$6M
raised in pre-seed funding with a validated go-to-market strategy
200+
people-first employers whose employees trust Advance
5
major partnerships from BPO and HR tech industries
The Client
Advance started back in 2019 without a marketing team, a branding, a digital footprint, or a growth strategy. Advance has since grown to be the fastest and most convenient online salary loan provider in the market that aims to make financial freedom accessible to the Filipino workforce. They are on a mission to make employees more productive by allowing them to understand, control and maximize their earnings.
Read more to learn about how they secured a pre-seed funding.
Services
Go-to-Market Strategy, Brand Strategy, Product Marketing
The Challenge: Positioning the brand for the long game
When Advance approached the founding member of our team, they needed help in the following aspects of their Go-to-Market strategy:
- Brand Strategy – This is critical for the success of a tech startup, such as Advance. When it comes to branding, it’s more than just a visual representation of the company through a logo or color scheme. Advance’s founding team understood that branding encompasses the entire image and perception that customers and potential customers have of their business. One crucial aspect of branding is establishing a clear vision and mission for the company. These elements serve as the foundation for all branding efforts and messaging, which Advance hasn’t clearly defined at the beginning of our engagement. Without a clear vision and mission, it can be challenging to create a consistent and compelling brand message that will resonate with their customers.
- Customer Validation – With no defined target users or ideal customer persona (ICP) profile, acquiring customers proved challenging. Do their customers have an actual need for the product? Will they use it? If they do, how often? Are they targeting the right people? Who should they target first? Which of their target customers will be early brand advocates? They needed to validate their customers in order to understand who their early evangelists were and will the product features appropriately reflect their needs.
- Setting up the marketing team – Every tech startup like Advance needs to create brand awareness among its target audience to attract customers and investors. A good marketing team can help create a strong brand identity and awareness through various channels like social media, content marketing, email marketing. Advance also needs to establish credibility and trust with its customers and investors. The right marketing team can help a tech startup like them create content that positions it as an expert in its industry and establishes its credibility.
The Insight: The road to pre-seed funding
A strong brand positioning matched with a strong marketing team enabled Advance to succeed in its pre-seed funding efforts due to the following aspects:
- Differentiation: A well-defined brand positioning helped Advance stand out from its competitors. When a startup can articulate its unique value proposition, investors are more likely to take notice and see the potential for long-term success.
- Credibility: A strong brand positioning also helped build Advance’s credibility with investors. By clearly communicating their startup’s mission, vision, and target audience, investors were able to better understand the startup’s potential for success.
- Scalability: A well-defined brand positioning can also help a startup scale more effectively. By identifying a specific target audience and messaging that resonates with them, Advance can built a strong foundation for growth and expansion.
Explore Advance’s offerings here.
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Advance’s story can be yours, too. If you’re a founder with an idea or a product that’s ready to launch or scale, we can start your journey to growth today.