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Nick Holder
Livingbridge, Director - supporting high growth services organisations with equity investment
Professional Background
Nick Holder is a seasoned Investment Director, known for his expertise in sourcing and executing private equity investments tailored towards high-growth entrepreneurial small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom. With a strong emphasis on the consumer sector, Nick is adept at identifying and researching a variety of investment opportunities that encompass management buy-outs, equity release, and founder succession scenarios. His profound understanding of the unique needs of these businesses allows him to facilitate optimal outcomes through thoughtful investment strategies.
Throughout his career, Nick has developed a keen ability to drive investment origination activity effectively. His approach not only focuses on securing private equity investments for growing businesses but also on fostering relationships with founders to assist in managing succession and ensuring that the business continues to thrive post-investment. Nick’s experience is marked by his hands-on involvement, where he frequently takes board seats to challenge and support top management teams, ultimately securing superior value for stakeholders involved. This proactive engagement in leadership positions exemplifies his commitment to the success of the organizations he invests in, particularly in navigating complex business landscapes.
Nick Holder's career is characterized by a series of progressive roles in corporate finance which have equipped him with a robust foundation in financial management, equity investment, and advisory services. His notable tenure as Corporate Finance Director at Clearwater Corporate Finance allowed him to work closely with high-growth service organizations, understanding their unique equity investment needs and providing tailored financial solutions. Earlier in his career, he expanded his knowledge in corporate finance at PwC, where he honed his skills as a Corporate Finance Manager. This integral experience set the stage for his future endeavors in identifying promising growth opportunities.
Education and Achievements
Nick's academic journey began at The University of Sheffield, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Accounting & Financial Management. This educational background laid the groundwork for his extensive career in investment, equipping him with critical skills in financial analysis, strategic planning, and fiscal management.
His professional achievements extend beyond individual success to include meaningful contributions to various organizations. Nick has served as the Non-Executive Director (NXD) at TitanHQ, a leading cloud security vendor renowned for products like SpamTitan, WebTitan, and ArcTitan. This role exemplified his commitment to driving growth and innovation in the technology sector, where his insights into investment strategies have been invaluable. Prior to TitanHQ, he held similar NXD roles at Mobysoft Ltd and Armstrong Craven, where he leveraged his expertise to support organizations in navigating market challenges and opportunities for growth.
In addition to his directorial positions, Nick has also been instrumental in fostering high-growth services organizations during his tenure at Livingbridge, where he supported various investment initiatives. His ability to articulate the vision for potential investments has been central to his success in driving significant financial returns for investors.
Notable Achievements
With a specialized focus on the consumer sector, Nick Holder has consistently demonstrated an ability to identify versatile investment situations, ensuring that he remains at the forefront of private equity investment trends. The complexity involved in managing various investment scenarios such as founder succession, retirement sales, and acquisition needs speaks volumes about his adaptable approach to investment origination.
Nick's diverse experience in the corporate finance space, practical engagements at the board level, and his educational background in Accounting and Financial Management distinctly position him as a leader in the investment landscape. His collaborative spirit and dedication to enhancing the operational capacity of SMEs have positioned him as a sought-after advisor and mentor in the industry.
In conclusion, Nick Holder is an accomplished Investment Director whose career has been defined by a thorough understanding of private equity investments, particularly within the consumer sector. His commitment to empowering growth-focused entrepreneurs and fostering sustainable business practices marks him as a key figure within the investment community.
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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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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.
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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.
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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.