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How to scale through the power of brand
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 8
Our community had the privilege of sharing space with and learning from Kuba Wieczorek, co-founder of Eve Sleep and all-round branding guru.
This engaging and insightful Branding Masterclass saw Kuba draw from years of brand-building experience to walk us through what it really takes to create one that resonates.
We’ve distilled Kuba’s most practical takeaways for founders navigating the Seed to Series A journey across industries. Think of it as both a refresher and a roadmap because, as Kuba made clear, branding isn’t just part of your startup’s growth... it’s central to it.
Branding is a strategic tool, not just a logo
Kuba opens by reframing branding: it's not about visuals, it’s about how your company is perceived. It shapes customer trust, team culture, and fundraising narratives.
Define your brand’s core personality and values: How do you want stakeholders - from users to investors - to feel about you? Use this to inform every touchpoint, from onboarding emails to pitch decks.
Connect emotionally through storytelling
Storytelling binds your brand. Without it, your mission may sound generic.
Boil your origin into a compelling narrative: the why, your deep insight into the problem, and the felt need. Integrate this story consistently.
Know your audience deeply
Brand relevance means aligning with what your customers truly value.
Conduct qualitative interviews to uncover emotional drivers, not just functional needs.
Map brand attributes to customer priorities e.g. trust, simplicity, innovation.
Use iteration in early funnels to test brand messaging resonance.
Maintain visual consistency, but focus more on substance
Good branding needs clean, cohesive design but visuals are meaningless without substance.
Develop a basic brand style guide early - cover colours, typography, iconography - and ensure consistency across all touch-points.
Don’t over-invest visually before you’ve nailed your message and audience fit.
Internal alignment empowers external authenticity
Your brand must be lived internally; it can’t just be window dressing.
Share brand principles with your team - make them part of onboarding.
Align hiring and internal policies to reinforce your brand identity.
Celebrate team stories that reflect your brand’s values.
Iterate branding alongside product
Branding evolves like your product, from early MVP to scaling, so start with a simple messaging framework (tagline + subtitle + hero paragraph).
Update as you learn from growth: what resonates, what converts, what investors ask.
Reassess brand position at key stages: pre-seed → seed → Series A → expansion.
Leverage branding in fundraising & hiring
Investors fund teams as much as ideas, and branding is part of proving your professionalism.
Use brand-driven visuals in pitch decks to unify messaging.
Present your brand story to investors to show vision alignment.
A clear, human brand attracts talent, especially when you’re competing in later stages.
Be authentic but differentiate intentionally
Genuine stories resonate but don’t rely on generic authenticity. Customise your differentiation.
Avoid buzzword-laden positioning that sounds like hundreds of other startups.
Highlight unique insights, either in product approach, team background, or value system.
Kuba’s top 10 insights and tips:
A brand is the audience’s idea of your company.
Perception is reality - If your brand is rubbish, people think your business is rubbish.
In the words of Steve Martin, “Have a point!”
Don’t throw too many balls - pick each message and give it it’s own space to breathe and connect.
Know your bullseye audience and be brave about targeting only them. Lead with empathy and understanding with your group.
Make your own media count - e.g packaging with a message or as an experience.
“Be yourself, everyone else is taken” works for your brand as a whole and as an employer.
It’s about Brand AND Performance not VS.
Track both consideration and awareness. As brand consideration rose for Eve Sleep, CPA declined more drastically. Awareness isn’t everything e.g Elon Musk.
Use creativity to create impact: Get noticed (easy), get more people to act (harder) and create empathy (hardest).
Don’t forget the tyranny of choice, don’t overcomplicate it for your consumers.
Brand is the bridge between strategy and perception. It unites product, people, investors, and culture. At the earliest stages - where resources are tight - branding often languishes. That’s a mistake. Start simple, stay consistent, and you’ll build credibility, connection and momentum.
A full recording of this Branding Masterclass is now available to watch.
