Building a brand isn’t a one-time task or project—it’s an ongoing process for as long as your company’s in business. Remember, ==your branding comes across in every one of its interactions with the market==; it’s in all of your product(s), sales, and marketing.
Because of this, there are a lot of components to branding. Early-stage companies shouldn’t get bogged down in the details, though. Instead, we advise focusing on these four foundational elements:
Your company’s mission statement is a short description (usually no more than one sentence) of its main goals. It serves both an external and internal purpose:
Externally, it communicates what your company cares about to better relate to customers.
Internally, it guides strategic decisions about your product, business model, ideal audience, and acquisition channels (the other four pieces of your company’s Five Fits Framework).
Here are a few examples:
Slack: Make work life simpler, more pleasant and more productive.
Uber: We ignite opportunity by setting the world in motion.
Tesla: To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
Your mission statement should be a concise, high-level statement. ==It shouldn’t get into the weeds of what products or services you create. ==
Consider how in the examples above, Slack’s mission doesn’t mention “messaging app.” Similarly, Uber doesn’t say anything about ridesharing, bike and scooter rentals, or food delivery; and Tesla doesn’t refer to its electric cars or solar panels.
Think of your company story as a more detailed expansion of your mission statement. It’s a narrative about how your company came to be and why it does what it does.
The most effective company stories ==stir emotion.== Remember that as humans, we’re drawn to stories because they engage and inspire us. They help us process information in a much more memorable way than simply reading a list of statistics.
There are two philosophies for how to frame your company story:
Origin: This approach focuses on you, the founder, and how your company came to be. It’s best for those with interesting or unusual backgrounds. Consider how a broke Sophia Amoruso opened an eBay store for her vintage finds, which eventually became the Nasty Gal fashion brand.
Consumer-focused: This approach places customers as the focal point of the company story, describing how they inspired your product or how your product fits into their life. These stories work best for companies that have more straightforward origins, e.g., you saw an unmet need and created a product to address it.
Neither approach is better than the other—they’re simply different storytelling methods. That said, both approaches should tie your company’s success to the customer in some way.
Here’s an example of an origin story from Airbnb:
Using the origin approach, Airbnb tells the story of how its founders hosted guests in their apartment. But it still ties this narrative to its customers, noting that both hosts and guests create the deeper connection that sets Airbnb apart. So despite initially focusing on its founders, Airbnb’s story positions customers as a part of its success.
Companies that don’t have an emotionally compelling history might struggle to create an origin story that feels authentic. In this case, it’s better to write your company story using a consumer-focused approach.
Here’s an example from the ballpoint pen company BIC:
Notice how BIC describes itself as giving consumers “the power of creative expression.” The story revolves around BIC’s goal to “answer a fundamental consumer need” rather than details about its founders. It’s inspiring without being over the top.
Regardless of how your company got started, your company story shouldn’t just be about making money. Give it some emotion so it can resonate more deeply with your audience.
Some questions worth asking:
How does your product serve customers?
What value does your product provide?
Why should customers choose your company over a direct competitor?
==Tap into emotion authentically==, whether through your interesting background or how your product serves your customer.
One last note: ==Your company story doesn’t need to be long.== Airbnb’s is 230 words; BIC’s is 117. Aim for under 250 words. Keep it simple.
Your brand voice is how your company would sound if it were a person. It comes across in all of your company’s communications, including its:
Website: blog, site popups, product pages, error pages
Emails: promotional messages, newsletters, order confirmations
Customer support
Social media posts
Ads
A single adjective like “casual” doesn’t cut it. Your brand voice should have more depth, ==like a real person.== And it should ==align with your company’s mission and target audience. ==
Consider Dove and Old Spice, two companies in the personal care space. They both have casual brand voices, but very different personalities. While Dove focuses on being empowering, Old Spice leans into absurdity. Given Dove’s mission to help women develop a positive relationship with their appearance, it obviously wouldn’t make sense for it to use the same voice as Old Spice.
Since brand voices can be complex, many companies create guidelines to nail them down. Here are examples and select phrases from three major companies.
Mailchimp: “We speak like the experienced and compassionate business partner we wish we’d had way back when. We treat every hopeful brand seriously. We want to educate people without patronizing or confusing them.”
Trip Advisor: “We don’t boss you around, or confuse you with jargon—we just make it easy for you to find what you need, when you need it. … We share our enthusiasm in an authentic way that balances the positive with the pragmatic.”
Dell: “Speaking with the frankness one would expect from a friend, the tone of Dell is engaging and candid. We are bold enough to let the facts speak for themselves.”
As an early-stage company, you probably don’t need to create a detailed style guide. But you should give your brand voice serious consideration—we’ll walk through an exercise to better define it in our Brand Voice project.
Brand design revolves around the visual elements that represent your company. Compared to the other branding components we’ve highlighted, it can be the most expensive. That’s because brand design requires a high level of both skill and creativity.
Though it can encompass a lot, here are the most important components:
A logo that’s unique and recognizable
A defined color palette with 2-4 colors
2-3 complementary fonts as your company’s typography
Company iconography—the graphic symbols that communicate specific actions, e.g., a shopping cart, messaging bubble
Custom imagery that illustrates your product, its benefits, etc.
A cohesive website that uses all of the above assets
While you can develop your company’s mission statement, story, and brand voice internally, brand design often requires outsourcing. Here’s what to expect in costs:
For mid-tier and high-quality agencies, $50,000-$150,000
For expert freelancers, $30,000-$50,000
Many early-stage companies can’t afford to spend $30,000 on brand design. So we recommend working on your mission statement, story, and brand voice yourself and spending no more than $5,000 on brand design. Use 99designs, Upwork, or Fiver and focus on getting a logo, brand colors, typography, and iconography.
There’s no need to prioritize getting a custom website and images because there are cost-effective solutions like website builders and stock photo sites. Consider investing more in brand design when you can afford it (whether because you raise money or generate enough revenue to spend the recommended $30,000 to $150,000).
We’ve seen companies try taking the middle road, spending a moderate amount on branding, like $20,000 to $30,000. But they usually get the same results they’d have seen with a budget of $5,000 to $10,000. From our experience, brand design is a situation where the phrase ==“go big or go home”== applies. As in, the top-tier design talent and experts in branding are well worth their large price tags.
