How Much Should Startups Spend on Branding Before a Raise?
Refreshed brand identity and website for Mangrove Clinical, designed to attract and engage investors — illustrating that you don’t need to invest in every brand element. Just what you need for your goal.
The short answer: not as much as you think. The real question is – what are you trying to prove?
Branding before a raise isn’t about perfection. It’s about permission.
Founders often ask, “How much should I spend on branding before I fundraise?”
What they’re really asking is:
Will this investment help me raise?
Will it pay off?
Is now even the right time? (we actually cover this one in more detail here)
Totally fair questions. And they don’t have a one-size-fits-all answer.
But here’s what we’ve seen work: spend just enough to remove friction.
That means:
Telling a coherent story across pitch + site
Looking credible enough for someone to take a meeting
Showing energy, momentum, and maturity
If you’re DIY-ing your way through Notion, Canva, and ChatGPT… that’s fine. But at a certain point, the brand starts costing you more than investing would.
You’re not buying polish. You’re buying clarity + confidence.
Investors back momentum. Teams with a clear sense of self. Decks that make sense without a voiceover.
Good brand strategy helps you:
Say the right thing, in the right way, fast
Prioritise clarity over clutter
Show people what you really care about
Great design, meanwhile, makes you:
Easier to trust
Easier to remember
Easier to share
It’s not “faking it till you make it.” It’s proving it before they ask.
So, what does it actually cost?
Depending on your stage, ambitions, and appetite, we’ve seen effective pre-raise branding cost anywhere from:
£3,000 – Lightweight, strategic tidy-up
£10,000–£25,000 – Core identity, founder-led messaging, deck, and site
£30,000+ – Full-stack brand system with expanded assets and rollout
More important than the number is the focus. You don’t need a brand bible and billboard campaign.
You need:
A visual identity that doesn’t feel like student work
That’s what makes someone lean in.
When should you spend?
You might not need to. Not yet. Not all of it.
But here’s when it does make sense:
You’ve raised a small friends & family or pre-seed round and want to upgrade
You’re about to pitch a meaningful seed raise
You’ve outgrown your DIY deck and feel embarrassed to send it
You want to show maturity without going full corporate
The right time is when your current brand is making things harder.
What if I’m not sure what I need?
That’s probably a sign you’d benefit from clarity.
We help founders make just enough brand investment to look the part and raise with confidence.
Let’s have a chat. We’ll help you figure out what needs changing – and what doesn’t.
Or, take a look at how our Brand Sprint works – a three-week way to get your identity pitch-ready without the agency bloat.