Tangled Rabbit (00:00) Welcome to Untangled, a podcast for founders and people considering becoming founders. This is where building a business gets personal. Each episode features honest conversations with founders about standing out in crowded markets, defining what makes them and their work different, and building something that actually fits. I'm Beth Elliott, and I'm glad you're here. Let's jump in. Brianna (00:23) in Tangled Rabbit (00:24) welcome back to Untangled. Today's episode is a little bit different. I talk a lot with founders about finding their niche and building that business that's uniquely theirs to build. But in that it's important for founders to see what that looks like in the real world. So I'm really excited to be accompanied by Brianna Pyka today with BrandRaise as we kick off the series Choosing Your Lane. It talks about living in your differentiator and growing that business that is uniquely So Brianna, thanks so much for joining us today. Brianna (00:55) Yeah. Thanks so much for having me. I appreciate it. Tangled Rabbit (00:58) I want to jump right in because I think we're going to learn a lot about you as we hear about your story. So can you tell me about BrandRaise? Who do you serve and what problems do you solve? Brianna (01:08) Yeah, so BrandRaise is a fundraising and branding consultancy and we solve the disconnect between brand and fundraising. So most nonprofits treat them as really separate efforts and knowing and really being able to fill that gap is where the momentum builds. And then of course, conversely, where the momentum dies if you don't have that bridge ⁓ built. So We oftentimes really support small and medium sized nonprofits, but certainly also support larger nonprofits as well. Tangled Rabbit (01:46) Tell me about the beginning. How did you guys get started? Brianna (01:50) my business partner and I had our respective businesses separately. And we had actually met in a business women's networking group and became fast friends and started chatting. And we realized that we supported the same audiences and she was building beautiful brands and really sound brands from a brand strategy perspective. I was also at the same time working in fundraising, helping with capital campaign management. And we really realized for capital campaigns, those are projects that are like a new building being built for an organization or maybe land being purchased, right? As you can imagine, a big capital expense that they're raising money for, usually around like one to 7 million was our sweet spot. And so we would... really get started on the capital campaign. And oftentimes we'd have to pause and go backwards a little bit. That there maybe it wasn't even a website that we could drive people to, or there wasn't clarity in what the organization was trying to do ultimately and why they needed this big capital raise. And then with Kelly and her business in brand strategy, she'd build this beautiful sound brand, but then the organizations wouldn't know what to do with it. So. We at the same month, ⁓ which was no accident, I had decided to leave where I was currently working and she decided to close her brand studio. And I said, you know, I think we're onto something here, A. B, the timing is very perfect and we should really pursue and think about if this would really be such a viable opportunity to pursue and so incredibly helpful then to nonprofits as a result. Tangled Rabbit (03:35) I think that's important to call out, right? You both had tried things and they didn't, it sounds like it didn't feel like it was fitting. It wasn't flying. Like there was things that were not, were disconnected in the process, both for you and for your customers. Brianna (03:49) Yep. Tangled Rabbit (03:51) So then you guys come together. Can you talk about your journey of how you grew and solidified your niche? Like, what did you learn and how did you go about learning it? Brianna (04:02) Yeah, so we knew pretty early on the direction we wanted to head, which was great. We had brand, we had fundraising, we knew that there is really that close proximity and how organizations utilize both. There was an opportunity to pursue bringing them closer together. So, but as we continued on through the early stages, we named what we were doing more specifically. And we in the industry then got more specific, kind of like the first niche down of we do major gifts fundraising. And really it's those transformational gifts. And what does a transformational gift mean? Could certainly mean very different for different organizations. So that could be 1,000 for an organization or 15,000 for an organization. And gifts that come through annual fundraising or through then capital campaigns. So we realize that there were these really two main modes of how the transformational gifts were coming, capital campaigns and then annual fundraising. So that's really what we got clear on. And then we worked on more of the how. And so we got to then more of a brand led. and then relationship-based because that's really ultimately what we were focusing on. And then we continued to really refine and go deeper. So we'd make progress with a client and realize this important shift or midstream, or we'd wrap up with a client and make an adjustment to our process as a result. Because really for us, it was definitely all about. being able to practice what we preach and really continue to get more clear on what we're offering we're offering it as well. So tactically speaking on our website, we have a table that includes how long an organization could possibly work with us when it comes to annual fundraising, how much it costs, and