Product Designers: When to Outsource vs. Bring In-House?

Perhaps you recently raised a Seed round and you’re at the point in your journey when you need to make a decision about product design: Work with an outsourced designer or bring a product designer in-house. Which do you do?

After hearing both from founders and designers in Sunflower’s network, we thought it would be helpful to pull together a quick guide for you to refer to when you find yourself at this point in your own startup journey.

Outsource your product design if:

You’re too close to what you’re working on and need a fresh take.

This is especially true for Seed stage companies that are still operating with only a few full-time people (typically the co-founders and possibly an additional 1-3 full-time hires). Internal resources may be strained. You may be feeling like you have a million other things going on and no one in-house who can really “own” product design without having multiple people to bounce ideas off of and own the process. If this is the case, we recommend working with a small studio where you can get multiple fresh perspectives from designers under one roof. Good designers love to be challenged with finding the best UX/UI solution for a product – especially at the early stages. A small design studio could feel like an extension of your team at this stage – you just need someone who is committed to running point with the team, and that all stakeholders sign off on the designs at each stage of the process.

You need to move quickly and you’re optimizing for speed.

Perhaps you need to get your product to market ASAP or there are other factors influencing your need to get a product out there and start testing it. If this is the case, we recommend outsourcing a freelancer or a small design studio to be able to mock up product screens and flows quickly and efficiently. This doesn’t mean sacrificing quality for speed, so we still recommend taking the time to partner with the right designer or studio. If you don’t know where to begin with the search for the right partner, solutions like Sunflower were built to help founders navigate this decision efficiently and thoughtfully. 

You’re still too early and you’re capital-restrained.

If you’re still ironing out your product to see if has potential, then definitely outsource your product design to a freelancer or a cost-effective design studio. If you’re capital-restrained but need to test your idea in the market, then we recommend working with an outsourced freelancer. 

Bring a product designer in-house if:

You plan to constantly iterate on your product for the foreseeable future.

If this is the case, then it’s not only more cost-effective for you to begin your plans for bringing someone full-time in-house, but it’s now critical. You’ll need someone close to the core team for an indefinite period of time, and it’ll become much easier for you to have that designer in-house to grow with your team.

You are not optimizing for speed.

If time to market is a nonissue for you, you may want to consider bringing a designer in-house. This is more of a rare instance for companies; however, it can happen. Just be sure that if you bring a product designer in-house when there’s not an urgency factor, there’s enough for the designer to work on. Otherwise, you’ll be burning through capital inefficiently.

You’ve reached the capacity of what your outsourced designer can own.

Perhaps you’ve had success working with an outsourced designer through your Pre-Seed and early Seed stages, but maybe you’ve outgrown the capabilities of what your outsourced designer can do. We hear a lot about how companies want their designers to “own” elements of the product, but when studios are also working on 5-10 other projects at a time, this can get increasingly difficult to remain a priority while only paying a retainer.

For example, we received this email from one of Sunflower Fund’s portfolio companies, and it’s a common situation companies find themselves in as they continue to grow:

“We're running into issues with our design agencies because they can't own the product as we had hoped. They were AMAZING when customer behavior and design standards weren't that important, but now we're running into issues. So we're thinking about bringing on someone in-house. How should I go about this process?”

There’s no one-size-fits-all to when you should outsource vs. bring in-house. Finding the right product designer to join your team full-time can take months, so if you find yourself nearing that decision, we recommend you start putting together your job description now and floating the role around to your networks.

We hope you’ll find this guide helpful. Good luck with your decision, and as always, we’re happy to chat if you find that outsourcing is the right solution for you at this time.

Sunflower Fund Portfolio Company Highlight: Millie

I’m not yet a mother so I cannot speak to the personal experience of giving birth in today’s U.S. healthcare system; however, I’ve learned quite a bit about the disheartening disconnect between clinical care and emotional support for mothers-to-be.

My interest in women’s health and wellness has been engrained in me ever since I was a kid. I remember my mom dropping my sister and me off at the YMCA playroom while she spent hours in the gym. Physical health has always been an important part of my life, and mental health becomes increasingly so the older I get. Many studies show the direct effect that emotion has on one’s physical body. When applied to the context of giving birth, shouldn’t mothers-to-be also be provided with the utmost emotional and psychological support - not just the physical, clinical support? The gap is real.

