BRAND
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Define who you are and scale what makes you strong
Positioning, values and messaging that drive loyalty, pricing power, and culture
trust drives growth
brand signals trust
Every startup begins with energy, ideas, and a product they believe in.
But what decides who grows fastest is not just the product — it is trust.
Customers do not choose only on features; they choose because something feels right.
That “something” comes from several signals: the story, the experience, and the proof that your company means what it says.
Each signal builds confidence in a different way, and together, these signals are what we call brand.
Brand becomes the thread that connects everything: how you attract customers, keep them, and make them proud to pay for what you offer.
And that is what creates trust: knowing what to expect, feeling heard and understood, sharing values.
When trust deepens, everything else follows: sales grow faster, customers stay longer, and investors see more value.
Brand does not just decorate your business; it drives it forward.
measuring your brand
role and strength
Contrary to what many think, brand is not abstract or fluffy.
It is something you can measure, and in many companies, it even appears on the balance sheet.
– For example, at Apple brand equity US$ 575 billion represents almost 15% of total company value US$4 trillion* (Brand Finance Global 500 list and Business Insider)
– In a strong seed-stage startup, brand can add value equivalent to around 10-20% of the company’s total worth: by accelerating traction, reducing risk, and improving pricing power.
– By Series A, the share can rise to 20–30%, once customer traction and perception data become measurable.
We measure two key dimensions.
Together they explain both current performance and future potential.
Role of Brand
This is about the now, margin increasing
It is the role your brand plays in customer choice today: how much people want you, trust you, and are willing to pay for you.
It shows the value your brand creates
in the moment.
Strength of Brand
This is about the future, risk reducing
It is how well your brand can keep playing that role over time: sustaining trust, loyalty, and relevance as you grow or conditions change.
It shows how durable that value is, and how secure your future growth becomes.
role of brand
How the brand connects people, products, and platforms — creating an integrated world where every experience reinforces the next.
How it adds to the Role of Brand
Builds confidence through coherence and reach. Customers trust brands that exist within a living system — where products, services, and interactions all feel connected and part of something bigger.
Example:
Nike’s ecosystem extends far beyond its shoes. It connects products, athletes, apps, stores, and community challenges into one unified experience — making the brand feel present and meaningful in everyday life.
GRID
The ecosystem that surrounds the brand
The power of brand to drive demand
The easy-to-remember acronym we use is GUIDE.
Because the Role of Brand is what guides customers when they choose your brand.
G – Grid, U – Usefulness, I – Identification, D – Direction, E – Experience
The brand’s practical role: solving real problems, saving time, or making life easier.
How it adds to the Role of Brand
Builds confidence by proving immediate, tangible value — the product feels indispensable.
Example:
Wise (formerly TransferWise) – It gained trust by showing transparent fees and real-time transfers, making international payments clearly more useful than traditional banks.
usefulness
How important the brand feels in customers’ lives
The brand’s visible and emotional identity: its look, tone, and story that make it instantly recognisable and personally relevant.
How it adds to the Role of Brand
Builds belonging and emotional connection, makes it easy to recall and talk about. The brand feels familiar and meaningful, people see themselves reflected in the brand.
Example:
Oatly: Its conversational tone and playful packaging make people instantly recognise it and identify with its bold, eco-conscious attitude.
identification
How people recognise and relate to the brand
It defines what your brand stands for and where it is heading — the ideas, ambitions, and principles that help people understand why you exist and why it matters now.
How it adds to the Role of Brand
Gives meaning and focus to every decision. Customers are drawn to brands (and people) that know what they stand for and communicate it with clarity and intent.
Example:
Patagonia: Their direction around environmental responsibility made every choice, from materials to messaging, feel purposeful and trustworthy. Customers do not just buy the product; they buy into a vision they share.
direction
clarity of Purpose and vision that guide customer choice
How engaging and rewarding each interaction feels, from first contact to product use and customer service. The experience consistently delivers the brand promise across all touchpoints, digital and physical.
How it adds to the Role of Brand
Builds loyalty and advocacy; turns first-time users into repeat customers. People remember how the brand made them feel.
Example:
Airbnb, as a young company, built trust by focusing on seamless booking, personal touches, and user reviews. Every experience reinforced the feeling of belonging.
experience
across every interaction
strength of brand
How reliably the brand delivers on its promises, acts with integrity, and earns confidence.
