“I thought it was only in romance that you could say he or she ‘could finish my sentences for me.’ I’ve come to learn that Alison and Matt don’t just finish my sentences, but they also create visual imagery and a storyline that is both profound and persuasive. Based upon my very enjoyable time working with Alimat, my speeches are more moving, more memorable, and pack much more meaning. I can’t say enough about these two.”
– Chip Conley, Founder, MEA | Strategic Advisor for Hospitality & Leadership, Airbnb | NYT Bestselling Author
“Last year, we were unveiling a revolutionary new product at our inaugural customer event, and we wanted the audience to leave inspired by our CEO’s keynote. The “who’s who” of genomics was going to be in attendance, and the audience ranged from PhD scientists to ex-US Presidents (Barack Obama!). How does one tell a story that engages such a broad audience, so they each feel an emotional connection and leave wanting to take action and make a difference?
Enter Alimat! Alison and Matt are the creative dream team. They somehow take stream-of-conscious thoughts, complex data sets, and stories and bring them all to life. I was really impressed with their intake process. During several sessions with our CEO, they asked both probing and open-ended questions and really listened to his responses. Their methodology for picking out the key emotional nuggets and weaving the storyline together was incredibly effective. Alison’s storytelling skills combined with Matt’s gorgeous visuals really connected with our audience.
We heard from customers that our CEO’s keynote and company product launch were a huge success and could not have gone better. Since then, we have engaged Alimat for other events, and I have recommended them to friends and colleagues. They are a true pleasure to work with. I look forward to our next engagement!”
– Pratima Rao, Chief of Staff, VP of Operations, Illumina
“Alison and Matt of Alimat are a great team, bringing expertise and taste in design and editorial and the ability to work really well together. They have helped immensely with the polish and delivery of my professional talks, which have reached a wide audience.
They also did a great job helping me relaunch my web site, bringing in other web development experts as needed. With their help, we were able to tell the story of my interests and contributions spanning a long career, crafting content that works for me without the usual marketing slant.”
– Tom Gruber, Co-Founder, Siri | Humanistic AI Pioneer
“What Alimat accomplished for our business forever raises the bar for the way our team approaches not just sales, marketing and technology, but business in general. They successfully weeded through mountains of material that we had been collecting and sitting on over the years and distilled it into a beautiful story of teamwork, collaboration, hard work, and helping people achieve their dreams.
From our first meeting, we were overwhelmed about what we needed to accomplish and how on earth this was all going to get done. Alimat cut through all the noise to truly understand the underpinnings of our business, asked all the right questions, and used that information to compose an overarching marketing plan for us.
The result has been nothing short of amazing! We launched our new brand about a month ago and the response from our sphere of influence and peers has been astounding. The boost in confidence we get from our new look and feel is something we hadn’t anticipated. Sure, we had anticipated more business and better reception from prospects, but the unforseeables are just as gratifying. Our team cannot recommend the services of Alimat enough and we will be back to them with Phase II, III and so on as our business continues to evolve. Thank you Alimat!”
– Payton Stiewe, Arrian Binnings, and Sejal Binnings, Payton+Binnings Realtors
“I was looking for a creative team to help me create TED-style transformational keynotes for our executives. I had an instant connection with Matt and Alison from the start and when it came to the work, they literally rocked my world. In addition to amazing visual skills, they breathed life into every project with their creativity and inspirational style. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Matt and Alison—they are true partners, teachers and friends.”
– Gina Rossi, Director, Corporate Communications, Fortune 500 company
“As an executive presentation coach, I’ve seen more than my fair share of Executive Leader presentations that sound the right notes and still miss the moment. So I was immediately struck by the work of Alison Macondray and Matt Clark (Alimat), because their writing was alive, specific and personal. It pushed the audience to do more than sit passively and receive a message; it pushed them to act.
I’ve witnessed first-hand how their expertise, process and values created a presentation which boosted the profile and agenda of Executive Leaders of seven different brands.
Their process is different, and that shows up in superior results. And by “results” I don’t just mean compliments for the speaker, though those abound. I mean results like:
a new level of confidence in the Executive Leader, as they set a new bar for what audiences can expect from them
seeing the audience take action after the event – in one case, about a half-dozen small business owners signing new deals with an international franchisor within 30 minutes ... each deal worth multi-millions
I mean an executive comms team seeing with new eyes what “good” looks like in today’s world
Alimat jumps into an alchemical creative dialogue that results in deep, strategic thinking about the goals and potential of the meeting to create true and lasting impact. They test ideas. They listen intensively. They bring just the right level of elevated imagery, storytelling, analogy and theatricality to lift the moment and create emotional connection, while staying true to the personality and vibe of the speaker.
