cred | n.  1. The quality of being trusted or believed in.

2. Commanding a level of respect due to experience or knowledge.

Welcome to cred's first ever blog post. We've been behind the scenes working hard on building both our brand but more importantly the brands of those we're working with, and we've now decided to share some of our thoughts and learnings with you. Be on the lookout for articles on how to become a better speaker, recapping recent events and conferences, and tips that we've learned along the way.

Here's a bit more about us:

What We Do. We connect individuals to speaking opportunities. We like to think of ourselves as a nonconventional PR firm; we supplement and enhance – rather than replace – any existing efforts. It’s pretty simple.

I was always taught to focus on one thing and do it really well. Here at cred, we chose to focus on something we don’t think others prioritize enough: speaking & events. Our hyper-focus allows us to be masters at matchmaking events with speakers; and because we do it all day long, we've gotten to be pretty darn good at it.

We also help people run and manage better events, from sourcing engaging speakers to creating content to onsite execution. Since we see firsthand the insides of event organization, communication (and what can be done better), we thought naturally, we could do it ourselves.

Why We Do It. This brings us to the core of what we do - the why. Successful companies are built on solid foundations, and here’s ours: We believe that bringing knowledgeable, passionate speakers to engaged audiences builds awareness and excitement for you and your brand. It raises your profile and positions you and your brand as thought leaders in whatever industry you operate in. We thrive on working with quality, passionate speakers that tell a story. Long-term, we’re on a mission to become the most valued, recognized and respected source for events and speaking opportunities.

In less than 10 months, we’ve created an amazing team of 9 individuals and over 60 clients who see that value too. Most of the clients we work with understand how the power of speaking can strengthen and generate business opportunities. Our clients acknowledge that speaking is:

• An efficient way to increase brand awareness - whether it’s for potential business partners, customers, financiers, employees, recruiters, investors or all of the above.

• Visibility into the company, the individual, and their credibility.

• Most importantly, a means to drive business growth. The majority of successful conversations happen face-to-face (this is why VCs tend to meet in-person). Taking advantage of speaking opportunities can accelerate conversations and get things moving.

What We Don’t Do. We’re not a speakers bureau. We don’t seek placements for the sake of it, and we don’t get paid per placement. We believe in earning speaking opportunities based on your knowledge, insight and experience. We serve as an extension of your Marketing and Comms Teams.

One-offs. We won’t help you ‘slip’ into just a single event. We create a comprehensive and all encompassing speaking program so we can help you move the marketing needle - not just once, but time and time again.
 

We want to work with people who believe in the power of their personal brand. If this sounds like you, come and chat with us, and let’s build your cred together.

-Caitlin

p.s. I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback: caitlin@credpr.com.