Brand Strategy For Startups: A Practical Guide From Feely

Core components of brand strategy

Brand purpose and mission:


The fundamental reason your startup exists beyond making money. This should connect to a larger purpose that resonates with your target audience.‍

Brand positioning:


How you want your startup to be perceived relative to competitors in the minds of your target customers.‍

Brand personality:


The human characteristics and traits that define your brand's character and guide how you communicate.‍

Value proposition:


The unique combination of benefits and solutions your startup provides that competitors cannot match.

‍Brand voice and messaging:


The consistent tone, style, and key messages used across all communications.‍

Visual identity:


The visual elements including logo, colors, typography, and imagery that make your brand recognizable.

How to build your brand strategy (founder-led, fast)

You can absolutely build a solid v1 brand strategy yourself using Feely’s Figma Jam board. An hour of focused work to capture product, audience, positioning, personality, competitors, and look & feel. This DIY pass gives you a clear story to ship and test early.

And when you’re ready to hire a studio, the same board makes you a more professional, efficient partner: you’ll bring crisp inputs, documented decisions, and real-world proof, which speeds discovery, reduces revision cycles, and focuses budget on high‑leverage design. Start scrappy; refine with experts as you grow.

Overview

• ‍Goal: align founders and early team on one clear promise, audience, and look & feel you can ship this week.
• ‍Outcome: a positioning statement, messaging house, brand personality, competitive map, and moodboard ready for your website, deck, and sales scripts.
• ‍Tip: time‑box. If you don’t know, write your best hypothesis, then validate later.

Product

What to capture:


• One liner: what you build in plain words.
• Top 3–5 features/functionality.
• Why you exist: the problem, the stakes, and your belief.‍

Prompts:


• What painful, frequent, valuable problem do we solve?
• What’s our “aha” moment (first value) and how fast do users reach it?
• What’s non‑obvious or opinionated about our approach?

‍Example fills:

• ‍‍One liner: “Audit‑readiness copilot for fintech startups.”
• Features: control mapping, evidence collection, pre‑audit checks, auditor export.
• Why: “Compliance blocks deals; founders need speed without consultants.”‍

Output to use later:


• One liner for your homepage H1 draft.
• Top features to translate into benefits.

Audience

What to capture:

• ‍‍2–3 priority segments and roles (buyer, user, blocker).
• Triggers that start their search.
• Jobs‑to‑be‑done, objections, must‑have criteria.
• Short insight notes from real conversations.‍

Prompts:


• When do they switch from status quo?
• What they tried before and why it failed?
• What outcome matters most (time, risk, revenue)?

Example fills:

• ‍‍Segment: “Seed–Series B fintech; CTO + Ops lead; auditor as influencer.”
• Trigger: “Security questionnaire blocks enterprise pilot.”
• JTBD: “Pass SOC 2 with minimal founder time.”
• Objections: “Accuracy, auditor acceptance, data security.”

‍Output to use later:


• Clear ICP for your positioning line and proof.

Positioning

Part A: Message

• ‍‍Headline formula: problem + outcome in 8–12 words.
• Three benefits tied to business outcomes (time, risk, revenue).
• Proof for each: metric, logo, quote, demo moment.‍

Part B: Positioning Statement


• Template: “For [audience] who [trigger/problem], [brand] is the [category] that [outcome] because [proof points].”
• Add “Reasons to believe”: 3 bullets max.‍

Example fills:

• ‍‍Headline: “Pass SOC 2 without consultants.”
• Benefits: “Cut prep time 70%,” “Map controls automatically,” “Auditor‑ready reports.”
• Proof: “12 passed audits,” “Avg. 68% time reduction,” “BigFour‑reviewed checklist.”
• Positioning: “For venture‑backed fintech teams blocked by security reviews, ComplyIQ is the audit‑readiness copilot that cuts SOC 2 prep from months to weeks because it auto‑maps controls to evidence and ships auditor‑ready checklists validated in 12 successful audits.”

‍Output to use later:


• Homepage hero, one‑pager, sales opener, and fundraise slide 2.