The people I coach don’t have a lot of time to devote to speech preparation, which is why they depend on content experts like Alimat. I can say for an absolute fact that the Executive will feel well taken care of and excited. Their collaborative process deeply respects the team around the executive as well.
I’ve never seen better. Your audience – and Executive Leaders – will be knocked over by the ease of the process and the results of the final product.”
– Jane Beard, Executive Presentation Coach | Founder, Invisible Light
“When I was asked to prepare a TEDx talk I called Alison and Matt. Collaborating with these articulate, intelligent people was utterly comfortable and inspiring. They have the unique ability to ask intuitive and key questions, extracting a story line that holds an audience.
This, woven together with their powerful talk and keynote, secured me with a presentation that was authentically and truly mine, one that gave me confidence—and ultimately a standing ovation. If you have the wonderful opportunity to work with these fine individuals, I promise you will be thrilled and moved more than you could have imagined.”
– Lisa Kristine, Humanitarian Photographer | Lucie Award winner
“Working with Alison and Matt on my opening keynote for Ad Week was a brilliant experience. Their intake process was completely seamless, something I didn’t have to worry about. Through a series of well-thought-out interview questions, they quickly picked out the story I was telling, synthesized it, and wove it into a clear and precise speech with a strong opening, powerful middle, and fantastic close.
Usually it takes a new communications group a few tries until they clearly hear your story, your voice, and your approach. This was not the case with this team by any stretch of the imagination. Their first draft needed only minor editing and refinement. They never lost my voice—in fact, they strengthened it. And they made it real. There was no empty marketing speech or strategy for the sake of strategy. They put things in clear, pragmatic terms that people deal with every day and can actually visualize. The onscreen creative was fantastic: custom, curated, and meaningful, as concise and impactful as the language.
The talk generated lots of interest about Marriott and what we’re doing. It made people stand up and take notice. I think it also helped change people’s perspective of us as a company—the idea that Marriott is on the move.”
– Brian King, Global Brand Officer, Marriott International
“I’ve spent the last 20 years creating and building BareEscentuals/bareMinerals as CEO and executive chairman and while I have spent a significant amount of time on live TV, I was never comfortable in front of a live audience. Actually, just the idea of speaking to a live audience makes me feel ill. It was time to finally get comfortable telling my story in public and I needed a partner to dig deep and to help find me find an approach that suits my style. [Humanitarian photographer] Lisa Kristine recommended I meet Alison and Matt.
I always looked forward to our meetings and downloads. The story collection phase was hours and days of thought provoking inquiries and discussion and each time we met we would get even closer to my true voice. The finished product looked great on the screen, sounded just like me and it had the right amount of humor and insight.
And, I have to say, the whole experience took the pressure off — making it a pleasure. Ask my husband; he even thanked Alison and Matt! I just wanted to be able to enjoy telling my story and keep the audience engaged without fear. It was a remarkable experience.”
– Leslie Blodgett, Founder, bareMinerals | Executive Chairman, Bare Escentuals | Author, Pretty Good Advice
“When I began to plan for the launch of my first book, I knew I had to up the quality of my speaking materials in order to gain traction for my message. I have worked with a lot of design teams over the years but thankfully, a trusted colleague recommended Matt and Alison. They are the dream team.
Alison has such a warm personality and from the first she believed wholeheartedly in me and my message. She clearly explained the Alimat methodology, and throughout she demonstrated an exceptional ability to really listen. Add to that Matt’s skill at turning out gorgeous slides that helped bring my concepts to life in a stunningly designed presentation full of lessons, stories, and visual surprises, and you know why they have so many happy clients.
The first time I tested the presentation, three audience members asked to join my movement — the first time this has ever happened and exactly what I’d been hoping for. To sum up the experience, I would say: They made me a better me. I know they can do the same for you.”
– Denise Brosseau, CEO, Thought Leadership Lab
“We have worked with Alimat for several years now, and they never disappoint. We regularly deliver high-stakes sales pitches and client presentations. Ours is a competitive industry and it’s important to stand out. Alimat turns informational sessions on our products and services into a compelling story -- presentations we use over and over.
Matt has the ability to turn a simple bullet-point outline into a visual masterpiece that keeps the audience engaged. Alison is so on top of her game, keeping all our projects moving.
Plus they are such good, smart, collaborative, down to earth people. I look forward to our conversations, and relish the successes we have generated together.”
