The Client
Founded & Grounded is the UK’s No. 2-ranked start-up podcast, sitting in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally and a top 5 start-up podcast in Europe. The show shines a light on the honest realities of start-up life, bringing raw and relatable stories from founders who are only a few steps ahead of their audience. In a space often dominated by hype and glossy success stories, Founded & Grounded offers an antidote: the human side of entrepreneurship.
The Challenge
While the podcast had grown a loyal audience, its visual identity didn’t fully reflect its standing as one of the UK’s leading voices on start-up life. The challenge was to build a brand that would cut through in a crowded podcasting space, embodying both authority and authenticity. It needed to convey the balance that makes Founded & Grounded unique: confident enough to be taken seriously, yet approachable and playful enough to resonate with founders who crave honesty over hype.
The Process
We began by immersing ourselves in the values and behaviours that define Founded & Grounded. A crucial part of this stage was a detailed strategy document developed by Nada Matti-Leighton, which provided clarity on positioning, audience, and competitive context. This strategic framework became our creative springboard, shaping how we explored visual identity and brand language.
From there, the themes of connection and balance emerged as central. Listeners value the solidarity of hearing from founders only a few steps ahead, and the podcast’s ability to ground start-up narratives while keeping the tone lively and human.
We translated these insights into a brand language rooted in harmony, pairing typography with authority and warmth, creating a colour palette that balanced playfulness with credibility, and developing key phrases that reflected the podcast’s commitment to honesty and clarity.
The Solution
The new identity is anchored by a custom ampersand. More than a typographic detail, it symbolises connection and play, the heart of what Founded & Grounded stands for. Its heavier base grounds the brand, representing the podcast’s steady and supportive voice within the start-up ecosystem.
The colour palette reflects duality: confident, authoritative tones balanced with vibrant, playful shades. Large crops of the ampersand combine with textured gradient backgrounds to add depth and visual rhythm, mirroring the balance of grit and optimism that defines the start-up experience.
Photography choice was also a key part of the solution. By prioritising natural, authentic imagery, the brand conveys honesty and openness, qualities too often missing in the start-up conversation. The result is a distinctive identity that reflects the spirit of Founded & Grounded, a brand as real and human as the stories it shares.
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