On 8 December, the InnovX community came together for one of our most anticipated workshops to date, “Brand Like a Rebel”, led by James Clark, Founder of Maverick and Goose and a long-standing InnovX mentor since 2019.
The session brought together founders and innovators from across Europe, from early-stage startups to scaleups and corporate leaders, all eager to explore what brand building truly means in tech, deep tech, and dual-use industries.
Hosted by Anca Luca (InnovX), the conversation cut straight through the noise. Branding was framed not as decoration or vanity, but as a practical business tool that should actively support growth, clarity, and strategic direction.
James shared insights from over 25 years of experience, spanning WPP and Ogilvy, the London Stock Exchange, Molten Ventures, and the frontier of DeepTech, Dual-Use, and DefenceTech branding. He unpacked why many rebrands fail, why “we’re bored with our logo” is not a strategy, and why the strongest rebrands are driven by real change such as new markets, new leadership, or a new strategic direction. A standout moment of the session was James’ perspective on AI in brand strategy. After testing his own brand with AI tools, he showed how processes that once took months can now be completed in hours. This shift opens access to strategic branding for early-stage founders long before a Series A budget. The discussion also went deep into branding technologies the world has never seen before, including fusion, quantum, and frontier defence technologies. James explored how defence branding is evolving to speak not only to procurement teams, but also to policymakers, talent, voters, and broader ecosystems. James clearly distinguished between brand as what people think and feel about you, branding as the visible expressions, and brand building as the intentional, consistent work of shaping perception across every touchpoint.
He left founders with clear guidance to start early, understand how they are truly perceived, stay consistent, and choose a priority audience instead of trying to win everyone at once.
Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed with thoughtful questions on measuring brand impact, defence and dual-use positioning, green energy narratives, and entering new markets. What started as a workshop became a real working session on how to build brands that do not just look good, but move the business forward.