– Shiran Witt, Director of Marketing, Blue Pacific Flavors
“Grow has partnered with Alison and Matt on a variety of projects and we can’t wait to collaborate with them again soon! We recently hired them for a high-stakes interactive sales presentation for one of our top clients. They took the project way beyond what anyone had initially envisioned, recommending ways to make it even more compelling, then delivering on that promise.
Their sophisticated design thinking and compelling storytelling makes them stand out from other specialty creative companies we work with. Their level of sophistication throughout the whole process—discovery, approach, execution, final product—is impressive and inspiring. They really are team players and took time to understand all perspectives, and collaborated with all stakeholders at each step in the way. They are a reliable partner and I was always confident they would meet deadlines, do a thorough edit and ensure nothing was ever missed.
Beyond us being happy, our client was extremely thrilled and said the presentation set a new standard for such a product within the company. I highly recommend them to any creative agency that wants to take their presentation deliverables up a notch. They are amazing and I’m eager to collaborate with them again soon.”
– Shannon (Farrell) Santana, Senior Account Manager, Grow Marketing
“This is a testimonial for my favorite two copywriters in all the world, Alison and Matt. They’ve been writing copy for us for three years now and have nailed the complex essence of our brand, prAna. We offer sustainably made apparel for active lifestyles. We have a rich heritage in outdoor sports like rock climbing and have been deep in the yoga market for two decades. Our brand communications often convey our values associated with sustainability, wellness, social causes, fair trade and mindful living.
We have a roster of diverse athletes, outdoor adventurists, climbers, yogis, artists and activists who have incredible stories to tell. Ours is a complex brand that can transcend demographics, markets, product categories and geographies, and we have to keep our core followers intrigued while reaching out to a new audience.
What I am saying is that the copywriting assignments at prAna are quite difficult and we consistently count on Matt and Alison to do the heavy lifting for our brand messaging. They have a collaborative approach and refreshing communication style that’s empowering. They have a knack for pulling out the nuggets when we get rambling during interviews. Our conversations are always stimulating and they don’t miss a thing.
They turn these random thoughts into our consumer facing voice that connects to our values and deeply resonates with our audience. They ‘get it’ and are a lot of fun to work with. We hope to be able to count on them for many more seasons of compelling brand story telling.”
– Beaver Theodosakis, Founder, Prana
“Working with Matt and Alison on my pitch deck has been a transformative experience. Their ability to draw out the deepest ideas from both the heart and mind is remarkable as they don’t just shape a deck, they help uncover your true vision. Thanks to their guidance, I feel more grounded, confident, and inspired to pursue my biggest dreams and goals.”
– Michelle Saunders James, Founder, Saunders & James Nail Salon
“We used the deck constantly. Our technology applies to many specific verticals, so it was impossible to have a one-size-fits-all deck. The pitch gave us a framework to tell the story broadly, and produce individual decks for each vertical.
Alison and Matt are great storytellers. They can frame complex technologies into a presentation that the average person can understand. The pitch simplified our story, allowing us to explain it to the average person who wasn’t necessarily a technologically advanced investor.
They came up with the one-liners and the elevator pitch. Not even 30 seconds worth – five seconds worth. ‘Here are two lines that explain this technology at the highest level to achieve enough interest to move onto the next stage of conversation.’ Having that quick elevator pitch to the one-pager to the full deck was critical.”
– Sean Eilers, CEO, Tiburon Media Group
“When I decided to take my work to a bigger stage and reach even more people, I was both excited and overwhelmed. I’d never created such a talk and felt I was too close to the material for my own good. When I hired Alison and Matt to help, I was stunned at how steeped they got in my thinking. Teaching modules, interviews, blog posts—they reviewed EVERYTHING. Their deep-dive sessions were the perfect blend of epiphany and practical strategy. It was a highly personalized, ‘anti-cookie-cutter’ process and I felt held the whole way. No kidding, they spooned my soul.
And it all worked. I now have a gorgeous, flexible, completely unique talk that both explains and inspires. It’s given me guardrails for my message without compromising my authenticity on stage. The feedback has been amazing and the speaking opportunities keep arriving, from a prestigious keynote talk to an invitation to join a speaker bureau. So if you want to play BIG with your own message, collaborate with these two creative geniuses. They will love you up and make the magic unfold. Go.”
– Anese Cavanaugh, CEO, Active Choices | Keynote Speaker | Author | Strategic Advisor
“My collaboration with Alison and Matt brought my speaking platform to life in a way that I never imagined possible. Not only did they help shape my ideas into a cohesive and compelling thought leadership platform, they brought it to life, blending just the right images and brilliant phrases to create a lasting emotional impact on my audience.
