You've decided to invest in brand. Now what?
For most founders, the next step is finding a partner — an agency, studio, or consultant who can guide the process. This is where many startups stumble. They hire the wrong partner, get mediocre results, and conclude that "branding doesn't work."
The problem isn't branding. The problem is fit.
The agency that created Airbnb's identity isn't the right fit for a pre-seed startup with $30K to spend. The freelancer who made your friend's logo might not have the strategic depth for a Series B repositioning. The prestigious firm with Fortune 500 clients might assign junior staff to your "small" project.
Finding the right partner requires understanding the landscape, knowing what to look for, and running a process that reveals fit before you commit.
This guide covers:
Let's find the right partner.
Before evaluating specific partners, understand the options available.
Full-service firms with dedicated teams for strategy, design, and implementation. Typically 20-500+ employees with structured processes and specialized roles.
What you get:
What you don't get:
Cost range: $50K-$500K+ for comprehensive brand work
Best for: Series A+ companies with budget for comprehensive development, complex multi-stakeholder organizations, high-stakes rebrands, companies wanting proven process.
Examples:
Enterprise/global agencies:
Growth-stage agencies:
Smaller teams (2-15 people) with focused expertise. Often founded by agency veterans who wanted more direct client relationships.
What you get:
What you don't get:
Cost range: $25K-$150K for identity projects
Best for: Seed to Series B companies, focused engagements (identity only, naming only), founders who want hands-on collaboration with senior people.
Examples:
Individual practitioners with specific expertise. May be specialists (naming, strategy, design) or generalists.
What you get:
What you don't get:
Cost range: $5K-$50K depending on experience and scope
Best for: Pre-seed and seed startups with limited budgets, specific tactical needs (logo refresh, messaging tune-up), founders with strong design opinions who need execution support.
Finding good freelancers:
Building internal brand capability — hiring designers, brand managers, potentially a full creative team.
What you get:
What you don't get:
Cost: Full-time salaries + benefits + tools. $80K-$200K+ per person annually.
Best for: Post-Series B companies with ongoing brand needs, companies where brand is core to product experience, design-centric organizations.
Many successful companies combine approaches:
The right model depends on your stage, budget, ongoing needs, and internal capability.
Regardless of model, evaluate partners against these criteria.
The best design in the world fails without strategic foundation.
Do they lead with strategy or visuals?
Look at their portfolio. Is it all pretty pictures, or do they explain the thinking behind decisions? Strong agencies can articulate why they made choices, not just show what they made.
Case studies should include: business context, strategic challenge, insight or positioning work, how strategy informed design, and results. If case studies are just "we made this logo," be cautious.
Can they explain their process?
Ask them to walk through how they'd approach your project. Look for clear methodology — phases, activities, deliverables. Agencies that "just figure it out" often deliver inconsistent results.
Good processes include:
Do they push back?
In initial conversations, do they accept your framing or challenge it? Partners who just say yes deliver what you asked for, not what you need.
The best agencies push back constructively: "You've said your audience is everyone, but that makes positioning very difficult. Who are your best customers? What do they have in common?"
If they're agreeing with everything in the sales process, they'll agree with everything during the project too. That's not partnership — it's order-taking.
What strategic frameworks do they use?
Positioning models, brand architecture approaches, workshop methodologies — sophistication here signals strategic depth.
Ask about: How do you approach positioning? What does your brand strategy deliverable look like? How do you ensure design choices connect to strategy?
Arielle Jackson of First Round Capital emphasizes:
"Nailing down your positioning from the beginning makes everything else easier. It all starts with nailing down your positioning."— Arielle Jackson
Your agency partner should share this belief. If they want to jump straight to logos, find someone else.
Relevant experience accelerates everything.
Do they understand your business model?
SaaS, marketplace, fintech, hardware, consumer — each has distinct brand dynamics. Agencies with category experience arrive with context.
SaaS agencies understand: subscription value props, feature vs. benefit tension, competitive positioning in crowded markets, enterprise vs. SMB dynamics.
Fintech agencies understand: trust and security signals, compliance constraints, balancing innovation with reliability.
Consumer agencies understand: emotional resonance, shelf/scroll stopping power, cultural relevance.
Have they worked at your stage?