Brand Personality

What to capture:


• 3–5 traits (This, not That).
• Sliders for tone (e.g., playful <—> serious, cutting‑edge <—> trusted, casual <—> formal).
• A short paragraph for “how we speak” + a few do/don’t examples.‍

Prompts:


• If your brand were a teammate, how would they show up?
• What tone reduces buyer risk? What tone earns attention?‍

Example fills:

• ‍‍Traits: “Direct, reassuring, expert, human.”
• Sliders: more “trusted” than “edgy”; more “direct” than “flowery.”
• Do: “State outcomes and proof simply.” Don’t: “Bury claims in jargon.”‍

Output to use later:


• Voice rules for homepage, emails, and product microcopy.

Competitors

What to capture:


• Full‑page screenshots of 5–10 competitors’ sites and pricing.
• Note their audience, promise, proof, and visual patterns.
• Mark white‑space: who they ignore, outcomes they underplay, tone gaps.‍

Prompts:

• ‍‍What words they repeat? What outcomes they promise?
• Where can you be the opposite (clearer, warmer, more specific)?
• Which patterns to borrow (familiarity) vs. flip (differentiation)?

‍Fast tools:

• ‍‍GoFullPage or Awesome Screenshot to capture pages.‍

Output to use later:


• ‍‍“Be the only” statement: “Only X that Y for Z.”

Look & Feel

What to capture:


• Moodboard tiles: typography, colors, UI components, illustration, photography.
• 3 visual keywords (e.g., “crisp, confident, modern”).

‍Prompts:

• ‍‍Which references match your personality sliders?
• What would make your product feel trustworthy at a glance?‍

Output to use later:

• ‍‍Visual starter kit: wordmark, palette, type scale, buttons, cards.

What You’ll Have At The End


• Positioning statement and one‑liner.
• Messaging house: headline, 3 benefits, proof.
• Brand personality and voice do/don’t list.
• Competitive pattern map and “be the only” line.

Brand Strategy GPT

At Feely Studio, we’ve built Brand Strategy GPT as a quick, collaborative tool for early-stage founders who need direction fast. Answer six quick questions and instantly receive a compact brand bсrief with your goal, vision, values, target audience, visibility objective, voting rules, positioning, and key messages.

Tips and tricks for building your brand strategy

Common Pitfalls (And How The Board Prevents Them)

• ‍‍Generic claims → Use the Audience and Proof fields to anchor outcomes.
• Feature dumping → Messaging house forces “benefit first, feature as proof.”
• Inconsistent tone → Personality sliders and do/don’t make voice portable.
• Copying leaders → Competitor wall highlights patterns to avoid and gaps to own.
• Pretty but vague → Positioning box requires a single clear promise.

How To Run The Session

• ‍‍Attendees: founder/CEO, product lead, one GTM owner. 60–90 minutes total.
• Flow: Product (5) → Audience (5) → Message (5) → Positioning (5) → Personality (5) → Competitors (10) → Look & Feel (10).
• Rule: decide in the room. If stuck, write the best hypothesis and mark “validate.”‍

Turn It Into Assets

• ‍‍Homepage hero: “[Headline]. [1‑line how] + [proof].” Primary CTA.
• One‑pager: headline, 3 benefits with proof, mini case, CTA.
• Sales opener: 30‑sec pitch from the positioning block.
• Product microcopy: apply voice to onboarding, empty states, and success toasts

Measure And Iterate

• ‍‍Weekly: A/B the hero headline; review demo request rate and outbound reply rate.
• Monthly: Win/loss by segment; update proof points in the Jam.
• Quarterly: Revisit ICP and positioning if triggers/outcomes shift.‍

Use The Template‍

‍Duplicate the Feely Brand Strategy Jam, fill each block with your team, and you’ll leave with a strategy you can ship. If you want a quick gut‑check, share your filled board and we’ll turn it into a homepage hero, one‑pager, and a visual starter kit.

Great brands aren’t accident. They’re the result of clear choices, consistent storytelling, and thoughtful design. Start with the Jam to shape your v1 and learn fast; when you’re ready to go deeper, Feely partners with tech startups to craft a distinctive story, cut through market noise, and design experiences that create genuine emotional connection with customers. If you want to turn your draft into a launch‑ready brand and website, we’re here to help.