Key take aways from ‘Start as you mean to go on’.

When data experts James Herbert and Sasha Rook launched their new venture, they had one big priority: to make their brand as sharp and solid as their business.

Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with James and CMO Honor Paddock about why brand was at the top of their list and what their experiences were during the strategic and creative process with Yolk Creative London Ltd .

Here are some snapshots gleaned from the webinar:

Why start with brand??

James had plenty of experience in the data solutions world, having built a reputation for successful ventures. But when he and Sasha began Pivotl , brand wasn’t something they planned to tackle “later.” Instead, they invested in it right away.?

The problem with ‘bootstrapping’ your brand is the frustration of having to continually re-visit it. Continually retro-fitting is not only disruptive but proves even more expensive.

Defining direction with “passion & purpose”.?

It was the first time the whole leadership team was in one room to talk about what Pivotl should stand for. No egos, no one calling the shots—just an open forum where everyone could share their views.?

The goal of the passionate purpose workshop? To make sure Pivotl’s brand wasn’t just a logo or a catchy slogan. As Honor put it:

Defining our brand from the offset was a critical part of the journey, ensuing that every stakeholder understood, and was proud of, what we stood for.

The big “a-ha!” moment.

When done right, brand is a strategic decision-making tool, and this was a big “a-ha!” moment for some of the initial skeptics in the room.

They didn’t want their brand to feel like an afterthought, they wanted it to be the backbone of their business.?During those early workshops one thing became clear, not only to James and Honor, but to the entire leadership team:

Brand wasn’t just about making a visual splash; it was realising how deeply their brand values needed to run in everything they did.

Why the name “Pivotl”??

Choosing the name “Pivotl” wasn’t random. Yolk worked with the leadership team to make sure it reflected the brand’s promise: helping companies make “pivotal” decisions with data. Honor surmised it like this:

Pivotl gave us an emotive name and narrative that allowed us to share what we do and deliver for our clients.

Getting the visual identity right from the start.

Yolk’s strategic approach means holding off on visuals until the brand purpose is ironed out.

For James and Honor, that reveal was worth the wait. They both agreed that there was no question when they saw the design presentation. James noted that:

We wanted a brand that portrayed a greater level of seriousness and trust, but at the same time no one wants a small Accenture. The visual language you created nailed what we were after.

Balancing B2B with B2C traits.

In B2B, there’s always a temptation to go corporate, but James was wary of that.

It’s a balance isn’t it. There’s no reason why B2B shouldn’t borrow from the best of B2C. The biggest difference however is that when someone buys from you in B2B they’re almost entrusting you with their career and so that balance of emotional and rational language is so important.

Reflecting on the Journey.?

Looking back, James and Honor couldn’t be happier with their choice to prioritise brand from day one:

With previous companies the branding has been exhausting, because we were always playing catch up - but we haven’t had any of that with Pivotl. It’s a bit like when a good referee is a good referee, you don’t really notice them - a good brand just works for you without getting in the way of progress!

James Herbert

Because everyone was onboard from the offset there were no distractions or awkward "why are we doing this?" type conversations. We had an ambitious and tight time scale but the way in which Yolk’s process worked meant we could go from initial strategy workshops to launch in just 6 weeks.

Honor Paddock

And there's more.

For other startups or businesses looking to grow, the takeaway from Pivotl’s story is simple: start as you mean to go on. When you build a brand that’s true to your purpose, everything else falls into place.

To see the full webinar, and learn more useful insights from James and Honor, click the link below:

https://thisisyolk.co.uk/start-as-you-mean-to-go-on