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Brand Matters: Turning Your Brand Into A Competitive Advantage

Monday, February 27, 2012 from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM (ET)

New York, United States

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Ticket Type Sales End Price Fee Quantity
Single Ticket Ended $30.00 $2.49
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Event Details

Brand Matters // BUSINESS 183

Phin Barnes, Principal at First Round Capital 

Monday, February 27th from 8:00 - 9:30 pm

Start-ups need to build brands to succeed. The commoditization of the technology stack means the copycats are coming and they run fast. In many cases, the only difference between you and everyone else is your brand. A focus on understanding the consumer and being best at the one thing they care most about is the only way to win. The next wave of massive enterprise value creation requires brand investment and leaders need to differentiate on deep consumer insight and exceptional product experience to earn consumer love and loyalty.

In this session you will hear an argument for the value of brand building in start-ups and learn how to define your brand and maximize the leverage this can create. Over the course of 2 hours we will work through customer definition, brand values and messaging. Everyone will get a chance to design a brand and craft a consistent brand voice or apply the exercises to a real company you are currently building. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of the value of brand for a start-up and with specific tools to help them lead brand creation efforts at their current companies.

The session is geared towards current members of start-up teams, but is open to anyone who wants to learn more about brand creation and the leverage it can create for a company at any stage.

Phin Barnes is a Principal at First Round Capital. Before joining First Round Capital, Phin founded ResponDesign, an independent videogame company that developed and published Yourself!Fitness, the first fitness game for Xbox and PlayStation2. Prior to this Phin was one of the first employees at AND 1 Basketball where he spent six years leading product direction, managing relationships with national retail accounting and created the initial concept for the signature AND 1 marketing property—the AND 1 Mix Tape.

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When & Where


902 Broadway, 4th Floor
New York, 10010

Monday, February 27, 2012 from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM (ET)


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General Assembly



General Assembly is a campus for technology, design, and entrepreneurship. We provide educational programming, space, and support to facilitate collaborative practices and learning opportunities across a community inspired by the entrepreneurial experience.