're doing, this will slow you down in the best way.

3. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The book on why some work feels effortless and energizing, and other work feels like dragging yourself through mud.

It's about presence, focus, and designing your life so flow happens more often.

If you're burned out or bored, start here.

4. The Power of Moments by Chip & Dan Heath
The small, intentional moments shape experience far more than the big gestures.

This changed how I design offsites, how I think about gatherings, and how I create experiences that actually stick.

Read this if you're planning any kind of team gathering.

5. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Building things is hard and making real decisions is hard. This book doesn't pretend otherwise.

This book is honest insights into what it actually takes to navigate difficult situations in business.

If you're in the middle of something challenging right now, this will help.

These are the types of books you apply, reflect on, and come back to again and again.

So definitely add at least one to your list this year! 

Which one are you picking up first?

♻️ Share this list with your network
➕ Follow Maya Knight for more on facilitation and building work that actually matters

5 books to add to your 2026 reading list

Stop apologising in your emails.

You’re not bothering people, you’re doing your job.

Yet somehow, we’ve all started writing like this:

“Sorry to bother you…”
“Just wanted to quickly check…” 
"I'm really sorry, but I don't think this works..." 
"No worries if not!"

Every email is wrapped in apologies and hedges, like we need permission to exist in someone's inbox.

But every apology and softener makes you sound unsure when you’re not.

A while ago I stopped writing emails like I was apologising for existing, and I noticed such a big difference.

➡️ People responded faster.
➡️ They took my requests more seriously.
➡️ They stopped questioning my judgement.

These 10 small changes I made to my emails were just the start.

Try implementing some of these changes and see how it works for you.

Confident communication is all about being clearer with how you speak.

Which one of these do you catch yourself doing?

♻️ Repost this for someone who’s tired of overthinking every email
➕ Follow Maya Knight for more reflections on clearer communication

10 changes that make your emails sound more confident

Networking is about collecting connections.

Community is about deepening relationships.

One gets you a list of names you'll probably never reach out to.

The other gets you support when you actually need it.

This is a key difference!

NETWORKING: 
→ Transactional: "What can you do for me?" → One-time interactions at events → Awkward to reach out months later → Keeping score of who owes who → Quantity over quality

COMMUNITY: 
→ Reciprocal: "What are we building together?" → Ongoing relationships over time → Natural to reach out because you've been in conversation → Genuine support without keeping score → Depth over breadth

This guide shows how to build a network that actually helps you, based on what I’ve learned from building the B+ Collective.

➡️ Leaders who get the most value are those who've built relationships with a few people who genuinely understand their challenges.

This is the foundation of the B+ Collective.

Depth > breadth. Always.

You can take one small step towards building your community today. 

Honestly, it’s much easier than it seems.

→ Pick 3-5 people you genuinely want to have a relationship with.

→ Reach out and start a conversation.

→ "I've been thinking about [challenge]. I know you're navigating something similar. Would you be open to talking it through together?"

Start building community instead of collecting contacts.

Who are 3 people you'd want to be in a real community with?

♻️ Save this if you're tired of surface-level networking.
➕ Follow Maya Knight for more on building intentional relationships and work.

How to build a network that actually helps you

There’s always a conversation happening beneath the conversation.

A deeper truth, or bigger picture.

In every team I work with, there’s been an offsite agenda.

And then there’s been the thing that nobody’s saying.

It could be:

➡️ Tension people feel but no one actually says.
➡️ A decision half the team disagrees with.
➡️ The pattern where one person dominates and everyone else stops trying.

These are below-the-line conversations.

If you don’t surface them, they undermine everything else.

Unfortunately, what so many teams don’t know or realise is:

It’s not awkward to name the truth.

The awkward, and damaging, thing to do is to pretend it isn’t there.

How I surface issues in meetings or offsites:

1️⃣ Create the container: Set up psychological safety upfront.

2️⃣ Observe, don’t interpret: Name what you see, not what you assume.

3️⃣ Invite confirmation: Let the room confirm or correct.

4️⃣ Ask the right question: “What’s making this hard to talk about?”

5️⃣ Work with what comes up: Clear misunderstandings, address patterns, and rebuild trust.

