“How often should our climate tech startup go through with a full rebrand?” 👨🎨
I get this question especially from startups that have been around for 5-10 years.
They’re wondering this because they look back over their shoulder, and there’s inevitably been frequent brand changes up until now.
These reflect big changes to the company itself, such as:
1️⃣ Changing the overall GTM strategy
2️⃣ Refining or expanding product offerings
3️⃣ Breaking into new markets
So it makes sense, if this is true, that the mission, values, and messaging have probably been in flux and, as a result, the rest of the brand.
When I typically see brands start to get more established is during the Series A stage.
And I definitely recommend doing that work then (at the latest).
Because the sooner startups can go in one clear direction as a brand, the sooner they can ramp up sales and marketing efforts to produce more scalable growth (which is one of the primary goals during Series A).
Once the brand is settled, that doesn’t mean you can’t keep refining it.
In my experience, once you start actually using a set of brand guidelines and trying out different scenarios, there might be slight adjustments.
So it’s worth it to review and update your brand guidelines once a year.
As far as major rebrands, popular sources suggest that most companies go through a rebrand every 7-10 years.
And we see that progression play out with climate tech unicorn Aurora Solar, valued at $4B when it raised its Series D in 2022.
But note this: whatever the timing, doing a rebrand isn’t just about changing the logo.
What often prompts a rebrand in the first place is that feeling something is off.
When you get that feeling, it’s easy to think it’s just time to switch up the color palette or update the company homepage.
But here’s where to really start:
🔵 Revisit your mission, vision, and values. Do they still hold up?
🔵 Dig into your customer research. Which are your most profitable accounts? And how are they using your product?
🔵 Document your revised marketing strategy.
🔵 Based on the above, update your brand identity and guidelines.
🔵 Finally, go back and make sure all your marketing assets are aligned with the new brand.
Because the best brands are more than just a pretty logo…
They’re an extension of a solid mission, the result of understanding the customer, and a visual representation of a unified marketing strategy.