Why Millie?

Two years ago I had the pleasure of working with Anu Sharma, Founder and CEO of Millie, on helping her craft Millie’s story for the very first time (fresh Google Doc and all!). After my first conversation with Anu, I understood the importance and potential impact of Millie right away: the need to combine the best of OBGYN practices with the emotional support and shared perspectives women need. 

Millie is building better maternity care for all, and here’s how:

1. Collaborative OB-midwifery model: Research shows that when midwives are involved in maternity care, the outcomes and experience are often better. At Millie, we have a  collaborative care model with both OB-GYNs and midwives to help decrease interventions, increase rates of vaginal birth after C-section, and improve outcomes.

1. Proactive monitoring and education: One of the biggest causes of maternal mortality is delayed care due to limited knowledge of the warning signs of complications. The Millie app and care model enable remote monitoring between visits, trimesterly coaching sessions with practicing doulas, and ongoing education to promote early detection of complications and to build confidence.

2. Robust postpartum and mental health support: No one should have to know when to ask for help, whether it’s for their physical health or emotional well-being. Millie provides 3x the standard postpartum visits, including a home visit just a few days after birth, and comprehensive mental health support at every stage. This is especially important because complication rates are highest in the early weeks postpartum — and because mental health conditions during pregnancy can increase the risk of complications like preeclampsia.

3. Culturally competent care & shared decision-making: Centering care around patient experiences and perspectives not only increases satisfaction but can also increase feelings of self-efficacy and improve health outcomes. At Millie, patients have ownership over care planning and decision-making, so they always feel good about what’s happening.

4. Accessible, quality virtual care: Virtual care isn’t just convenient — it has the power to reduce health disparities. By incorporating virtual visits when medically possible, allowing for daily messaging with the care team via the Millie app, and inter-visit monitoring at home, we hope to remove as many barriers as we can.

The team is well-positioned to solve this problem and build these differentiators as an experienced all-women team of moms and care providers who have been there. The Founding team has backgrounds from Stanford, UCSF, and Omada, and advisors with backgrounds from CCRM, Modern Fertility, and One Medical. You’re in good hands. 

Millie as a Brand

For those who don’t know, Sunflower Fund invests capital, storytelling, and design expertise in Pre-Seed and Seed private technology companies that have the potential to significantly improve and advance industries through exceptional product design, storytelling, and brand. The Fund is an extension of Sunflower and my personal work - helping founders with all things storytelling and design. 

Millie checked the Fund’s boxes when it came to commitment to building a strong brand and product, putting together an exceptional team at the earliest stages, and deeply knowing the space (decades of healthcare experience) – and we are thrilled to be backing such an important mission. Being fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work alongside Anu during the pre-launch journey, I was able to witness first-hand how she approached building a brand. She was thoughtful, clear, thought long-term, and she deeply understood how important it was to get the brand right – from the digital to physical touchpoints and everything in between.

Millie had some wonderful helping hands during the brand development stage. Shoutouts to High Tide who helped with the initial brand, Fresh Britain who also helped evolve the brand, Brett Calzada expanded the color palette, RetroFuzz built out the beautiful Millie website – some screenshots below:

Millie’s brand is modern yet warm, strong yet approachable, inviting yet rooted in beliefs, and inclusive of all. 

Millie as a Product and Clinic

Millie is a hybrid model, offering in-person care extended by virtual and home-based remote monitoring. This means that there are countless touchpoints that mothers will have with Millie, and each one has been thoughtfully designed with the mother in mind – starting with the clinic layouts. Shoutout to Roarke Studios who led the design of the clinic space:

“Pregnancy can be a very anxious time and we want every interaction to leave our mothers & birthing families feeling supported. The vision for the Millie brand has always been “warm, reassuring, and competent.”  We have been incredibly intentional about how Millie looks, feels, and sounds at every interaction — online, via our app, or in-person at the clinic — each one has been thoughtfully designed to be what we would have wanted for ourselves.”

— Anu Sharma, Founder & CEO, Millie

Excited About Millie, Too?

Virtual Care Available Now: Millie is accepting virtual appointment bookings for preconception care, mental health, birth & postpartum planning, nutrition counseling, and lactation support. Visits can be booked through the Millie website.

