From “Just an Idea” to Investor-Ready in Two Weeks

How TSH Guided a Bootstrapped Solo Founder Toward a Cohesive Brand and Usable Product

The Challenge

When the founder of a stealth enterprise-SaaS platform for engineering managers first met That Software House, the product story looked shaky:

• Bare-bones React MVP taken straight from open-source templates
• Zero brand identity—no logo, no palette, no tone of voice
• Generic pitch deck that felt disconnected from the demo

With investor meetings on the horizon, the founder needed more than feature lists; they needed a brand that said something the moment a slide deck opened or a demo link loaded.

Week 1 – Finding the Narrative

Our team kicked off with deep-dive interviews to uncover the “why” behind the startup. We mapped:

1. Founder back-story—what pain led them to build for engineering leads.
2. Total Addressable Market—sizing the opportunity and sharpening positioning.
3. Competitive landscape cues—best-practice signals from proven SaaS brands.

Those insights anchored every creative decision that followed.

Why Brand Identity Matters

A distinctive identity builds instant recognition, fosters trust, and unifies every touch-point—exactly what early-stage founders need when every minute with an investor counts.

Week 1.5 – Design Consistency Sprint

Armed with a clear narrative, we pulled the product, pitch deck, and logo under one roof:

• Defined a color palette and typography hierarchy built for screen clarity.
• Refactored the React codebase into a component library that echoes the new brand.
• Re-skinned the pitch deck—every slide now feels like the same company that’s on-screen during the demo.

Think how green instantly signals Starbucks or red evokes Coca-Cola; our goal was similar stickiness for this stealth startup.

Extending the Visual Identity

Beyond cosmetics, we upgraded usability:

• Navigation patterns standardized across dashboard, settings, and reports.
• Graph and icon sets tailored to data-centric engineering leaders.
• Micro-interactions introduced to surface guidance without cluttering the UI.

Why a Well-Designed Pitch Deck Matters

Clear visuals, professional polish, and persuasive impact are non-negotiable when securing funding—especially for a bootstrapped founder entering the room solo.

The Results

• 65% faster onboarding after launch
• +38 Net Promoter Score from pilot users
• Multiple investor meetings booked on the strength of the refreshed brand and product demo

What’s Next

With a unified design system in place, the founder can now iterate features without diluting identity. TSH will continue supporting data-driven enhancements and scaling the component library as adoption grows.

Need to turn a raw prototype into a brand investors remember?

Let’s chat: contact@thatsoftware.house

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