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Keren Lerner
Improve your presence online - revealing "Unique Greatness"
Professional Background
Keren Lerner is a dynamic and innovative entrepreneur, known for her role as the founder and Director of Top Left Design, a design and marketing agency established in 2002. Based in the vibrant Soho district of London, Keren has built a remarkable agency characterized by its global reach and a dedicated international team. Top Left Design is recognized for its unique approach to branding and marketing, emphasizing a philosophy of 'Revealing Unique Greatness through Design & Communication.' The agency collaborates with a diverse array of talented professionals, including two experienced coders based in Lithuania, a creative designer named Amy in Cape Town, and two associate designers located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Keren's leadership has positioned Top Left Design as a go-to partner for businesses looking to elevate their online presence and branding efforts.
Education and Achievements
Keren Lerner’s educational journey began at the American College of London, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications. This foundation equipped her with a robust understanding of design principles, branding strategies, and effective communication. Building on her academic background, Keren has translated her knowledge into actionable strategies that have helped numerous startups and established companies flourish. Under her direction, Top Left Design has provided comprehensive design and marketing solutions to a varied clientele, ranging from small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to notable film production companies. Keren has contributed significantly to her clients' successes through tailored branding, website design, social media strategies, and content marketing initiatives.
Achievements
Keren’s agency, Top Left Design, boasts an impressive portfolio featuring an eclectic mix of clients. Among them are ski companies, law firms, charities, financial advisors, and property consultancies, reflecting the diverse expertise that Keren and her team bring to the table. Some standout projects include creating the website for the film financing company responsible for the Academy Award-winning film ‘The King's Speech,’ and developing a web presence for a production company behind blockbuster films like ‘The Expendables’ and ‘Hitman's Bodyguard.’
In addition to her work with these high-profile clients, Keren is deeply committed to empowering startups and entrepreneurs, guiding them through the critical phases of branding, naming, positioning, and establishing effective online platforms. Her training sessions on content marketing, social media, and blogging have helped many businesses leverage their online potential and connect effectively with their audiences. By conducting workshops and events, Keren continues to share her insights and expert knowledge, fostering greater understanding and skills within the entrepreneurial community.
Through her visionary leadership and commitment to excellence, Keren Lerner has established Top Left Design as a trusted name in the design and marketing industry, helping businesses effectively communicate their unique greatness and realize their full potential.
Highlights
I started my business in 2002, when I was 26 years old.
HOW have I been able to keep it going for so long?
(Here’s where I need a compelling stat - X% of small businesses fall flat within X [period of time]
But the point is, HOW?
One main reason is - I am not tempted by the idea of new ventures. I like to improve improve improve. So I stick with it. There’s always more to do, learn and improve! And of course, I am doing what I love.
And what are my other “secrets to longevity”?
One is, tbh I’m never truly “comfortable”, there’s always a little bit of danger that drives me. Of course, it would be NICE if I could coast a little bit, it is a definite motivator! 🙂
Here are a few more "secrets":
👉 We're constantly trying new tools and methods, and throwing away things that are clunky and inefficient. 👉 I don’t focus on growth anymore (reputation, quality stability and balance are more important to me) 👉 I know the value of keeping TLD visible and out there 👉 Reputation is a high priority 👉 I know the value of keeping in touch with contacts and clients so they don’t forget about us 👉 We’ve added more to what we’re teaching our clients eg, now we include how to use AI and Canva for their marketing 👉 We added the lower cost options for smaller businesses 👉 We use the EOS “business operating model” to check in, set and review goals and solve issues.
What makes you stick with your business and what makes your business stick?
Do you overdeliver?
I share here a short carousel with me looking rather unhappy.
I guess you're thinking that means I don't support the idea?
Well - we do TEND to over-deliver, I admit.
And that's very much because of my/our values.
Call it people pleasing, or lack of boundaries, or bad business.
But, as long as you do it with a sensible head on your shoulders, it can win you loyalty and lots of positive reviews from happy clients!
Let's look at the good and the bad:
🚀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘀: Exceeding expectations = happy clients. Overdelivering builds trust. Differentiate yourself in a crowded field. It’s a growth opportunity.
🚫 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀: Burnout risk: You don't want to sacrifice your sanity! Unrealistic expectations: How do you keep it up? Margins matter: It will affect those profit margins. Underappreciation alert: Some may not notice! And then it's been a big far waste.
In short, balance is key!
Do you find YOU overdeliver on your projects and service?
How do you set boundaries?
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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
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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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.
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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.
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