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Marco Matera
Managing Director at Dandi
Professional Background
Marco Matera is a highly accomplished professional, currently serving as the Managing Director at We Are Dandi, an innovative company dedicated to removing bias from the recruitment process. With a strong vision to create a more equitable work environment, Marco has leveraged his extensive experience in both leadership and consultancy roles to help organizations cultivate inclusive hiring practices.
His career is marked by a consistent commitment to strategy development and execution. He has built and managed teams of up to 11 professionals across diverse functions, encompassing marketing, business development, and event management, thus demonstrating his versatility and ability to adapt to various business environments. His expertise in spearheading strategic pivots—specifically from business-to-consumer (B2C) models to business-to-business (B2B) strategies—illustrates his innovative mindset and understanding of market dynamics. Marco actively supports the CEO of We Are Dandi in crafting comprehensive strategies to elevate the organization’s mission and impact.
In addition to his leadership at We Are Dandi, Marco is a skilled public speaker who has shared his insights at multiple events, impressing audiences with his ability to convey complex business concepts in accessible ways. He’s adept at pitching to investors and clients, successfully raising £250,000 in early-stage investments to fund a prototype, thereby demonstrating his strong business acumen.
Prior to his tenure at We Are Dandi, Marco enjoyed a distinguished career where he led event management, finance, public relations, and digital marketing teams. His production and management excellence is showcased through his successful execution of over 250 concerts and private events at the national level, where he coordinated all facets from promotion to execution.
Moreover, Marco works as a freelance consultant and creative advisor, extending his expertise and mentorship to organizations and entrepreneurs looking to refine their business strategies and elevate operational efficiencies. His diverse experience highlights not only his robust functional knowledge but also his ability to drive organizational success through effective leadership and innovation.
Education and Achievements
Educated at reputed institutions, Marco Matera holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Hult International Business School, London. This degree has equipped him with advanced knowledge and skills in strategic planning, organizational behavior, and business management. Furthermore, Marco attained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Business Management from Anglia Ruskin University, laying a solid foundation for his future pursuits in the business arena. His educational journey began with A-Level studies in Classics and Classical Languages at Liceo Classico Vincenzo Lanza, where he developed critical and analytical thinking skills that continue to inform his approach to business challenges today.
Marco’s academic achievements complement his professional experience, enabling him to bring both theory and practice into alignment within his various roles.
Notable Contributions and Organizations
Throughout his career, Marco Matera has been integral to several esteemed organizations. He is a proud co-founder and managing director of We Are Dandi, where he is at the forefront of transformative recruitment practices. Previous to this role, he served as a Strategic Advisor for We Hate Pink, where he offered valuable insights and guidance to enhance the organization's outreach strategies.
Marco is also recognized for his leadership roles at The Alibi, where he served as CEO and founder, and at Alfred Smart Home, where he held dual roles as Chief Business Development Officer and Chief Financial Officer. His collaborative efforts at Gideon Smart Home further underscore his ability to develop impactful partnerships and lead projects from conception through successful execution.
Additionally, his innovative spirit led him to participate in notable commercialization and acceleration programs such as the Seamless IoT Consortium, PwC’s Incubus Future of Work, Microsoft Ventures Accelerator, and John Lewis's JLab program. These experiences have allowed him to observe and learn from various cutting-edge approaches in technology and business strategy, further developing his ability to innovate in the marketplace.
Achievements
Marco Matera's career is punctuated by a series of impressive achievements. Notably, his capability to raise £250,000 in early-stage investments illustrates his proficiency in capital funding and validates the interest and trust of investors in his vision.
His extensive experience managing a range of teams—spanning marketing, event management, PR, and finance—positions him as a well-rounded leader in the business landscape. The execution of over 250 concerts and various private events showcases not only his organizational skills but also his ability to work closely with diverse stakeholders to deliver memorable experiences.
Marco’s qualifications and experiences are a testament to his capacity to excel in rapidly changing environments and to develop strategies that are both innovative and effective. His multifaceted skill set, combined with his passion for fostering inclusive practices in hiring, solidifies his standing as a thought leader in the recruitment industry and beyond.
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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.
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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'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.