Lyam Abel-SmithGrowth · Ventures
ENFRGR
Work with me ↗

Selected work

The work is different.
The approach isn’t.

Four projects where I apply the same mix of curiosity, strategy and close-to-the-detail execution.

01

Owner & operator · Hospitality · Andros

Villa Kotseli

Building a place, a brand and a guest experience at the same time.

Since 2022, I have been transforming Villa Kotseli, a family-owned traditional stone property in Ano Felos, Andros, into four independent guest units. The work is physical and digital at once: renovating the spaces, shaping the offer, improving direct bookings and building the systems behind the stay.

Direct and repeat bookings have increased by more than 65%, reducing dependence on booking platforms. Automated guest communication and a clearer direct journey support the ambition to extend a very seasonal business into a March-to-October operation.

65%+Growth in direct & repeat bookings
4Independent guest units
Mar–OctTarget operating season
2022–nowProperty transformation

Business figures supplied from current booking records.

Focus

Positioning & direct bookingGuest journeyProperty operationsRenovation & experience design
“The details are not beneath the strategy. They are where the strategy becomes real.”
Visit the project
02

Growth & marketing partner · Wellness · France

Hauméa Baby Spa

Helping a warm local concept become a stronger, scalable network.

I lead growth and marketing for Hauméa, a concept built around holistic baby wellbeing and parental reassurance. We built the model across positioning, acquisition, content, local visibility and booking journeys, then launched e-commerce, structured the product offer and connected product marketing and upsells to the booking experience.

The rollout reached five locations in year one, with a target of ten in year two. I also shaped the franchise pipeline and a shared gift-card solution that generated more than €100,000 in sales in six months while creating a commission model for the network.

5Locations in year one
10Year-two location target
€100K+Gift-card sales in 6 months
194KGA4 active users since Sep 2021

Analytics period: 1 September 2021–24 August 2026. Commercial figures supplied from current operating records.

Focus

Multi-location acquisitionE-commerce & product marketingGift cards & booking upsellFranchise systems
“Scale the system, but protect the feeling people came for.”
Visit the project
03

Current mandate · Product marketing · SaaS

Cookie Control

Making a trusted privacy product easier to understand and choose.

Cookie Control is an established consent management platform with a strong product but no dedicated growth function. The current mandate is to build that function with the product and wider team.

Using Claude and AI-assisted rapid development, I built a V1 website and funnel prototype to make the future SaaS journey tangible before a full build. That funnel is now being developed and tested across positioning, acquisition, content, tools and conversion — a live learning phase, not a premature success story.

Additional product view from Cookie Control
Product interface · current work
V1AI-assisted website prototype
LiveSaaS funnel build in progress
FullAcquisition journey redesigned
NextEvidence gathered through testing

Current mandate: outcome metrics will be added after the new funnel has a meaningful measurement period.

Focus

Positioning & messagingProduct-led contentAcquisition systemsTools & conversion journeys
“Complexity belongs inside the product. Confidence belongs in the customer experience.”
Visit the project
04

Partner & operator · Beauty · France

Valessio

Connecting a strong salon experience to a modern growth engine.

My involvement with Valessio began around 2020, first as its marketing agency, then as a partner and salon owner. Together we grew the model from one to fifteen locations and built Instagram from zero to 16,500 followers in five years.

The engine combines social, photography, engagement, local SEO, CRM and a paid-acquisition model governed by CPA. Automated lead flows connect different touchpoints, while an online AI hair diagnostic gathers key questions and photographs before the appointment — saving hairdresser time and improving the consultation.

1→15Locations grown
0→16.5KInstagram followers in 5 years
1.1MGA4 active users
1MOrganic-search sessions

Digital audience figures reflect the currently available Valessio GA4 tracking period.

Focus

Paid acquisition & CPALocal SEO & socialCRM & automationAI diagnostics & operations
“A brand scales when every location knows how to deliver the same promise in its own context.”
Visit the project

Selected leadership

Built inside demanding
growth environments.

Earlier roles are part of the evidence behind the way I lead current mandates.

01

2020

Welcome Pickups

Head of Marketing

Led the marketing team across international B2B and B2C growth, digital journeys and a period of rapid adaptation in global travel.

02

B2B data technology

Exasol

Digital growth foundation

Established the foundations across SEO, paid acquisition and a website designed to turn complex capability into qualified demand.

03

2021–2022

Project Agora

Marketing Director

Led marketing inside an advertising-technology business connecting publishers, performance, audiences and programmatic growth.

The broader record

Experience that sits
behind the current work.

The four stories above show the work in depth. These earlier roles and consulting contexts explain the range I bring into them.

01

Technology, data & advertising

Exasol · Project Agora · Welcome Pickups · Cookie Control

From data analytics and advertising technology to travel and privacy SaaS: turning technically complex products, platforms and performance signals into clearer commercial growth.

02

Beauty, salons & wellness

L’Oréal · Guinot · Llongueras · spas · Valessio · Hauméa

Consulting support and hands-on leadership across premium brands, local service businesses, salons, institutes, spas and growing multi-location networks.

03

Digital, ventures & property

BigDreams · Actionable · Villa Kotseli · L&AS Ventures

Building and backing projects where digital delivery, commercial judgment, physical space and daily operations all become part of the same growth problem.