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Bruna Braga
Head of Partnerships, Solve at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bruna Braga: A Catalyst for Social Impact
Bruna Braga is a passionate and innovative leader dedicated to fostering social change through her role as the Head of Partnerships at MIT Solve. Driven by a strong vision for global transformation, Bruna works at the intersection of technology and social impact, aiming to build robust partnerships that can address pressing global challenges. At MIT Solve, she champions initiatives across areas such as Sustainability, Economic Prosperity, Health, and Learning. This unique marketplace connects tech entrepreneurs with critical resources, enabling them to scale their impactful solutions. Over the past three years, Bruna has played a pivotal role in facilitating over $20 million in funding commitments for entrepreneurs by leveraging strong collaborations with a diverse community of cross-sector leaders.
Professional Background
Bruna's career is characterized by a remarkable trajectory that spans various industries and regions. Prior to joining MIT Solve, Bruna served as a staff member at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). Her work there was instrumental in expanding CGI's influence and reach into Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, showcasing her commitment to making a difference on a global scale. Her experiences at CGI equipped her with extensive knowledge and insights into international development, allowing her to effectively engage with global partners who are equally passionate about innovative solutions to worldwide challenges.
Bruna's foundational experiences in the private sector have only strengthened her understanding of the intricate dynamics at play in business and social enterprises. She held important roles at Aon Hewitt, a prominent human capital consulting firm, and at Aché, one of Brazil's leading pharmaceutical companies. These experiences have given her a unique perspective on the interface between corporate interests and societal needs, which she leverages to drive partnerships at MIT Solve.
Education and Achievements
Bruna's educational background reflects her commitment to excellence and passion for learning. She graduated with distinction, holding a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing from New York University (NYU), where she achieved an impressive GPA of 3.94. Her studies at NYU helped to sharpen her marketing acumen, allowing her to craft effective communication strategies and partnerships that resonate in various contexts.
In addition to her Master's, Bruna earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the renowned Fundação Getulio Vargas (EAESP-FGV) in São Paulo, Brazil. This prestigious institution is known for producing highly skilled professionals who make significant contributions to the business and social sectors. Bruna's education has provided her with a strong foundation in business principles, strategic thinking, and market analysis, which are essential skills in her current role.
Bruna is multilingual, fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, which allows her to engage effectively with a diverse set of stakeholders across different cultures and geographies. This ability to communicate across languages enhances her capacity to build and maintain partnerships that are vital to advancing MIT Solve's mission.
Notable Contributions and Achievements
Bruna has made significant contributions to advancing social impact through her work at MIT Solve and previously at CGI. At MIT Solve, she is responsible for identifying, nurturing, and strengthening partnerships with innovators, entrepreneurs, and organizations dedicated to addressing the world’s toughest challenges. Her ability to bring together cross-sector leaders allows for the pooling of resources and expertise necessary to enable the next wave of impactful entrepreneurs.
In her earlier role at the Clinton Global Initiative, Bruna's efforts facilitated the expansion of CGI's initiatives into new regions, thereby widening the scope of collaboration and increasing the number of people impacted by their programs. Through her strategic engagement, Bruna was part of the movement that established CGI as a leader in global dialogue on sustainability and social responsibility.
Bruna’s extensive experience in marketing, combined with her strong leadership abilities, has empowered her to effectively convey the importance of innovation in tackling social challenges. Her comprehensive knowledge and practical insights drive the success of MIT Solve, making it a pivotal platform for social entrepreneurs globally.
Conclusion
Bruna Braga stands as a testament to the impactful fusion of business acumen and passionate commitment to social transformation. Her journey through prestigious educational institutions, comprehensive roles in high-impact organizations, and her current leadership position at MIT Solve illustrate a steadfast dedication to fostering partnerships that yield meaningful change. With her expertise, multilingual capabilities, and unwavering dedication to social entrepreneurship, Bruna continues to inspire and create pathways for future leaders in the realm of social impact. As she builds bridges among stakeholders committed to innovation and progress, it becomes apparent that Bruna is not just shaping the landscape of social entrepreneurship; she is a catalyst for change in communities around the world.
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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:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- 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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Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
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 makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
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.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.
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