What this covers
- Brand line, naming confidence, and parent-brand posture
- Category framing and the speed / control / travel narrative
- Website readiness for founder review, private preview, and wider beta sharing
Back to GTM checklist
In progressFounder decisions linked
GTM pillar
Brand, Positioning, and Website
Make the company legible in market: who we are, how we describe the product, and what the outside world sees first.
Why it matters in GTM
For this launch, the founder and buyers are both reacting to something tangible. This pillar turns the product from an internal idea into a visible market story with enough credibility to support real conversations.
Where we are now
The website story is strong, but the company identity behind it is not fully settled yet.
Biggest gap
We still need clear founder decisions on the name, the parent-brand line, and the company wording people will see.
Underlying items
The strategic and tactical work inside this pillar
BlockedFounder decision
Brand and company setup
The company already has a credible parent-brand lineage and a live launch expression, but the product name, endorsed-brand stance, and company identity are not fully locked. That makes this one of the founder-decision-heavy blockers between internal momentum and broader market activation.
Open tactical detailIn progressFounder decision
Category and positioning
The current category story is clear: help insight teams answer faster, stay in control, and make research travel further by running the lifecycle rather than only storing finished outputs. The remaining job is founder sign-off and consistent use across the website, deck, demo, and proof materials.
Open tactical detailIn progressFounder decision
Website and public presence
The website is one of the strongest GTM assets already built, but it still needs finishing work before it can carry broader buyer trust on its own.
Open tactical detailFounder decisions
Calls affecting this area
Needs a call
Confirm we set up as our own separate company
Confirm the separate company. If the founder wants this kept inside Empathy instead, that needs to be said now, because the legal, brand, and certification work all branch from this one call.
Review in readiness checklistNeeds a call
Decide whether we are sticking with <un>peel for the first customer trials
Keep <un>peel for the first customer trials unless there is a serious concern about the name. If there is doubt, deal with it now rather than carrying that doubt into customer meetings.
Review in readiness checklistNeeds a call
Decide how much we reference Empathy Research and <un>known
Lead as our own company, and reference Empathy Research where it adds credibility, especially as an early customer. Keep the <un>known lineage light, present where useful but never the headline.
Review in readiness checklistNeeds a call
Approve the direction for our own visual identity
Build our own visual identity so the look fits the business we are creating. Avoid grandfathering in a palette and style built for a research group.
Review in readiness checklistNeeds a call
Approve the positioning story for external use
Approve the current speed, control, travel story and the whole-lifecycle distinction. Use confidence, audit trail, and defensibility only where they answer a specific buyer question.
Review in readiness checklistNeeds a call
Decide the website release gate beyond private beta
Approve the current site for controlled founder-led beta use once product truth and unpermissioned proof are corrected. Keep broader promotion gated until the legal/company minimum and customer-reference rules are complete.
Review in readiness checklistNeeds a call
Decide which customer names, quotes, and proof can appear publicly
Create a simple proof-permission register. Keep only references that are owned, sourced, and approved; anonymise or remove everything else until permission is recorded. Ask Declan to route any customer approvals through the correct relationship owner.
Review in readiness checklistAppendix briefs
Evidence links