BioDrop: the TLDR of our branding journey
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BioDrop: the TLDR of our branding journey
Picture this… your weekly YouTube livestream is coming up and you have zero ideas as to what this should be about. Then someone in the EddieHub Community suggests that it would be fun to create a clone of the link sharing platform Linktree, with the twist that this would be 100% Open Source.
Fast forward several months, many…many…many livestreams, GitHub Issues and PRs later, we decided that it might be a good idea to turn LinkFree (what we were calling it at the time…don’t judge) into a SaaS platform. At this stage the platform had evolved from a link sharing platform to somewhere you could add your important career milestones (like a resume), events that you would be attending, testimonials that you had received from other community users as well as a map showing where all users were based - just in case you happened to be in the area and wanted to geek out in person.
Naturally we wanted to absorb as much information as possible about where to begin this SaaS journey, what to do and perhaps most importantly what not to do. There are only some many articles and YouTube videos on the subject you can read until you feel the real need to speak to other human beings that are going through the same experience as you, as well as learn from those who have “made it”.
Applying for the GitHub Accelerator seemed like a good idea, especially with it’s mission to “pioneer new ways for developers to simply and sustainably work in open source full-time built on developer's terms”. It was a great feeling to hear that we had been accepted as the first cohort and during the weeks that followed of workshops, presentations and conversations we realised that the hard work was just beginning.
One of the clear messages that was coming from well, everywhere - the community, the Accelerator and other founders we were speaking to - was that we really did need to do something about that name.
Coming up with a name IS HARD!
We’re not sure what other founders have done to come up with the names of their businesses, but if one of them tells us it was an easy process - we won’t believe them. Pretty sure we tried everything from your traditional brainstorms, word associations, ChatGPT… Then you think you’ve cracked and it turns out the neither the domain nor the social accounts are available.
When we finally thought of a name the challenges were - would people like it? Could it be read in any other way? Added to this, we both have very different styles of how to approach this creative process - one of us likes to ask every random passerby, the other likes to let the name “percolate” in their brain for a few days.
We decided on BioDrop…
So now we had a name, now what?
We are not branding experts, but nowadays the power of “the brand”, what it conveys and what it can achieve for you is undeniable.
We had quickly figured out that to navigate these unchartered waters of starting a SaaS platform, it was important to take in advice and see what resonated with you the most. That is why we decided to work with a design agency in creating the logo and brand guidelines for BioDrop.
Picking an agency felt like picking something between an AirBnb for a month and a wedding venue. How do you know you made the right choice until the actual day you see the place? We picked the agency Giant Peach and we could not be more pleased. Conversation flowed easily and as it turns out we loved the creative process, helped of course be working with experienced designers who understood what BioDrop meant to us and the community. This is not to say that when it came to the final logo reveal we didn’t actually feel quite nervous.
So without further ado, here is the big reveal:
Given that this idea started out as a livestream and has truly been powered by the EddieHub Community, we wanted this to come across. We love that if you look at the “B” more closely…
…you will be able to see the semicolon (which is so often used in programming) as well as the user at their laptop.
Is that it then?
So the GitHub Repo has been renamed, the website updated and we have accounts on X, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Well after a deserved evening off after our branding “launch day” with only one or two glitches, we are on to the next stage of our SaaS journey, which we hope to reveal to you very soon. If you want to keep up to date with all BioDrop news, including new features, how you can contribute (no matter what level your are in tech) as well as behind the scenes then please do consider subscribing!
Eddie & Sara