Branding a seed startup differs from rebranding a Series D company. Process complexity, stakeholder dynamics, budget allocation, and deliverables all vary.
Agencies experienced with early-stage understand:
Agencies experienced with growth-stage understand:
Do they know your audience?
Enterprise buyers, developers, consumers, SMBs — each requires different approaches.
Developer-focused agencies understand: technical credibility, documentation quality, community culture.
Enterprise-focused agencies understand: trust signals, multiple decision-makers, long sales cycles.
Consumer-focused agencies understand: emotional connection, cultural relevance, attention capture.
Can they show relevant case studies?
Not exact matches, but analogous situations. "We helped a B2B fintech startup clarify positioning and build a visual system" is more relevant than "we rebranded a consumer packaged goods company."
Ask for 2-3 examples most relevant to your situation. Have them explain what the challenge was and how they approached it.
That said, don't over-index on exact category match. Fresh perspective sometimes produces breakthrough work. A consumer-experienced agency might bring visual sophistication your B2B category hasn't seen. Balance category knowledge with creative capability.
Evaluate the work itself.
Is it distinctive?
Does their work stand out, or does it all look like current trends? Agencies that follow fashion produce work that dates quickly.
Look for: Variety across projects (not all the same style), unexpected solutions, work that feels specific to each client rather than generic.
Beware: All projects look the same, heavy use of current trends (gradients, certain illustration styles), generic "startup aesthetic."
Is it systematic?
A logo is a small part of brand identity. Look for comprehensive systems — color, type, iconography, photography, motion — that hold together across applications.
Strong portfolios show: Full identity systems, multiple touchpoint applications, guidelines and documentation.
Weak portfolios show: Just logos, isolated visual elements, no real-world application.
Is it appropriate?
Does the work fit the clients it was made for? A playful consumer brand should look different from a serious enterprise platform. A fintech startup should feel different from a lifestyle brand.
Appropriateness shows strategic thinking manifest in design. If a children's education company and a cybersecurity company got similar-looking brands, something's wrong.
Does it work at scale?
Check implementations across touchpoints. Does the brand hold up on websites, in products, in presentations, in physical applications? Systems that only work in controlled portfolio contexts fail in real-world deployment.
Ask to see: Live websites, actual product UI, real presentations — not just polished case study mockups.
The relationship matters as much as the capability. You'll work closely with these people for months.
Communication style
Do they communicate clearly? Are they responsive? Initial interactions predict future collaboration.
If they're disorganized or slow during the sales process, they'll be worse during the project.
Decision-making approach
Do they present one recommendation or multiple options? Both can work, but know what you're getting.
Neither is inherently better. Match to your preference and decision-making style.
Collaboration model
How much will you be involved? Some agencies run highly collaborative processes with workshops, co-creation sessions, and frequent check-ins. Others prefer to go away and return with finished work.
Questions to ask:
Team composition
Who will actually do the work? Meet the people, not just the pitch team.
At large agencies, senior people pitch and juniors execute. Ask:
Feedback handling
How do they respond to critique? Defensiveness is a red flag. Professional partners welcome substantive feedback while pushing back on arbitrary changes.
In initial conversations, gently push back on something they say. How do they react? Do they get defensive, or do they engage constructively? This predicts how revision cycles will go.
Do your diligence.
Client references
Ask to speak with past clients. Prepare specific questions:
Ask for references from projects similar to yours (stage, category, scope).
Industry reputation
What do other founders, designers, and marketers say?
Sources:
Team background
Where did the principals come from? What's their trajectory?
Pedigree from respected agencies (Pentagram, IDEO, Landor, Google) often — but not always — indicates capability.
Look at LinkedIn. Where did they work before? What work did they do there?
Longevity and stability
How long has the agency existed? What's staff turnover like?
Brand is a relationship business. Continuity matters. If key people leave mid-project, it affects quality.
A structured evaluation prevents expensive mistakes.
Before talking to anyone, clarify what you need.
Scope: What deliverables do you need?
Be specific. "Branding" means different things to different agencies.
Budget: What can you realistically invest?
Agencies can't help you if they don't know the constraints. Be upfront about budget — good agencies will tell you what's achievable within it.
If you're uncertain, share a range: "We're thinking $50K-$80K for this phase."
Timeline: When do you need this done?
What's driving that timeline? Fundraising deadline? Product launch? Company milestone?
