Leveraging Creativity
as a Force for Growth
By Allen Mask, Partner at WestCap and Head of CōLab
Several years ago, WestCap invested in a young startup building an online peer-to-peer marketplace. CōLab, our firm’s internal creative studio, helped the company reimagine how it presented itself through a brand and product redesign. We refreshed the brand and reimagined the product experience to make the platform more appealing, and more useful to the company’s core customers. Within the first few weeks of being live, the company noticed a 40% lift in conversions ushering in its highest-performing season ever. This was a reminder that design is just as much about driving performance as it is aesthetic.
Driving Returns Through Creativity
Creative interventions are often seen as “soft” nice-to-haves or a last resort in a crisis. Visionaries at companies or investment firms who want to prioritize marketing, branding and communications sometimes struggle to get buy-in from senior leaders. We believe that view is short-sighted. Creative strategies can help companies craft rich narratives, build powerful product experiences and reach new audiences in ways that help them grow.
At WestCap, we’ve made creative services and operational support an integral aspect of our investment model. As part of our strategic operations team, CōLab consists of 20 creative professionals specializing in brand strategy and design, growth marketing, research, PR and communications, video production, content strategy and more. We partner with WestCap’s portfolio companies, as well as other startups, to help them overcome challenges and achieve their goals. Sometimes, we serve as a sounding board and advisor. Other times, we produce designs or strategies that companies take to market. And in a lot of cases, we team up with companies to implement a project, even embedding temporarily as part of the management team. In each case, our work rests on an overarching mission: help companies build better products, design better brands, tell better stories and make better decisions.
Regardless of the size of its team, any firm can tap creativity as a force for growth. Here’s some advice I recently shared at Private Equity International’s Investor Relations, Marketing & Communications Forum:
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Tailor strategies to the needs of the business
Before getting started, most startups — particularly at the growth stage — need to step back and consider the role that marketing and other creative tactics can play in their journey. Often, what worked in one phase of the business won’t get them to the next level. This requires knowing the business inside and out: getting clear on what customers need and how the company can meaningfully differentiate itself. Marketing and communications norms are also constantly evolving. For example, assets used to be broadcast-quality, but now the focus is on authenticity over polish. Before investing in a product redesign or marketing push, companies should think through how creative initiatives can help them stay in front of their core audiences.
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Focus on value creation
At CōLab, we don’t undertake creative projects for their own sake. Whether we’re revamping customer profiles, redesigning an interface or leading a rebrand, our goal is always to make a business more valuable. Sometimes that leads to accelerated growth; other times, it involves preventing companies from going down the wrong path and putting the asset at risk. When investing in creative strategies, focus on projects that will change the trajectory of the business and add value.
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Build a right-sized team
An operator-first mentality is baked into our model, but not every company or investment firm needs a team like CōLab. Expanding internal capabilities makes sense for some, while a smaller team is more cost-effective for others. Even a team of one can make a huge impact by building strong relationships with agencies and professional services providers. Regardless of size, the key to deploying creative resources appropriately is knowing which actions will have the biggest effect — the best use of the next dollar or minute. Tapping generative AI tools for text and visual support is another avenue for amplifying capacity.
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Think of influencers as a media channel
Social media is a critical part of most marketing strategies, but many startups struggle with the right way to deploy social media influencers. They overcomplicate the process by hand-wringing over whether they want a “micro-influencer” or a “mega-influencer.” Again, it goes back to knowing the business. Consider the audience you need to reach, the product or service you’re offering, and which person and platform you can best partner with to achieve your goal in the most authentic way.
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Communicate impact
At CōLab, we take every opportunity — from earnings calls to quarterly letters to annual meetings — to provide updates on our work. We showcase how our creative interventions have strengthened companies and generated value, citing specific examples and metrics (we find that one quarter is a solid time period for gauging results). This not only supplies interesting narratives but also demonstrates that our operational work is a true differentiator. Communicating the business value of creative efforts is key.
Raising the Bar for Creative Support
CōLab is a unique entity well-suited to WestCap’s long-range investment model and focus on growth equity. But we believe the ethos behind it should apply to the industry as a whole. Founders should expect more operational assistance around marketing, branding and communications from their investors than has been the norm. Setting higher standards for creative support ultimately leads to better products and services, and stronger businesses.
