What got you here won't get you there - How much growth is your brand costing your business?

The first sign of business and brand misalignment

I’ve seen it too many times.

A business starts gaining traction. The product gets tighter. The service pivots. The team expands. Customers are pouring in. Raising investment is on the cards...

But the brand's still stuck in day-one mode:

• Built (too) fast by whoever could get the job sorted quick enough
• Designed under pressure for immediate needs at the time
• Shaped by early assumptions from an unproven business

And now it’s being dragged aloing with a business that’s clearly outgrown it.

I've worked with loads of startups who’ve unknowingly outpaced their own brand. They’re proud of what they’ve built (and rightly so), but when I ask how confident they feel about their brand, there’s usually a pause uncertainty followed by something like "I haven't even considered it".

Team members feel awkward to share their website. They’re piecing decks together on the fly. Their design/product/marketing teams don’t know what rules to follow, or are being held hostage by brand guidelines that were thrown together in a few days by a vibing junior designer and have somehow became gospel.

(Side note: This is a personal pet hate of mine. A business clings to branding decisions made in the first few weeks, by a freelancer or a rushed internal job, as if they were set in stone. The original designer probably never meant for them to be followed rigidly for years. Yet they are. And for some reason, no one questions them.)

In the early days, all of this is normal. Momentum matters more than polish. I'd be lying if I said I haven't done the same with several companies I've worked with.

But at some point, that scrappiness turns into friction. It slows down deals. It makes hiring harder. It creates doubt. And that’s the turning point.

The perception no longer matches the product.

And when your audience expects clarity, consistency, and trust - but your brand doesn’t deliver - it starts to cost you. Not just money, but confidence, clarity, and momentum.

This isn’t about surface-level design. It’s about what your brand says about your business before you get a chance to speak. And if that first impression feels off, you might never get a second shot.

So if you’ve grown but your brand hasn’t, it might be costing you every single day.

Why early branding works (and when it stops)

Startups thrive on chaos

In the early stages of a startup, speed is everything. You’re iterating fast, hunting for product-market fit, and trying to generate attention in a crowded space.

A basic, scrappy brand is often good enough (and sometimes even an advantage). It shows hustle and signals you’re in motion.

Early branding is functional, not strategic

Most early branding is just a tool for survival:

• A name that’s easy to remember
• A logo that looks decent on a pitch deck
• A colour scheme chosen in an hour
• A one-page site that “gets the job done”

There’s nothing wrong with that at the beginning. But what works at day one won’t work at year three.

Even in the short 2 years since I started my studio, Technically Creative has pivoted and evolved it's branding to adjust to not only our offering, but the clients we service, and the niches we want to work with.

This is what the first version of our website looked like:

And this is the current version of the Technically Creative site:

This isn't about "preferring" one from the other - it's about creating an identity that resonates with your target demographic and achieves the things you need it to.

What early branding can’t support

As your company grows, your brand will start to feel stretched. Here’s where things often break down:

The paradox of early branding

You needed to stand out to get traction. But standing out doesn’t always scale.

So many founders get too attached to their brand. It's their baby, at the end of the day. They try to keep their original look and voice because it “got them here”. But that’s the trap. What got you here won’t get you there.

When your offer matures, your brand needs to follow. Otherwise, you start sending mixed signals to the market.

Recognising when your early branding has stopped serving your business is a crucial step. Can you still confidently say your brand reflects who you are today, or are you holding onto something that no longer fits?

The shift: when and why your brand needs to evolve

There isn’t always a single moment when it becomes obvious. More often, it’s a subtle build-up. A few things start feeling harder than they should.

You spend too long explaining what you do.Investors need more convincing.Your team aren’t all speaking the same language.Leads drop off after seeing your site or pitch deck.

That’s when you know: your brand and your business are no longer aligned.

What triggers the shift

Here are the most common moments that should prompt a brand evolution:

• You’ve found product-market fit and are ready to scale
• Your offer has matured, pivoted, or expanded
• You’re targeting a new market or a more sophisticated buyer
• You’re preparing for investment or a major partnership
• You’re struggling to attract top talent or explain your culture

When your brand no longer reflects your current ambition, audience, or capabilities, it needs to change.

The cost of ignoring it

I remember one business in particular (which I won't name for obvious reasons) that I worked with that waited too long to make these changes. They kept the same brand identity long after it stopped serving them, more so out of fear of change rather than misplaced loyalty.

The interface was outdated and actually just designed pretty terribly from a UX standpoint. But the code was robust and clean, and because of this (and a bunch of other factors like the domains authority) it ranked incredibly well on Google for THOUSANDS of relevant search terms.

This meant the business was doing well. The amount of traffic the website received meant it converted enough users to be making good money. We had nothing to compare the conversion rates of this kind of site to, so our only benchmark was how it performed year on year.

The fear of losing out on this traffic was one big sticking point, but also the fear of losing existing users because "This is what they are used to", meant the user base started to dwindle, as did the websites positions on Google due to competitors who did keep up to date.

