How design can be used to lure confidence in investors.

Although it is difficult to raise money for your idea, we are going to look at how to impress investors that can help you secure funding for your startup.
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At some point, every entrepreneur has been where you are: trying to urge their business off the bottom but not necessarily having all the capital required. The good news is that technology is on our side. Today, we are in a position where we can create mobile app prototypes, product 3d CAD models and animations to demonstrate our ideas with just help of a laptop and decent internet.
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Nonetheless, the startup ecosystem is highly competitive. With the ease of access to knowledge and technology creatives and entrepreneur like yourself have flooded the market in every sector, and it is becoming difficult to attract clients and customers.

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A befitting design system and branding strategy help your business/startup to stand apart from the crowd. When I’m talking about design or branding, I’m not referring to only the visual appearance of a product or service but your system and strategy to success. Many entrepreneurs have already understood the importance of design in business. Steady investing in design is highly profitable, even in the long term.

How design and branding benefit your startup?

When you go to a new place where you meet a bunch of new people, whether its a school, college or the place you started working. How do you make friends there, do you make friends based on their marks or do you make spreadsheets and graphs of everyone's compatibility to befriend. No, most probably and I wish you don’t. You make friends based on their personality, “identity” because that’s what human do.

Similarly, your brand “identity” influences whether or not people choose to do business with you, more so than the company’s technical performance. We all see brands as people and judge them on similar standards: Do they think like me? Can I trust them? How does everyone else feel about them? This makes your brand identity, especially your logo, the “face” of your brand — one of your most potent business tools.

According to a research conducted by Warwick Business school among the several qualitative and quantitative benefits of design, business leaders have included: sales growth, increase of market share, cost reductions, and enhanced efficiency in production.

As an early startup investing in design might seem an expense, well, of course, there are plenty of other equally important areas to fund. But a design student with your guidance at a very low price can also do wonders for your business.


So, When should you begin with your design process?

You can have your customers even before launching your product and the key to it is the design system for your social media. When you’re pitching to an investor, a time would come when investors would ask you about accomplishments you already have made in your business/startup and you’ll have to provide solid data. This is where social media would come handy.

In 2019, an estimated 2.95 billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to almost 3.43 billion in 2023. India is no distant, After the government’s Digital India initiatives country’s digital population grows approximately 688 million active users as of January 2020.

Social media is not just about sharing your cat pictures and texting your friends. Social media allows you to create your brand awareness, validate your product/service, and connecting with actual customers. If someone can actually see how your idea would work, they’ll feel more confident in their investment.


‍Build your brand identity
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Your brand identity is how you would like to portray your business to your customers, and includes how you choose your business name, the design of your logo, the colours and shapes or graphics you use, and the type of language you use (your “tone of voice”).
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Though many startups make a logo most of them neglects the other expects of Brand design. Which turns out to be a whole new disaster. Your startup/business brand identity place a vital role in communicating your message to others.

Never is this more important when seeking funding from investors. When it comes to investing, potential partners also view your brand as a person and ask themselves, “Is this the kind of person I want to work with?” The answer to that question ultimately lies in how strong your brand identity is.

Brand identity fuels recognition amplifies differentiation and makes big ideas and meaning accessible. Brand identity takes disparate elements and unifies them into whole systems.

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Build your Website
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Consumer behaviour has changed over time, every time a consumer buys something even if not online he/she check it on the internet first. You’ll need a website sooner or later no matter what industry you’re in, so why not do it early. Even your investors expect the startup/business to have an amazing website, which not only legitimises your product/services but also show the dedication you have towards your idea.
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Not having a website makes consumer trust you less. However also a bad website design would not help you at all. You’ll have only 10 seconds of your website visitors to present your first impression and convince your brand message. This is where a good brand identity helps you.

Remember design is an ongoing process which evolves with you and your company. So, be ready for critics and keep an open mind towards feedback. At the early stages of your business is very much expected for fine-tuning your brand identity. chances are high that, it’ll require some trial-and-error, so don’t be afraid to tweak the edges here and there.