You got a “B-”

“Solid Core, Room to Shine”

You’ve built a basic brand foundation, but there are a few areas where clarity or consistency could improve. Your story resonates, but it could hit even harder with a little polish and discipline.

·Tighten your brand story: revisit your brand strategy and messaging to update, complete, or simplify

·Audit your visuals and language across platforms for consistency.

·Introduce compelling and engaging brand refresh workshops to keep everyone aligned and inspired.

Now that you know your brand’s true score, it’s time to turn insight into action. Here’s how Brand Story Machine can help you strengthen your messaging, tighten your visuals, and build a clear path to an A+ brand… 👇

STARTUP FOUNDERS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS:

You’re close, now here’s how to tighten your message so your brand clicks everywhere…

(No expensive agencies, generic templates, or AI fluff. Just a clear message that finally clicks.)

Ready to turn your solid foundation into a brand that truly clicks? Let’s build your next step. Schedule a Free Brand Improvement plan with our in-house brand expert, Shannon Riordan.

(Limited spaces)

STARTUPS, SOLO FOUNDERS, EARLY‑STAGE TEAMS…

  • You launched fast without a clear brand strategy. Now your message feels scattered and confusing. 

  • You know your business is valuable, but it’s hard to explain it in a way that resonates.

  • Your team members are describing the offering and the benefits differently. 

  • You’re not getting the engagement you’re hoping for from potential investors and your target customers.

  • You need to grow the business, but don’t have clarity on what direction to go in.

Does this sound like you right now?

Shannon Riordan and Julia Hu discuss brand strategy, with trees and houses in the background.

Maybe you’ve tried…

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  • Doing it all yourself. You've spent countless hours on pitch decks, websites, and content, but your messaging still feels scattered, and nothing seems to land.

  • Hiring an expensive agency. You've looked into it, but a full agency engagement is too slow and costs tens of thousands of dollars (funds you don't have).

  • Using AI tools as a shortcut. You've tried them, but the results all sound the same and fail to capture the unique voice of your brand.

  • Trying to be everything to everyone. You've tried to appeal to every possible customer to help increase revenue, only to find that your message is confusing everyone and resonating with no one.

This is what having a clear brand story can do for your business…

A woman with long blonde hair smiling outdoors, wearing a blue blouse, with a stone wall and greenery in the background.

“The workshop surfaced a number of questions and a lot of nuance that we hadn't thought of nor articulated. The final deliverable captured the essence of that messy discussion and simplified it into something that is clear, interesting, and easy to work with." 

- Jacqlyn Hogan, Co-founder and Partner, LevelUp

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“I've been through many branding exercises and it's taken months to get to what Brand Story Machine delivered.. In just 90 minutes.” 

- Rasheq Zarif, Co-Founder and COO, ReWyre

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“It provided the perfect guardrails so we weren’t off into the ether talking to ourselves.”

– Casey Fritz, MSc, Senior Planner, Zero Waste Marin

We’ve been trusted by:

Colorful logo with the word "triv" in stylized, overlapping text.
An illustration of a black lightning bolt inside a circle on a white background.
PayPal logo with blue and dark blue 'P' symbol and the word 'PayPal' underneath.
LifLlock by Norton logo with a yellow checkmark inside a yellow circle
Warner Bros. logo in red with a black background.
Black circle with a blue and black Visa logo in the center.
Logo of Marim Software with a black background, featuring a stylized 'A' in blue and dark gray, and the company name in blue and black.
Sephora logo with black background and white text.
Logo of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with stylized red text and black graphic elements.

Your Brand Story is your blueprint to finally…

A diagram illustrating the components of a brand strategy, including Attributes, Benefits, Positioning, Brand Personality, Core Offering, Purpose Statement, with connecting lines.
Blue asterisk with the word 'Messaging' written across the middle.
  • 🚀 Raise capital faster—because investors hear your pitch and instantly get what makes you different.

  • 💬 Create messaging that sounds like you—clear, confident, and impossible to ignore.

  • 👥 Rally your team around a shared story—aligned, energized, and ready to move in the same direction.

  • 🧠 Create content in half the time—with sharp, on-brand copy that lands on the first draft.

  • 🎯 See customers feel seen, investors lean in, and partners say yes.

  • 🔥 Build a brand that does the heavy lifting—building recognition, trust, and momentum every time it shows up.

If any of this resonates, you’re in the right place.

We specialize in helping startups, solo founders, and early-stage teams find the words that help them punch above their weight and become household names.

This brand clarity will aid you in creating content for…

  • Investor pitch decks

  • Onboarding new employees

  • Talent recruitment

  • Website and sales materials

  • Social media content

  • About us and press release boilerplate

Your brand is your lifeline.
— Mark Cuban, Entrepreneur & Investor on Shark Tank
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Why are we so confident a strong brand is the rocket fuel your business needs?

Hi, I’m Shannon Riordan, founder of Brand Story Machine. After two decades of building brand strategies for startups and global giants alike, I’ve seen how often small businesses skip this fundamental foundational work, usually because of cost, time, or lack of access.

The result? Mixed messages, team misalignment, and marketing that fails to connect.

Together with my tech lead, Julia Hu, we built Brand Story Machine as a new kind of brand strategy development tool that blends expert guidance, AI-driven efficiency, and behavioral science.

Our purpose is simple: to make the strategic power of brand accessible to every business, regardless of its size, stage, or resources.

Traditional brand strategy can cost upwards of $25,000 and require weeks or months of internal time. We saw an opportunity to deliver the same value, faster and more affordably.

What used to be out of reach is now within grasp. Brand is no longer a luxury for the well-funded; it’s your competitive edge.

I truly believe that when startups skip brand strategy, they’re not just cutting costs, they’re cutting their potential.

Talk Soon

I can’t wait to speak with you.

On our call, I'll share with you the exact roadmap to building a strong brand and get your top questions answered.

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