Knowing when & why to rebrand – whilst going from $0 - $12bn in 6 years.

Brex has become the default financial services partner for startups coming out of Silicon Valley. In just 6 years, 80% of Y Combinator companies use Brex, while 33% of the top 50 venture firms' portfolios & 25% of all US startups use Brex. It has raised $1B+ in equity, serves 20,000+ clients and has done $40B + in overall transaction volume since its launch in 2018. Brex went from $0 to $12bn in 6 years!

I totally admire the Co-CEOs, Pedro Franceschi and Henrique Dubugras of Brex (and their team) - and their brand. In fact, I admire both Brex’s original branding AND the rebrand.

OK, so let me clarify that. Aesthetically I think the original brand is awful, but it’s clarity of message was spot on.

Their passionate purpose was to be 'THE' start-up for start-ups with ‘the first corporate card for start-ups’.

Even if you don’t like the look of the brand what they did fantastically well was put themselves literally in Silicon Valley’s face. They used a combination of outbound sales, OOH advertising, referrals & brand awareness to get the ball rolling - putting themselves front and centre ensuring that their target audience couldn’t escape them.

Not only that, they also cold emailed start-up owners with a near 100% response rate (as they had already seen the numerous billboards) with an additional follow up surprise of a bottle of champagne.

This microcosm of very targeted brand building, direct marketing and being as niche as possible in this early phase of development really paid dividends. Brand awareness and being relevant is so important.

The best thing about their launch proposition however had the potential to derail their progress as a business.

The thing with start-ups is that as they grow, they are no longer start-ups so the perception would be that Brex was no longer right for them – no matter how good the product was.

Also, reaching out to a broader net of prospects that weren’t start-ups would be a far more complicated sell.

This is the point where the leadership team at Brex got things right again.

Recognising that in order future-proof themselves they needed to take onboard what their existing customers and potential future customers were saying. Ultimately, they needed to reevaluate their position with a view to longer term success.

Brex exists to serve growing companies. This doesn’t mean we only serve companies that have increasing revenue, but instead every company that has a growth mindset, and wants to achieve the best version of themselves.

Pedro Franceschi, Co-CEO Brex

Making sure that they themselves are forward thinking has ensured that Brex’s customers also feel that they are using a progressive platform that isn’t stuck in its ways. Their willingness to rebrand after only 2 years of trading is a massive factor in their exponential growth. Their worth has only increased since the repositioning and visual rebrand.

I personally much prefer the aesthetics of the new brand, it's definitely B2B, but with a human and B2C quality that was lacking in their original look and feel. The messaging is also on point yet again - great work Brex and Gretel.

The new generation of businesses is doing things differently, in ways that banks would never understand. To realize their full potential, they need new financial systems catered to this new way of thinking, ready to power their growth instead of preventing it.

Pedro Franceschi, Co-CEO Brex

B2B - Back 2 Basics.

Being clear on what you’re doing and why is fundamental to success and that is why B2B businesses should never rest on their laurels. The Brex case study shows how their acceptance of the need to change is as important as the product/services that they provide.

Planning for the future whilst embracing what got you going in the first place is important in business. What you set out to do in the beginning might be great in the short term but having the ability to not dig your heels in and accept change is what will make all the difference. Be relevant!

I’ve discussed this before but having passion and purpose are two basic key drivers for a successful brand. Without a clear direction how can the rest of the ID come to life? I love the insight that the Brex emblem is inspired by the flag that Neil Armstrong placed on the Moon symbolising humanity ‘realising its full potential’ - which harks back to Brex's belief, nice touch.

Get the fundamentals right and the rest will follow.

Yolk Creative London Ltd 's insights piece entitled ‘How to make your brand mean business’ explores five building blocks for B2B branding success, passionate purpose being one of those fundamental blocks.

Find out how your brand is the most important investment you can make in business: https://thisisyolk.co.uk/how-to-make-a-brand-mean-business