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S T A R T U P S

Early-stage startups need investors to believe in their viability—and quickly. If you’re a manufacturing, tech, or other complex B2B startup seeking millions in funding, a branding foundation built on strategy can give you extra leverage with investors by speeding comprehension and increasing confidence.

commmon startup branding pitfalls

  • A pitch deck that focuses on how a thing works instead of why to invest
  • Complex graphics that don’t address investors’ concerns or match their level of understanding
  • A look and feel that clashes with your message or doesn’t stand out
  • Visually inconsistent assets can create investor doubt around marketing skills
  • Unpolished design that decreases confidence

How design fills those gaps

  • A focused pitch deck that reinforces viability
  • Easy-to-understand data visualization that speeds comprehension
  • A strategic visual system that sets the right tone and clarifies what makes you unique
  • A brand guide and templates that increase consistency while saving you time
  • Well-designed collateral that implies traction and marketing savvy

Why invest in design early?

Pitches from early-stage startups get reviewed brutally fast by investors who are constantly bombarded with presentations. If your first impression doesn’t read as valuable, has a muddy visual hierarchy, looks like everyone else's template, or isn’t aligned with your other collateral, your funding may stall there. A strategic brand visual system is a strong fundraising tool that can elevate your startup in investors’ minds.

Plus, a solid brand strategy can guide growth. It can help you focus on what your audience needs and clarify how to sell it to both customers and investors. 

How will we do it?

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Phase 1

Foundational
clarity

Clarify your product, your audience, and your competition through founder workshops, marketing/design audits, audience research, and a competitive review.
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Phase 2

brand
strategy

Define a position, promise, personality, and other insights that will become your guides for making strategy-based creative decisions.
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Phase 3

brand system

Develop a robust visual system rooted in strategy, not just aesthetics, and put it all in a brand guide with logos, colors, fonts, shapes, and examples.

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Phase 4

Collateral application

Build assets that elevate your position and emphasize viability with a focused and consistent pitch deck, website, and social media templates.

startup founder packages

brand Strategy Sprint 

(Phases 1 - 2)

Set up your brand design strategy so you have a metric for the decisions to be made during visual development.

visual identity kit

(Phases 3 - 4)

Got a good handle on your strategy already? Let's jump in with a logo, a visual system, a deck, and some templates. 

Full brand System

(Phases 1 - 4)

Define your strategy and then use it to make smart visual choices for effective and efficient communications.

Book a 30-minute design review to find out how you can strengthen your pitch.

  • Tricia is able to deliver concepts that are on strategy and on brand. I never felt like we were working with a freelancer but rather an internal team member who understands our business well.

    Natalia Aguiluz, American Modern Insurance Group
  • Tricia understands how to integrate design with the message. She has a very keen marketing sense and can develop an integrated product so it both looks good and is effective.
    Carol Evans, Legacy Parks Foundation
  • Tricia is timely (meets deadlines, provides updates), reliable (not a flaky designer), frank and forthcoming (about limitations and budgets), and just pleasant to work with (no ego issues).
    Ashley Maynor, The Library Collective
  • I’m able to be much more hands off with Tricia than with other freelancers. I know she will ask smart questions, stay on schedule, push the client a bit and provide distinctly different concepts.
    Grace Ring, Vehr Communications
  • Tricia can take a project all the way from concept to production. She offers strategic insights and solutions. She anticipates issues and helps solve problems.
    Michelle Taute, Shattles Communications
  • Tricia understands how the objectives of the project can define the project itself. The scope of research she brings to the table often takes the project further than originally imagined.
    Robin Thomas, Downtown Knoxville Alliance