1. Mistake: Your Positioning Is Just Vibes

Startups often describe themselves like this:

“We help people do more with less.”
“We’re the Airbnb for creatives.”
“We want to change the world.”

None of these explain the problem you solve. You’re relying on metaphor, not meaning.

I once consulted for a startup building a user-generated content app. Their pitch deck had 14 slides of fluff and one sentence about what they actually do. We worked together to cut the fat and land on this instead:

“We help creators turn their imagination into interactive stories without needing code.”

That one line drove their first 500 signups. Positioning isn’t about being clever. It’s about being clear and relevant.

Try this:
Use category whispering: give yourself a name people don’t forget. Don’t just say “social app.” Try “story-driven social.” Don’t say “task platform.” Try “priority compass.”

2. Mistake: You’re Tracking Vanity, Not Value

Startups LOVE metrics. But not always the right ones.

I remember working with a team that got 10,000 website visits from a product launch feature. Amazing, right? But when I asked about Day-7 retention, the dashboard showed only 1,800 returned.
We had a leaky bucket.

Why?
Their landing page was strong, but their onboarding was cold, robotic, and feature-heavy. We rewrote it with emotional language, story arcs, and a more human tone. The result? A 26% increase in retention within a month.

Technique I used: Emotional A/B Testing.
Instead of testing “button color,” we tested onboarding messages that used empathy, nostalgia, and even humor.

If your retention is weak, check your tone not just your UX.

3. Mistake: You Separate Product and Brand

Your product is not one thing and your brand another. They’re two halves of the same experience.

At one point, I joined a startup as a consultant after they had redesigned their app based on investor feedback. It looked sleek but it didn’t speak to the user.
So we did 12 user interviews, but instead of only asking about usability, we asked:

• “What does this product feel like?”

• “If this app were a person, how would they act?”

The insights were gold. We discovered users didn’t want a productivity tool. They wanted a collaborator that understood their chaos. So we added microcopy changes inside the product small, empathetic touches. Usage grew. So did love.

So what’s the fix?

It’s not just about branding better. It’s about branding earlier. When your team is small. When you’re still iterating. When you’re unsure.

Because brand is not lipstick.
It’s the skeleton, the voice, and the heartbeat.

If you’ve ignored it, that’s okay. Most do. But the startups that win in 2025 and beyond will be the ones that use brand to shape emotion, build trust, and keep users around not just bring them in.

Let me leave you with this:

I’ve made mistakes too. I used to overanalyze everything, stay silent in meetings, or speak too bluntly when I should’ve paused.
I’ve hurt people unintentionally, and I’ve learned how words shape relationships.

So yes, I think about brand strategy the same way I think about communication.
Words can build loyalty, or break it.
That’s true in teams, and in products.

I’ve been watching Poirot for over two years now. I love the charm of refined politeness. And it makes me wonder, when did we stop treating clarity and manners as part of business?

Final Thought:

The phrase “business is business” is meaningless to me.
If your users don’t feel understood, they’ll leave.
If your team doesn’t feel respected, they won’t stay.
And if your brand doesn’t say something real, it won’t last.

Want more honest thoughts on startup growth, storytelling, and branding that works?
→ Or follow my reflections on strategy at NicoletaKoronia
Blog