Clinic Coming to Berkeley CA, Fall 2022: The first Millie clinic will demonstrate a new standard of maternity care – covered by insurance from Day 1. You can read more about their care model here. In the months that follow, they will expand services at their Berkeley clinic, and look at growth beyond. 

Designing Better Maternity Care for All

Women and mothers deserve and demand better. The future of maternity care is equally clinical/medical and emotional/supportive, and the Millie team has thoughtfully designed a solution that brings the best of OBGYN practices and the emotional support that women need today.

On a personal note: This is the exact solution I am thrilled will exist when I am ready to start a family of my own.

How much does a pitch deck cost and how long does it take?

Post originally published here.

Pitch decks don’t raise money.

Founders do.

But pitch decks are still a necessary standard when early-stage companies are gearing up to fundraise:

1. It checks the box for the investor that you’ve done your homework. Some investors I know won’t even consider investing in a company without first looking at a pitch deck.

2. It enables you to go through the process of sharpening your story. People have short attention spans – especially when it comes to pitch decks. It’s important that you’re only including the most important information in your deck to spark the investor’s interest.

Over the past 3 years, I’ve worked with over 70 early-stage founders on effective pitch deck storytelling and design. Sometimes founders will come to me at the idea stage when they’re putting their story to paper for the first time. Other times founders come to me with a fairly tight story and they just need help making it look presentable, ie., designing their story in the most effective way for VCs. 

Whether you’re raising your Pre-Seed, Seed, or Series A, cost and timing are two factors that matter.

Factors that Affect Pitch Deck Cost and Timing

When I get asked “How much does a pitch deck cost and how long does it take”, I don’t have a cookie-cutter answer. I don’t wish I did, either, because then I wouldn’t be taking into consideration the company’s unique entry point. The most common factors that affect pitch deck cost and timing include:

• Scope of work (SOW). What is the SOW? Do you need help with just storytelling and messaging, or do you also need help with design?

• Starting point. How much work has already been done on your story and your deck? Do you have the bones of the deck created, or are we starting from scratch?

• Brand guidelines. If you’re looking for help with pitch deck design, do you have a visual identity or brand guidelines already, or do we need to figure out your deck’s look and feel?

• Content volume. Is your deck over 20 slides? Does it need to be over 20 slides? (short answer: no, it does not!)

• Content complexity. Do you have a ton of unique charts, graphs, and other illustrations that are necessary to demonstrate your product or solution?

How long do Pitch Decks take?

→ For Pre-Seed companies: 

Let’s assume NewCo is a Pre-Seed company and needs help telling their story for the first time, and putting this story into deck form. For the Pre-Seed stage, I like to structure pitch deck projects into a ~three-week sprint. Spreading out projects any further than that and you’re losing momentum. You only have so much data and traction to go off of at the Pre-Seed stage, which puts even more importance on nailing your story. Here’s what a three-week sprint may look like:

• Week 1: we can focus on the company download and begin the pitch voice-over (storyline)

• Week 2: refine the storyline and begin putting the messaging in the slides

• Week 3: refine the messaging for the slides and bring the deck to life with effective design

Note: most Pre-Seed companies I work with don’t have visual identity fleshed out yet, so we determine visual direction upfront with a company questionnaire that I send over prior to kickoff.

→ For Seed and Series A companies: 

For the most part, timelines for Seed and Series A companies look fairly similar to Pre-Seed companies, if not a little shorter. Two things may reduce the timing for Seed and Series A: (1) already having visual guidelines, and (2) having more practice sharing your story:

1. At the Seed and Series A stages, you likely already have a visual identity (logo, color palette, etc.), in other words, you have an overall look and feel. This helps expedite the process when it comes to design because I can apply your existing guidelines across your deck for a cohesive look and feel.

2. At these stages, you’ve likely had more practice articulating and sharing your story, and we’re not starting so much from scratch.

What could possibly take more time is on the company’s end – gathering all of the data and traction you have to date that we’ll want to include in the deck. 

Note: For design-only projects, pitch takes can take 1-2 weeks.

Things you can do to stay on deadline

There are some things you can do on your end to begin preparing yourself for a pitch deck project and help make the process more seamless:

• Make the time. During the weeks we’ve blocked off for the project, ensure you have some time and space to provide input and feedback. I respect your deadline and will promise to adhere to it, so whenever a project is thrown off track it’s because things came up on the company side (that’s startup life!).

