Stop ignoring brand (the startup mistake you can’t afford to make)

Startups tend to get branding wrong.

Some ignore it completely (“We’ll do that later”). Others obsess over making it perfect from day one. I’ve seen both, as brand often takes a back seat to growth and product marketing. But when that happens, things slow down. And customers slip away before they even know why you’re worth choosing.

So I asked Erica Bonser, Head of Content at Animalz and co-founder of Fan Club Brands, how startups should actually think about branding. She’s worked with solo consultants and fast-growing SaaS teams. Her advice is clear and grounded in real experience.

Let’s get into it.

📺 Prefer watching? Check out the full conversation

Your brand is already happening—with or without you

Branding isn’t your logo. It’s the reason people choose you.

If you don’t define your brand, others will. That’s when things feel off. Your product says one thing, your site says another, and customers don’t really get you.

Most teams only realize this when sales get harder, messaging loses focus, and internal alignment breaks down. Fixing it later takes 10x more effort.

Brand is your moat

Speed and features used to be a moat. Not anymore. Replit lets you launch in minutes. GPT-4 writes your copy.

Today, brand is what sticks.

• Ads and content are everywhere. Brand is what people remember.

• Features and pricing can be copied. Your voice, values, and taste can’t.

• In a sea of noise, brand is your signal. It says: we’re real, we’re staying, and we get you.

Startups like Notion, Figma, and Linear didn’t just build good products. They built brands people felt.

In 2025, if no one feels anything when they see your name, you’re forgettable.

The 3 building blocks of a strong brand

Erica breaks branding into three parts (full breakdown here):

1. Brand strategy

   Positioning, messaging, values. “It tells you when something is a ‘hell yes’ or a ‘hell no.’”

2. Visual identity

   Logos, colors, type. Built after the strategy is clear.

3. Brand implementation

   How your brand shows up—in your site, product, emails, and sales materials.

Branding is strategy, but it’s also therapy

Founders often project themselves onto the brand. “I like purple, so let’s use purple.” Sound familiar?

But great brands aren’t about your personal taste. They’re built for the customer.

Erica uses what she calls the eulogy exercise in workshops:

This reframes the brand as a long-term story—not just a logo or tagline. It aligns teams around purpose, not personal opinion.

Proof it works: Brand clarity led to acquisition

Erica helped a 40-year-old retirement benefits company that had never done marketing. Growth stalled. Deals were built on handshakes over golf.

She helped them define a brand and launch their first marketing function. That work led to better hires, new products, and a full culture reset. Eventually, they got acquired—something that wasn’t even on the table before.

Try this today: Write your company’s eulogy

Before you rewrite your homepage, try this instead:

Picture your company is gone. The problem’s solved. Now ask:

• What’s being said at its “funeral”?

• Who did we help?

• What changed because of us?

• Why did we matter?

This exercise snaps teams out of execution mode and back into mission mode.

On a related note, I’ve run the Google Ventures 3-hour Brand Sprint with early-stage teams and found it incredibly effective for creating alignment around your brand.

Final thoughts

• Branding isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s your moat.

• Don’t aim for perfect. Aim for alive and aligned.

• If your marketing feels fuzzy, your brand probably is.

📺 Check out the full conversation with Erica Bonser

Keep those ideas flowing,
Christine

P.S. Got a side project in the works?

Erica’s advice: know your risk tolerance and bring in help earlier than you think. She’s building some great stuff at Fan Club Brands, helping small businesses tackle marketing & design projects in a single day with VIP Days. Worth a look.