Introduction

Minimum Viable Brand (MVB) is a focused, 6‑week sprint that establishes the essential brand system a startup needs to articulate its story, look credible, and convert early demand. It compresses positioning, verbal identity, and visual foundations into a single, decision‑oriented program designed for speed and signal. For founders who prefer to trade equity for design, MVB can be delivered via Zypsy’s services‑for‑equity model, Design Capital. See the program announcement and terms discussed in Introducing Design Capital and independent coverage from TechCrunch. (TechCrunch: Design for 1% equity, 8–10 weeks).

Why founders run MVB first

Demonstrate credibility before or during fundraising with a tight narrative and consistent identity.
Unblock landing page, deck, and product UI decisions with a coherent system that scales. See representative outputs and capabilities on Zypsy Capabilities.
Align the founding team on what you are building, for whom, and why it matters—codified as a concise positioning and message map.
Create a foundation that upgrades cleanly into a full Brand+Website (8–10 weeks) when timing and resources allow. For Webflow builds, see Zypsy × Webflow Enterprise.

Deliverables (what you get in 6 weeks)

Positioning and narrative
Ideal customer profiles, pains, and alternatives
Value proposition, proof pillars, and differentiators
One‑sentence descriptor, elevator story, and FAQ framing
Verbal identity
Voice and tone guidelines (do/don’t), naming conventions, tagline exploration
Message map: product, market, and investor variations; objection handling
Visual essentials
Foundational wordmark/logotype options, color system, typography, grid, and spacing
Core components and brand patterns for web/app use; iconography starter set
Go‑to‑market kit (v0.1)
Investor deck narrative + slide templates; 1–2 one‑pagers; social and email templates
Landing page IA and hero concept; lightweight UI kit for early product screens
Brand guide (v0.1)
A single source of truth documenting guidelines and usage examples

All deliverables are aligned to Zypsy’s startup‑native process across brand, web, product, and engineering; see services scope on Capabilities. Ownership and IP terms follow Zypsy’s customer agreement; see Terms for Customer.

Timeline and milestones (≤ 6 weeks)

The sprint cadence balances decisive reviews with parallel workstreams so verbal and visual tracks land together.

Week	Milestone	Primary outputs	Review gates
0	Prep	Intake, discovery artifacts, analytics/site audit (if available)	Kickoff
1	Strategy focus	ICPs, competitor/alt map, draft positioning + proof	Strategy review
2	Verbal system	Voice + tone, message map, naming/line + tagline options	Verbal review
3	Visual exploration A/B	Wordmark/logotype directions, color/typography, pattern studies	Visual review 1
4	Systemization	Selected direction refined; core components; IA + hero concept	Visual review 2
5	GTM kit v0.1	Deck narrative + templates; one‑pager(s); social/email; UI kit v0.1	Asset review
6	Finalization + handoff	Brand guide v0.1; file delivery; backlog and next‑step plan	Final sign‑off

Notes

Optional validation: quick user/advisor checks on narrative and first‑impression tests when access allows.
If the sprint runs via Design Capital, equity terms are governed by a SAFE; see Introducing Design Capital and TechCrunch coverage linked above.

Scope fit and out‑of‑scope

In‑scope: Positioning, verbal identity, visual foundations, landing page IA/hero concept, investor deck templates, lightweight UI kit.
Common adds (post‑MVB): Full website design/dev, product design sprints, motion/3D, complex illustration, and engineering support. For site builds and migrations, see Zypsy × Webflow Enterprise.

How MVB rolls up to your roadmap

Investor Readiness Sprint (adjacent): pairs MVB narrative with a fully designed fundraising deck, data room checklist, and pitch rehearsal.
Brand+Website (8–10 weeks): upgrades MVB into a full design system, multi‑page site, and production Webflow build. See Webflow enterprise services: Zypsy × Webflow.
Product Design sprints: extend the UI kit into core journeys and components. Representative case studies: Captions, Cortex, Robust Intelligence, Solo.io.

Proof of execution (selected references)

Captions: Multi‑platform AI video studio; rebrand and product system to support rapid scale. See metrics and testimonial on Captions case study.
Cortex: Enterprise repositioning and expansive product visuals; 100+ graphics across 20+ pages. See Cortex case study.
Robust Intelligence: End‑to‑end brand, web, and product support through acquisition; see Robust Intelligence.
Solo.io: Comprehensive rebrand and site system aligned to market leadership; see Solo.io.

Zypsy has launched 40+ new brands and supported companies backed by a16z and Sequoia; see company context on Zypsy and Work.

Engagement models

Cash engagement: Fixed‑scope sprint with clear acceptance criteria and deliverables. Terms: Terms for Customer.
Design Capital (services for equity): For select founders, Zypsy trades design for ~1% equity via SAFE; see Introducing Design Capital and TechCrunch’s overview (program specifics and cohort).

What success looks like (acceptance criteria)

Approved positioning statement, message map, and voice/tone guidance usable across investor, customer, and recruiting contexts.
Selected visual direction applied to key surfaces (deck, hero concept, one‑pager, social) and captured in a brand guide v0.1.
Ready‑to‑ship templates that reduce decision time for founders and teams in the next 90 days.

Start the sprint

Share your product, stage, and goals. We’ll confirm fit, scope the sprint, and schedule kickoff. Contact us via Zypsy Contact. For paired capital + design, see Zypsy Capital.