I was talking to a founder last week who's been paralyzed for months.
His product is solid. His team knows what they're doing. But he's stuck because he thinks his brand needs to be "Apple-level perfect" before he can really start selling.
Meanwhile, his competitor who has a worse product and zero brand polish, is crushing it in sales.
Here's what I told him.
Your brand's job isn't to be the prettiest or most clever. Your brand's job is to build trust so people feel safe buying from you.
That's it.
Look at most AI companies right now. Lovable doesn't have the slick branding of a car company, and neither does bolt.
Hell, most of these startups look like they threw together their websites in a weekend.
But they're dominating because they focus on what actually matters: delivering a good experience and solid customer support.
People don't need perfection. They need confidence that you'll take care of them after they hand over their money.
I see too many entrepreneurs spending months obsessing over their logo while their customer service is garbage. Or they'll hire expensive brand agencies while their product still has basic bugs.
Wrong priorities.
Here's what builds trust:
Your product works as promised.
You respond when customers have problems.
You don't disappear after the sale.
Your website doesn't look like it was built in 1999.
That's about 80% of it right there.
The fancy brand stuff — the storytelling, the visual identity, the emotional positioning — that comes later.
After you've proven you can deliver the basics.
I learned this the hard way with my first company. Spent way too much time making everything look perfect while my customers were dealing with issues I should have fixed months earlier.
The second company? I focused on being reliable first, beautiful second.
Guess which one people trusted more?
Your customers aren't judging you against Coca-Cola. They're judging you against their last bad experience with a company that promised big and delivered nothing.
Be the company that actually follows through. Answer your emails. Fix problems quickly. Make your website clear and functional.
Do that consistently, and your brand will be stronger than 90% of your competitors who are still debating font choices.
The trust comes from your actions, not your aesthetics.
Stop waiting for perfect. Start being reliable.
What's one simple thing you can improve in your customer experience this week? Hit reply and let me know, I read & reply to every response.
— Shashank