• Consolidate your feedback. If there are multiple people on your team weighing in on the pitch deck, be sure to consolidate your feedback prior to sharing. It’s not uncommon for co-founders to have strongly differing views, so it’s important you align first internally before sharing your feedback with me or with your pitch deck person. 

• Compile your assets. If your company already has a visual identity and brand guidelines, it’s helpful to go ahead and share those with your deck designer so they can begin to visualize how they’ll bring your story to life using your existing guidelines for consistency.

Working on your pitch deck should be a highly iterative process. We set deadlines to stay on track and ensure that we’re putting focus and energy where we need to, and not obsessing over something for too long. It’s kind of like if you schedule a 30-minute meeting, that’s how much time you’ll take in the meeting; but if you schedule that same meeting for 15 minutes, you may be able to accomplish the same objective in half the time. I feel similarly for pitch decks. Without a target, you’ll miss every time.

How much does a pitch deck cost?

It depends on all of the factors I listed under “Factors that Affect Pitch Deck Cost and Timing”. Definitely don’t spend tens of thousands of dollars on this, and if someone is offering you that has a quote, run away :)

_

I’m passionate about helping Founders take a step back and helping them tell their story more effectively to the folks who will be writing you checks to help you grow and scale. Kudos to you for taking the leap and putting your idea out there – the world needs more builders!

Pro tip: Once you’ve nailed your pitch, practice your pitch in front of a camera and record yourself. Again and again and again.

How much does a new website cost and how long will it take?

The following information does not guarantee cost and timing but rather provides benchmarks to help you better navigate your website journey. The information is based on my years of experience working with and speaking with dozens of high-quality early-stage startups, designers, and developers.

Hi Founders! The following post is the second of a 3-part series that will unpack the two most common questions I hear from startups when it comes to working with designers and developers on a project-bases: “How much will it cost?” and “How long will it take?”

In Part 1 we talked about brand development - namely what it is, ~how much it costs, and ~how long the process can take depending on your stage and your scope of work (SOW).

In Part 2 (this post), we’ll take the same approach; however, we’ll dive into the question I get asked regularly: “How much does a new website cost and how long will it take?”

And again, my TL;DR answer is: It depends…

I’ll condense my learnings as much as possible. You are busy people, and you need answers.

Note: Due to client confidentiality, I will not disclose the time or money companies spent on their website design and development projects using Sunflower’s services.

Before you get started

Do a quick inventory check: Have you developed a solid brand visual identity for your company? If not, please read Part 1 on Brand Development first. It’s less effective to dive into building a new website when you haven’t first fleshed out your company’s visual identity – at least at a high level. This is important so your website doesn’t feel piece-mealed together with designs and elements that simply don’t work or don’t make sense for your company.

When do you need a new website?

Inquiries from companies about needing a new or improved website typically come at one of three important times for an early-stage company:

1. Fundraising. You’re getting ready to raise your first or another round and want to communicate yourself more effectively and professionally to investors

2. Hiring. You’re getting ready to do a big hiring push and want to get candidates excited to join your team

3. Acquiring customers. You’re doing a big push to acquire more customers and need to be prepared for the traffic after a PR push, big social campaign, etc.

Or possibly all of the above are relevant for you. Regardless of your reason, it’s important you approach a website project strategically and thoughtfully to be smart about your precious resources – most importantly, your time.

First, define what a “new website” means

A one-size website does not fit all. Before you begin a new website project, there are a number of important questions you’ll need to ask yourself so you don’t waste your time or money on solutions that aren’t a fit for what you need.

Here are some guiding questions I ask companies using Sunflower’s services so we can narrow in on why they actually mean by “new website”:

1. What’s the objective of this website project?

2. What would success look like at the end of this project?

3. What kind of website do I need?

4. What kinds of functionality does my website require?

5. Will I be providing all of the content for my website, or do I need help with that as well?

6. What platform do I use for my website?

7. What are the most important factors to help me determine which platform I use?

8. Do I need just design, or do I also need development?

9. Will I be updating my website regularly?

10. How many pages will my website be, and are all of those pages actually necessary?

Don’t have all of the answers? Don’t worry - asking the right questions is step 1! Ask your fellow Founder friends and networks, Google around, reach out to me, and read this blog post :)

The main factors that affect website cost and timing

The cost and timing of a new website depend primarily on the following factors:

• How much content and how many pages?