Having the visually outdated interface was a catalyst that disrupted the rest of the brand as teams were forced into shoehorning things in for any level of consistency.

The result?

• Bloated messaging that tries to do too much
• Designers constantly reinventing workarounds
• Sales teams re-explaining core propositions
• Prospects ghosting after seeing the website

Staying static doesn’t preserve trust - it erodes it. Audiences are smart. If your brand doesn’t evolve, they assume your product hasn’t either (which quite often is the case).

The goal isn’t to reinvent for reinvention’s sake. It’s to realign perception with reality.

The moment your revenue depends on trust, not hype, your brand needs to grow up.

The tells: subtle signals your brand is behind

You won't always see a flashing red warning light like your inbound leads dropping off a cliff or rankings just start tanking (maybe sometimes). But sometimes the signs are soft, creeping in over time and disguised as operational headaches or inconsistent output.

Some subtle tells that I've seen:

• Your internal teams each pitch the business differently
• You’re attracting leads that aren’t a great fit, and you’re not sure why
• Your product has improved but your perception hasn’t caught up
• Designers are hacking every layout because the design system lacks logic
• You (or the Marketing Team) are constantly revisiting messaging because it never quite lands

These issues usually seem isolated, but they actually often stem from the same root: a brand that no longer supports the business it represents.

This isn’t about chasing perfection. It’s about building a foundation that scales with your goals, not one that needs patching every six months.

What to do: building brand maturity in practice

When it’s time to evolve, it’s easy to overcomplicate things. I’ve fallen trap to burning months in a full rebrand before realising we didn’t really need a revolution - just realignment. It's easy to get shiny-object syndrome and want to rebrand for the sake of it, but in reality, you might just be bored of working on the same brand for so long.

To simplify how we can differentiate between this, I like to break brand maturity into three core areas:

1. Visual identity

This is where most people start (and often stop). But it’s not just about the logo.

Your visual identity is the system people see and interact with. It includes typography, colour palettes, image styles, layout rules, and UI components.

Done well, it builds recognition and trust. Done poorly, it causes friction and inconsistency.

Ask:

• Does our brand look like we’ve outgrown startup mode?
• Is it flexible enough to work across product, marketing, and sales?
• Can designers build consistently without reinventing every layout?

Companies like Notion, Slack, Webflow, Linear, and Figma have all absolutely nailed this.

2. Verbal identity

This is one of the most neglected pieces. It’s how you sound when you’re not in the room. Regrettebly, it was something I thought was "cringe" for way too long - a cop out when people would challenge a creative asset asking "Does it fit our tone of voice?". Even at startup level where you can get away with these inconsistencies more, I now appreciate that nailing a tone of voice that resonates with your audience can do wonders for engagement and growth.

As well as your tone of voice, your verbal identity includes your language patterns and the way you frame your message.

Ask:

• Do we sound confident and established?
• Does our messaging shift depending on who we’re speaking to?
• Can every team member describe what we do in one clear sentence?

3. Strategic positioning

This is the foundation that supports everything else and although it's number 3 on my list, it is number 1 in priority. It’s where you sit in the market, what you stand for, and how you frame your unique value. Your visual and verbal identity should be shaped around your strategic positioning.

And I'm not suggesting it's always about being different or "standing out". Sometimes it’s just about being clear.

Ask:

• Are we trying to appeal to too many people at once?
• Have we defined the market we want to lead?
• Can people understand what makes us valuable without a long explanation?

Focusing on these three areas gives you the structure to evolve your brand with purpose - not panic.

How to evolve your brand without the chaos

There’s a fine line between intentional evolution and brand chaos. Once you realise you’ve outgrown your current brand, you need a roadmap - not a knee-jerk reaction.

Here’s how to evolve with control and clarity:

1. Start with a brand audit

One of the most overlooked yet powerful signals comes from your data. Before you speak to stakeholders or run interviews, look at the raw evidence already at your fingertips.

Use real user data to assess how your brand is currently performing:

• Organic social: Which types of posts are getting traction? Where are you being misunderstood or ignored?
• Paid media: What messaging and visuals are converting? Which ads are underperforming and why?
• Web analytics: Are people bouncing off key pages? Where are they engaging or dropping off?
• On-site behaviour: Use tools like Hotjar or FullStory to see how users move through your site
• Product engagement: Where do users stall, churn, or become power users?

This kind of behavioural insight tells you what people value, where they’re confused, and what isn’t landing. That’s branding insight hiding in plain sight.

Now layer this with a traditional brand audit:

You can’t fix what you don’t understand. Begin by assessing what’s working, what’s missing, and what’s outdated.

Break it down across our three key areas:

• Visual identity: Where is it consistent? Where is it fractured?
• Verbal identity: Are we clear, confident, and relevant to our audience?
• Strategic alignment: Does our brand reflect our direction and positioning?

Get feedback from inside and outside the business. Stakeholders, users, and partners will spot gaps you’re too close to see. But please, don't take everyones word as absolute truths - they are accumulated opinions to help guide decisions, not make them for you.

