Logos, Brand and Underpants: One Startup's Journey to Finding Their Visual Identity
1 Reasons every startup should invest in a strong visual identity Lessons Bob learned on the path toward building a brand every team member is proud of What to do if you end up with a logo that looks like underpants WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO LEARN Company DNA EVOLVING A VISUAL IDENTITY WE LOVE DATA We are 130 people who are crazy… about data. HOW WE GOT STARTED We started out just like any other company: a few passionate people with a big idea BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GROW? FONTS Everything Breaks WHAT BREAKS? Communication Management style Recruiting Compensation Workflows Office space Visual identity? WHAT IS COMPANY DNA? Company DNA: The most potent attributes of the founding team. Common Convention: this identity sticks with a company forever My Take: This is a weak metaphor. Company DNA mutates in its own lifetime. RJMETRICS DNA Our story is just one case study on how company DNA can evolve. We’ve changed a lot. We’ve also made a lot of mistakes. I hope you can learn from the story. SO WHAT WAS OUR DNA? FRUGALITY. TO A FAULT. State Prison County Prison $400/mo? Sold! State Prison County Prison Clown Tie Wrinkled MC Hammer Pants Act I: Outsourcing FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT What do you do if style isn’t in your DNA? You buy it! …but what if you’re a broke company? You outsource it! 2008 (OUR FUNDING YEAR) Standards for consumer use impacted expectations for business use “Consumerization of the enterprise” MEANWHILE...WE GREAT AND STARTED HIRING Our needs evolved, and our DNA did too. MEANWHILE...AND EXTERNAL PRESSURE WAS RISING We A/B Tested our Want Ads WE MOVED TO PHILADELPHIA Act II: Hired Guns MEANWHILE...(STILL NO DESIGNER ON STAFF) BORROWING FROM OUR MENTORS IT WAS TIME FOR A WEBSITE REDESIGN “Can you throw in a logo?” SELF ANALYSIS Act III: Identity FRUGALITY BECOMES EFFICIENCY DNA MUTATION “We need a new visual identity.” Risky click of the day… Google customer survey results: WHAT DO WE DO? ü Abandon the dodecahedron? ü Hang our heads in shame? 50,000 uniques 0.1% view-to-SQL 50 SQLs 19.8% SQL-to-paid 10 paying clients $20k ARR ACV $200k of new ARR/year 15x ARR Multiple (w00t!) $3MM of Equity Value A Secret Society… HACKATHONS ARE FOR HACKING! Epilogue: Dodeca Pride IDENTITY IS A PART OF CULTURE Inputs: • How people treat each other • Your core values Outputs: • Perks • Identity REASONS EVERY STARTUP SHOULD INVEST IN A STRONG VISUAL IDENTITY
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Logos, Brand and Underpants: One Startup's Journey to Finding Their Visual Identity
- 1. Logos, Brand, and Underpants: One Startup’s Journey to Finding Their Visual Identity ROBERT J. MOORE, CO-FOUNDER & CEO OF RJMETRICS
- 2. THUE MADSEN Marketing Operations Manager, Kissmetrics @ThueLMadsen ROBERT J. MOORE Co-founder & CEO, RJMetrics @robertjmoore
- 4. 3 WHO WE ARE At RJMetrics, our mission is to inspire and empower data driven people RJMetrics CloudBI RJMetrics Pipeline
- 5. 1 Reasons every startup should invest in a strong visual identity Lessons Bob learned on the path toward building a brand every team member is proud of What to do if you end up with a logo that looks like underpants 2 3 3 WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO LEARN
- 6. WATCH WEBINAR RECORDING NOW
- 7. Company DNA EVOLVING A VISUAL IDENTITY
- 8. 3 WE LOVE DATA We are 130 people who are crazy… about data.
- 9. 3 HOW WE GOT STARTED We started out just like any other company: a few passionate people with a big idea
- 10. 3 BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GROW?
- 12. 3 WHAT BREAKS?
- 16. 3 WHAT BREAKS? ü Communication ü Management style ü Recruiting ü Compensation ü Workflows ü Office space ü Visual identity?
- 17. 3 WHAT IS COMPANY DNA? Company DNA: The most potent attributes of the founding team. Common Convention: this identity sticks with a company forever My Take: This is a weak metaphor. Company DNA mutates in its own lifetime.
- 18. 3 RJMETRICS DNA Our story is just one case study on how company DNA can evolve. We’ve changed a lot. We’ve also made a lot of mistakes. I hope you can learn from the story.
- 19. 3 SO WHAT WAS OUR DNA?
- 20. 3 FRUGALITY
- 21. 3 FRUGALITY. TO A FAULT.
- 22. 3 FRUGALITY. TO A FAULT.
- 25. $400/mo? Sold! State Prison County Prison
- 27. Clown Tie Wrinkled MC Hammer Pants
- 30. 3 FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT What do you do if style isn’t in your DNA?
- 31. 3 FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT You buy it! …but what if you’re a broke company?
- 32. 3 FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT You outsource it!
- 41. 3 2008 (OUR FUNDING YEAR) Standards for consumer use impacted expectations for business use “Consumerization of the enterprise”
- 42. 3 MEANWHILE...WE GREAT AND STARTED HIRING Our needs evolved, and our DNA did too.
- 43. 3 MEANWHILE...AND EXTERNAL PRESSURE WAS RISING
- 44. 3 MEANWHILE...AND EXTERNAL PRESSURE WAS RISING We A/B Tested our Want Ads
- 45. 3 MEANWHILE...AND EXTERNAL PRESSURE WAS RISING We A/B Tested our Want Ads
- 46. 3 WE MOVED TO PHILADELPHIA
- 47. Act II: Hired Guns
- 48. 3 MEANWHILE...(STILL NO DESIGNER ON STAFF)
- 49. 3 BORROWING FROM OUR MENTORS
- 50. 3 IT WAS TIME FOR A WEBSITE REDESIGN “Can you throw in a logo?”
- 56. 3 SELF ANALYSIS
- 59. 3 FRUGALITY BECOMES EFFICIENCY DNA MUTATION
- 60. “We need a new visual identity.”
- 71. Risky click of the day…
- 72. Risky click of the day…
- 77. 3 WHAT DO WE DO? ü Abandon the dodecahedron? ü Hang our heads in shame?
- 80. 50,000 uniques 0.1% view-to-SQL 50 SQLs 19.8% SQL-to-paid 10 paying clients $20k ARR ACV $200k of new ARR/year 15x ARR Multiple (w00t!) $3MM of Equity Value
- 86. 3 HACKATHONS ARE FOR HACKING!
- 89. 3 IDENTITY IS A PART OF CULTURE Inputs: • How people treat each other • Your core values Outputs: • Perks • Identity
- 90. 3 3 REASONS EVERY STARTUP SHOULD INVEST IN A STRONG VISUAL IDENTITY 1. Industry-leading businesses in every vertical are now using UX as a point of differentiation and competitive advantage 2. Visual identity is an output of culture, and that culture will be the biggest driver of the talent you retain and hire 3. A strong visual identity requires a deeper exercise around your company’s mission and values. This exercise will pay dividends far bigger than just a nice logo.
- 92. Doubling Every Year = Perpetual Newness
- 94. 3 WHO WE ARE At RJMetrics, our mission is to inspire and empower data driven people RJMetrics CloudBI RJMetrics Pipeline
- 95. ROBERT J. MOORE Co-founder & CEO, RJMetrics @robertjmoore rmoore@rjmetrics.com THUE MADSEN Marketing Operations Manager, Kissmetrics @ThueLMadsen tmadsen@kissmetrics.com Questions?