How it builds Strength of Brand
Reduces perceived risk, builds loyalty, and reinforces credibility. Crises resistant.
Example:
Airbnb strengthened belief during its early growth by consistently prioritising trust and safety, verifying hosts, introducing guest reviews, and clearly communicating guarantees. This reliability turned an uncertain concept (staying in strangers’ homes) into a trusted global brand.
BELIEF
TRUST, DELIVERY, INTEGRITY
The power of brand to sustain demand
The easy-to-remember acronym we use is BALANCE.
Because the Strength of Brand is what keeps customers choosing your brand, giving balance over time.
B – Belief, A – Agility & Alignment, L – Leadership, A – Affinity, N – Notability
C – Coherence, E – Engagement
How quickly and effectively the organisation responds to change, staying relevant and on brand.
How the whole organisation moves in the same direction, committed to and enabled by the brand strategy.
How it builds Strength of Brand
Keeps the brand relevant and resilient by turning change into advantage.
Reduces friction and confusion, strengthening efficiency and impact.
Example:
Spotify constantly adapts its offer without losing its identity of “soundtracking your life.” Teams across design, tech, and marketing are aligned behind one evolving brand promise: personal connection through audio.
agility & alignment
relevance, speed,
unity, focus
How clearly the brand sets its purpose, ambition, and guidance for decisions and culture.
How it builds Strength of Brand
Builds internal unity, confidence, and direction.
Example:
Patagonia demonstrates leadership by aligning every decision, from marketing to product recalls, with its purpose of protecting the planet. This clarity attracts customers and employees who share its mission, creating brand-led cultural leadership.
leadership
Vision, Direction
How emotionally close and relatable the brand feels through shared values and meaning.
How it builds Strength of Brand
Builds connection, loyalty, and advocacy; increases retention.
Example:
Spotify constantly adapts its offer (podcasts, AI playlists, new pricing models) without losing its identity of “soundtracking your life.” Teams across design, tech, and marketing are aligned behind one evolving brand promise: personal connection through audio.
affinity
connection, meaning
How visible, memorable, and distinctive the brand is within its category.
How it builds Strength of Brand
Increases recognition and pricing power by standing out with clarity.
Example:
Oatly turned oat milk into a lifestyle by combining bold visual design with a playful, self-aware tone. In a crowded market, it became instantly recognisable and impossible to ignore — not just a product, but a statement.
notability
Visibility, Distinction, Recall
How unified and consistent the brand’s story and experience are across all channels and moments.
How it builds Strength of Brand
Reinforces recognition and predictability, strengthening trust.
Example:
Apple is the master of coherence. From product design to retail spaces to packaging, every detail reinforces its values of simplicity, innovation, and beauty. That seamless consistency makes the brand instantly trustworthy.
coherence
Continuity, Predictability, Flow
How actively the brand involves and listens to its audiences, creating shared ownership.
How it builds Strength of Brand
Ensures participation, belonging, and advocacy.
Example:
Duolingo engages users through its playful personality, social media humour, and gamified learning. The brand behaves like a living community rather than a static company, deepening emotional connection and loyalty.
engagement
Dialogue, Participation, Listening
from measurement to management
If Role and Strength show what impact your brand has, the Brand Pillars show how to increase it.
They are the dials you adjust to enhance the different aspects of both the Role and the Strength of your brand.
Each pillar represents a different dimension: why you exist, what space you claim, how you appear, what proof you deliver, and the ethos that guides your actions.
Together, they form a system you can continuously adjust and strengthen as your company grows
The easy-to-remember acronym we use is SCALE.
Because these pillars are your starting point for growth and scale.
S – Sense, C – Claim, A – Appearance, L – Lived proof, E – Ethos
brand pillars
Why you exist and what you stand for. The conviction behind your business. It defines meaning, purpose, and direction.
In short: why you as a brand make sense.
Key brand elements
* Vision & Mission
* Founder Story / Brand Story
* Guiding Principles/Values
* The Big Idea
Impact
Builds trust and long-term belief; signals leadership and reduces perceived risk.
Example
Airbnb's founding belief, “Belong anywhere”, defined meaning, purpose, and direction from day one. It guided product decisions (identity verification, reviews), the narrative (“a world where anyone can belong”), and helped reduce perceived risk in a category (re)defined by Airbnb on their own strengths and built on trust between strangers.