Your teammates want you to stop avoiding and ignoring tension.

They want someone to name the thing everyone’s thinking.

Be that person! 

What’s one below-the-line conversation in your team that needs to be surfaced?

♻️ Share with a leader avoiding a difficult conversation
🔔 Follow Maya Knight for more on facilitating the conversations that actually matter

How to surface conversations within your team

Most founders underestimate the emotional cost of growth.

Not the stress or the workload.

The loss.

When a company grows from 15 people to 80, something disappears.

➡️ The closeness.
➡️ The shared context.
➡️ The feeling that everyone is part of the same small room.

It isn’t a leadership failure.

It’s part of scaling.

Yet very few teams talk about the grief that comes with scaling.

It’s so much more than just operational.

It’s personal.

Instead of evolving gently as a company grows.

Culture often breaks.

Then reforms.

What works at 10 people fails at 50.

What works at 50 collapses at 200.

→ At 10, everyone has context and decisions are fluid.

→ At 50, information no longer flows naturally.

→ At 70, you still recognise most faces.

→ At 200, you’re a different company. Decisions slow down.

You cannot scale a company and keep culture the same.

Trying to preserve everything creates friction.

And eventually burns out the founder.

The teams that scale well are selective.

They identify what’s truly core, and protect it ruthlessly.

Everything else is allowed to change, intentionally.

They replace spontaneity with systems.

Implicit norms with explicit design.

Vibes with structure.

As companies grow, connection doesn’t disappear.

It just stops happening by accident.

If you’re scaling, your culture will change whether you plan for it or not.

Protect the core.

Let the rest go.

Make space for what no longer fits.

Then design what comes next.

Where is your company right now?

What are you protecting?

And what are you ready to release?

♻️ Share with a team that’s navigating growth
➕ Follow Maya Knight for reflections on building teams and culture

86% of employees and executives say ineffective communication is one of the main causes of workplace failures.

Your poor communication skills could be costing your company thousands, if not millions each year.

And the truth is that most of your communication problems aren’t what you say.

They’re about how you say it.

This means your:

➡️ Presence
➡️ Attention
➡️ Unspoken expectations

You can be confident at speaking in front of people all you want. 

But if you don’t listen to others around you, stay true to your word, and speak in a way that is understandable, your communication will always fall short.

Mastering these five skills will improve your communication massively.

1. Listening without preparing your reply
➝ Most of us listen to respond, not to understand. When you stop doing that, people feel it immediately, and naturally soften.

2. Pointing out what’s happening
➝ Lots of conversations dance around the truth. Clear language makes everything flow better.

3. Pausing before you respond
➝ A two-second pause can totally change the trajectory of a conversation.

4. Speaking in simple language
➝ Make what you’re saying easy to understand, always. Information should be accessible to everyone.

5. Following through
➝ When you do what you say you’ll do, you show that you’re serious. It tells people that they matter, this matters.

The problem isn’t your lack of good phrases or confidence tricks. 

It’s also not your loudness or sharpness.

It’s that you’re not present or honest enough.

This is what people respond to, it’s what makes conversations feel more legit.

Try one of these this week:

– Choose one conversation where you only listen, without planning your reply

– Take two seconds before answering a difficult question

– Replace one complicated explanation with something simpler and clearer

– Follow through on one small promise you’ve been putting off

See how you can incorporate these practices into your day-to-day life, and see if it makes a difference.

What’s one communication habit you could try to improve this month? 

♻️ Most of your communication problems aren’t what you say
🟣 Follow Maya Knight for reflections on communication and building healthier teams

The five communication habits that build or break teams

Far too many offsites end up as “one-and-done” events.

Teams gather, talk, brainstorm…

And then go back to business as usual.

But the biggest impact isn’t always in the offsite itself.

It’s what comes afterwards.

Maximising the value of an offsite means planning for follow-up and measurement:

➡️ Share key takeaways and action items: Within a week, make sure everyone knows decisions, next steps, and who owns what.

➡️ Schedule follow-up meetings: Check in regularly to track progress and tackle challenges as they arise.

➡️ Measure the impact: Look at employee satisfaction, project completion, or even business outcomes to see if your gatherings  are  really moving the needle.

