November 2019…

In November 2019 I announced that would be taking the Product Coalition on a European Tour, meeting product leaders and community members with a goal of completing over 50 podcast from community members across 5 cities; London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Munich and Zurich.

With an email database of over 20,000 emails, 6,000+ Slack members and now 1,000+ podcast subscribers this also created quite a sponsorship opportunity for big technology brands who target product professionals.

December 2019

During December whilst the bushfires raged, burned and destroyed a huge part of the country that I’ve called home for 15 years, I had a moral struggle… “why should I look to personally benefit so much from this tour, when so many in Australia are facing such significant losses.”

Homes, photos, toys, pets, cars, land, crops, fauna, roads, wildlife and human life have all been lost by the good, strong people of rural Australia.

At the time of writing this over 1 billion animals have perished. 33 people have died. 200+ family homes have been destroyed.

When I watched Ben Lawson’s video poem, it broke my heart. Although I was not born in Australia, my career was. My marriage was. My daughter was. The Product Coalition is an Australian-started community. That video convinced me I need to leverage this community for something good, not for something profitable.

January 2020

With the above in mind, and with the support of my wife Natasha regarding this decision, I’ve decided to kindly refuse all offers of sponsorship of the Product Coalition European Tour.

I will instead fund the entire tour personally, not from sponsorship, and for the 3 months travelling across 5 cities, I will promote this page, to raise funds for 3 very important causes that allow you to give, to support either, the firefighters of Victoria (my home state), the animals and wildlife of Australia, or to the National Bushfire Disaster Appeal.

Head to the Product Coalition fundraiser page

What’s changing…

Here’s a summary of how I intend to now dedicate the entire Product Coalition European Tour to raising funds for bushfire relief:

• Product Coalition Newsletters will include updates or stories from the 3 charities I’ve chosen
• The 50 podcast recordings will feature important updates regarding the bushfire affected communities
• I will fund the tour personally, without monetising any part of the Product Coalition, and will encourage former potential “tour sponsors” to instead donate
• I’ll be connecting with the Australian product community whilst in Europe, to share how Australian expats are coping with the tragedy, and coming together to help Australia from afar
• I’ll be publicly thanking every single donor who choose to donate publicly, on the podcast and on Platform, by ProductCoalition.com
• I’ll be linking to this page on every single social post during the tour, to maximise awareness
• I have a HUGE special event I’m currently designing as a finale to the tour — I’ll share more once I’m more certain
• Platform, by ProductCoalition.com will be updated to reflect the fundraising campaign

Here’s how you can help beyond giving…

1. Donate to these causes via this campaign page, and I’ll give back to you (see below)
2. Podcast guests are needed in London, Copenhagen, Munich and Zurich — find out more here
3. Podcast recording locations are needed for Copenhagen, Munich and Zurich (8am-6pm for 2 days)
4. Casual desk space needed in all cities from March to May

Head to the Product Coalition fundraiser page

Beyond supporting these amazing causes via this page, I’ll also give to everyone or every business that donates…

1. For everyone who gives, I’ll share your name and a link (you choose destination, such as LinkedIn profile or your company website ) on my “thank you page” that will be at platform.productcoalition.com
2. Get a podcast mention! By giving any amount from AUD$1 to AUD$50, I’ll personally thank you in the earliest podcast episode, at the end
3. Get a podcast mention! By giving AUD$50 or more, I’ll personally thank you mid-way through the earliest podcast episode
4. Get a podcast mention! By giving AUD$100 or more, I’ll personally thank you at the start of the earliest podcast episode
5. Get a podcast mention! By giving AUD$250 or more, I’ll personally thank you at the start of every podcast episode I record after the donation date
6. Get on the podcast! By giving AUD$500 or more:, I’ll personally read a 10 second advert about your business or a thank you to you (you decide), on every episode I record after the donation date. I’ll also make you a priority guest on the European Tour podcast series (you must be able to attend in person in the city and date specified on the tour page)
7. Get on the podcast! By giving AUD$750 or more, I’ll personally read a 30 second advert about your business or a thank you to you (you decide), on every episode I record after the donation date. I’ll also make you a priority guest on the European Tour podcast series (you must be able to attend in person in your city of choice and on the date specified on the tour page)
8. Get on the podcast! By giving AUD$1000 or more, I’ll personally read a 30 second advert about your business or a thank you to you (you decide), on every episode I record after the donation date. I’ll also make you a priority guest on the European Tour podcast series (you must be able to attend in person in your city of choice and on the date specified on the tour page). I’ll also record a second 30minute podcast episode with either you or a guest of your choosing, via Skype and 1:1 special edition 30minute podcast episode with you, on a topic of your choice (These will be collated into a special edition “Bushfire Relief Donors” podcast playlist)

If there’s more I can give you to encourage to contribute to this fundraiser, please let me know.

Thank you so much for reading all of this.

Thank you so much for being part of this amazing global community.

Thank you so much for your kind heart for reading this AND for being part of this amazing global community.

If you’d like to speak to my about any of the above please email me jay@productcoalition.com or message me on Product Coalition Slack, or message me on WhatsApp +61401466667

Also, I would be very grateful for you to share the link to this CrowdRaiser page to your friends and family. The more people who can help the better!

Head to the Product Coalition fundraiser page

🇬🇧 London Podcast Recording Openings Still available

European Podcast recordings open (all face to face), only 10 spots in each city:

• London: 13+14 February, hosted by Digital Directories, at WeWork Aviation House, Holborn
• Copenhagen: 5+6 March, recording location needed! Recording openings still available
• Berlin: 26+27 March. Recording openings still available
• Munich: 8+9 April. Recording openings still available
• Zurich: 23+24 April, recording location needed! Recording openings still available

I’d really appreciate it if you could also:

• Follow Product Coalition on LinkedIn
• Follow me on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to the YouTube channel
• Like our Facebook Page
• Subscribe to us on Soundcloud
• Subscribe to the Product Coalition podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

If you’d like to personally support me you can also buy me a coffee here.

Jay Stansell, Product Coalition Founder
jay@productcoalition.com