then what are the actual deliverables? What does an organization get? And there's been really positive feedback as a result of that because people can really clearly see, great, this is what you'll help me do, but how am going to get there in the process? And what are we going to do together? So that's been really, really great. Tangled Rabbit (06:19) Can we dig in a little bit more about the go-to-market strategy? Because I think a lot of folks that I talk to, they have grand ideas of the people who they want to help. And then when they try to help them, they're like, well, these people aren't even in my network. or I'm not even sure that I'm solving their right problems. So can we talk more granularly about when you made that shift? How did you connect with clients? And what was that journey like? Brianna (06:29) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So it was, as you can imagine, right, a lot of trial and error and that Kelly and I have a lot of background in content development. So right, that's where we started and really building on that thought leadership as well. But to your point, we needed to test it. And so we did start and really anyone that was interested in being able to say yes, from a pro bono aspect and say, really just be really attentive to what was happening around. us in our networks and say, hey, I think that we'd be able to help you. Would you consider working on a pro bono opportunity and we can all learn together? So that's really where we started to continue to refine then that ideal person and then that ideal organization. And then a lot of it was really being able to meet one-on-one with people and Are you on boards? Do you know a nonprofit that could benefit from what we're doing as well? So that has really been our primary. We've had one person come to us and reach us on the website and say, I need a brand. And I'm also really excited because you can help me with fundraising too. And so that was a really great validation, frankly, early on. So we need those moments early on to say, yep, right track. But then we have continued to refine. We love supporting organizations and nonprofits that are human services oriented. Certainly we will help other organizations that may not be, but that's really our love is being able to help human services organizations as well. Tangled Rabbit (08:23) How did you get out of the trap of being pro bono forever? Brianna (08:27) Yeah, right. Great question. So we, my business partner is so wonderful at identifying frameworks, right? Or, and then I'm on the other side saying, this is really great, but we need to put, you know, guardrails around this, or we could say yes, right, to everyone. And so we, we identified it really a pro bono process. So we kind of had said, we do three or four pro bono work sessions essentially at varying lengths. And we were very flexible on that too. There wasn't a lot of guardrails when we start, of course. And so we took that and then helped that eventually actually form our more formal pro bono process. So now we have a pro bono process where. We work with one organization a year and we have an application process. The application is open all year round, but then as well, we have built in some, we hope fun things like we have the current pro bono recipient choose the next pro bono recipient to really help build the industry as a whole as well. But that, that helped a lot to be able to kind of say, okay, you know, here's our stopping point. let's formalize this and ⁓ then continue on and identify if there's any other tweaks we need to make to the process itself. Tangled Rabbit (09:45) Thinking of how you expanded, I mean, you were niched before, reconfigured it. What has living in this niche meant for you and how you guys grow the business? Brianna (09:49) Yeah. it has helped us be really focused on what we need to continue to invest in and what is outside. Right. And so that really has sharpened our focus and helped us get again, just continuing to get more clear and always just leaning into really living by the, know, clear as kind. model because it helps anyone connect so much faster, right, to what you're doing because you have the clarity in understanding what you're doing, how you're doing it, and with whom you're doing it for. Tangled Rabbit (10:39) You're in this with a business partner, which is a big decision. What have you discovered about yourselves along the way? Brianna (10:41) Yeah. Yes. Yeah. So we at the outset really committed to, we know this is going to be hard. We know it's going to be, there's going to be ups and downs, but that ultimately we really value each other, right? As humans, we know that we will figure things out, you know, for each other. We, we try to be really transparent about what we're thinking, how we're feeling, where it feels not as great. and how we can then work through it. And, you know, for us, that was really the biggest difference of really being committed to that at the outset to say, like, we know it's going to be wild. We also happen to, right, have families and kiddos, and that complicates things. And that's, you know, the whole point is that we've really committed to, you know, like most people say, living in the messy middle. And if the messy middle is long, that's okay, right? But... really just showing up and being supportive of each through all that our families, each individually go through. Tangled Rabbit (11:56) I love that you brought in your family building a business. It's hard when it's by yourself. It's harder when it's with another person. I mean, there's ease that comes with it, but there's also complexity. What