Singapore – BeingIconic, an Australian consultancy centred around strategic marketing, commercial and operational expertise–is opening in Asia with backing from Singapore-based Avyan Holdings. It has also appointed Jack Lim as its principal for BeingIconic’s Asia operations based in Singapore.

Lim was previously the partner and chief growth officer at Avyan Global and former chief commercial and partnerships officer at ONE Championship and chief commercial officer at Mediacorp.

Following successful collaborations with over 50 scale-ups in Australia, BeingIconic has closed a pre-seed friends and family capital raise to expand operations in Asia and the UK, build out strategy and client services teams as well as investing in marketing and business development.

BeingIconic supports companies to scale outside of existing internal capabilities through flexible delivery of strategic marketing, network expansion, commercial and operational expertise. It has closed a A$1m pre-seed round with investment from Avyan Holdings, founded by former Havas chairman and CEO for South East Asia, Japan and Korea, Vishnu Mohan.

Peter Brocklebank, partner and managing director at BeingIconic said, “Since launching two years ago, we have taken a deliberate and staged approach to validate the proposition to ensure it delivers for companies ready for their scale-up journey. Scale-ups typically don’t fail because they don’t have a good product, they fail because they only have a great product. BeingIconic brings deep insights, expertise and networks to fuel the next phase of growth by becoming an integral part of their teams through expert guidance across marketing, operations and finance functions.”

Meanwhile, Ian Bell, partner and chief innovation officer at BeingIconic, commented, “There are significant opportunities to take the product and service innovations of Asian businesses and expand them out to new markets. BeingIconic’s mission is to grow these entrepreneurial scale-ups beyond their internal potential, be a trusted partner and help them realise their ambitions. The founders  together with our new shareholders are experienced in doing just that and now we are bringing this combined experience, and that of our wider team to scale-ups in Asia.”

Sydney, Australia – Sydney-based business growth consultancy BeingIconic, which helps disruptive up-and-coming scale-ups to move into the mass market, has welcomed former Havas Media Chairman Mike Wilson as its non-executive director and strategic advisor as it readies for hyper growth for the business and its clients locally and globally.

Wilson joined BeingIconic recently, and since stepping down as Havas Media Chair in August last year, Wilson has taken on focused board roles, including at renowned influencer agency Hypetap.

The consultancy said Wilson’s appointment marks the end of BeingIconic’s search for like-minded individuals who can inject new life and valuable expertise into its highly dedicated and dynamic team.

“Mike is a long-standing friend of ours and someone we’re delighted to have on board,” said BeingIconic Partner and Chief Innovation Officer Ian Bell 

“We exist to help transition businesses throughout their scale-up journey. Recent clients include espresso Displays, CrowdProperty, Trendspek, Olinqua, Headsafe and BWX Brands (home to Flora & Fauna, Nourished Life and Sukin). Mike is both the perfect fit for us and our clients. He has a long history of founding, scaling, and acquiring media and creative businesses, and is an expert in industries that are critical to enabling our next stage of growth,” added Bell. 

Wilson has spent most of his career in marketing services and agencies, with a focus on communication and media. He also has significant management and leadership experience having cofounded Naked Communications in 2004 and launching Havas Media as founding CEO in 2013, becoming Chair in 2019.

With over 30 years of experience leading multi-disciplinary marketing communication and growth initiatives for world-leading consumer brands to his credit, Wilson shares his excitement to leap into a new landscape and leverage his experience to help BeingIconic fulfil its potential and grow clients.

“Getting involved in the investment community is something I’m thoroughly enjoying, and I’m seeing a lot of opportunities. The world is moving very fast postCOVID-19, particularly around tech products and services, and the BeingIconic skillset can be applied to multiple verticals,” Wilson said.

Wilson commented that there is massive momentum in Australia, the UK, Europe, and the US in terms of scale-ups, and that with the present connections and affiliations the consultancy has with UK businesses and trade organisations, they expect significant uptake in UK–Australia partnerships as they bring scale-ups to growth in both markets.

“Clearly, the mandate is to expand further internationally, but we are taking a deliberate, staged approach. Delivering from these bases into other markets is something the team already does at pace,” he added.

Sibon Schouten, founder of Mark’d Global and BeingIconic Board Advisor, welcomed Wilson to the fold.

“The team represents new and lateral thinking that is needed to succeed in an uncertain world, but one latent with new opportunities. By clashing the worlds of branding, business, and culture, they create what the future organisation must deliver – the triple bottom line based on people, planet, and profit. Collaborations with brands like Modibodi and Vanessa Megan show us what is possible if we continue on this path. I am excited to see industry veteran Mike Wilson join us to help businesses scale in Australia and beyond,” she said.