Realistic timelines:
Success criteria: How will you know if this worked?
What does "good" look like? More specific is better:
Decision process: Who needs to approve work?
How will decisions be made? Who has input? Who has veto? Clarity here prevents delays later.
Sources for candidate agencies:
Portfolio sites:
Industry lists and rankings:
Take rankings with skepticism — some are pay-to-play.
Founder networks:
Reverse engineering:
Agency directories:
Aim for 8-12 candidates at this stage.
Narrow to 3-5 candidates through quick evaluation.
Portfolio review:
Website/positioning evaluation:
Initial outreach:
Budget sanity check:
Capability match:
Meet short-listed candidates (video or in-person). Allow 45-60 minutes.
Present your brief:
Ask about process:
Meet the team:
Discuss past work:
Probe on failures:
Trust your gut:
Request formal proposals from 2-3 finalists.
What proposals should include:
Scope definition:
Process and timeline:
Team and roles:
Pricing structure:
Ownership and usage:
Compare proposals carefully:
Create comparison matrix:
CriteriaAgency AAgency BAgency CTotal costTimelineTeam seniorityProcess clarityRelevant experienceGut feel
Lowest price rarely means best value. Evaluate what you get for what you pay.
Make your choice based on:
Capability confidence: Can they deliver what you need?
Strategic alignment: Do they understand your business and market?
Chemistry: Will collaboration be productive?
Value: Is the investment justified by expected outcomes?
Risk assessment: What could go wrong? How would you mitigate?
Don't overthink. If multiple agencies could do good work, pick the one you'll enjoy working with most.
Inform winners and losers:
Promptly and professionally. The startup world is small. You might want to work with the others later. Leave the relationship positive.
Hiring the right agency is necessary but not sufficient. Set the engagement up for success.
Scope documentation:
Detailed description of what's included. Ambiguity breeds conflict. The more specific, the better.
Example of good scope language:"Visual identity system including: primary logo, secondary logo, favicon, color palette (primary and secondary), typography selection (primary and secondary typefaces), basic iconography style (10 sample icons), brand guidelines document (digital format, 20-30 pages)."
Example of bad scope language:"Complete brand identity."
Change process:
How are scope changes handled? What triggers additional cost? Get this in writing.
Standard approach: Changes outside defined scope require change order with additional fee and timeline impact.
Revision process:
How many rounds of revision are included? What happens after?
Typical: 2-3 rounds per major deliverable included. Additional rounds billed hourly or per-round fee.
Timeline commitments:
Milestones with dates. Consequences for delays (both sides).
Delays happen. What matters is how they're handled. Build buffer into critical timelines.
Kill fee:
If you need to terminate early, what's the financial arrangement? What do you own?
Standard: Work completed to date is paid for and delivered. Remaining fee may have partial obligation.
IP assignment:
Clean transfer of all created intellectual property. Verify this explicitly.
Standard: Full IP assignment upon final payment. Work-for-hire terms.
Stakeholder alignment:
Get everyone who will approve work aligned before starting. Mid-project stakeholder emergence kills timelines.
List every person who will have input or approval. Brief them before kickoff. Get buy-in on decision process.
Access provision:
Agency needs access to existing assets, research, documentation, and key people. Prepare in advance.
Prepare:
Communication norms:
How will you communicate? How quickly? Through what channels?
Agree on:
Decision rights:
Who can approve what? Clarity prevents bottlenecks.
Define:
Success metrics:
Agree on how you'll evaluate outcomes. Define this at the start, not the end.
Give honest feedback:
Sugarcoating wastes everyone's time. Be direct about what's not working and why.
Bad feedback: "It's fine but maybe could be different somehow."
Good feedback: "This direction feels too playful for our enterprise audience. We need something that signals credibility and trust. Can we explore more serious directions?"
Separate subjective from strategic:
"I don't like this color" is different from "this color doesn't fit our enterprise positioning." Both are valid feedback types, but distinguish them.
Personal preference is fine to share, but flag it as such. Strategic concerns are more important to address.
Trust the process:
Agencies have seen more branding projects than you have. Their process exists for reasons. Fight the urge to skip steps.
If strategy phase feels slow, trust that it makes design phase faster. If exploration feels excessive, trust that it prevents regret.