Within 60 days of launching my new Vision Project presentation, I had booked nine speaking engagements and secured a spot as a guest lecturer at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. In less than three months my investment has paid for itself almost three times over in speaking fees and consulting and coaching assignments, with more than a dozen new clients.
The success that has come from this delightful collaboration with Matt and Alison has far exceeded my expectations.”
– Kate Purmal, Co-Founder and Partner, Archimedes Venture Studio | Strategic Advisor | Author
“They were diligent at getting to the heart of what we’re about and what we wanted to express. That attention and time spent on understanding what we wanted to say really came out when they created the presentation. The mechanics are one thing, but flushing out what we wanted to say was outstanding. Not everyone can pull your story out of you, help you organize it, and help you express it. The pitch they created will be relevant for quite a while.”
– Michael Dreyfus, Founding Owner, Golden Gate Sotheby's
“Working with Alison and Matt is so satisfying! Not only do I have the joy of knowing I’m working with the best content/design team around, but I enjoy the humor, smarts, and passion they bring to each project. We often get requests for high-profile presentations for TED, academia, and industry conferences.
We trust them to build them from the ground up and have heard nothing but amazing feedback from our customers. We’ve even hired them to help us with internal projects, because they stand out from other designers: They understand the art of building a story and creating visuals to complement the storyline. I feel lucky to work with them every time.”
– Angelie Agarwal, Ph.D., Chief of Staff & Strategy Lead, AWS, Amazon | Former Chief Evangelist, Prezi
“My experience working with Alimat on our pitch deck opened my eyes to the power of great visual and verbal storytelling. Through an intensive interview process they came to understand me, Judicata, our history and our vision — and then surfaced the arc that unifies it all. I’m proud of the work they did, and what we produced together. It moved Judicata incredibly far forward, and showed me what is possible with an intelligent, creative, and talented team.”
– Itai Gurari, Co-founder and CEO, Judicata
“If two heads are better than one, then two really smart, articulate, collaborative heads are best of all. Alison and Matt are able to think in ways that move the needle and produce great copy.
They write in a range of styles and are as comfortable with corporate as editorial. They exhibit a few traits that aren’t a given with great writers: They listen. They embrace good ideas regardless of where they originated. If you are lucky enough to need great copy and this team is available, you won’t be disappointed.”
– Jennifer Jerde, Founder and Creative Director, Elixir Design
“Matt is a phenomenal graphic designer with a broad range in style and technique. He is really good at bringing that out-of-the-box flavor to even the most standard projects, and then seeing those ideas through to production reality. He has flexibility and speed, and he’s comfortable working in a variety of brand contexts. He works more creatively than the average designer, even under challenging external constraints.
He’s great at coming up with lots of different concepts quickly, drawing from incredibly wide personal and creative influences. He can concept both visually and in short and long-form copy, then mock up his concepts with a depth and richness often missing in creative pitches. In other words, he can work inside the box, but lives outside of it.”
– Maurice Conti, AI Visionary | Futurist | Chief Innovation Officer | Global Keynote Speaker | Former Director of Strategic Innovation, Autodesk
“As the CIO for the City and County of San Francisco, I had the opportunity to educate and hopefully inspire others to share in our dream of a more open, transparent, and collaborative government. Since developing new and innovative approaches is key to our success, I am always seeking out new and exciting technologies to help deliver the message.
Matt and Alison understood my vision completely and created a fresh take on the presentation model, inviting audiences to shift perspective with me. They are an amazing collaborative team and I look forward to working with them again.”
– Chris Vein, Former CIO, City and County of San Francisco, and Executive Director, Department of Technology
“Working with Matt is easy and enjoyable. His ideas are lucid, his work exemplary and the results surprising and effective. My existing customers have been impressed with the imagery and design Matt has provided, and new customers have told me how original, unexpected and delightful our visual materials are.
With Matt’s work, my company’s message is stronger and clearer than it’s ever been. He’s been instrumental in communicating our mission and quality of work, and a key component of our rapid growth and success.”
– Alan Manley, Winemaker and Founder, Margarita Otto
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Alimat on a few different occasions, and I consider them to be the “A” team of boutique agencies. What they accomplish for their clients reflects a level of quality, commitment and results that simply doesn’t seem possible given their size.
