The necessity for a robust brand identity, beyond mere product development, in establishing a pre-seed startup.
On the 17th of June, 2025, the world of startups is a landscape shaped by the power of branding. A strong, well-defined brand can make all the difference in attracting the right people, building momentum, and earning trust.
Take Tella, for instance, a video recording platform for startups. Launched with a personality-packed brand, Tella quickly attracted users who found the tool appealing. A similar story can be told about Arc, a pre-launch job platform for remote tech talent. Arc built early traction not just on product, but on brand.
A brand that feels established can help a startup build momentum while the rest of the business catches up. This is evident in the case of Levels, which raised a $12M seed round before launching a public product. Despite having no product at the time, Levels stood out with a sharp mission, detailed blog content, a high-trust tone, and founder visibility.
Branding is not just about a fancy logo and colour palette; it's about clarity, consistency, and communication. A mismatched tone and generic messaging can make people notice negatively. On the other hand, a clear, confident brand helps the right people find a startup and become believers, making them more likely to join the team.
Notion, even before mass adoption, stood out with minimal design, a calm tone, and pages that felt usable and human. A coherent brand on a startup's website, job ads, Notion docs, and emails can help earn trust faster.
Investors judge potential at pre-seed by how clearly a startup frames the problem, talks about the market, and aligns product, pitch, and brand. This was evident in OpenAI's early branding strategy, which prepared its product launch and generated significant pre-launch recognition and trust among customers. As evidenced by its successful trademark dispute and strategic marketing efforts in the USA, OpenAI's early branding strategy played a crucial role in its success.
Early adopters want to feel something beyond interest; they want belief, which comes from intentional design, a human touch, and avoiding a robotic tone. A strong brand can shape how investors see a startup, help users believe in it, and earn trust when the startup is not around to explain. In the world of startups, a strong brand is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.
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