• Do you need copywriting and new assets?

• What type of functionality do you need?

• How much customization do you need?

• Do you need just design, or do you need design and development?

• By when do you need to launch the site?

Let’s break this down:

Content and pages. The more content and more pages you have, the higher the cost. I’ve seen more companies head in the direction of having a one, long-scrolling page for their website where they have a menu at the top, and the menu jumps down to the section on that page rather than redirecting you to additional pages (Susa Ventures does a nice job of maximizing the one-page user experience).

Copywriting and assets. Will you be providing the designer with all of the website copy? What about any assets (product mockups, photography, etc.)? I recommend hiring a professional copywriter for your website at the Seed stage and beyond. It’s important to get an outsider’s perspective to help identify any blind spots and call you out on any overly used jargon.

Functionality. Are you needing a purely informational/marketing website that captures who your company is and what it does? Or are you needing more complex functionality, like single-sign-on (SSO)?

Customization. This is a big piece of the SOW, and typically answers the question “which platform should I use?”. If your objective is to easily update your website on a regular basis, a custom Squarespace site may be a good fit for you. If your objective is to have a highly customized informational website with epic animations to grab the users’ attention, a custom-coded website built on another platform would be a much better option for you.

Design and/or development. This is also a huge factor in cost! Do you need design-only because you have development talent in-house or sourced elsewhere? Or do you need end-to-end design and development? Some studios can do both, but if you’re working with freelancers, sometimes you’ll need to find two different people to fill these roles.

Launch date. Are you approaching this project with a 4-month plan, or has this need crept up on you and you’re needing it launched ASAP? I’ve seen some studios do an excellent job of launching websites quickly without sacrificing quality, but it will definitely impact the overall cost.

How much does a new website cost, and how long will it take?

Now let’s break this down by company stage assuming you are needing only an informational website.

**Keep in mind the following numbers do not include the cost of brand visual identity, which is important before creating a website. The following numbers are also estimates and do not guarantee actual cost or timing.

→ For Pre-Seed stage companies:

• ~Cost: <$200*-$20K+

• ~Timing: <1 week-4 weeks+

It’s possible for you to create a beautiful landing page on Squarespace in less than one week or a more custom, yet simple, website designed and developed on Webflow in as little as 4 weeks. 

*Amount depends on the cost of chosen platform’s set up fees

→ For Seed stage companies:

• ~Cost: <$20K-$40K+

• ~Timing: 4 weeks-6 weeks

The Seed stage cost and timing depend significantly on your objectives, your resources on hand, and if you’d prefer to work with a small <10 person studio or a larger agency.  

→ For Series A companies:

• ~Cost: <$40K-$100K+

• ~Timing: 4 weeks-8 weeks+

I left the cost open-ended as Series A is typically a big growth stage for a company. The company growing its team, likely has more PR, more product features, etc., so at the A round, it’s very possible to have a much larger SOW due to increased content volume, more pages, additional functionality, etc. I also left it open-ended in the case at this stage you bring on a designer and a developer in-house, which means this project-based website turns into a salaried employee.

Again, the above quotes are to give you a sense of ballpark ranges to play in. Refer back to the factors we discussed to better understand and identify if you are underbudgeting or overpaying for the website that you need.

Remember: both brand and website are dynamic and should evolve and grow as you do.

I’m ready to get started, how do I move forward?

If you’re getting ready to embark on the website journey for the first time, or if you’re due for a refresh, let’s chat! I would love to continue sharing what I know and have learned in past experiences. Email me at sydney [at] picksunflowers.com and check out Sunflower’s website to learn more.

→ P.S. Stay tuned for Part 3 where we’ll focus on Product UX/UI design and development.

→ P.P.S. Another helpful tip: begin capturing website design inspiration now! It’s never too early to document inspiration (you’ll be grateful you have it to refer to!).

How much does brand development cost and how long will it take?

Hi there! My name is Sydney and I am the Founder of Sunflower -- a premium service that finds startups the perfect designer or developer for their projects. As a graphic designer, investor pitch writer, and Founder, I’m passionate about helping people navigate the world of working with creative talent to achieve a more enjoyable and impactful outcome for everyone involved.

