In collaboration with Messaging Strategist Liz Talago and Brand Designer Sara Strese

Open360 is a founder-led organization rethinking how teams give and receive feedback. When they came to me, the product didn’t exist yet. The idea was there, the passion was there, but the team didn’t have language, structure, or alignment around what they were creating. They were building a platform that would move beyond traditional 360 reviews, but they didn’t know how to describe it or who it was for.

They needed clarity before they pitched customers and they needed a brand before they built the product.

The Challenge

The founding team had a powerful vision but no shared narrative to guide development. They were navigating a shifting HR landscape, a crowded tech market, and a rapidly evolving world of work. Their early assumptions about audiences and use cases changed constantly, and the founding team had little marketing experience to help narrow decisions.

They weren’t just building a product. They were trying to build a whole category of work and they were doing it without a map.

My Work and Our Collaboration

Building the Foundation

I led Open360 through a full brand strategy process alongside messaging strategist Liz Talago‍ and brand designer Sara Strese. Together we clarified:

• What problem Open360 exists to solve
• Who the solution is truly for
• How to talk about communication-forward feedback without overwhelming the audience
• How to position the brand against entrenched players like Korn Ferry and modern HR tech
• The core message that would guide developers, marketers, and early testers

We built the brand strategy, messaging, differentiation, identity direction, website structure, and early go-to-market recommendations. This gave the team a foundation strong enough to build from, change with, and come back to as the product evolved.

Supporting the Pivots

Over the next few years, Open360 explored multiple directions including a SaaS product, Broad audience messaging, updated services, a shift to a service-based business model, the development of the Guided360 (service + SaaS) and the Open360 Method. While the founder led these pivots, I helped her identify where to focus and opportunities to articulate each shift clearly without losing momentum.

Ongoing Advisory (2025 to present)

As a brand advisor, I now meet with the founder every other week to help her and her team:

• Focus her priorities
• Reduce decision fatigue
• Avoid shiny-object spirals
• Build sustainable marketing systems
• Prepare for conversions (not just conversations)
• Stay human in a heavily AI-influenced content world
• Make aligned decisions rooted in brand, not pressure
• Keep each tactic connected through a content flywheel
• Understand the sales process and move prospects forward

I also built a central Notion marketing hub with documentation, content structure, and systems that help her stay organized and supported instead of overwhelmed.

Traction and Progress

Over the last four years, Open360™ has experienced the following outcomes, all built on a brand foundation:

• A functioning zero-to-one product
• A brand identity that has remained strong through multiple pivots because it's rooted in strategy
• A growing LinkedIn presence
• A pilot with more than 20 participants across the US and two additional countries
• Increased workshops and consulting bookings

The Transformation

Open360 went from having no language, no alignment, and no product to having a clear narrative, grounded strategy, a cohesive identity, and a focused path forward. Most importantly, the founder is no longer building alone. She has support, structure, and a partner helping her stay focused on what marketing tactics move the needle.

Project Partners

Messaging Strategist: Liz Talago
Brand Designer: Sara Strese

‍