Go-to-market with a product story that makes money
I help early-stage startups create product messaging and content that drives growth. And help them launch with confidence - across websites, socials, emails and decks.
Services
Brand Name
Copywriting
Brand Strategy
Verbal Branding
Launch Creative Strategy
Content Strategy
Creative Direction
Website
How I can help build your d2c and startup
You need a brand name
I WILL HELP YOU
✐ Understand where you want to 'pitch' the name
✐ Brainstorm multiple types of brand names
✐ Create social friendly twins
✐ Show how your brand name can be extended
You have a business idea and name
I WILL HELP YOU
✐ Refine your value proposition
✐ Polish your product story and pitch to consumer
✐ Get on with funding and actual business, while I get your logo, website and launch creative assets ready
You have a website that you hate
I WILL HELP YOU
✐ Figure out what's wrong and then fix it.
Projects
Branding, website and content strategy work for startups I have helped launch
River
Website | Branding
River is an EV startup building a battery-powered, rugged two-wheeler work-horse for the ambitious young Indian. I helped articulate River’s brand promise and value proposition. And provided content strategy and content for the website.
Mohjo
Website | Branding
Creative Strategy | Website Content
A Singapore-based organic almond milk D2C startup. 99% of alt-milks available in Singapore contain a laundry list of additives and other nasties. Mohjo contains only almonds, dates and water. I worked with the founder from day zero, developing the brand name, packaging content, website content, social media strategy and more.
Mitokatlyst
Branding | Creative Strategy | Website Content
San Francisco-based BlueOak Nutraceuticals is a D2C startup that has developed a molecule that induces mitochondrial biogenesis. I created the brand name, the naming convention for the entire range, pitch deck content, website content, explainer infographics and more.
Magnasoft
Branding | Content Strategy | Content | Website
A geospatial intelligence and services provider, Magnasoft, is an expert at developing extremely accurate 3D digital twins of real-world assets. I collaborate with the technical team in an ongoing partnership to brand and market their products and services.
I am a brand strategist, advertising copywriter, website content writer, and brand story expert with 20+ years of experience.
I have partnered with startups from Singapore to San Francisco helping them grow from ideas on a napkin to fully functioning D2C businesses. I help founders position their products and create messages that lead to sales.
If you have an idea,
I will help you sell it.
Testimonials from founders of
startups I have helped launch
(No founders were harmed to create these testimonials)
"This is my second project with Vinod. When we founded the science-based Blue Oak Nutraceuticals in Silicon Valley, I knew Vinod was going to be our brand and messaging guy. He totally got what we were going for with our brand and helped us articulate it in a simple yet powerful way. Also, appreciate the fact that throughout the project, he behaved as a team member with ownership following through and asking questions that added value beyond our initial scope of work. Ifyou are planning to build a strong and differentiated brand in a very crowded digital world, Vinod is your guy.”
Sonya Pelia
CO FOUNDER I BLUE OAK NUTRACEUTICALS
"He came on board to help us with the name, but soon became my go-to person for everything about mohjo. From the copy on the bottle, to website content, to marketing ideas, to helping me draft WhatsApp messages for customers, Vinod always had the answers. An absolute pleasure to work with."
Juhi Dang
FOUNDER, CEO I MOHJO
"Vinod's capacity to understand and transform technical information into easy-to-understand, persuasive content has greatly enhanced our website. One of the things I really appreciated about him is his consistent ability to deliver on brief and on time:
Tiger Ramesh
CEO I MAGNASOFT
Have a question or two?
I have the answers
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Most startups think that listing out the features will get customers screaming “Here, take my money.” Nope.
Customers only care about what is in it for them. So they will like a product that says “I will help you build leaner, more efficient muscles” over a product that shouts “I have 10X more proteins than the competition.”
A product story is how you take what makes the product special and see how you can make it relevant to your user’s life. I will understand your features, and then together, we will see how they help solve your customers' pain point. By shifting the focus from "what your product does" to "how it changes your user’s life," we will have the ingredients to build your product story. And that’s what leads to better conversion rates, stronger customer loyalty, and higher ARR.
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Totally. It wouldn’t be a business otherwise. I believe most startup founders have a name shaped hole in their mind. They have been living with the project so long, they kind of know what the name should be, but just have not been able to articulate it. Over the years I have developed an ideation and brainstorm process that helps us get there faster.
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I help you craft a flexible message that is true to your product, and what your consumer wants to hear. The confidence at launch comes from knowing that what you are saying is exactly what will help you move products or land clients . And that you are saying the same thing about your product across all your platforms - website, instagram, linkedin, youtube, and even conversations during lunch.
In MBA speak it means, I provide a consistent strategic foundation for your website, social media, email campaigns, and investor decks so that every communication reinforces your core value proposition.
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A brand strategist wears a suit and helps you define why you are in business, why your users should care about your product and how you can position yourself so that you don’t blend into a crowd. A copywriter mostly hangs around in loose cotton clothes and wears open-toed sandals. They also have a knack of taking positioning statements like ‘We are for all types of athletes and want to encourage everyone to exercise’ and turn it into ‘Just do it.’
If you have spent enough time doing one or the other, and have paid attention during that time you will be good at both.
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Yes. The trick is to identify what is wrong with the existing website. At what point are your visitors dropping off?
If they bounce as soon as they land, your hero message is not saying the same thing that your ads are selling.
If they leave without clicking through, your homepage is not answering the question your consumer is asking.
If they click through but don’t buy, you might have a price issue.
Whatever it is, I will help you solve it.
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Yes I work with all sorts of startups and small businesses. Whether it is b2b or d2c the person making the final decision is a human being (at least till the world is run by AI). And everyone appreciates communication that is simple and easy to understand. I adapt my approach based on who you want to sell to: a mother with a lactose intolerant child or a CTO who wants a technology partner to create Digital Twins of all telecom towers in Texas.
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Most fail because they focus on features rather than a "product story". If a visitor can't immediately see how the product solves their problem, they leave. Effective websites use messaging that "positions the product" clearly to drive growth.
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Yes. Even CEOs are on their phones all the time. And they are often browsing on the go. A mobile-first approach ensures that your "go-to-market" story is digestible on any screen, from emails to socials.
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A high-performing landing page needs a clear value proposition (the "product story"), a section on how you help (services/process), social proof (testimonials), and a direct call to action. Read more here
Insights I have gathered while helping launch d2c startups
4 questions to consider before starting up
How many web pages does your startup need?