The following post is the first of a 3-part series that will unpack the two most common questions I hear from startups when it comes to working with designers and developers on a project-bases: “How much will it cost?” and “How long will it take?” 

Part 1 will focus on Brand Development (“Brand” or “Branding”). Part 2 will focus on Website Design and Development (ie, informational/marketing websites), and Part 3 will focus on Product Design (UX/UI for more complex web-based and/or mobile applications).

Before we dive into brand, we first need to define what brand means in this context. If you have specific questions about your company and brand, feel free to reach out at sydney@picksunflowers.com.

Note: Due to client confidentiality, I will not disclose the time or money companies spent on their brand development projects using Sunflower’s services. Head to the bottom of this post to see some examples of companies that have beautifully executed both brand strategy and visual identity.

What is “brand”?

Mentor and friend, Rich Silverstein, legendary creative and Co-Founder and Chairman of Goodby Silverstein and Partners, would describe brand as follows:

“Brand is a living, breathing thing. You have to care and feed it so it can grow. It encompasses your voice, the way you look at the world, how you look internally. It’s the DNA of the company; the way it looks, speaks, feels — from product to graphic design to advertising to wearing it on a t-shirt. The brand is the company.”

— Rich Silverstein

But when I ask what brand means to most startup founders, they focus just on visual identity -- which is important, but there’s so much more that makes up a brand to have a competitive advantage in the market; for you to be seen and remembered; for the brand to stick.

What’s included in brand development?

Most of your company’s brand deliverables fall into one of two buckets: brand strategy and visual identity. A common mistake first-time founders make when it comes to brand is that they spend all of their resources on the visual identity piece and no time on brand strategy. Designing without strategy is like trying to paint a masterpiece in the dark.

The proper brand strategy helps you develop a plan for the systematic development of the brand in alignment with your business strategy. This is important because developing a brand without your business objectives in mind will result in you not getting the most value out of your money spent.. Some deliverables that make up a brand strategy project can include developing the company’s values, brand voice and personality (how you speak and think and show up in the world), the brand positioning statement, mission statement, and more. 

Visual identity is how the brand comes to life across mediums. This will include logo, color palette, typography, applications of your brand, and potentially real-world mockups of your product on billboards, t-shirts, iPad screens -- whatever are useful applications for your company. This is where the brand starts to feel like it’s coming to life, which is why so many founders want to start here.

So now let’s get down to the reason why you’re really reading this post…

How much does brand development cost?

The cost of a brand development project is primarily defined by the scope of work and size and experience of the team.

TL;DR: larger the scope = typically more resources (time + people) = higher the cost.

Also, more notable brands in their portfolio = (typically) higher the cost.

If you have worked on brand strategy internally and feel like you’re in a good place and only want to work on the visual identity piece, the cost will be lower because the scope of work will be smaller.

If you need a lot of deliverables coming out of this project, eg, business cards, t-shirt designs, social media templates, etc., the cost will be higher because the number of deliverables impacts the scope of the work.

→ For Pre-Seed companies: 

I believe in radical candor so I’ll be upfront here: I highly recommend that you do not spend tens of thousands of dollars on branding at the pre-seed stage. Instead, focus on getting product-market fit. It’s never recommended to spend a ton of money on branding unless you already have a product-market fit. Your company may make a hard pivot resulting in the need to rework your brand, so might as well wait until a bit later on. 

At the Pre-Seed stage, I recommend working internally on brand strategy, finding a talented freelance designer who can create a solid visual identity for your company, and start mocking up what your product will look like and how it will address the problem you’re solving for. For pre-seed companies, Sunflower’s services are typically not the best solution because we work on larger scopes; however, we will still consult with Pre-Seed companies to help point them in the right direction so they get what they need without spending unnecessarily.

→ For Seed stage companies:

If you’re a Seed stage company, Sunflower’s services are a really good entry point because you’re likely not looking to hire a full-time brand strategist or visual designer, but you have some product-market fit and capital to deploy towards developing a more defined, stand-out brand.

Sunflower intentionally partners with small creative studios instead of large agencies because of the two things that startups can’t afford to lose: time and money. Typically the larger the agency, the more the project will cost because of the overhead. On the flip side, you’ll get more minds on the project, but this isn’t always the best-case scenario. That’s why Sunflower’s network of designers and developers is so curated -- it takes a special kind of group to work with fast-growing startups on building their brand.