2. Define what needs changing (and what doesn’t)

Don’t burn it all down. Some things still serve you - even if they need refining.

• Keep what’s working. You might have strong recognition in a colour, icon, or phrase.
• Drop what’s holding you back. Outdated tone, bloated design, legacy templates.
• Clarify what needs building. Think systems, not one-off assets.

This is where a creative partner can bring clarity.

I've recently partnered with a client who have asked me to move their website from Ghost CMS to Webflow. Not "just because". But so they have the ability to take advantage of dynamic components paired with the ease-of-use of the platform, allowing different teams to easily add content or create landing pages in hours, rather than waiting weeks for development teams to reply to ticket requests (Or getting ignored indefinitely).

3. Rebuild from core outward

Don’t start with the homepage redesign. Start with the foundation.

• Nail your positioning. Who you’re for, what you solve, and why it matters.
• Set your verbal rules: tone, style, vocabulary, phrases to use or avoid.
• Systematise your visual toolkit: logo, spacing, typography, UI elements.

Once the core is solid, you can roll it out across touchpoints - marketing, sales, product, etc.

4. Launch with intention

Brands don’t just change. They’re rolled out, reinforced, and embedded.

• Brief your internal team first. They need to understand the why.
• Update your key assets in priority order - don’t spread thin.
• Share the story publicly: not just what changed, but what it means.

Too many brands relaunch in silence and expect people to catch on. Tell the story. Invite the shift.

A brand evolution doesn’t need to be messy. With the right lens, it can be one of the most energising things you do.

One of the best-known examples of brand evolution done right is Airbnb. In 2014, they underwent a complete rebrand with a new logo, clearer messaging, and a sharper product experience. At the time, it was controversial - people mocked the new symbol. But it was intentional. It better reflected their evolving mission and allowed them to scale globally with consistency and trust.

The impact? A significant increase in brand recognition, a stronger emotional connection with their users, and a foundation that helped support their rapid revenue growth and eventual IPO. It’s a reminder that brand isn’t just how something looks - it’s how everything feels, and how confidently it moves forward.

It shifted them from a budget-friendly holiday home service, to an all-in-one travel provider focused on community, connection, and authentic local experiences.

What does a successful rebrand mean for your business?

Every touchpoint of your brand is a silent salesperson. What’s yours saying?

When you evolve your brand with clarity and purpose, the outcomes are noticeable:

If done right:

• Shorter sales cycles
• Higher-value leads
• Stronger team alignment
• Easier hiring
• Increased confidence across the organisation

If ignored:

• Mismatched perception
• Confused users
• Lost deals, lost talent, lost growth

I  worked with a SAAS client who went through this exact shift not that long ago. Their original brand was fast, fun, and playful - perfect for getting attention early on. But as their customer base matured, that tone started to feel mismatched. The product was premium, the audience was scaling up, but the brand still felt like it was trying to win over early adopters.

After repositioning, updating their voice, and tightening their design system, sales conversations were smoother, enterprise buyers took them seriously, and their internal teams had the clarity to move faster. No gimmicks, just brand alignment catching up to business reality.

Future branding considerations and the ever-changing landscape

Branding has never stood still. Over the past

few decades, the way we build, interact with, and judge brands has changed dramatically. What used to be driven by print, TV, and static identities has now shifted into the digital space, and it's still evolving at pace.

Your brand doesn’t just live on your website anymore. It lives in motion on social media, in product interfaces, in automated emails, in search results, and on platforms and devices that didn’t exist five years ago.

Voice. AI. Personalisation. Web3. These aren’t just buzzwords. They’re shaping how customers experience and evaluate brands. You might not be using them yet, but your next competitor might.

That’s why building a future-proof brand isn’t about jumping on every trend. It’s about setting a strong foundation that’s flexible enough to evolve.

Ask:

• Can our brand system adapt to new channels?
• Are our values and tone consistent, even when platforms change?
• Are we set up to scale visually and verbally without diluting?

The brands that will lead in five years aren’t necessarily the ones with the best designs today. They’re the ones that are built to move.

Branding isn’t fixed. It’s alive. Treat it that way.

Final note: It’s not a one-and-done

Brand evolution is less about change and more about clarity. It's a decision to lead with confidence, to be intentional about how you're seen, and to build a business that grows without dragging legacy branding behind it.

When done right, brand evolution:

• Simplifies decision-making across every department
• Aligns your team around a shared message
• Attracts better-fit customers and talent
• Speeds up trust-building in every interaction

It’s not about trends. It’s about trust, clarity, and consistency at scale.

And most importantly, this isn’t a one-time job. Your business will keep evolving. New markets, new channels, new expectations. Your brand should be fluid and set up to evolve with it.

If you can nail that - the balance between consistency and flexibility - your brand won’t just look the part. The outcome will drive growth, alignment, loyalty, and ultimately revenue.

That's worth the investment.