Why VCs should pay attention to brands

Brand growth is the business growth

Brand is a filter for all business decision making, and this makes it a critical part of VC and PE firms acquisition and growth strategies. Investing in a brand is especially relevant for early and growth-stage deals.

As a decision-making filter, brand operates in several ways. It sets the vision for the company and defines where a company would like to see itself in the next 10 years — and what needs to happen today for this vision to be implemented. A company’s mission statement sends investors a signal about what business a company believes to be in and what are its priorities. A brand’s purpose explains why the company exists in the world. A brand also filters who are a company’s products and services for, who it wants to attract and retain and how are its products, services and stories different than anyone else’s. A brand also filters a company’s strategy, and ensures that the company operationalizes its mission and purpose in a way that it achieves its vision.

All product, service, experience and story decisions that lead to a company’s growth come from answers to the questions above. In considering these questions, VC and PE firms do not a choice. High failure rate and mediocre median returns of the VC industry require a fresh approach. Majority of funds’ returns is right now…