I recently came across the philosophical thought experiment “The Ship of Theseus” whereby philosophers discuss if a ship has some or all of its parts replaced, is it still the same ship? This is interesting to think about and has many possible philosophical answers, I’ll let you ponder that one…
It got me thinking, what can this teach us about startup branding?
For me the question “is the ship still the ship” comes down to one question:
What is the purpose of the ship? What job is it there to do? What’s it that brings the crew together? What puts fire in their bellies to weather the storms? Hopefully not just the rum…
What if you replaced all the planks but the structure of the hull is the same? It’s form follows its function and the purpose of the ship is still to carry cargo from far flung shores. The crew and the captain is a bit sea-weathered but they are still up for the job. They need to adjust their navigation because of some strong headwinds and they could do with some new binoculars... but all things considered, I would say it’s the same ship.
What if the purpose of the ship has changed? Shipping via sea on an old sloop doesn't make any sense anymore, but there's a market for leisure trips on the old girl. The crew are a bit too rough around the edges to rub alongside the passengers, and the Captain needs to have more of an eye for the customer exerience instead of the rum...and they need to redesign the boat a bit to fit in the lifeboats... I would say that’s probably a different ship, even though it was built out of the old one, because its fundamental purpose has changed.
A brand’s purpose should generally stay the same over time. The way you go about achieving it may well have to change, especially if you’re a startup. You may need to redesign your ship, get a few more crew members and tweak your navigation. But if your fundamental purpose, your reason for existing has to change, then you’re probably making a new business, which needs a complete redesign. Even if it retains some things from its previous life, I would say it's a different ship.
When building your startup, you've got to get clear on your purpose, and by that I mean the reason you exist beyond making money.
Just like setting sail for the high seas, when building your startup, it’s a good idea to be prepared with some questions like...
What the job is it you are going out to do, and what success looks like?
What is the lay of the land (or sea). Will you meet any pirates in these waters?
Are there any friendly islanders on route who could lend a hand?
What is going to get you to your destination faster than the other boats on the water?
Have you got your compass?
What route are you taking, how will you know you’re on course?
And don’t forget the binoculars so you can see the storm on the horizon...
These are some tricky questions, and we know what it's like trying to navigate through the weather when the waves keen obscuring your view... so we’re creating a suite of tools to help startups get clear on questions like these. We’re calling it Minimum Viable Branding. If this sounds interesting, sign up to our waitlist and get a free Miro tool to help you uncover your brand’s purpose. We've called this tool Ikigai for startups. Ikigai is a Japanese model for finding fulfilment in your personal life, we’ve adapted it for business to help you get a head start on creating meaning and magnetism behind your idea. You can sign up here.
Yorumlar