Back to the future | STFO 🤘
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I started this week with my rebrand's before and after; I then explained why I made it happen and why I've picked a French rooster as a mascot. Today, I want to share the full timeline of the rebranding—which started much earlier than you may think—to put things into perspective. Feb. 2015 I've quit my job as a marketer in a local startup to launch my own "startup," which I initially called Slices.io. I designed the first logo in PowerPoint: A few weeks later, I realized I had no f*cking clue what I was doing, so I pivoted to marketing consulting and renamed the business to... Slices Consulting. Oct. 2016 I got a bit of traction working for local businesses and a couple of SaaS companies, hired a couple of people, and worked with a local branding agency to look more "professional:" We had a visual identity that aligned with what I was doing. But secretly, I was hoping this change would fix my business. There was barely any demand for the sh*t we were selling, and all my energy was spent trying to convince clients that they should invest money in it. Apr. 2017 Launch of the podcast Everyone Hates Marketers: I designed the logo myself in Canva. May 2017 I burn the f*ck out. We failed to generate the desired results for our biggest SaaS client. This was the last straw. I knew I was done. I let go of my employees and got a job at Hotjar (after meeting the CEO on my podcast—big win!). May. 2018 I run the podcast alongside my demanding full-time job and invest a few bucks in refreshing EHM's visual identity:
Jun. 2020 The podcast is getting more and more traction, and I can't help but think about turning it into a real business. At the start of Covid, I took a bunch of pictures with my iPhone to show my face a bit more. One of those photos becomes the one I use everywhere, particularly on LinkedIn:
Sept. 2020 I leave Hotjar and launch the first cohort of my 8-week program, that I called "Stand The F*ck Out," under the "Everyone Hates Marketers" umbrella. To my surprise, the concept around "Stand The F*ck Out" is getting traction. I'm having fun on LinkedIn and starting to grow my email list. Jan. 2023 I'm close to burning out because I put all my eggs in the same basket. I solely rely on the cohort-based course to generate enough revenue for a year, which isn't sustainable. I decide to diversify my income streams. Mar. 2023 At the end of a coaching call, a marketing consultant I know from the interwebs tells me she was surprised I was so nice to her during the session. She expected me to be tougher and more intimidating. The same week, a friend and experienced creative director tells me my current brand identity doesn't do me justice. "There's only one picture of you on the internet. This is weird." Jul. 2023 I decide to take my branding more seriously, starting with a solid photoshoot brief with the help of my friend Hillary Weiss: Oct. 2023 I get in touch with a couple of fashion photographers in the Dublin area and send them the brief. I pick a young photographer who's never worked with "people like me" before in order to avoid going into the corporate portrait clichés: Dec. 2023 I send an email to no-nonsense designer Martin Ollivere. I want to work with him because he's been following me for a long time and he gets my vibe. He's happy to help but doesn't have much time. This is music to my ears; I don't have much time either. We schedule a one-hour workshop to agree on a creative direction. A week later, he sends me a couple of concepts: And I'm in love. A couple of days later, he sends me my brand kit: Jan. 2024 I work on a simple website architecture for the new website and write copy for every page. It doesn't take me long but I just can't wait to publish it. I decide to ditch Webflow in favor of low-code website builder Framer. It's just much easier to use. Feb. 2024 I make the move to Framer and use Podia for the "products" side of the website. I design brand assets in Canva for everything else, including LinkedIn. We go live and I start talking about it. And here we are. |
