Why Your Brand Strategy Should Wait Until After Your MVP
Here’s my hot take—if you’re rushing to build a brand before you’ve got an MVP, you’re getting ahead of yourself. Investing in branding too early can be a waste of your time and money.
Here’s why:
Your brand should be built on real customer insights, not complete guesswork. Without an MVP or feedback from actual users, you're just slapping a logo on a product that hasn’t even proven itself. You’re branding a theory—and that’s a huge risk.
What Counts as an MVP?
Your MVP doesn’t have to be perfect. It could be a beta version, a pilot program, or even just a prototype—but it must solve a core problem for a handful of real users. These early users will give you priceless feedback about what’s working, what’s missing, and who your actual audience is. Even just a few customers can reveal whether you’re on the right track and help you pivot before making branding decisions.
Think of it as audience proof. You need enough insight to know who you’re building for, what they care about, and what resonates with them. Only then can you create a brand that speaks directly to your audience.
Stop Guessing, Start Learning
Your MVP tells you who your real customers are, what they actually want, and what messages resonate with them. With those insights, you can create a brand that actually connects. Without it, you’re just playing dress-up for a party that hasn’t even been planned yet.
The Risk of Jumping the Gun
Let’s be real—founders are impatient. You want to look legit, right? But guess what? If your product isn’t validated yet, you risk branding for the wrong audience or crafting a message that misses the mark. According to a CB Insights report, 42% of startups fail due to misreading market demand. Your MVP is the best way to make sure you don’t fall into that category.
What You Should Be Doing Instead
Focus on your MVP. Get feedback, iterate, and learn who your real customers are. THEN, build a brand that’s grounded in reality, one that speaks directly to the people who actually want what you’re selling. This is when a brand strategy matters.
Real-Life MVP Examples:
Dropbox launched with a simple explainer video before a fully-fledged product. This low-commitment MVP validated the concept, with thousands signing up before the product even existed.
Slack tested their tool internally and with small teams to refine their MVP before ever worrying about branding. Their feedback-driven strategy resulted in a $26 billion company.