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Joy Schoffler
Aerospace and Defense Industry Connector | Strategic Communications, Marketing, and Events Management for Business and Program Growth | Board Advisor
Professional Background
Joy Schoffler, the Principal of Distinctive Edge Partners, is an award-winning global communications strategist with an impressive career spanning decades. Joy leverages her extensive experience to build, scale, and protect the brands of both public and private companies. Leading her firm, Distinctive Edge Partners, she oversees a full-service communications, marketing, and events management operation that specializes in the aerospace and defense industries. The firm is known for its deep industry expertise and innovative strategies that empower clients to enhance their value, streamline operations, and convert risks into opportunities. Joy's role as a connector enables her to bring together key industry players, maximizing return on investment (ROI) for her clients.
Education and Achievements
With a robust educational foundation, Joy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Pacific Lutheran University. This academic background has provided her with the analytical skills necessary for making informed business decisions and creating strategic communications that resonate with diverse audiences. Throughout her career, Joy has shown a commitment to fostering innovation and driving growth. She has effectively assisted clients in raising billions in capital, transitioning from start-up to successful exits, and achieving remarkable shareholder value.
Joy's expertise spans various industries, including aerospace, defense, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, financial services, and real estate. Her prior venture, Leverage PR, which she founded and later sold, made significant strides in promoting global innovation across technology and financial services sectors. The firm played a vital role in representing high-profile entities such as SXSW, the Economic Ministries of Japan, and APEX Brazil, ultimately leading to substantial increases in assets under management (AUM).
In addition to her communications work, Joy has been a prominent investment leader. As a partner at Ascendant Industries, she evaluated and managed investments in middle-market sectors, focusing on cybersecurity, defense, maritime, and engineering technology. Her strategic role as the Chief Strategy Officer at Casoro Capital further showcased her expertise, as she led the investor relations team responsible for raising significant capital for direct investments and played a pivotal role in developing an innovative public non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT), known as Upside Avenue.
As Director of Acquisitions for The PPA Group, Joy demonstrated her acumen in real estate, underwriting and acquiring $250 million worth of properties. Her leadership helped grow the firm from just four employees to a staggering seventy-five, allowing them to make the prestigious 'Inc. 5000' list two times during her tenure.
Board and Advisory Roles
Throughout her career, Joy has served in numerous esteemed board positions, further enhancing her influence across various fields. She has been involved with the Foundation for the Future, SXSW & AARP Accelerator, FinTech Professionals Association, and spent four years with CFIRA (Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates), collaborating with the SEC and FINRA on pivotal JOBS Act implementations that have shaped the future of online investing as we know it today.
In addition to her advisory and board roles, Joy is a highly sought-after speaker and media contributor, sharing her insights through various platforms and events. Her contributions to the industry have been recognized with numerous awards, including the 'Outstanding Communicators' award from Women Communicators and 'Entrepreneur of the Year' from CEO Magazine. Additionally, she has earned the esteemed Austin Under 40 award due to her significant impact on the community and professional landscape. Joy has also served as an officer in both the Army Reserves and the Texas State Guard, highlighting her commitment to service and leadership.
Personal Interests and Community Engagement
Joy's dedication to community engagement is evident in her extensive involvement with organizations that create positive change. She has been actively involved with Athletes for Change, a nonprofit that fosters social impact through sports, and has also served as a mentor for budding entrepreneurs and innovators through programs like Envestnet | Yodlee. Joy's passion for empowering others is woven throughout her life, as she continually seeks to inspire the next generation of leaders both in business and beyond.
In summary, Joy Schoffler is an accomplished and dynamic communications strategist whose expertise spans multiple industries and leadership roles. Her ability to connect people, maximize investments, and foster innovation has positioned her as a leading figure in the world of global communications, making a lasting impact on every project she undertakes.
Highlights
“If it wants to remain the preeminent global power, the United States will have to quickly shift course. The country needs to reform the structure of its armed forces. The U.S. military needs to reform its tactics and leadership development. It needs new ways to procure equipment. It needs to buy new types of gear. And it needs to better train soldiers to operate drones and use AI.”
Powerful read from Former CEO & Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, and Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General, Mark Milley.
Foreign Minister of #Taiwan Jaushieh Joseph Wu connects the defense of #Ukraine to the defense of #Taiwan in his recent article Defending Taiwan by Defending Ukraine in Foreign Affairs Magazine.
He shares why Taiwan matters to the world, the possible impact of inaction, the importance of Ukrainian and Taiwanese defense to the world order, and what like-minded nations can do to help defend Taiwan.
"According to Bloomberg Economics, a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would cost the global economy around $10 trillion, the equivalent of nearly ten percent of global GDP—dwarfing the impacts of the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the global financial crisis of 2008–9. A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would result in less immediate destruction but would still cost the global economy around $5 trillion.
The reason is simple: over 90 percent of advanced chips are produced in Taiwan, and approximately half of the global fleet of ships that carry shipping containers pass through the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan is an indispensable and irreplaceable part of the global supply chain, and defending it requires a global effort. But the value of Taiwanese security is not merely economic; it is also geostrategic. Preserving the status quo in the strait is vital to maintaining the U.S. alliance system, the regional balance of power, and nuclear nonproliferation. These three critical pillars have kept the Indo-Pacific region stable and prosperous for generations and would be threatened were China to gain control of Taiwan. Economic losses and supply chain disruptions could be mitigated over time. But a geostrategic shift to the advantage of China’s authoritarian expansionism would harm the world for decades to come."
https://lnkd.in/gzR-AVah
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Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh 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.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- 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
Mesh 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, Mesh 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 Mesh 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 Mesh 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.
Mesh 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. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh 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.
Mesh 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. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh 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. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh 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. Mesh'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.
Mesh 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. Mesh 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, Mesh 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.
Mesh 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.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh 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. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh 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 Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh 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, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh 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. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh 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.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh 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.
Mesh'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. Mesh 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 Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh'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, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh 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 Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.
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