This document provides advice on branding and positioning for startups. It emphasizes taking risks, standing for something meaningful even if controversial, tapping into human emotions, and being a hero or villain rather than boring. The document suggests using pictures, text, or music to convey messages with few words. It advises doubling down when something works and being authentic while bringing out one's most passionate self.

1. Branding & Positioning
4 Startups & Sith Lords

2. WARNING:

3. WARNING!!!
this deck is guaranteed to offend,
provide tragically incorrect advice,
and perhaps get you arrested.
Fucking
Deal
with
it.

4. [This Talk]
• WTF is a BRAND?!?
• Be Different, Take Risk!!!
• Stand 4 SOMEthing. (or u stand 4 NOthing.)
• Tap Into Humanity: Fear, SEX, Power, etc.
• Be a Hero, or a Villain. (just don’t fucking BORE me.)
• Pictures, Text, Music: they all say 1000 words.
• When It Works, Double Down.
• Be Yourself… Only More So
KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

5. [Dave McClure]
Blogg
er , M
Angel arket
2001-2012: /VC I ing,
nves Founders Fund
• Startup Investor: 500 Startups, t
or
• Tech Marketing: PayPal, Simply Hired, Mint.com
• Advisor, Investor: 300+ Startups
• Conferences: Warm Gun, Lean Startup, SMASH
• Stanford Lecturer: Facebook, Startup Metrics
ER,
OD Computing (acq.)
K, C NEUR
80’s & 90’s:
GEE EPRE
• Entrepreneur: Founder/CEO Aslan
• Developer: Windows Apps / SQL DB Admin
EN TR
• User Groups: E-Commerce, Internet, Client-Server
• Engineer: Johns Hopkins ‘88, BS Eng / Applied Math

6. 500 STARTUPS
Seed Fund & Accelerator
(375+ companies, 20+ countries, 15 staff, 180 mentors)
• Design
• Data
• Distribution

7. [Interesting Shit]

8. Read Geoffrey Miller.
Sex + Evolution + Consumer Mktg = Awesome Sauce.

9. More Great Shit.
Psychology + Comics 

10. [Start(up) + Heart]

11. NEGATIVE Emotion Examples
Fear, Anger, Sadness,
Pain, Pathetic, Pariah

12. POSITIVE Emotion Examples
Humor, Sex, Power,
Daredevils, Babies & Kittens

13. DO! Marketing & BRANDing
(it’s not Evil… most of the time ;)
• Tell a Story, Build a Storytelling Culture
• Identify by a Color, Animal, Number,
Word, or other SINGULAR element
• Create Unique Position in Mind of the
Market, relative to [Visible] Competition
• Embrace & Adopt Negative or Shameful
Positioning when Necessary
• Know When to Get Back to Product

14. What is BRAND?
• Brand (def): a name, term, design, symbol that
identifies one seller's good or service as
distinct from those of other sellers.
• Branding began as way to tell one person's
cattle from another by a hot iron stamp.
• Branding is usually full of PAIN.

15. Q: Who FEELS Your Brand?
• Customers
• Partners
• Investors
• Employees
• Press

16. Be Different
Take Risk.

17. Be Different.
• Take Risk Early. U Have Nothing 2 Lose.
• Playing it Safe = Death.
• Pissing People Off is OK. (in fact, #WINNING)
• U Can’t Build Brand around INDIFFERENCE.
• “Niche 2 WIN” (see blog post)
• Love *or* Hate are Ok. Both are Good Signal.

18. CHANGE.
PEACE.
POWER.
SEX.
Stand 4 SOMEthing.
(or stand 4 NO-thing)

19. Stand 4 SOMEthing,
or Stand 4 NOthing.
• Be Iconic.
• Single word or emotion.
• Don’t be afraid 2b Hated.
• Don’t be afraid 2b Shamed.
• Aim for the Moon. [Land on the Roof]

20. Tap Into Humanity
Fear, Sex, Power

21. Tap Into Humanity
• Fear: What u run from
• Sex: Who we love, lust 4
• Power: Ability 2 Control Ur World
• Family: Find Ur Tribe.
• Anger: Fight 4 Ur Right [2 Party]

22. Be a Hero
Be a Villain

23. Be a Hero… or Villain
• Who do u LOVE, Admire, Want 2 B?
• Who do u HATE, Despise, [secretly] jealous?
• Whatever u are Drawn 2
• Just Don’t Be BORING.
• Again: Indifference = Death.

24. Say 1000 words.
[or just 1 Finger]

25. Say 1000 words.
• 1 awesome picture.
• 3 powerful words, or a few sentences.
• 30 sec meaningful music or video.
• Less is more.
note: these slides are not less.

26. If/When It Works
Double Down.

27. When It Works, Double Down.
• If someone loves u, it’s working.
• If someone hates u, it’s working.
• Once u get signal, try iteration, repetition.
• Once u get repetition, try variation.
• Good artists COPY; great artists STEAL
(from themSELVES!)

28. Be Your SELF.
(But Be Ur SUPER Self)

29. Always Be Your [SUPER] Self
• Start from the Heart.
• Be Yourself. Be Authentic. Be Comfortable.
• But: the MOST AWESOME, PASSIONATE u.
• Find a feeling or emotion u can sustain
• [sometimes even weakness can be ok]