BRAND START is a group mentoring program that took place in person at PALCO COLLECTIVE. This program is designed for entrepreneurs or business owners who have a business idea but don’t know where to start, as well as those who already have an established business but feel the need to restructure it and are looking to improve it through rebranding.
What motivated us to create this course?
We launched this mentoring program in January 2024 because we recognized that many people start their projects without experience or consistency. We are committed to helping entrepreneurs and business owners launch or relaunch their projects with consistency, purpose, and strategy. We draw on our experience in the world of brands and business. We deal daily with a wide variety of businesses and brands that have different market visions; many of them are well-structured businesses with sound management practices and consistency. Our experience and perspective can be an asset in helping you chart a successful path.
Purpose:
In this training session, we will guide you through every step involved in designing a business, from creating its story, purpose, and visual identity to developing its product, as well as the corresponding communication materials and other strategies we apply to the brands we develop. This training will feature special guests whom we believe will add value for all participants. These guests are people who are part of our business circle and who, in a way, serve as a source of inspiration and a point of reference.
SESSION 1
Identify what motivates you;
Personal Brand;
What is your life purpose in relation to your brand?
The first group mentoring session began with a very important topic: identifying what motivates us to start a business, aligning our life’s purpose with our brand, and the importance of having a personal brand that inspires the community.
As a special guest, we were joined by Vera Fernandes, Founder and Creative Director of Buzina, who shared her experience as an entrepreneur and businesswoman. A journey marked by ups and downs, where taking risks and believing in the project is essential to achieving goals.
Key takeaway from the first session:
Great ideas and products, before they became available on the market, were conceived and created—and many of them only succeeded after numerous failures.
When we decide to develop a business idea or join a project, it’s important to identify the obstacles and view them as an opportunity to do things differently by introducing something new to the market.
By identifying a gap in the market, we can turn it into a solution. That’s how Big Ideas are born. Our life experience is unique, as is our vision for a particular idea, which can be creative and authentic.
SESSION 2
The idea, product/service;
Target audience and the competition;
Brand voice and messaging.
The second session of this group mentoring program featured our special guest, António Pinto Leite, an attorney and specialist in business law. António discussed all the legal considerations to keep in mind when starting a business. Registering a name and logo is one of the processes most often overlooked by brands and companies. Our lawyer also discussed the importance of privacy and data protection policies for companies seeking to operate in the digital space.
We believe that a good lawyer is one of the crucial factors to consider when thinking about starting a business, regardless of its type.
Following António’s presentation, we began the session by explaining the importance of the process of questioning and reflection as we begin to uncover the meaning and identity of our business idea.
Important message about the second session:
WHO ARE WE? WHERE ARE WE? WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Questioning is at the heart of our existence. Reason and emotion clash, and they are the starting point for our journey through life.
Even unconsciously, we are always searching for answers to life’s questions. When it comes to building and managing a brand, the process is no different.
When was the last time you stopped to think about your brand? About your business idea? What innovations can you bring to it, and how often? A business is like a living being, constantly changing and growing.
SESSION 3
The Name and Logo.
In this session, we discuss the importance of a brand name and the different types of names, including examples of when brands are also the founders’ own names. We’ll illustrate this with some real-world examples we’re familiar with, specifically from businesses featured in BRAND START. In this session, we’ll show how we’ve developed the branding/rebranding process for some of the businesses and brands we’ve worked with, explaining the process from brand strategy through to visual identity and iconography.
Important message regarding the second session:
Our special guest for this session is one of the executives at SANJO, a Portuguese brand with a 100-year legacy and history in the domestic market. Helder Pinto summarized the brand’s history, its legacy among nostalgic generations, and the sense of community the brand has fostered over the years. We chose SANJO for this session because it serves as a beautiful example of how the brand reinvented itself and repositioned itself after the ups and downs of its life cycle.
The brand manager spoke about the importance of knowing when to say no and setting a clear path of objectives when it comes to positioning a brand with a legacy in the market.
SESSION 4
Brand Visual Content: Campaigns / Editorials / Styling and other types of content;
Packaging – Unboxing;
Physical Experience.