have been the non-negotiables that you've built into this business? Brianna (11:59) Hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So really, our having our true north in the work itself, right, is that's our non-negotiable. It's the brand led relationship based framework and that that's the through line for everything. So can we make this more personal? Can we make this more brand aligned? And being really clear about what we don't do. So we don't do mass marketing, we don't do awareness campaigns. We don't teach more transactional fundraising strategies. So getting really clear on that and really leaning into how we engage. So we do work with organizations that are willing to show up and do the work and it's hard work and knowing that there's a lot of work upfront that you'll put into that will last, you know, many hopefully years. from now and the work that we're doing, that's really important. We explained early on that this is not easy. If it were easy, it would all be done. So yeah, that has been really huge. Knowing that we are focused on, again, relationships, we are a strategic partner. We're not a vendor. We, in the most kind and compassionate way, we aren't yes people. We are going to lean on our expertise and share best practices with you in a really important way that aligns to your strategy and ultimately aligns to where your organization will ultimately experience the most success. And we truly have had a few clients that were not really aligned to that. And that was okay to figure out. It was definitely harder conversations, but that we were really clear in our convictions around that to say that it's really important for us to stick to what we know because we don't want to waste your money. And we don't want to waste your time ultimately too. So I think it comes back full circle to really such a, hopefully people see it as like a deep respect of their time and their resources as well. And really coming alongside organizations similarly, but building on that, it's more of that empowerment versus dependency. We don't want organizations to feel like they have to come back to us for this next project, but they really will be able to build their confidence for them for the future. And again, we love to work with organizations twice, but not on the same thing. And that's really intentional as well. Let's see. So knowing that too that understanding organizations where capacity and capacity for every organization is so different. we, want to really work within that. If we burn out a client while we work with them, it does no good for anyone. And so we really are intentional about aligning our work to also their capacity building in buffer if we need to, and really just being flexible and committed to flexibility too. Tangled Rabbit (15:12) What about non-negotiables for you as a founder? Brianna (15:16) Me personally. Yeah. Tangled Rabbit (15:17) Yes, the things that as you guys are stepping into business, there are things that you step into business and you're willing to work hard for. There's things that you want to put space around. There's things that you want to protect. What were those non-negotiables for you? Brianna (15:21) Yeah. Yeah, protecting our bandwidth and building out our boundaries. I think, my business partner is really great at it. I'm consistently learning from her. Like, that's a great boundary. We should do that, right? So I think that setting boundaries is really important for me personally leading, again, with compassion and care and clarity is really important as a founder, being able to scale well and understanding and knowing the ideal time to scale and what's that tipping point, which is of course a very hard question of do we want to hire and is now the right time to hire as well. building a lot of those frameworks so that we can do that. you know, when, if we want to as well, and figuring out that capacity that, ⁓ this is too much right now, or we think we can have a little bit more bandwidth too. So it, I mean, it does certainly go back to boundaries too, but aligning again with our capacity. Tangled Rabbit (16:38) When you two knowing that it can take a while to make money and it can take a while to get a pipeline and all of the things, did you set milestones for yourselves and if so, what did those look like? Brianna (16:49) the first year and a half really didn't set milestones for us. So this is, you know, going into almost year three and we have set milestones. So that really felt good for us. We did, as oftentimes happens, we had the idea and the concept and we were ready. It was essentially which contract was going to help push us, you know, to formally get And then we continued to lean into developing our process then. And what was our approach then for that first really year and a half to two years and really getting clear on the approach. ⁓ because based on what I had previously learned in this industry and in this type of work in capital campaigns is that the capital campaigns were really great and lucrative and wonderful and a little bit more than long-term and more a year and a half to two years. They were great, but they were the big fish. And so what was in between that would really help then with overall cashflow. So in this, I didn't really know what would happen first. And so in this situation, it was, we developed more of those smaller projects and those focus areas first, and then are continuing to build our pipeline for our capital campaigns. Tangled Rabbit (18:08) You talked about hiring people. What does the future look like for BrandRaise? Brianna (18:12) Yeah, so we'd love to continue growing, but growing at a good