When Laurent and I created Belly & Brain, we had cumulated an experience of almost 30 years in Digital; Laurent as a consultant who had designed digital strategies and experiences for various industries and I as responsible for Digital in different organisations.

During all those years we met plenty of people, situations, agencies, results, strategies, websites, apps… some good, some bad, some plans went beyond expectations, some were disappointing or missed opportunities.

And we were very aware that in a world where digital will be more and more impacting the core of businesses (their business model, organization and processes) rather than “simply” sales, communication or distribution, the challenge would only become more difficult for everyone.

To keep up with this evolving context, we believe that organizations need to collaborate with people who have a clear understanding and practice of digital, who understand and have internal first-hand experience working in companies and have enough passion and drive to advise for the best, in the interest of the organization and its teams. And among the great digital and marketing experts we had crossed throughout the years who could take up the challenge, a lot had or were moving on from being employees in companies or agencies to becoming independent, as freelancers.

They’re seeking to multiply experiences, juggle with matters from different industries in parallel, altogether being in control of who they work with, how and when – out of the boundaries of classic management. They are great assets, know their business, but simply want to do it in a new manner, more adapted to their life and choices. And to be honest, I’m not surprised they are moving in that direction : the best digital people I have crossed throughout my career always wanted to try and discover new stuff, go beyond boundaries. So what’s so different when they apply that principle also to how they work ?

The only issue of this movement, is that to keep up with the complexity of the challenges their customers are confronted to, they are very aware they shouldn’t work alone and that one brain cannot simply hold all the solutions and answers to complex problems. Collaboration is a must to remain at the top of the game.

That’s why Belly & Brain is born and took form of a collaborative structure (to Belgians : SCRL or CVBA if you prefer): we wanted to create a community of independent digital talents able to collaborate easily together and exchange information, ideas and solutions, directly accessible to corporations in need of top level advice to solve their problems.

Beyond a mere consultancy firm, Belly & Brain is platform where companies and independent talents meet and connect to succeed.

PS: And for those who want to know why the name “Belly & Brain”: check the image of this post, the answer is there (and great thanks to Sophie Graillot who came up with such a great idea for the name).

About the author

Audrey has been managing digital strategy and digital transformations during several years from within large corporations before creating Belly & Brain.

By creating Belly & Brain, her aim was to design a consultancy firm finally adapted to the needs and reality of business leaders confronted to strong digital challenges - combining consultancy and coaching capabilities able to handle as well marketing and sales strategic questions, as well as change management, organisational & culture challenges needed to actually deliver on the transformation.

Audrey organises regular free meet up sessions with executives to discuss their challenges and give rapid feedback on solutions and options. Learn more about these here