In this session, we discussed the importance of consistency in a brand’s visual content for its positioning. We discussed and provided examples of the various materials a brand needs to represent itself across the different channels where it operates.
Visual content must be consistent across all of the brand’s touchpoints in the physical channel, including packaging and the physical experience. We provided several practical examples to help the mentees understand the consistency of these touchpoints.
As a special guest, we invited Daniela Gomes, founder of the Madeira Rosa studio, who discussed the importance of a brand’s physical experience.
Important message regarding the second session:
Just as with the development of a person’s visual identity, a brand also “dresses itself.” By this we mean that every brand must have its own curation and style. This applies not only to clothing brands, but to all types of brands and products on the market.
In CURATION, everything must be strategically designed with the intention of generating an emotional response. As a result of this process, the brand’s image is established in accordance with the business’s visual identity and imagery.
The brand gains ground and prominence in the market, and people approve of all the work the brand develops. However, each person creates their own version of the brand, based on their interpretation and perception, thereby giving it meaning.
SESSION 5
Communication;
E-commerce;
The Power of Partnerships.
A brand’s communication can serve various purposes, whether institutional or commercial (to drive sales and promote products, or for positioning purposes), for example. Communication should aim to build connections and evoke emotion within the brand community. And as long as people have aspirations, desires, and dreams, a brand’s communication has a strong opportunity to move its audience.
Storytelling should be an integral part of the communication and marketing strategy for the brand and product’s image. Regardless of the path chosen, after creating a story, it is important to consider the dissemination strategy—how to reach people and get the story circulating.
In this session, we also discussed how an e-commerce project should be designed and planned, as well as the key success factors for a successful project. We discussed the importance of a consistent product and the types of products that sell best online.
The power of partnerships was another topic covered, and we provided examples of the types of partnerships that can be developed within a company and the impact these have on a business’s strategic plan.
Our special guest was Rita Oliveira from the Portuguese brand GUAJA, who spoke about the brand’s creation process and the strategic planning of an e-commerce business. Rita explained the importance of conceiving and designing a consistent product line where quality and fit are the brand’s key differentiators. Transparency in processes and product manufacturing also sets the brand apart in its communication. The role of the founders is very important for the brand’s image and sales.
Important message regarding the fifth session:
Financial planning for a business, as well as reaching the right audience, is one of the fundamental aspects of running a business. Customer service is another key differentiator that a brand must establish, as it is a crucial component of the customer’s online shopping experience.
Supporting the community was another topic discussed. A brand operating in Portugal should support its community of local partners and suppliers, as this helps the national economy circulate and grow. This was undoubtedly an important message that we strongly advocate and strive to convey in all PALCO projects.
SESSION 6
The Fear of Failure.
This session focused on one of the most important aspects of starting a business: the financial literacy an entrepreneur needs to establish and effectively manage a business. Introducing this topic was essential, as we feel that many entrepreneurs launch their businesses without considering the financial structure or the business’s financial goals, which are necessary for its sustainability in the short, medium, and long term.
It was a very educational session where our mentees were thrilled by the tips and insights shared by João Miguel, an accountant at PALCO and founder of GACIAVE.
An important takeaway from the final session of BRAND START:
The fear of failure is a constant feeling in the life of an entrepreneur and business owner. The truth is, we will fail, and that’s okay.
Failure is important for us to realize what we didn’t do well and to do better. We grow up being taught that mistakes are bad, but in reality, they are the catalyst for continuous learning on our personal and professional journeys. Making the same mistakes over and over again in the same process is what isn’t normal, and that should be avoided at all costs. Our mentees asked us countless questions about the fear of failure. One of the greatest examples we’ve always tried to follow was seeking out various mentors from different fields to help us build a consistent journey on this tumultuous path of creating and managing a business. It’s important to find the right people to help us develop our ideas and achieve the goals we’ve set for our lives and our business.
Our educational role is designed to guide entrepreneurs and business owners through the process of building a business and brand.
Here are some testimonials from our mentees:
the founder