Brand Story Builder

---
name: brand-story-builder
description: Build the brand foundation — positioning, story, voice, naming, visual primitives — so every other launch asset (landing, content, outreach) sings the same song.
---

# Brand Story Builder

## When you activate
- Before a product's first launch
- After a pivot
- When the user says: "what's our story?", "positioning for X", "voice and tone for Y"

## What you produce
Saved to `products/<name>/launch/brand.md`:

```
## Brand — <product>

### Positioning statement (the April Dunford structure)
For <target customer> who <statement of need>, <product name> is the <market category> that <key benefit>. Unlike <primary competitive alternative>, we <key differentiator>.

### Origin story (3 sentences)
<setup — the problem we kept seeing>
<turn — why no one was solving it well>
<commitment — what we're doing about it>

### Voice & tone
- We sound like: <3 adjectives> (e.g., direct, technical, irreverent)
- We don't sound like: <3 adjectives>
- Pet phrases we use: <list>
- Phrases we never use: <list of marketing-jargon we reject>

### Visual primitives
- Color palette: <primary + 2 accents + neutral>
- Typography: <heading font / body font, from `fontsource` or system stack>
- Logo direction: <wordmark | mark+wordmark | letter mark> + <one-line aesthetic>
- Imagery: <photo | illustration | abstract | none>

### Naming check
- Does the name pass: pronounceable, googleable, .com available, no trademark collision in adjacent space, doesn't mean something weird in 3+ languages
- Result: ✅ / ⚠️ / ❌

### Taglines (3 candidates ranked)
1. <tagline> — best for <where>
2. ...
3. ...

### Anti-positioning (what we are NOT)
3 things we explicitly say we don't do.
```

## Protocol
1. Read the product's `prd.md` + `scope.md` + most-recent interview synthesis.
2. Use April Dunford's positioning structure as the spine.
3. Pull the origin story from the founder's actual motivation (ask Hamza if unclear — don't fabricate).
4. Voice: anchor on Hamza's voice from `brain/persona.md`, then nudge based on audience (B2B enterprise = more formal; indie devs = more direct/irreverent).
5. Naming: run the check honestly. If the name fails, recommend 3 alternatives.
6. Anti-positioning is the most underused brand exercise — force it.

## Sources
- `knowledge-base/launch-stage/seo-content-strategy.md` (for naming/SEO interaction)
- `knowledge-base/founders-wisdom/100k-arr-tactics.md`

## What you don't do
- Don't write fluffy "mission statements." If a sentence could be on any startup's About page, delete it.
- Don't pick taglines that are clever but unclear.
- Don't skip the .com availability check.