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Manuel Maisch
Professional Background
Manuel S. Maisch is a distinguished professional currently serving as an Innovation Manager at Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG, one of the leading media organizations in Switzerland. In this role, Manuel spearheads innovative projects that integrate cutting-edge technologies and modern approaches in journalism and media, ensuring that the organization remains at the forefront of the digital age. His extensive experience in diverse sectors such as media, technology, and consulting sets him apart as a thought leader in innovation and operational excellence.
Prior to joining Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG, Manuel showcased his entrepreneurial spirit as the Founder of GetYourScarf, a venture specializing in customized printed scarves and accessories. This experience not only honed his business acumen but also amplified his skills in product development, marketing, and customer engagement.
Earlier in his career, Manuel contributed to KPMG Advisory as an Operations Consultant, where he provided strategic insights and operational improvements to a variety of clients. His consulting background has endowed him with a profound understanding of financial management and supply chain dynamics, skills that are invaluable in today’s fast-paced business environment. He notably worked in the Financial Management and Supply Chain division at Battere, emphasizing his expertise in optimizing processes and enhancing operational efficiency.
Manuel's journey also includes significant academic and teaching experiences, reflecting his commitment to education and stakeholder development. He participated in the prestigious Swisscom Corporate Master Thesis Program at Swisscom, which further refined his analytical and strategic thinking abilities. Additionally, he spent several years in various positions as a Teaching Assistant at ETH Zurich, where he assisted in Engineering Design courses. His role involved mentoring future engineers and supporting the development of innovative solutions within diverse teams.
In the entrepreneurial domain, Manuel co-founded ZmorgePost, a platform that connects people through communal breakfast experiences, highlighting his innovative mindset and dedication to enhancing social interactions.
Education and Achievements
Manuel's academic background is rooted in engineering, a field in which he has attained both practical and theoretical mastery. His educational journey at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, one of the world's leading universities, equipped him with a solid foundation in mechanical engineering. Addressing the complexities in engineering design, Manuel excelled in his studies and subsequently shared his knowledge as a Teaching Assistant across various programs.
In addition to his extensive experience with ETH Zurich, where he took on multiple roles in the teaching assistant capacity, Manuel also completed a product development internship at Zühlke Group. During this time, he further developed his skills in innovative design and product strategy, which would later contribute to his success in start-up environments and corporate projects alike.
Moreover, his proficiency in digital strategies was honed during his tenure as a Digital Allrounder specializing in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) at Geschenkidee.ch GmbH. This role included broad responsibilities from content strategy to user experience design, emphasizing his versatility in addressing digital marketing challenges and further solidifying his career in the tech-savvy landscape.
Achievements
Throughout his career, Manuel S. Maisch has accumulated a wealth of achievements that signify his dedication to innovation, educational excellence, and entrepreneurial ventures. As Innovation Manager, his initiatives at Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG not only fostered journalistic integrity but also advanced the integration of technology in news delivery, reflecting the evolving landscape of modern media.
His entrepreneurial venture as the Founder of GetYourScarf demonstrates his ability to identify market gaps and create compelling products that resonate with consumers. The process of launching and running this business significantly sharpened his skills in brand development, operational management, and creative marketing strategies.
In the consulting arena, working with KPMG and Battere allowed Manuel to gain deep insights into large-scale operational frameworks and enhance his financial savvy—skills that complement his experience as a project leader and innovator.
Manuel's teaching contributions at ETH Zurich have also made a lasting impact on students, many of whom have gone on to excel in their engineering careers. His commitment to education and mentoring reflects in the positive feedback from both students and faculty, reaffirming his status as an influential figure in academic circles.
Overall, Manuel S. Maisch has built a multifaceted career combining innovation, education, and entrepreneurship. His journey demonstrates a relentless pursuit of excellence and a profound commitment to fostering innovation across various sectors. As he continues to evolve in his role at Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG, there is no doubt that his influence will remain significant as he shapes the future of media and technology.
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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.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
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 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 is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
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.