Early Stage Startup- Looking for Feedback

[FriendlyVillain]

Hello Fastlaners,

I'm working on developing my Market Research Agency and I would really appreciate some feedback from you, especially considering my target is digital entrepreneurs.

To get the elephant out of the room- I do have clients and I'm not just starting and wasting time on non-essential things (or so I think, ha!)

My niche is technology markets such as Fintech, Insurtech, Blockchain, and others. I'll greatly appreciate your opinion on 2 things:

1) The name I chose for the brand is Owliver and the logo will be of a White Owl. I can explain why I chose that, but I'd like to hear your thoughts first. Do the name and its associations make sense to you, considering we provide market research services?

2) I've noticed my clients are primarily in their expansion phases, so I need to figure out what are some signs that a company is ready to expand or is looking to do so. This will help me target the right clients. I noticed one of the late signs of expansion is when the company starts hiring sales staff. However, I think at that point they already know where they should go and they no longer need research services. So, if you can help brainstorm some ideas, or at least give me a direction of where to look for such signs, I'll greatly appreciate you.

Thanks!

 

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[Einfamilienhaus]

1) The name I chose for the brand is Owliver and the logo will be of a White Owl. I can explain why I chose that, but I'd like to hear your thoughts first. Do the name and its associations make sense to you, considering we provide market research services?

Nobody cares about your Logo. The only situation where it could be important to have a corporation identity like this, is when your company is multi million dollars worth.

People will hire you because of your results and not the logo or the fancy company name. Especially in your Honeymoon Startup stage where you don't have any clients.

2) I've noticed my clients are primarily in their expansion phases, so I need to figure out what are some signs that a company is ready to expand or is looking to do so. This will help me target the right clients. I noticed one of the late signs of expansion is when the company starts hiring sales staff. However, I think at that point they already know where they should go and they no longer need research services. So, if you can help brainstorm some ideas, or at least give me a direction of where to look for such signs, I'll greatly appreciate you.

You are about to offer a Market Research service. Why don't you use your own service to make some market research about your potential clients ?

If you found at least 3 bullet points which could identify the companies you might could work with. You would maybe receive better answers to your problem.

 

[FriendlyVillain]

Nobody cares about your Logo. The only situation where it could be important to have a corporation identity like this, is when your company is multi million dollars worth.

People will hire you because of your results and not the logo or the fancy company name. Especially in your Honeymoon Startup stage where you don't have any clients.

Let me clarify myself to better understand my decisions.

I started this as a freelancer and got quite decent results. Then I realized I'm actually very good at strategy and started utilizing that skill (by hiring people, starting the company development). At one point I got over the fear of hiring people (or outsourcing work). This allowed me to control the whole research process from a strategic standpoint. And by outsourcing, I'm getting expanded expertise. So, I'm trying to build a brand, and when I do it, I'll be able to sell branding as a service, I'll have acquired a new skill, and I'll use myself as a very strong case study.

Also, currently, I have clients- that's why I'm focusing on expanding it now till I stand on relatively stable ground.

In the long-term, I want to go to the big bois, and to do that I definitely need to have a brand.

You are about to offer a Market Research service. Why don't you use your own service to make some market research about your potential clients ?

If you found at least 3 bullet points which could identify the companies you might could work with. You would maybe receive better answers to your problem.

Part of the process of that research is me asking this forum about that. Getting fresh perspectives is always helpful.

Another thing- I'm able to identify suitable companies. However, I need suitable companies at the right stage of their development. They need to be in a position to afford a market expansion. I'm looking for signs regarding how does that look.

One example is: the company needs to have money and one way to get money is funding. So, targeting companies in the post-seed stage seems appropriate. If someone here knows of a way on how to predict the company is likely to hire a sales team soon, then that would be great if you shared the knowledge!


Hopefully, that clarifies my struggles.