Challenge

The Entrepreneur Fund was once told that they were the best kept secret in the region. A compliment yes. But they don’t want to be a secret!The Entrepreneur Fund (or eFund) works alongside business owners to create customized approaches to help them reach their goals. Whether a business needs access to strategic advising, working capital loans, or help making meaningful connections, they’ve got you covered. They understand that so many small business out there that could use help, and they truly believe in those business. They understand that a local business is a form of livelihood for the owners and their families, but also as a means to help bolster our region and move us all forward.While the Entrepreneur Fund is helping elevate all sorts of businesses, we were excited to get to help them through a brand refresh!Just because it's not a full rebrand, though, doesn't mean it doesn't come with its challenges. To start, the Entrepreneur Fund and their existing brand is well known in the business community. Additionally, their original brand was everywhere. Business cards, presentation materials, apparel, building signage, you name it. All of this would have to be taken into consideration through the design process.

Solution: Brand Refresh

In the brand refresh, we chose to keep some of the original brand elements in tacts. The ones the organization is known for that have been cemented in the minds of their potential customers. However, we significantly simplified things.One major piece of feedback we heard from the eFund team was that the brand was hard to work with. Additionally, there were no rules in place for how the brand should be used. It was essentially left up to whoever was implementing the brand to determine. The brand refresh made the brand much more flexible and easier to work with. Allowing it to be seamlessly implemented wherever the organization was present.As part of the refresh, we also established guardrails for how the brand should be used. We created a large brand guideline document so whoever is working with the brand will know what is acceptable use and what is not. This will ensure the Entrepreneur Fund is represented in a consistent, professional look across all of its marketing efforts.In addition to the brand refresh, we created all sorts of elements and templates. Think slide decks, enewseletter, stationary, banners, digital assets, and more. All of these were created with the goal of helping the Entrepreneur Fund’s internal team uplift the work they do so they can become the best KNOWN organization that helps local businesses grow.

Other Non-Profit Work

Non-profits are right up our alley. We continually get inspired by their passion and vision to make the world a better place. That's why we have such an extensive list of non-profits we've worked with over the years. It'd be a mighty long list if we tried to capture them all, so here's just a sample. Visit our Work page to see more.

• Grand Marais Art Colony
• Duluth Playhouse
• Duluth Children's Museum
• Duluth Roundup
• Embark Supported Employment
• Community Solutions for Substance Use & Recovery
• Center Against Sexual and Domestic Abuse
• Udac