Make timely decisions:
Delayed decisions delay projects. When input is requested, provide it quickly. If you can't decide, say so — don't go dark.
Set internal deadlines for your team that give buffer before agency deadlines.
Protect the work internally:
Brand projects attract opinions. Everyone has thoughts about colors and fonts. Manage stakeholders so the agency isn't designing by committee.
Create clear approval process. Gather input at defined stages, then synthesize and communicate as one voice.
Too many decision-makers produce mediocre consensus. Everyone compromises, no one is delighted.
Fix: Small core team (2-3 people) makes decisions. Others provide input at defined moments. Final authority is clear.
"While we're at it" additions compound. Each small addition feels reasonable. In aggregate, the project balloons.
Fix: Stick to defined scope. If something new is needed, formally expand with additional budget and timeline. Don't absorb creep.
Falling in love with early concepts prevents exploration of better options. Founders lock onto the first idea that feels good.
Fix: Stay open through the process. Force yourself to sit with multiple directions. The first idea is rarely the best idea.
The executive who shows up in final review with strong opinions they should have shared months earlier. Everything gets reopened.
Fix: Identify all stakeholders at kickoff. Brief them on process. Get input at appropriate stages. No surprises at the end.
Great strategy and identity, poorly implemented because budget or attention ran out. Guidelines gather dust while teams improvise.
Fix: Budget for implementation, not just development. Reserve resources for website, templates, training. A brand that isn't implemented isn't a brand.
The cheapest option wins the project, delivers mediocre work, and the company needs to rebrand again in 18 months.
Fix: Evaluate value, not just cost. The right investment in brand pays returns for years. The wrong investment wastes money regardless of how little you spent.
Project needs to be done in 4 weeks. Agency agrees because they want the work. Quality suffers.
Fix: Be realistic about timeline. If you have a hard deadline, communicate it early. Good agencies will tell you what's achievable and what isn't.
Minimal brief, vague feedback, then disappointment that work doesn't match unexpressed expectations.
Fix: Invest in briefing. Be explicit about what you want. Give detailed feedback. The more you put in, the more you get out.
Here's a curated list organized by typical engagement size and specialization.
For Series C+ companies with $250K+ brand budgets.
PentagramThe world's largest independent design consultancy. Founded 1972. Partner-led model ensures senior involvement. Clients: Mastercard, Slack, Citibank.Expect: $300K-$1M+ for comprehensive brand work.
Wolff OlinsGlobal brand consultancy. Bold, transformative work. Clients: Uber, Google, USA Today.Strong strategic capability.
LandorPart of WPP. One of the oldest branding firms (1941). Deep brand architecture expertise. Clients: BP, FedEx, Barclays.
InterbrandAlso WPP. Created brand valuation methodology. Known for Best Global Brands ranking. Strategic rigor with global implementation.
CollinsNew York and San Francisco. Distinctive, culturally-aware work. Clients: Spotify, Twitch, Dropbox.Strong visual and motion design.
For Series A-C companies with $75K-$250K budgets.
Koto Studios in London, Berlin, LA, Sydney. Strong tech client roster. Clients: Revolut, Headspace, Sonos.Known for systematic identity work.
Red Antler Brooklyn. Consumer/DTC brand focus. Early partners with Casper, Allbirds, Brandless.Strong positioning for consumer companies.
Instrument Portland. Digital-native, strong in brand + product. Clients: Spotify, Nike, Google.
Moving Brands Global studios. Strategy through implementation. Clients: Netflix, BBC, Salesforce.Strong motion design capability.
Ueno (Now largely absorbed into Twitter/X, but some team started new ventures.) Known for systematic design, strong digital integration.
Porto Rocha NYC. Brand and digital. Strong visual identity work for startups.
For Seed-Series B companies with $25K-$100K budgets.
Focuslab Atlanta. Exclusively B2B SaaS focus. Clients: Trello, Calendly, Salesloft.Deep category expertise in your space.
Ramotion San Francisco. Tech startup specialists. Brand identity + UI/UX integration.
Metabrand Global. Tech startups, SaaS, fintech, B2B technology. Y Combinator company experience. Strategy through web implementation.
Kurppa HoskStockholm. Nordic design heritage. Clients: Klarna, Epidemic Sound.
