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“Vision and strategy require a lot of thinking about brand.” Mona Bijoor would know. She spends a lot of her time thinking about and helping early-stage founders startup, scale, and grow their businesses, which, as she notes, involves more thinking about brand than most realize. She’s also the author of the new book, Startups and Downs, The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast.
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About Mona Bijoor
Mona Bijoor is a partner at King Circle Capital LLC, an investment and advisory firm, where she has holdings in real estate, franchises, start-ups, and online businesses. Mona is also the founder of JOOR, the premier online global B2B marketplace for wholesale buying that directly connects brands and retailers.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, Mona lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters. She is the Amazon best selling author of Startups and Downs, The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs and a frequent contributor to TechCrunch, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global.
Episode Highlights
“As a founder, you need to work backward,” Mona notes. “This is a common challenge from mom and pops on up. Your brand isn’t just your mark. It’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
Mona’s startup story on brand. Early in the podcast, Mona shared a story about branding her first SAAS startup. “We over-indexed on customer service because we were so paranoid about what people were saying about our service when we weren’t in the room.”
Why all startup brands should create a brand book. Mona advises all startups she advises—regardless of industry—to make a brand book. This should include information on why your brand exists and the pain points in the market you address. It should also feature your mission, objectives, and a profile of your target market. In the end, the book serves as a kind of “North Star” for anyone at the company to use in their day-to-day work living the brand.
What brand has made Mona smile recently? “It’s actually right down the street from me—the store Camp.” Mona shared this modern take on a toy store and a recent magical visit with her kids that brought smiles to all of their faces.
To learn more, check out Mona’s new book Startups and Downs, The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs and connect with her on LinkedIn.
As We Wrap …
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On Brand is sponsored by my book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more.
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Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!
