Reverse engineer your startup brand

It's very common for startup founders to focus on building their product first rather than focusing on their startup brand.

Both are equally as important.

Because within a brand, we need a strategy.

What do I mean by strategy?

Brand strategy is about positioning, game theory, and time – how will tomorrow be different than today to change the dynamic of the marketplace?

- A bad product with a bad brand = guaranteed failure - A good product with a bad brand = missed potential - A bad product with a good brand = temporary success - A good product with a good brand = winning combination

Take this for example: You can’t say “We’re Nike” by pointing to your sneakers because in a blind taste test, everything is the same. It’s something else. If Nike opened a hotel we would probably guess what it would be like.

We need to know how to leverage positioning, game theory, and time.

Positioning is a clear map of who you are and who you’re not.

Game theory is a strategic decision-making that anticipates the actions and reactions of competitors.

Time – Building a brand doesn’t happen overnight.

Study how great brands like Nike. Study their brand strategy. Study their moves against competitors.

Then apply the learnings to your startup.

Knowing all this and putting them into action will help you make a significant leap over your competitors.