Beyond the Startup

Ralf Specht is one of the founding partners of Spark44. Between 2011 and 2020, he was instrumental in building a tailor-made worldwide demand creation marketing communications organization for Jaguar Land Rover. Specht believes in the fundamental power of brands and is determined to move all barriers out of the way to allow global brands to succeed. His 20-plus years in various roles within McCann Erickson enabled him to completely understand the organizational levers to establish a truly effective agency model in today´s multi-channel world. Radical transparency is one of the key enablers, hence the creation of the first client/agency joint-venture model. Being the architect of Spark44´s growth Ralf ensured that more than 800+ associates were focused on one key objective: supporting the success of both the Jaguar and the Land Rover brands across all markets and all channels. In 2018, he started phase two of Spark44´s being by opening the agency towards new clients outside the Jaguar Land Rover business. During his time at McCann, he led both global brands such as General Motors as well as local offices at both the mothership McCann Erickson, as well as the experiential and digital communications firm Momentum. Ralf studied business administration in Zurich, Switzerland and started his professional career with Bertelsmann Publishing Group.

“It takes great courage to break industry rules and great commitment to ensure the culture we want extends beyond the honeymoon period of a new company. I had the pleasure of witnessing the incredible energy at Spark44 first hand in 2017. This book tells the story of how the founders nurtured a strong belief system which enabled an award-winning global business to emerge. Ralf shares what it took to lead, while keeping it human and carrying his people along with him.”—Peter Docker, author of Leading From The Jumpseat and co-author of Find Your Why. “Better. Faster. Cheaper. We wanted all three and we wanted them around the world. Beyond the Startup is a detailed guide to how Ralf and his colleagues made it happen in record time.” —Adrian Hallmark, founding client at Jaguar Cars and current CEO & Chairman of Bentley Motors “From zero to a highly functioning global network in 90 days, Ralf very quickly put together a team of truly talented people that took top awards for every major marketing category in the automotive industry, for both Jaguar and Land Rover. Beyond the Startup shows how that was done and offers tips along the way that could improve any business.” —Steve Woolford, Founder of Spark44 “If you ever wanted to know how to build a world-class company from scratch, this book is your All Access backstage pass. When the global leadership team spent a week at the Berlin School, I still remember there being an intangible uniqueness in the room that sucked me in somehow! Memorable? Yes. Provocative? Yes. And overwhelmingly authentic. Corporate culture at its most liberating!” —Stuart Hardy, Founder at New Cannibals and Former Director Executive Education Berlin School of Creative Leadership “Starting an entrepreneurial enterprise is one thing, sustaining it is another thing altogether. Ralf provides an exciting and profoundly useful field guide for taking your company successfully into its next chapter.” —Kevin Allen, Founder of E. I. Games Corp, and author of Wall Street Journal bestseller The Hidden Agenda