Champ Director - KT Goldthorpe

Hi, I'm KT

After 2 decades as an integrated brand marketing professional, working with global and national clients and helping them strategically build their brand and launch new products, I did what many career women did, looked in the mirror and said:

"I can do this on my own and create brands that mean something to me, for people like me."

So, I did.

A unique blend of nerd and coach, I approach each project as a puzzle; creating pieces that blend knowledge, strategy and application, so clients have a solid framework to build a strong foundation.

I first tackled my own small education business idea for a few years, then joined a founding team launching an e-commerce tech solution in the Wine & Spirits Industry.

Both were great experiences in the startup arena.

After those two journeys, I worked with other second-career entrepreneurs to help them clarify their business, tell their stories and launch their brand to new clients and new markets.

What I discovered during all these years working with startups is that developing a brand from scratch is different than brand development for existing brands.

Most of us seasoned marketers have worked on amazing brands, but few of us have

actually worked on getting them off the ground
or brought a brand to life.

This lead me to dig deep into the Creation phase of Brand Strategy, where I learned how that process aligns with the Product and Strategy Development processes for up-and-coming businesses.

Brand Development can be categorized in several phases:

• Brand Creation • Brand Expression • Brand Experience • Brand Growth • Brand Management

With 15 years of working alongside founders and coaching new small business entrepreneurs to achieve their professional ambitions, I'm turning my learning into a training program for other marketing professionals who want to be Brand Consultants in this invigorating space.

After going through the startup process and knowing what components are critical, I'm providing some key insights to help specialists ask the tough questions that push new clients out of the envelope.
I even created a map that tracks how to think things through the journey.

I have a penchant for finding simplicity in a complex formula and sharing that insight with others:

the ability to pare a problem down to its most basic form and focus on the critical elements.
the will to dive in and learn the details, then reconstruct the data into a more accessible message.
the joy of finding the signal in the noise and enhancing it where others need to hear it.

It Started as Grass ^ Sky

A natural-born storyteller with a strategic focus, I was the chief advisor of a small strategic consulting business, overseeing a client's new business approach, narrative and structure in order to frame their overarching business development strategies.

I founded Grass ^ Sky in 2008; offering business and brand strategy consulting services; specializing in helping clients harness the clarity - and confidence - they need to turn a passion into a business. My goal has always been to help new founders develop a brand concept that actually resonates with the right audience at the right time, delivering targeted benefits the customer expects.

It Became Champ.

A few years ago, a friend of mine told me that the name Grass ^ Sky emoted a Zen concept, and I was nothing Zen-like. She said I was someone who "took a tiny fork to the founder's canoe and poked holes in the business until it either sunk or they fixed the problems."

She was pretty much on point.

I am certainly more a fitness coach and trainer, than a Zen Master.

Why Champ?

I train people with the energy and drive that ensures you will have the best experience learning what you need to do; and have the possible chance of success at the finish line.

My job is to get you to the Startling Line

with the confidence, clarity, knowledge, practice and preparedness to go the long haul.

Building a business, be it a startup, a store on Main Street, or a brand consultancy, requires work, desire, belief, research, execution and a lot of creative thinking (and laughing at ourselves).

I'm here for helping you make your career a success - and have (enough) fun while you are doing it!

So, Champ is a Training Camp for Brand Consultants who want to help businesses from the ground, up.

We are part coach, part trainer, part partner.
Built around...

Structure + Strategy + Skills + Soul Searching + Story

Our clients include first time entrepreneurs, expert Global Marketers, second-time-around brand builders, micro-investors, and award-winning founders. So... what else do you need to know?

20+ years leading business, brand and integrated marketing strategy development
Agency and consulting environments
Leader in business strategy best practices, principles, and methodology
Manager of large-scale redesigns; at scale and for small e-commerce
Expert in understanding of content delivery, management, and retrieval systems
Student of emerging strategy trends, tools, and technology
Balanced problem solver of client's user, business, and technical needs - delivering cohesive work
Focused user of both qualitative and quantitative data to inform business (and content) priorities
Driver across all disciplines, from designers to engagement, while being sensitive to client capabilities
Mentor, listener, connector, friend