My start-up took a baby step forward...

‘My start-up took a baby step forward by getting empaneled as a registered vendor for a reputed insurance company’ … this almost became my first brand building blog post on the social media platforms in the new year which I assumed would bring some traffic to the start-up website but something happened just before we started with the first project and it all changed for me. I have been reading a lot about brands being more than just a logo, a brand being a feeling, about the people behind it, and so on, but I never imagined I would get to experience it first-hand so early in my business career.

I had the privilege of working with the vice-president (marketing) of this company long back when he was just starting off as a young executive in a different company. We did a few projects and then I moved on to other things and lost touch for many years.

While networking on social media I reconnected with him and he very generously gave me an opportunity to pitch. The script I presented was spot-on, and the quick turnaround helped my start-up make an impression on the Deputy Manager handling the project. Later, we impressed him more with high quality visuals and animation (it was an animated product video).

However, the moment of realization came just after job confirmation. This is when the Deputy Manager shared what his boss told him after the decision to proceed with us was taken. ‘He is a reliable source.' His short and simple phrase changed my perspective on branding forever. The clarity is permanent now, frills can wait because the real brand building is in building partnerships that last. We lost touch but the vice president still remembers me. He remembers me not for any other reason but for the experience he had so many years ago. So the key takeaway for my start-up is to never relent on delivering the experience if it wants to build a strong and trusted brand.