Brand for funding - or is it funding for brand?

Branding investment is a huge conundrum for start-ups and growth businesses seeking funding.

Quality branding can seem an expensive exercise when funding is limited.

But a great brand can intuitively demonstrate your vision to investors to secure the funding you need in the first place.

To help decide on whether to invest in branding before or after seeking funding, consider the following:

VISIONS ARE VISUAL

You can have the greatest black and white business plan in the world, but humans are visual animals. To sell someone on your vision, they have to be able to visualise it. Strong branding at a funding pitch is an incredible way of helping investors buy into the vision. It helps them to see what the company represents in the same way as your end customers will.

YOU WOULD INVEST FOR SALES, SO WHY NOT FUNDING?

If you consider the investment ratio of developing a great brand against the sales you would hope to achieve in your first year, why wouldn’t you see funding in the same way? If you don’t get the investment to start with, you’ll never get the sales anyway. So, if you’d invest for sales why not when you’re seeking investment?

PITCH CONFIDENCE

Brand audiences are internal and external – and that includes you. Going into a pitch with a strong brand will really help your pitching confidence.

That confidence is infectious and will give investors confidence in you and your vision.

ARE YOUR BRANDS ALIGNED?

Sometimes you will be pitching as an established company for funding to support development of a new product or service. Is your established brand strong enough to help your new pitch, or does it need updating?

Keeping your central brand fresh and updated is a great way to ensure your ongoing visions are supported and represented when seeking new investment.