A strong “Sense” builds emotional and ethical trust → which is the foundation of Airbnb’s valuation
SENSE
Purpose & Belief
The foundation of a trusted brand©
The easy-to-remember acronym we use is SCALE.
Because the Pillars are the basis for a brand's growth.
S – Sense, C – Claim, A – Appearance, L – Lived proof, E – Ethos
Where you play, who you serve, and why you matter. Claim brings focus and differentiation.
Key brand elements
* Positioning Statement
* Unique Value Proposition
* Competitive Landscape
* Ideal Customer Profile
* Moat Strategy
* Brand Promise
Impact
Increases investor and customer confidence; strengthens pricing power and growth predictability.
Example
Revolut claimed a clear, sharp position early: “The global financial super-app.”
It clearly defined:
– where it plays (everyday finance),
– who it serves (global, mobile, fee-sensitive customers),
– why it matters (cheaper, simpler, borderless).
A strong Claim differentiates in a crowded market and gives confidence to both users and investors about what the company does and for whom.
CLAIM
positioning & promise
How you look, sound, and feel. Consistent sensory cues make the brand memorable and credible.
Key brand elements
* Name & Logo
* Visual Identity (colours, typography, imagery)
* Verbal Identity (tone of voice, messaging architecture)
* Sensory Codes (use of light, materials, environments, etc.)
Impact
Drives recognition and emotional connection; accelerates adoption and recall.
Example
Notion’s minimalist aesthetic — the black-and-white workspace, clean typography, modular block visuals — became instantly recognisable and emotionally appealing.
It made the tool feel calm, creative, and “designed for thinkers.”
Appearance drives recall and affinity. Notion’s look and feel became a growth engine on social media and YouTube.
APPEARANCE
identity & expression
How people experience the brand promise in action: every interaction is proof of your value.
Key brand elements
* Customer Journey
* Customer Experience Design
* Proof Points & Testimonials
* Product or Service Touchpoints
* Performance Data
Impact
Converts perception into measurable proof; increases trust, loyalty, and advocacy.
Example
Glovo's brand promise, “We deliver anything in minutes”, is proven through real, everyday interactions:
– visible yellow-backpack couriers across the city
– real-time order tracking that shows progress transparently
– multi-category delivery (food, groceries, pharmacy, errands)
– fast and responsive in-app support
– partnerships with supermarkets and local shops
These interactions show that the promise is lived consistently, not just communicated.
Lived proof turns promises into evidence → reinforcing trust, reducing uncertainty, and increasing loyalty and advocacy.
LIVED PROOF
evidence & performance
How your team and organisation live the brand inside out. Culture becomes both a growth engine and a control system.
Key brand elements
* Employer Brand
* Internal Branding
* Organisational Culture
* Leadership Behaviour
* Values in Action
Impact
Strengthens internal alignment, talent retention, and scalability. Reduces execution risk and signals maturity.
Example
Patagonia (not a startup anymore, but still founder-driven).
Their internal culture — responsibility, repair over replace, environmental activism — aligns perfectly with their external brand story.
Ethos creates internal coherence, alignment, talent retention — reducing execution risk and signalling maturity. This becomes more important when the business starts scaling.
ETHOS
culture & behaviour
BRAND: MORE THAN A LOGO
STRATEGIC ASSET, PROMISE, TRUST, VALUES
As you can see from the brand pillars, brand is a lot more than logo, colours, fonts. These are just the visible part.
A strong brand is a strategic concept that connects emotionally with your audience and gives them the reason to choose you. Whether you are in B2C or B2B.
It is what your business stands for, and how it behaves, across every product, interaction, and decision.
The brand provides emotional justification and commercial confidence.
BRAND & CULTURE
capture who you are before you scale
Your brand is not something you invent from scratch, or just make up. It is already there, in your culture, your story, and the way you do things.
We help you capture that essence, give it structure, and turn it into a brand that people can understand, connect with, and carry forward.
As your team grows, your brand becomes the anchor, helping you scale without losing your edge.
It spreads your spirit, not just through design or tone of voice, but through shared values, consistent behaviours, and the way your company shows up.
Your company has to achieve a monopoly.
Something utterly new, something that can't be copied.
–FROM "ZERO TO ONE" BY PETER THIEL
Brand: One of only 4 criteria to see if a business has the potential to become a monopoly.
–FROM "ZERO TO ONE" BY PETER THIEL
Brand: unique and strong bonds
that create a positive buzz.
–FROM "ZERO TO ONE" BY PETER THIEL