Let’s assume you’re in need of brand strategy and a new visual identity. At the Seed stage, you’re likely moving quickly. Given this, you’ll work best with a 2-5 person studio that can give you more of their undivided attention while keeping costs lower than other agencies. I wouldn’t recommend spending all of your resources here because keep in mind: you may still need to allocate budget to the website and product.

→ For Series A companies:

At this stage, you have a product-market fit, you’re likely hiring a lot, and you may even be gearing up for another fundraise soon. 

You may already have a brand in place, but it could use a refresh. Or perhaps you’ve pivoted a bit since launch, and you need to reposition the company in the market. At the Series A stage, you’re in a good position to do a deep dive on brand strategy since you have more data than ever before on what’s worked, what hasn’t worked, and where your company is headed.

For Series A companies, I recommend spending money on really good strategy work. Now is the time. From there, you’d be well suited to work with a small-mid-size creative studio that has talent in-house to devote to your project and flesh out your visual identity, too (some studios do both strategy and identity really well). You can find amazing brand development—strategy and a new visual identity—at this stage for less than $100K.

How long does brand development take?

Short answer: it depends...

• Can you provide feedback quickly?

• Are you dedicated to this brand development project?

• Do you have a clear process for making final decisions?

Many factors can influence the time it takes to complete a branding project.

Founders of all stages who engage Sunflower’s services tend to fall into one of two camps: one camp is “I’m planning to fundraise in 3 months and want to start the brand conversation now”, and the other camp is “I need this done yesterday.” As reality has it, a majority of the Founders I work with tend to fall in the latter group. Why? Because there tends to be a number of external factors at play that push the need to establish a brand ASAP. These factors may include recent investor interest, an upcoming (expedited) fundraise, the big push for hiring, or a press event where they need to update their marketing materials. All are valid reasons, but there’s a balance when it comes to “I want this done well” and “I need this done now”.

→ For Pre-Seed stage companies:

It’s likely you and maybe one other person running the company full-time at this point. The good news is, you’ll be able to make decisions very quickly. Well-done brand strategy can take up to 3 weeks if using a studio, and longer or shorter if you’re doing it in-house. You can create a really well-done visual identity in three weeks or less. For example, I’ve worked with a handful of Pre-Seed companies, and we’ve been able to develop a high-quality, customer-ready visual identity in less than one month. If your sole objective, however, is to get a logo, head to 99Designs or hire a freelancer on UpWork or Dribble. Just know this logo likely won’t be designed with strategy in mind -- it’ll represent more of a pretty picture for you to use as a placeholder (and there’s nothing wrong with moving quickly and iterating along the way -- every situation is different).

→ For Seed stage companies:

To do both brand strategy and visual identity well, you’re looking at at least six weeks. Oftentimes the best brand strategists will recommend a 3-month engagement because they know how deep they need to go in the company and in the industry to have the most impact.

→ For Series A companies:

Go all out on a bulletproof brand strategy and visual identity and allocate three months to this. To make this the most efficient process possible, delegate someone to be the primary point person who collects and consolidates all feedback so feedback sent back to the strategist and designer is not contradicting nor piecemeal. Limit the number of creative cooks you have in the kitchen. 

Why does my company need branding?

The brand is your company. To not have a brand, you are swimming in a vast ocean without a clear sense of where you are swimming to, and how you’ll get there.

Developing a strong brand strategy and visual identity can help you achieve your business objectives faster and more effectively, and also give you a competitive advantage for fundraising, hiring, and acquiring customers. People want a reason to rally behind a brand, so let’s give it to them!

I’m ready to get started, how do I move forward?

If you’re getting ready to embark on the brand journey for the first time, or if you’re due for a refresh, let’s chat! I would love to continue sharing what I know and have learned in past experiences. Email me at sydney@picksunflowers.com and check out Sunflower’s website to learn more.

→ P.S. Stay tuned for Part 2 where we’ll focus on informational/marketing websites.

→ P.P.S. Here are some (later stage) companies that have executed beautifully on brand strategy and visual identity. Take a peek behind the “why” of their brand to get inspired:

• Slack’s media kit

• What Pattern Brands is all about

• Mailchimp’s design and brand identity

• Airbnb’s story behind their typeface

• Headspace’s design guidelines