➡️ Solicit ongoing feedback: Ask your team how it went, and what could be better next time.

This is the step that’s most often overlooked, but it’s the one that turns an offsite into lasting change.

If you want to make every offsite you run count, I’m running a free Offsite Masterclass series.

I’ll walk you through the complete Momentum Method, the framework I’ve used to design 100+ offsites that have lasting effects.

Comment “OFFSITE MASTERCLASS” below and I’ll send you the signup link.

If you’re planning an exec-team or company-wide offsite in 2026, I’d love to help.
📧 maya@momentumprocesses.com

♻️ Save this for your next offsite
➕ Follow Maya Knight for more guidance on creating offsites that leave a lasting impact

If you’re stuck on a decision, use the law of least regret.

Imagine your life 5, 10, 15 years from now.

Then ask: Which decision would I regret not making?

For example:

If you think about moving abroad, would you have regretted moving abroad and not liking it?

Or not moving abroad and never knowing if you would have liked it?

That's usually your answer.

This works because most decisions aren’t right vs. wrong.

They're safe vs uncertain. 

Comfortable vs stretching. 

The path you know vs the path you're curious about.

The law of least regret cuts through all of this.

It doesn't tell you what to do. It shows you what you'd regret not doing.

I’ve used this in so many situations, like taking on new projects that seemed daunting, having difficult conversations, and even day-to-day things like going for a surf when I just don’t feel up for it.

I’ve learned that the things we regret aren’t the things we tried and failed at.

They’re:
➡️ The things we never tried.
➡️ The risks we didn’t take.
➡️ The opportunities we talked ourselves out of.

This law pushes you toward trying! Towards a growth mindset.

Try it:

Pick one decision you're stuck on.

Imagine yourself 5 years from now.

Ask: "Which choice would I regret not making?"

See what comes up.

Have you ever used this framework to help you make a tough decision?

♻️ Share this with someone who’s stuck on a difficult decision right now.
🔔 Follow Maya Knight for more on making decisions that actually align with what matters

Carousel credit: @wethinkdeeply on Instagram (thanks for sharing this!)

The law of least regret

"We need a strategy offsite."

Okay. But what does that actually mean?

Are you: 
→ Sharing a strategy that leadership already defined and getting buy-in? 
→ Co-creating strategy together as a team? 
→ Working through strategic decisions that have been stuck?

Those are three different session types.

And if you don't know which one you need, your offsite agenda might be a mess

The question that most teams skip is:

➡️ What kinds of sessions will actually help us achieve our goals?

Not "what sounds good" or "what other companies do."

From what I’ve seen, these are the sessions that actually work:

1. Upskilling/training
Teaching new frameworks or skills: feedback, communication, leadership practices, client management.

➝ Use this when your team needs shared tools or language to work better together.

2. Collaborative working sessions
Building something together: co-creating values, defining team standards, designing new processes.

➝ Use this when you need team ownership, not just leadership decisions.

3. Strategic alignment
Getting everyone on the same page: sharing strategy, setting goals, clarifying priorities.

➝ Use this when leadership has clarity but the team doesn't yet.

4. Product and innovation
Creative and generative work: design sprints, ideation, hackathons, product planning.

➝ Use this when you need fresh thinking and creative solutions.

5. Wellness and regulation
Supporting sustainable work: stress reduction, nervous system tools, resilience practices.

➝ Use this when your team is burned out and needs to learn how to work sustainably.

Most offsites need 2-3 of these, not all five.

The right mix depends on your actual goals.

But the majority of teams don't know how to choose.

They default to "strategy session" and "team building" without thinking about what those actually mean or whether they're the right fit.

This is exactly what I teach in my free Offsite Masterclass series.

➝ How to match session types to your goals.
➝ How to know when you need alignment vs. collaboration vs. training.
➝ How to design a session flow that builds momentum instead of exhausting people.

The Masterclass covers the complete framework I use after 100+ offsites, from goal-setting to session design to post-offsite follow-through.

If you're planning an offsite and want to get the session design right, sign up.

Comment "OFFSITE MASTERCLASS" below and I'll send the link.

