Who We Are

Strategic Thinking Meets Commercial Execution

Decades of experience across strategy, marketing, creative, communication and commercialisation.

We’re a cross-disciplinary team of strategists, marketers, storytellers and brand builders. With deep experience across sectors and stages—from pre-seed to scale—we bring a rare blend of:

Human Insight & Strategic Rigour

Rooted in behavioural thinking, market intelligence, multi-geographical expertise and real commercial context.

Best-in-Class Frameworks

Proven tools for value proposition design, brand architecture, positioning, GTM, and growth.

Creative & Commercial Thinking

 We fuse storytelling and strategy to build brands that attract loyal customers, enjoy sustainable growth and deliver convert, commercial results.

AI-Enhanced Innovation

We harness cutting-edge AI to accelerate ideation, validation, and execution—delivering smarter, faster outcomes.

And we use that experience to deliver brands that resonate with customers. That are different from competitors. That provide the foundations for long term growth.

Where are we?

With team members based around the world, we have global reach.

Meet our principals

Dorothy Ooko

Dorothy Ooko has spent 20 years in the technology and communications industry, telling stories of the impact technology can have in society.  She specialises in strategic communications for brands such as Google and Nokia, and is an experienced start up mentor and tech board member 

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Imke Dannhauser

Imke Dannhauser is a senior brand builder, transformation leader and management consultant, with a special focus on consumer-facing industries including CPG, retail, telco and tech.  She previously worked at Google, McKinsey & Co and the South African Breweries

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John Washburn

John Washburn is a creative director, filmmaker, and advertising executive.  He has experience in storytelling in the health, hospitality, gaming and tech industries across the US, Africa, Asia and Europe, and was previously an EVP & Executive Creative Director at McCann Worldgroup.

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Tayo Emden

Tayo Emden is a senior commercial strategist, marketing strategy leader, management consultant, AI strategic foresight specialist & expert in commercial execution, with a track record of driving commercial transformation  across B2C sectors, including CPG, retail, e-com and telecoms. She previously worked at McKinsey & Co, Meta, Diageo and Standard Bank

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About our name

From the Latin velis et remis—“with sails and oars.” It means doing whatever it takes. For us it reflects the effort required to build businesses that scale.

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