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TL;DR: meet Makeshift, a brand accelerator for the early stage. Over the past few years, I've had the privilege of collaborating with some of the most dynamic founding teams in diverse sectors. Amidst the relentless pursuit of product-market fit, I've observed a common trend: the undervaluation of brand development in their growth strategies. Despite its critical role in driving key metrics like customer acquisition and retention, brand building often takes a backseat. Why is this? Some view “brand” as something to grow into. Others see it as vaguely connected to growth drivers. Many reduce brand marketing to mere awareness media. And most are simply navigating the resource-constrained reality of early-stage ventures, where brand and marketing investments are often deprioritized. But the benefits of an early-stage brand strategy are immense: A galvanizing north star can captivate customers, align partners and inspire talent. When this narrative is honed into a concrete value proposition, it sharpens sales and marketing efforts. And when it’s fully embedded into your go to market, it enhances defensibility, fortifies market resilience and bolsters pricing power. Reflecting on these insights and the wish of many founders and operators for earlier investment in intentional branding and strategic storytelling, I'm excited to announce the launch of Makeshift. Our mission is straightforward: to help founding teams find market fit faster. We achieve this by providing enterprise-level brand development and marketing services at the earliest stages.?And our approach ensures brand marketing is both upstream and accessible: Make Phase: → Build a brand story that drives traction with customers. → Translate the story into a competitive frame for sales and marketing. → Define and align go-to-market strategies to bring the brand to life. Shift Phase: → Drive cross-functional alignment and adoption. → Augment marketing teams to supercharge execution.? → Hand off when they’re ready to take the reins. We're already co-building with some incredible teams, helping them to make strategic shifts toward growth. If you're curious about Makeshift's approach, or know teams that could benefit from our expertise, please feel free to tag them or reach out to me directly. ?? ??