pace, right? And a manageable, consistent pace. And so we'd love to continue to work with more clients. We do work with clients across the nation and we do actually have a client in Haiti too. So love being able to be a bit worldwide. And so really just continuing to lean into supporting more organizations and building. ⁓ more local than capital campaigns in Minnesota and then Western Wisconsin and then potentially expand that geographical region as well as then identify if it's a good fit to do capital campaigns then virtually across the nation as well. Tangled Rabbit (18:57) We talk to founders about building the business that they're uniquely positioned to build. What advice do you have to all the founders listening? Brianna (19:02) Mm-hmm. sure exactly to your point, right. in why you're doing this is that there can be elements that you maybe want to be influenced by, you know, for your business that you may see outside of your business. But what ultimately are you also really good at too? I had seen a quote this week that was, you know, you can chase your dreams. ⁓ but what are your talents that you're going to chase? And, know, for Kelly and I, we love what we do and we don't feel like we're working right. And that's the point. And so it is being really self-aware to find those talents and to then get clear on them and then to identify, is there a framework that you can build around that? and in order to maybe scale. Ultimately, if you don't want to scale, that's fine too. But knowing that you really do need a repeatable process ultimately to help build. And that was a really important ⁓ shift to also understand too. Tangled Rabbit (20:12) I intended that to be my last question, because it is kind of like the end. But the one thing that I want to lean into for just a minute is you did pivot. Can you talk a minute about how long you lived in the previous model? And really, what was the final straw that made you say, this isn't working, and I need to figure out what's next? Brianna (20:14) Thank Yeah. So you're talking about in previous business or while Kelly and I were in the business. Tangled Rabbit (20:44) So let's do both. Brianna (20:45) For me, it was figuring out in the previous role that I was in of what ultimately was not fitting right or was not feeling right and aligned. And for Kelly, she had owned her business on her own. And so she was really excited to be able to think about what a partnership would look like. And I was working for an organization. but was essentially running it. And so that was a really interesting differentiation of how we were realizing what was missing from our current scenarios. And so that for me was ultimately that I wanted to take what I had learned from a fundraising perspective and add to it. I really learned that I loved capital campaign management, but I did really want to focus on more of the communications, the brand and the marketing aspect and really double down on that foundation that then builds to fundraising. And then Kelly similarly said, was really intrigued about how fundraising was related to branding. And thus, right, we've, we've learned a lot from each other and how we build out the strategies. as result. Tangled Rabbit (22:05) One thing that I want the listeners to lean into is you intuitively know when something feels right and when it doesn't. And some people are very inclined to take the advice of building that business that everybody else tells them they should. I should be marketing to SMBs, right? We heard that in a previous episode. I should be going for manufacturing. I should be, this is where the money is. I should be doing [something] at the core of people who are living in a business that they love. It's because they've figured out that thing that doesn't feel authentic to them. Brianna (22:45) Mm-hmm. Tangled Rabbit (22:47) and they've leaned into the things that do feel authentic. And I will also say they understand how to find the people who find that thing important. Brianna (22:50) Yes. Mm hmm. Yeah, it's very true. Kelly and I have talked a lot about that. You we don't want to talk anyone into working with us. And that is a really hard, you know, stake to put in the ground. But ultimately, it has proven to be fruitful because we then are aligned and have such delightful experiences with the clients that we work with. And then they want to come back, right. And then they refer to us. And so we're definitely at that position where we are having more of the referrals So it does, feels good, but it can be a tricky path. Tangled Rabbit (23:35) The reason why Brianna is on this podcast, she and I met at a networking event and she was clear about who she was, what their company did. And ever since then, ever, if I hear anybody talking about nonprofit brand and fundraising, they are the only ones who come to my brain. that is what every founder should be striving for. When they're out and about, when somebody says those magical keywords, you're the only one who comes to mind. Brianna (24:10) Thank you. That's great. Tangled Rabbit (24:12) Kudos to you. Thank you for being my first guest Choosing Your Lane series To end things out, Brianna, how can people find you on the web? Brianna (24:23) Yeah, so anyone can find us on of course the internet of brandraise.co and also happy to with anyone on LinkedIn and if anyone is ever interested in picking my brain, always open to conversations because I love what I do. Tangled Rabbit (24:44) Thank you, Brianna. I'll make sure to put your information into the description area. And everybody, thanks again for tuning in for another episode of Untangled. We'll catch you next time.