Which session type does your team actually need right now?

♻️ Share with someone designing an offsite 
🔔 Follow Maya Knight for practical frameworks on offsite design

Some tables aren’t meant for you.

Realising that has been one of the most important lessons of my career and life.

Jessie J said it best:

“Life is too short to sit anywhere other than where you're supposed to be.”

“If you're sitting at a table where you don't feel like you're being fed, even if you're bringing a plate of food… leave.”

I love this because it applies to almost everything: work, teams, energy.

Far too often, we stay at tables where we’re over-giving and under-receiving.

Where we bring ideas, effort and time, and the nourishment isn’t there.

What this can look like in work:

X: Being at a table where you give more than is returned.

●You’re the one creating clarity, mentoring others, and filling gaps - but your role, scope, or upside never changes.
●You’re expected to care deeply about outcomes, but have little influence over direction.
●You consistently deliver beyond your remit, but feedback is vague and recognition is thin.
● You absorb stress for the system - mediating, fixing, stabilising - without being resourced for it.

Y: You contribute and the table sustains you 

● Your effort is matched with trust, autonomy, and decision-making power.
● You’re challenged, but also supported with context, feedback, and resources.
● Your growth is intentional - not accidental.
● Your work compounds into opportunity: scope, ownership, learning, or upside

If you recognise yourself at an X table, try this:

1️⃣  Take stock: Notice where you’re constantly giving but not getting nourishment in return.

2️⃣ Seek better tables: Look for teams, mentors, or projects that challenge, energise, and value you.

3️⃣ Exit gracefully: Leaving doesn’t mean failure. It means prioritising your growth, energy, and sanity.

Life is FAR too short to stay where you’re not thriving.

You can still be generous, ambitious and committed. You just need to make sure the table is worth it.

Where at work have you been giving more than you’re receiving? And what would leaving gracefully look like for you?

♻️ Share this with someone who’s stuck at a table that doesn’t feed them
➕ Follow Maya Knight for reflections on work, energy, and growth

An uncomfortable lesson I learned early on when hosting exec or team sessions:

The space can absolutely make or kill the vibe.

The room you choose for your offsite is already facilitating before you even start.

Walk into a formal boardroom with a long table and everyone immediately sits up straighter. 

They act professional and their language becomes more careful.

Walk into a space with comfortable seating, natural light, and flexible layout?

People relax, lean in and are more willing to be honest.

Architectural and design elements can make you feel entirely different in different spaces. 

The space you choose is communicating to your team:

• “This is formal” or “this is collaborative.”
• “Be careful here” or “you can be human here.”

To get the best outcomes from your gathering, approach your room setup with as much creative thought as possible.

This means asking:

→ What is this venue communicating to the team before we even start?

→ Will this space support the conversations we need to have?

→ Does the layout allow for different types of sessions?

→ How does the seating setup create:
     1. A listening, absorbing audience
     2. An engaged discussion
     3. An interactive multi-team collaboration

The seating arrangement alone can change everything. 

Your space is doing half of the work of facilitation, either supporting what you’re creating or fighting against it.

This is why I ALWAYS recommend teams to get help when booking a venue for their offsite.

When I vet venues, I ask the questions most people don’t know to ask:

→ What are the noise restrictions? (Some venues have strict cutoffs that kill evening sessions) 

→ How's the wifi, really? (I need speed tests, not marketing promises)

→ Can we rearrange the furniture? (Flexibility matters more than most people realize) 

→ What's the actual cancellation policy for accommodation?
And so much more.

After 100+ offsites, I know which venues deliver what they promise and which ones oversell.

I have a little black book of venues which I know have spaces that support vulnerability and which ones create barriers.

I can help you with the questions to ask that prevent day-of disasters.

So, if you’re planning an offsite and need help booking a venue:
➡️ Think about what you’re trying to create, then find a space that actually supports it.
➡️ Or, let me help you find one!

DM me or email maya@momentumprocesses.com for help finding appropriate offsite venues in the UK and Portugal.

What's the worst venue mistake you've made (or seen)?

♻️ Share with someone about to book an offsite venue 
➕ Follow Maya Knight for more on designing offsites that actually work

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