A founder is not a CEO

Some people are better at founding and starting companies than running them. In the startup world, there is an undeniable myth that founders make the best CEOs. This myth was probably started by founders looking to retain their control over their baby, which is usually supported by only telling half of the story of the […]

Why Your Marketing Isn’t Connecting

Demographics, a cornerstone of marketing, is quickly being replaced by Customer Personas. Marketing theory has traditionally said that customers all fit within prescribed demographics; age, gender, socio-economic status, education, profession, hobbies and more. While the traditional way of segmenting customers might have worked in the past, the theories can only serve to act as a […]

Why Founders Need To Invest In Their Startup

graphic design studio

Founders are the first to place a bet on their company because founders are investors. These investments come in a few forms; seed capital, sweat equity, partnership or in-kind contributions. Regardless of the structure, one truth remains – if you want to grow your business from a side hustle into a scalable, full-time operation, you […]

10 Tips To Write An Effective Creative Brief

Think of all the great creative work we see on a daily basis. How the right image paired with the right words evoked reactions. How a new interface felt like a friendly piece of software that you were able to use with ease. Or a new product that came in such precise packaging that you […]

How to Stay Creative While Under Stress

The bags under your eyes betray the forced smile on your face. It takes twice as long to get ready in the morning, picking the right clothes feels like a monumental chore, and in the end, you’re dressed in black anyway. Stress has overwhelmed you, hampering your ability to simply pick an outfit and now […]

5 Ways to Keep Revisions & Their Costs Under Control

Nothing kills the good feeling of deploying a great looking product to your audience than receiving a bill far higher than you had anticipated. Sure, there were some revisions but the back and forth for those final little changes didn’t seem like it took too much time. If you’re not mindful of it, revision costs […]

5 Habits Of Great Design Leaders

Being a designer is a dream for many. Full days creating beautiful pieces and stunning interactions. This is great for members of a design team, but it’s only the beginning for a design leader. We’ve all seen agencies and studios promoting their skills and why they ‘know brands’. But once you look a little deeper, […]

How To Avoid Picking The Wrong Investors

Many first-time founders don’t realize this, but it’s crucial to understand that an investment round is not only the investor choosing the startup to invest in but also the other way around. Choosing the wrong investor can ultimately bring significant consequences which might take months or even years to correct. Recently we discussed what entrepreneurs should […]

What Entrepreneurs Look For In An Investor

Practically every startup founder has or is on the hunt for the right investor to seed their vision. While the wrong ones won’t necessarily ruin a company’s chances, the right ones can make your life as a founder infinitely easier through those all-too-critical initial sales. Below we look at five areas of alignment between a […]

Spending Less on a Freelancer (is it worth it)?

“That seems like a lot for a freelancer, why don’t we find a cheaper junior option?” And with those words, the start of the project from hell came to be. Not because the project had crazy requirements, but because in the quest to save some cash, a founder hired a lower cost freelancer only to get […]

Agency vs. Freelancer? What Is Right For Your Business?

“We really need some design help on this! Should we get an agency, or does anyone know a good freelancer?” This phrase has been uttered one way or another in practically every startup’s office within their first year of business, and it leads to the common dilemma, agency vs. freelancer? In my career – which […]

12 Types of Difficult Clients & How To Effectively Deal With Them

We’ve all dealt with difficult clients — every studio has them. You know the one, the client who frustrates you to no end, who seems to have no respect for your craft/business, monopolizes your time and makes continuous unreasonable demands. Sometimes you might have more than one, and you probably spend your weekends in the […]

10 Things to Know About Fundraising

The moment you start fundraising, you begin running two product lines. The flagship product that you sell directly to customers (what most people know you for). AND Your company Investors are not clients of your product, they are looking at your whole company as a separate product that they may want to purchase part of. […]