Loons & Matches

Typical made trailblazing

What the company does
Invest in startups.

What designers did
Rebranded the company, giving it a new name and unlocking previously undiscovered strategic potential, positioning it uniquely in the venture capital market.

Verbal Identity

Naming

Loons & Matches

Brand Anthem

We’re revenue & progress strategists. We ignite market-ready startups, just like Facebook when we designed its early multi-billion-dollar revenue system. Consulting as a boutique, not a corporation, allows us to operate unconventionally. We’re a peculiar team of a Harvard-trained neurohacker, startup-to-scaleup whisperer, three-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion, & a unicorns’ revenue architect. A perfect match.

Tagline

The Mad Ignite Change

Supportive Copy

If you give extraordinary people $2 billion worth of knowledge, funny things happen.

Ignite your market-ready startup.

Emily Kwok
The Conscious Competitor
Emily is a peak performance mentor (as a three-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion). She trains startup teams to survive and succeed in a competitive market.
She helps founders remain focused, self-aware, strong-willed, conscientious, efficient, and effective throughout the startup lifecycle and beyond.
Keeps the fire burning.

Dan Tretola
The Billions Guy
Dan is a unicorns’ revenue architect. 
He boosted Facebook’s revenue from $50M to $20B, 
he skyrocketed several market categories’ value, 
he aided Old Spice and assisted Bolt.
Dan helps startup teams monetize their products by using strategies and tools that often redefine market standards.
Blazes the trail.

David Zeitler
The Fierce Empath
David helps top-level managers make the best professional decisions their minds can produce. He's a Harvard-trained neurobehaviorist and an executive coach to 20 global hedge funds with $2B-$20B AUM.
David thrives on empathy. He guides leaders to their leading-edge with surgical precision and ensures their maturing transformation impacts the market.
Ignites change.

Gian Scozzaro
The Startup-to-Scaleup Whisperer
Gian's playground is international and multicultural, resulting in the largest and most successful commercial partnerships across several global businesses. He also scaled Bolt 10x and sourced 30% of its revenue.
Gian is the missing link for synergy. He bonds teams with talents, companies with investors, ideas with markets, products with buyers. He's the one who makes people care.
Carries the torch.

Gabe Turner
The utopian pragmatist.
Gabe executes his fundraising skills to craft partnerships that last and prosper. For nearly a decade, he served as an Executive Director of the largest global VC network – Draper Venture Capital – fueling harsh pragmatism with a calling to save world-changing ideas from extinction.
His stoic, analytical mind keeps him zealously engaged in keeping startups alive and healthy.
Feeds the flame.

What's interesting

The founding team was an unlikely quartet of extraordinaries, including a three-time jiu-jitsu world champion and a Harvard-trained ex-monk psychotherapist.

What's interesting

Initially, the brand was named 'Accelerade'. It took two weeks of daily negotiations to finally persuade the founders to change the name to 'Loons & Matches'.

What's interesting

Working in British English, the verbal designer coined the name 'Loons & Matches' from a narrative about symbolic madmen using matchsticks to ignite change. However, the US client interpreted the name as referring to birds and competitions.

What's interesting

The branding has nothing to do with cinematography.

Designer’s insight

"I had the '& Matches' part in my head for a long time, just waiting for the right project. Accelerade was perfect for it because the founders fit the brand's vibe. They were pretty quirky, so I added 'Loons' to present them as madmen with matches, ready to turn the world upside down. I fought hard for that name for a long time, and it stuck. It's one of my favourite names I've ever created. It has the sound, the look and the story to it."

— Mariusz Ruciński,
Brand Identity Architect + Verbal Designer

Some people say things you'd never believe

It took over two weeks of daily negotiations for the Third What team to convince us of their bold ideas, but oh boy, was it worth it. The way they approach, analyze, position, and communicate a brand is out of this world.

Gian Scozzaro

CEO—Loons & Matches

Summary

What is the company's profile

A revenue and peak performance consultancy investing in market-ready startups.

What is the extent of tasks

A        Brand Personality (Market Landscape Analysis, Current Brand Analysis, Industry Analysis, Corporate Culture Analysis, Company Analysis, Product/Service Analysis, The Big Idea, Brand Positioning, Brand Strategy, Brand Story, Brand Character).

B        Brand Language (Domain Naming, Slogans/Claims, Key Messaging, Descriptor, Tagline, Brand Tone & Voice, Brand, Brand Statement, Brand Storytelling, Brand Anthem, Brand Sales Writing).

What are the objectives

A        To create a brand identity that represents the unique profile of the company.

B        To position the brand in an already saturated market and distinguish it from competitors.

C        To generate interest and build trust among startup founders, who are potential clients.

How we achieved the objectives

ad A        The imagery of symbolic madmen igniting change distinguishes the brand in the generic, corporate market. It portrays the company as one with a unique approach, a unique team, a unique methodology.

ad B        The poetic madness is followed by a brand language that is confident, cheeky, welcoming, reassuring, while somewhat idealistic. This subtle, calculated mix is aimed at startup founders who are avoiding being absorbed into the corporate system, instead seeking human qualities in investors who will get personally engaged with the project.

ad C        Implementing the tagline within the logomark provides the necessary context to interpret the distinct brand name, which is beneficial especially for the US audience.

Authors

Brand Identity Concept + Positioning
Mariusz Ruciński

Verbal Identity + Copywriting
Mariusz Ruciński

Graphic Design
Grzegorz S.*

Operational Management
Grzegorz Derlukiewicz

*For personal issues, the designer requested to remain anonymous.
**The following case study is published under a license from the copyright owners and reflects the authorship of our team in cooperation with another studio.

Results

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Strategy
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Verbal Design
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