To be or not to be: What are we?

I think that all companies that try to disrupt their sector in one way or another ask themselves this simple question. Established businesses that play by the book know exactly who they are, as do their customers.

But what if you want to build something different?

We've spent months thinking about our positioning, changing our minds too many times.

Design subscription? Yes, we like the idea of a subscription, but usually people associate it with inconsistent results and not-so-dedicated designers.

In-house creative team? We certainly want our clients to see ourselves as a sort of in-house team, but we don't want them to think they can replace the whole team with us.

Traditional agencies? They're expensive, overkill for regular creative tasks, and too slow and rigid for startups.

Ok, so what?

We funnily took a clear position on our positioning, prioritizing some values and factors while others took second place.

So, we decided to position ourselves as a sort of lean traditional agency made up of 2 senior professionals, for different reasons:

• high standards and quality are important for us just as they are for traditional agencies (in general)

• everyone knows what an agency is and how it works, plus many of them already offer a retainer, which is very close to our subscription offer

• It's easier for us to explain and for people to understand what sets us apart from them: a very lean team, more convenient (but not "cheaper" in a negative sense), and much more flexible in our approach and processes

Building something different is exciting, but people can struggle to understand it if you don't explain it clearly.

A real comparison with something people have known for years or even decades can make a difference in this case.

You'll have time to create a completely new category or niche without comparisons later, when people start understanding what you do. At least, that's my opinion.