Brand-Blockers
Six years ago, at a technology pitching event, it became clear to me that all the founders in the room struggled to communicate their innovation in a way that inspired their audience of investors to take action. I knew at that moment I could completely change their fortunes. So I made it my mission to put a stop great ideas failing because of poor communication.
And as you probably know Robot Mascot is the UK’s leading investment pitch specialist. We help founders raise millions for their venture. However, it turns out that after access to capital the biggest killer of start ups is their inability to market and sell the product they created, and I’ve identified three core reasons for this that are common amongst many Seed and Series A start ups.
First, they struggle to communicate
They've never built a brand before, so they struggle to create clear and concise messaging that drives their audience to act. They’ve often created something new, with a level of complexity and it’s hard to package and articulate, and it’s even harder to create an emotional connection with their audience. This causes a disconnect, their audience either doesn’t get it, or doesn’t care. This happens because the founder and their audience aren’t motivated by the same things, and they’re speaking a different language.
Second, they've only one-shot
Often founders are solving a meaningful problem within a high-level market niche, and they typically only have one-chance to win hearts and minds in their sector.?
First impressions count, and it's crucial they are seen as experts from the off – building trust and authority in their innovation. I’ve found that, too often start-up brands are shot down before they’ve even had a chance to launch successfully, and this has a damaging effect on gaining any momentum in their market.
Finally, their current brand is slowing them down
They've got what I call a pre-brand - great for gaining initial market traction, not great when it comes to scaling. They’ve got used to developing their brand using shortcuts, often in house, but now they’ve got an asset deficiency. They haven't the time, capacity or skills for brand strategy and implementation, and this way of dealing with the situation will set them back years, even decades –they should be sprinting, but instead, their trudging through quicksand.
They'll be unable to hit growth targets, attract top talent and they risk letting their investors and advisors down. Their innovation, their ambitions, and their dreams are at jeopardy.?
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When this happens, founders are at huge risk of failing to realise what they set out to do. Their brand will be forgotten, before it was given a chance of success.
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You can learn more about building an irresistible brand by listening to my Art and Communication Podcast. You’ll find it on iTunes, Spotify and Apple Podcasts:
If you’d like to see how your brand shapes up, check out my Irresistible Brand Scorecard. It takes a few minutes to complete, and you’ll get a 12-page tailored report with tips on how to improve your brand.
It’s completely free, so simply visit: