Description

Hi I'm Neli, I'm an independent innovation strategist and venture builder. My expertise spans across innovation, strategy, venture building, and execution with a focus on bringing long-term transformative innovation to life. I've spent the past decade working with over 40 of the world's leading consumer brands, corporates and start-ups to design, validate and build future-ready products, services and experiences. My specialty lies at the intersection of consumer focused innovation, strategy, and experimentation. I help clients build the future by turning trends, customer insights, and big ideas into actionable solutions.

Industry field of expertise

Languages

English
Native or bilingual
Bulgarian
Native or bilingual
Italian
Conversational

Workplace preferences

Can work on-site

London (up to 50km)

Mission KI
Venture Developer
TECH
February 2025 - Today (1 year and 4 months)
London, United Kingdom
Mission KI is a German government-backed deep tech incubator supporting technical PhDs in launching AI ventures. I am collaborating with them to provide hands-on venture building support and coaching to early-stage founders, helping translate cutting-edge research into commercially viable businesses.

Scope of work
- Guided the development of multiple ventures from initial research insights to validated business concepts.
- Coached PhD founders in defining their value proposition, customer segments, and business model using lean and evidence-based frameworks.
- Led structured validation sprints to test problem–solution fit through user interviews, rapid prototyping, and hypothesis testing.
- Supported the development of investor-ready pitch decks and financial models tailored to early-stage fundraising.
- Acted as a commercial sparring partner to technical founders, helping define go-to-market strategies and commercial roadmaps.
- Provided feedback and strategic guidance on product positioning, pricing, and competitive differentiation.
- Helped identify and recruit commercial co-founders for technical teams through structured matchmaking and role scoping.
- Contributed to founder mindset development, focusing on entrepreneurial confidence, decision-making, and prioritisation.
venture development Business model Lean startup Product Development
Rainmaking Innovation
Innovation Lead
BANKING AND INSURANCE
November 2021 - November 2024 (3 years)
London, UK
Led end to end corporate innovation initiatives and new ventures for corporate clients
Led cross-functional teams of designers and strategists from ideation and concept development to launch to help clients bring new concepts to market through new ventures or start-up partnerships
Facilitated senior stakeholder engagement and co-creation workshops to identify opportunities and design customer centric solutions
Translated insights and ideation into propositions for new ventures with commercially viable business models
Defined innovation strategy and validated solutions through designing and running experiments and customer research
Developed client relationships through strategic communication, presentations, pitching and proposal building for new solutions
Innovation Strategy venture development Workshop facilitation Business model corporate innovation
Freelance
Independent Innovation Consultant
FASHION AND COSMETICS
September 2020 - December 2021 (1 year and 3 months)
London, United Kingdom
Collaborated with Innovation teams in UK and USA as an Independent consultant and project manager to deliver innovation projects with FMCG, fashion and beauty clients
Led teams of analysts and managed execution and delivery of multiple work streams of innovation projects, managing communication with clients and key stakeholders
Led engagement and ideation with senior stakeholders through workshops and interviews
Designed research approach and methodology including interview guides, ethnography research frameworks and customer survey
Developed new concepts and propositions rooted in customer and market insights
Innovation Strategy User Research Project Management Workshop facilitation corporate innovation