Vernon

Over the past five years, building 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 – a Vernon spin-off that we 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝 – taught us to create and market a product from the ground up. This journey, coupled with our tenure as tech and product leaders in scale-ups and corporations, has uniquely positioned us for our 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫, especially in a time when AI technologies like transformers and LLMs are reshaping our world. Although we have been 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐈 for a while now –from developing a world-class ML matching algorithm a decade ago to launching an LLM-assisted chat feature six months ago–, we want to make it our main focus now. And by partnering with customers tackling 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬, our nimble team maximizes its impact. At Vernon, we’ve 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 on defining product strategies, launching new features, optimizing tech for sales and operations, enhancing delivery, and carrying out internal due diligence on how the product and tech organization operates to achieve business objectives. We are back at helping companies build, stepping in as fractional or interim tech and product leaders, but being very intentional in stepping into projects where AI plays a key role. We like to work with a 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 mindset. It’s amazing what small, agile, and streamlined teams can achieve. There’s never been a more 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝. Today, we unveil our rebranded identity and start our first project of this new chapter. We are 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 with more like-minded teams where our expertise and focus can be handy. 

Exciting overview on one of our recent projects: MediaCopilot. We've worked with Cires21 to build this AI SaaS platform, designed to transform raw video into enriched content. It’s specifically tailored for broadcasters, OTTs, and digital media companies. Learn a bit more about this new product and our approach to building AI products from scratch –link in comments.

What do we do at Vernon? We try to answer two questions for our clients, either VCs or founders. Well, we (both myself and Pedro) have worked with top-tier tech companies and operators. We co-founded Circular, supported by Point Nine , LocalGlobe, and Kibo Ventures. We also held executive roles at companies like Job&Talent, Busuu, Socialpoint, and Lyst, which reached Series B-C or were acquired. Additionally, at Vernon, we’ve advised over 40 clients including VCs like Northzone and WhiteStar, and companies such as Clarity AI, Mercadona Tech, and Chicfy (now Vinted). During these two decades in the industry we’ve learned how best-in-class operation is achieved: via pragmatism, focus, and a streamlined structure. But what do we do now, really? Simply put, we save companies time and money by helping them get to best-in-class operation, faster. This can be in the form of Operational Due Diligences (or Internal Reviews) but also embedding with the companies to support and build whatever is needed to get to best-in-class. Operational Due Diligence / Internal Review 📋 We typically work with VCs or directly with founders. In both cases, due diligence before an investment or internal reviews, we help companies identify the key operational challenges that can compromise their business objectives and how to address them. This is structured in a 2-3 week project: 1. We start with a kick-off session with founders and the executive team. 2. A custom questionnaire is shared with the company’s team. 3. This is followed by a one-day workshop at the company’s headquarters to dig deeper into responses. 4. We end the assessment with follow-up sessions with key stakeholders. 5. Lastly we build a report outlining 8-10 challenges and recommended initiatives. With this process, we are answering two questions: 🌟 can the current operational setup (product, tech, go-to-market, operations) realistically support the business plan? And 🌟 What are the key operational challenges the board should be looking into for the next 12-18 months? We cover a lot: from product development cycles, to analytics, tech architecture, infrastructure and security, machine learning and AI, operations, product marketing, sales cycles to GTM strategy. Execution Support 🚀 But we are not your typical consultants who leave you with a slide deck; we are builders. The second type of project involves working with your team to implement all or some of these initiatives. Some things we've built with our clients: reducing B2B onboarding costs by 40%, developing machine learning recommendation systems, reworking product positioning, speeding up product development cycles, or building a robust analytics infrastructure. We would love to hear from you if you think we can help you out!

Circular has been acquired by SNGULAR! It’s been quite a ride. In these past 5 years, thousands of hires were made through our collaborative model, we built a SaaS business, developed an impressive and wide-ranging product, acquired a company, grew the team to 45 people with top talent, launched in France and UK, raised funds from top European investors, and, most importantly, learned a lot. Now, with a few scars and definitively grayer hair, we are back helping companies build digital businesses in Vernon. Like most true builders out there, we are very excited about the possibilities to build new things, in different ways, that AI enables. And that’s where we want to spend our time. So yeah, spread the word. We are back in business –after a few weeks of well-deserved disconnection. Vernon relaunch coming up.