What Founders Get Right (And Wrong) About Branding

Branding isn’t fluff. It’s not a “nice to have” for when your business finally grows up. It is the growth strategy, when it’s done right.

At Grounded Growth Studio, I work with small business founders and startup teams who are moving fast and wearing too many hats. Most come to me when the momentum starts to stall. The website isn’t converting. The sales pitch feels scattered. The team is inconsistent in how they talk about what the company does. And usually, the root of all that is a shaky brand foundation.

Let’s talk about what founders typically get right about branding, what they often get wrong, and why dialing in your brand early can accelerate growth long before you scale.

What Founders Get Right About Branding

1. A Strong Sense of Purpose
   Most founders have a crystal-clear sense of their company’s "why." That vision fuels product development, investor pitches, and early customer conversations. It’s a huge strength, and when captured and clarified, it becomes the heart of a brand that resonates.

2. Authenticity and Conviction
   You believe in what you’re building, and you can articulate it with passion. That authenticity gives your brand credibility and heart, especially in the early days when you are the brand. It makes you memorable.

3. Speed and Agility
   Founders don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. You test quickly, iterate often, and take risks. That agility is a competitive advantage, and when applied to brand development, it helps you figure out what resonates fast.

What Founders Get Wrong About Branding

1. Equating Brand with Aesthetics
   Your brand isn’t your logo. It’s not your color palette, either. Those are expressions of your brand, but your brand is the overall perception people have about your business. It’s your positioning, your voice, your message, and how consistently you show up.

2. Overpersonalizing the Brand
   It’s completely natural for a brand to start as an extension of the founder’s vision. Creating a business is a deeply personal act. But there’s a difference between a brand shaped by your vision and one built purely on your personal preferences. Successful branding is grounded in your customer’s preferences, not just your own. That means understanding what your audience wants, what they’re drawn to, and what helps them trust and remember your business. If your favorite color, tone of voice, or messaging isn’t resonating with your customers, it’s time to adapt.

3. Treating Brand as a One-Time Exercise
   Branding isn’t a box to check and move on from. It evolves. Yet many founders build a brand in a vacuum, often in a rush, and rarely revisit it. As your audience matures and your product expands, your brand needs to grow too. The strongest brands are those that continue to reflect customer insight, market positioning, and the company’s long-term goals.

Why Branding Is Core to Business Growth

If you think branding is just about “looking the part,” let’s look at the data.

Marketing effectiveness experts Les Binet and Peter Field have studied the connection between brand investment and business performance for more than a decade. Their research shows that companies grow faster and more profitably when they balance long-term brand building with short-term sales activation. The ideal mix is roughly 60% brand building and 40% activation. Brand investment works by increasing something called "mental availability"—making your company the one people remember when they’re ready to buy.

This kind of long-term brand equity drives:

• Greater pricing power

• Increased customer loyalty

• Higher conversion rates

• More sustainable growth over time

You can read more about their findings in the IPA’s summary of The Long and the Short of It here.

How to Know If Your Brand Is Holding You Back

If any of these feel familiar, your brand may need a tune-up:

• Your website traffic is solid, but conversions are low

• Your team struggles to describe your product or service clearly and consistently

• You’re attracting leads that aren’t the right fit

• You’re constantly reinventing messaging depending on the audience

• You’ve outgrown your current brand identity or tone

These are common signs of brand friction, and fixing them can unlock a new wave of traction.

Want Support? This Month Is a Great Time to Start

In honor of Small Business Month, I’m offering 10% off the first month of any multi-month engagement for new clients who sign on in May. If you’ve been meaning to tighten your brand story, clarify your messaging, or build a brand that truly reflects what you’re capable of, this is the time.

Branding doesn’t have to be expensive. But it does need to be intentional.

Ready to build a brand that grows with you? Let’s talk. Book a discovery call