Their “secret sauce” is that they truly care about the work their clients are doing—and are not in this just for the money. They take on projects they believe are worthwhile, and attract clients who love what they do. They’re methodical about getting into the heads of their clients’ customers, and taking time to really understand their clients’ businesses.
Individually, they bring exceptional skills to every project they take on. They run a tight ship, managing clients, contractors, timelines, and vision while crafting incredibly polished deliverables. Best of all, they treat their independent contractors (including writers like myself) as valued partners—not just temporary resources. An inspiring, friendly pair of professionals you’d enjoy working with.”
– Claudia Graziano Burgin, Copywriter | Content Strategist
“What was unique about Alimat is the combination of an unwavering commitment to delivering greatness, and the creative capacity to deliver it. Their approach rests on a blend of curiosity, collaboration and creativity to distill a message to its true essence. Their value to Kingfish went beyond sales and marketing. They helped us see ourselves more clearly and, as a result, informed our strategic approach.”
– Jonathan Goldenstein and Christian Dubiel, Founders, Kingfish Group
“I came to Alimat with a vision for my company that needed to be shaped into a clear and cohesive story. Alison and Matt quickly dove into my scientific world and were able to parse through a vast amount of information to find the true essence of my story. In marrying great visual design with curated content, they provided a platform that allowed me to succinctly communicate our company’s vision and story.
Collaborating with such generous, talented and thoughtful people helped us bring our narrative to light. They listened intently to our thoughts and concerns and worked endlessly to incorporate that information into our story. They built a pitch deck that is an authentic representation of the company and its founders. This will allow us to move forward and communicate a strong narrative to our audience. Working on this project was a truly collaborative and learning experience for me. It allowed me to understand that by combining storytelling with beautiful visuals, we could convey a strong vision.”
– Mary Tran, Molecular biologist | CEO/Founder, LabYakk
““My first week on the job, I called Alison and her partner Matt Clark from Alimat. Motista had a revolutionary product, but our go-to-market sales materials need revolutionizing—and I knew this team could deliver. From our very first meeting, they brought intelligence and high-level strategic thinking: asking challenging questions, throwing out ideas to make the presentation even better. Within a very short time, their first draft nailed the concept beyond my very high expectations. Not only was the narrative sound; superb graphics and clear language made the product and our value proposition come to life. A previously hard to explain product was now being understood by prospects in record time. If you want to take your brand story to the next level, I can say without qualification, hire Alimat.”
– Patty Mitchell, Interim GM and Chief Revenue Officer, Motista
“Have you ever been stuck trying to effectively tell a story you were passionate about on the inside but struggling to express on the outside? As someone who coaches entrepreneurs and creative professionals on how to get unstuck, it was pretty easy for me to recognize that I needed to hire expert guidance to bring my own story forward.
What a gift I received when I hired Alison and Matt! These two geniuses are simply amazing. Alison was able to engage with my beautiful mind, pull out the key points and then craft my message into a coherent story. To say that Matt put pictures to my words does not do justice to the extraordinary eye-catching graphics he illustrated. They absolutely make my story come alive.
Having such a powerful and compelling presentation has opened doors to new opportunities in a way that has far exceeded my expectations. ”
– Shannon Presson, Mindset and Belief Change Expert | Human Design Specialist
“Alison and Matt are an absolute dream to work with. They have the complete package: creativity, organization, responsiveness, intelligence, style, and technical skills.
Through interviews and research, they took the time to understand our company on a deep level. They successfully took our rough ideas and goals and translated them into the look, feel, and content we’d been seeking, quickly and creatively. They also inspired us to push ourselves to help them create something above and beyond our expectations.
It was amazing development process. They met with us just the right amount: Meetings were efficient, productive, and streamlined. They were incredibly accessible, not to mention fun and friendly! I looked forward to each conversation. Their team of experts made sure every last detail was handled. It’s exactly what we envisioned, but even better (Previous design teams had worked with us for months and we never got anywhere.) Alimat responded consistently to every email and voicemail, meeting every goal on our timeline with flying colors. What a team!”
– Kirsty Gumina, Partner, Account Manager, McCalls Catering & Events
“Alison worked with me as a managing editor on a 176-page book that was translated into 19 different languages. Not only did she effectively wrangle two writers composing 76 different stories, she managed three proofing stages and tracked all of the translations. All under a very short deadline.
She was a pleasure to work with—professional, polite, always in a good mood and willing to go the extra steps—I wouldn’t work with anyone else knowing there is an Alison Macondray out there.”
– Marnie Aulabaugh, Creative Director, Microsoft’s Heroes Happen {Here}