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Abel Mathews
Business development pro by choice - Comedian by chance - Creative at heart - Leveraging humor, resilience & empathy to drive business success
Professional Background
Abel Mathews is a multifaceted professional who seamlessly blends creativity with business acumen. Initially, he carved out a niche for himself in the creative arts, specifically in live sound engineering and production consulting. It was during his time in the music and acting industry that he realized his passion for performance, leading him to become an engaged and effective radio jockey and producer. This experience provided an ideal platform for Abel to develop his unique voice in comedy, culminating in his triumph as first runner-up in a highly competitive local comedy contest. With a commitment to his craft, Abel made the bold decision to transition fully into the world of comedy, where he spent six enriching years performing as a comedian, improv artist, and event host, sharing stages with notable talents such as Grammy Award winner John Schlitt of Petra and participating in India's premiere improv group, The Improv.
In 2017, Abel ventured into entrepreneurship by founding Abel Mathews Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., aimed at harnessing the engaging elements of improv comedy to foster high-performance teamwork and collaboration in corporate settings. While the pandemic led to a temporary cessation of operations, it enabled him to enhance his skill set further — focusing on business development, stakeholder engagement, and customer relationship management — skills that now serve him well in his current role as New Business Development Lead at UST.
Education and Achievements
Abel earned a Bachelor of Technology from the esteemed Karunya University, where he honed his technical and analytical skills. His earlier education at Jabriya Indian School in Kuwait laid a foundational understanding of diverse cultures and perspectives, an experience that complements his current role in business development, where he engages with clients and stakeholders across multiple global regions.
His comedy career is marked by remarkable milestones, including participation in prestigious events such as India's first improv group performance at the Sweden International Improv Festival. Abel's work has been pivotal in redefining the landscape of corporate training through innovative programs that promote creativity and teamwork. He continues to bring his humor and insight to audiences through his podcast, #TheRelatabelPodcast, available on major platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.
Current Role and Vision
As New Business Development Lead at UST, Abel is tasked with expanding business operations across diverse regions such as the U.S., LatAm, and APAC. His multicultural background enriches his ability to connect with clients from various geographies, making him a valuable asset in the ever-evolving tech industry. Abel's professional vision remains steadfast: to challenge conventional norms, inspire and engage diverse audiences through unique entertainment formats, and leverage his diverse skill set to create significant business impact.
Notable Achievements
- Achieved first runner-up in a local comedy competition, showcasing his talent and potential in stand-up comedy.
- Collaborated and performed alongside renowned artists, including Grammy-winning musician John Schlitt of Petra, and was a key member of India's foremost improv comedy group.
- Pioneered innovative programs during his tenure at Abel Mathews Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. to foster collaborative teamwork through improv-style methodologies.
- Recognized as a dynamic speaker and entertainer who effectively combines humor with insightful business strategies, leading to personal branding success across social media platforms.
Personal Interests and Projects
Abel continues to indulge in his passion for comedy while managing his business responsibilities. He actively performs at comedy clubs and events, consistently working to enhance his skills and connect with audiences. His podcast, #TheRelatabelPodcast, serves as a platform for discussing relatable themes within a comedic framework, further establishing his presence in the digital space. Abel maintains a dynamic online presence, utilizing social media channels to build his brand and engage with fans and industry peers.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
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Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
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