DesignStudioLondon, Sydney, New York. Startup and sports brands. Airbnb brand evolution, Premier League.
LandscapeNYC. Tech and startup focus. Clean, systematic work.
UnfoldBrand for venture-backed startups.
For companies needing naming expertise specifically.
LexiconThe gold standard. Created Blackberry, Dasani, Swiffer, Intel Pentium.Premium pricing ($50K+) but unmatched expertise.
CatchwordNamed Asana, Fitbit, Vudu. Tech-savvy.
A Hundred MonkeysSan Francisco. Consumer and tech clients.
ZinzinBoutique. Systematic creative process.
IgorNamed many tech companies.
For messaging, content strategy, and tone of voice.
Velocity PartnersLondon. B2B content and messaging experts. Known for B2B Marketing Manifesto.
The WriterTone of voice specialists. Global clients: eBay, Unilever.
StickyContent strategy and messaging.
What to expect at different investment levels:
What you get:
What you don't get:
Best for: Pre-seed startups needing "good enough" to launch. Will likely need to revisit later.
What you get:
From: Boutique agency or strong freelance team
Best for: Seed to Series A companies who need professional brand but not enterprise-grade process.
What you get:
From: Established boutique or mid-tier agency
Best for: Series A-B companies building for scale.
What you get:
From: Top boutique or global agency
Best for: Series B+ companies, complex rebrands.
What you get:
From: Global agencies (Pentagram, Wolff Olins, Landor, Interbrand)
Best for: Series C+, major corporate rebrands.
Total true investment is typically 2-3x the agency fee.
Responsive: Don't disappear. When agency needs input, provide it promptly.
Decisive: Make decisions at decision points. Don't reopen closed questions.
Honest: Give real feedback. Don't say "great" when you mean "I have concerns."
Organized: Keep your team aligned. Speak with one voice.
Trusting: You hired experts. Let them be expert. Don't micromanage creative.
Leadership should:
Leadership shouldn't:
Good agencies will flag scope creep. But clients cause it too.
Every "quick question" that turns into a project, every "small addition" that wasn't in scope, every "while we're at it" compounds.
If you want more than originally scoped, expect to pay more or trade off something else. Don't expect agency to absorb it.
Brand development is the beginning, not the end.
Plan for:
Don't launch brand and walk away. Brand requires ongoing stewardship.
The right branding partner accelerates your brand while making the process less painful than doing it yourself. The wrong partner wastes time, money, and produces work you'll replace.
Match model to needs:
Evaluate what matters:
Run a real process:
Set up for success:
Good agencies are force multipliers. They see patterns you can't, catch mistakes you'd make, and produce work beyond what you'd create alone. The investment is worthwhile — but only if you choose well and collaborate effectively.
Match the partner to your budget and needs. Freelancers ($5K-$50K): best for limited budgets, narrow scope (logo only, not full system), and when you can manage the project yourself. Boutique agencies ($25K-$150K): best for seed through Series B, when you want senior talent involvement and integrated strategy + design. Large agencies ($150K-$1M+): best for Series C+, complex rebrands, global implementation, and when you need proven enterprise processes. A $30K budget at a top agency gets junior staff; the same budget at a boutique gets principals.
Look beyond pretty pictures. Strong portfolios explain the thinking behind work — business context, strategic challenge, how strategy informed design, and results. Check for systematic work (full identity systems, not just logos) and appropriate variety (different solutions for different clients, not one repeated style). Look for relevant experience — same category, similar stage, analogous challenges. Ask about projects that didn't make the portfolio and what they learned. The best predictor of your outcome is their process, revealed through how they talk about their work.
Essential questions: Who will actually do the work on our project? (Meet the team, not just the pitch team.) Walk me through a relevant case study in depth — what was the challenge, how did you approach it, what did you learn? How do you handle feedback and revisions? What's your process and timeline? What do you need from us to be successful? What happens if we need to change scope? Can we speak with 2-3 past clients at a similar stage? The best agencies welcome these questions; evasive answers are red flags.
If you're evaluating branding agencies — or wondering whether we might be the right fit — let's talk.
Metabrand works with tech startups from seed through Series C on brand strategy, visual identity, and website design. We combine strategic rigor with efficient execution for companies that need quality work without enterprise process overhead.
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Part of the Startup Branding Guide by Metabrand.
