Crafting A Startup's Image
Enhancing perception without sacrificing integrity
Happy Thursday, 👋
Although its origins are debated, the phrase "Fake it until you make it," is often attributed to Alcoholics Anonymous, which adopted the concept from psychology. The basic idea is assisting individuals in altering long-term behavior by adopting the habits of the person they aspire to become.
In the startup ecosystem, the phrase has become somewhat repurposed to describe the strategy of presenting a company as more developed or successful than it currently is. While crafting a company's image is essential, there's a critical boundary between constructive perception-building and over exaggeration.
Strategic Perception Management
Startup companies are often careful about overspending on meeting space rentals or expensive advertising and instead focus on allocating a majority of capital toward growth and initial product development. Investors understand this balance, but the first few customers may still prefer the reassurance of dealing with an established entity. We often advise founders to consider the following ways to strategically enhance a new company’s image:
📧 Professional Email and Domain: Securing a company domain and utilizing professional email addresses “Jeff@greatcompany.com” significantly elevates the perception among customers and investors compared to personal emails “jeff235@gmail.com”.
💻 Online Presence: Establish a simple website and a LinkedIn profile. There are over 1 billion users across 200 countries using LinkedIn. Although it may not be the most used social media platform, some statistics indicating 45% of those reading articles on LinkedIn are management-level.
🎤 Industry Engagement: Participating in conferences as panelists or speakers is an economical method for boosting market presence and name recognition.
🤝 Advisory Board Formation: Consider assembling an advisory board, as it provides a depth of knowledge and indicates to third parties that reputable individuals endorse the company’s vision.
These relatively modest efforts can yield substantial benefits in a startup's formative phase. However, it's crucial to avoid overstating the company's status.
Danger Zone
There is a fine line between improving how a company is perceived and outright deception. It’s often easier to describe what might be deceptive practices with examples, so here are a few we have encountered:
🏈 Enhanced Partnerships: A company stated their product is used by the NFL. We later found out there was a single football player who agreed to a one-time trial of the product.
📈 User Numbers: Company presentation listing thousands of users. Digging deeper into user engagement, we found almost 90% of users never engaged after an initial sign-up.
💼 Enhancing Experience: A team listing extensive work experience for large well-known companies. A LinkedIn search revealed the experience was a 3-month summer internship almost five years ago.
💸 Hollow Support: Endorsements of the company by Amazon and Microsoft. After asking for supporting documents, we learned the company received cloud computing credits by both firms as part of a pitch competition.
Additional Thoughts
First impressions are pivotal for startups. Simple actions, like securing a professional email domain, establishing an online presence, and engaging with the industry, can significantly enhance how a company is perceived.
However, it's imperative to tread carefully with the "fake it until you make it" philosophy. Overstated claims invite scrutiny and can jeopardize investor and customer trust. Honesty and transparency, balanced with strategic perception management, are the keys to fostering long-term relationships and success.
Wishing everyone a great weekend,
-The Caymont Ventures Team.