Steampunk comes to Newton.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Jake Von Slatt on his Victorian-Era RV; an old converted school bus. Yes, its a little weird - one one might ask, "why?" But you just have to love this style to understand the answer of a mere shrug of the shoulders. 

So what is Steampunk? I like how Aether Emporium describes it: "Steampunk is an eclectic world of cogs and rivets. It is airships, goggles and steam. It is romance. It is traveling on clouds and diving beneath rugged waves. It is adventure." It's essentially a combination of high-tech buried beneath a classic mechanical exterior.

You can see some examples of steampunk on the silver screen in Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, Sean Connery's last film, A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Jake's web site shows what you can accomplish when you have a vivid and  creative imagination, quite a bit of skill, and a lot of time. He also explains how he makes a lot of his creations. You can see more of the photos I took here.

I'm currently reading The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. Its based on Charles Babbage's plan for a victorian-era computing device, finally built by engineers and curators at London's Science Museum. I'll let you know what I think.

How does a good brand help a new company?

It's interesting how much effort and money goes into companies with little thought to what their brand is. Actually, I believe that a lot of thought does go into a company's brand early on - but then it falls aside to more important things like team building and funding. Its not difficult to build a strong brand - as long as you don't let it fall.

I've been attending various entrepreneurship meetings over the past year - including the latest one at the Emerging Enterprise Center at Foley Hoag. In attendance were many financial(VC) and legal advisors - all eager to offer advice to help on the next greatest company. They're focused on their expertise - so here's mine.

1) Name the company something that makes sense, and come up with a logo. The logo doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, but it definitely should be clean and professional. After all, you're looking for someone to trust you enough to invest a lot of money in your idea. I showed an early design of our marketing kit to a client when I was debating the cost of producing it. She told me that if they saw that amount of pride and effort I took in my own company, they would feel confident that they would be treated the same way. It shows commitment and professionalism - both necessary to obtain funding.

2) Until you have a reputation, your communication tools make your brand. What your company does, and possibly what it doesn't do is in your business plan of course. But stay true to who you are. How you explain your company, how you target your marketing, and how your web site looks all makes up your brand. Also - don't underestimate the first impression a business card can make. 

3) Consistently apply your brand. This isn't hard if a little effort is made. A simple but easy to read PowerPoint presentation is necessary. Business cards and a web site are next. Web sites can grow as the business grows - but at least show who the team is, discuss the company, and of course a contact page. A good design agency will help keep your brand strong and consistent.

4) Designers are creative, out-of-the-box thinkers. I love to conceptualize and always want to know how my clients are marketing themselves and building their business. Doesn't it make sense to get a creative professional's perspective? When talking about deciding on what companies to invest in at the Emerging Enterprise Center yesterday, Jonathan Selig, Managing Director, Globespan Capital Partners said, "This is a lemming business. We are not individual thinkers." Ahh- but designing is a creative business.

So maybe our studio is a little different because we're trying to establish lots of long-term relationships. We're patient, and realize that eventually, relationships pay off in one way or another. Involve us early, and build a great brand while you build your company.