Theo Brainin (BA, MPhil) is a strategy and growth consultant with a background in startups, media and academia. He is helping Stema to develop its strategy, operations and communications. Theo studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford, where achieved a first class degree and went on to complete the MPhil in Political Theory. He wrote his masters thesis on the role of public interest journalism in democracy, and worked as a research assistant for the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Outside of academia, Theo began working in media and journalism before entering the startup world. He worked for BBC Newsnight as well as The Brian Lehrer Show, the Peabody Award winning politics talkshow on New York public radio. During this period he also wrote opinion pieces published by the WNYC, the Guardian and others.
Theo then joined the tech publishing startup StoryTerrace as Marketing Director, contributing to a period of rapid growth where the company scaled over 1000% in revenue, grew from 5 to over 50 people, and was named by startups.co.uk as one of the UK's top 20 startups in 2020. Alongside leading StoryTerrace's digital marketing efforts and contributing to the strategic direction of the company, Theo also led a successful £600k equity crowdfunding campaign and appeared alongside the founder in the company's successful pitch on BBC Dragons' Den.
Theo went freelance in 2021. Alongside Stema, he now consults for a range of SMEs and growth stage projects and startups.