The importance of branding when raising investment

Should you invest in branding before raising investment, or raise investment to generate funds for branding? If you’re leading an ambitious tech startup, you face this critical, early-days decision. 

As experts in branding for tech firms raising investment, we’re sharing five huge benefits of nailing your brand before going out to pitch.  

Your business plan may be rock solid. But going out to pitch is an exercise in selling the dream. And if potential investors can’t visualise it, they’re unlikely to buy into it.

Strong branding at a funding pitch is a powerful way to bring investors into your vision. You’ll allow them to see what you’re about and what your future success looks like, increasing the likelihood they’ll want to come along for the ride. 

Walking into a room of investors can be a daunting experience. Throwing yourself (maybe literally) into a dragons’ den is confronting for anyone, so you want to do everything within your powers to set yourself up for success.

Any insecurities you have over rushed logos or DIY graphics will reflect in your performance, increasing your chance of disappointment.

Projecting an established and ambitious image through professional branding is a guaranteed way to instil you with confidence about your business that will radiate through your pitch. 

And confidence is infectious, so this will give investors assurance in you and your vision and provide them with the confidence they need to part with their cash.

Branding is often underestimated or dismissed as purely visual, so you may find yourself wondering how urgent it is to invest in prior to pitching when cashflow is tight.

However, if you view branding as a purely aesthetic investment, you’re missing a trick and giving your competitors chance to cut in line.

Your branding is how others perceive your business, and first-round investment is all about perception. 

By investing in branding before raising investment, you make an authoritative statement about what you stand for, how your vision aligns with your values, what you represent as a business, your corporate image, and what impression you intend to leave on investors.

Bringing this into focus sets you apart in a competitive marketplace and elevates your business to one that leaves its unmistakable mark.

Every savvy CEO understands the importance of investment to fuel growth, whether that’s in the form of creating a viable product, gaining visibility, or generating sales. 

Therefore, why wouldn’t you take the same approach to raising investment?

After all, securing capital will support your first-year targets, so if you fail to get the investment you need to get off the ground, you won’t see the growth you want.

Of course, raising investment isn’t just for startups. 

Maybe you’re an established business seeking funding to support the development of a new product or service.

If that’s the case, is your branding strong enough to support your new pitch, or is there a disconnect between your existing business and your new vision? 

If it’s the latter, investors will sniff this out immediately and lose faith in your vision. 

Strong branding aligns all of your verticals and ensures your business is memorable and recognisable across all product lines, making your proposition more attractive to investors.

Ben Crabb, cofounder of tech startup Civitas Club, recently invested in branding through Studio LWD ahead of raising funds.

He said: “The branding created by Studio LWD really helps us demonstrate and humanise our offering and has already helped us raise significant funding.” 

To discuss how brand power can help you secure the funds you need to move forward with your vision, email hello@studiolwd.co.uk, call 01253 892031 or visit www.studiolwd.co.uk.