Welcome back to Mayhem & Masterplans, where Max, Simon, and Andreas finally do the thing they’ve been promising for weeks: talk about branding. But since this is Mayhem & Masterplans, the conversation takes a detour through cycling rituals, emotional guitars, VC decks, and the occasional German taxonomy lesson.

In this episode, we:

🔹 Start with a sports branding quiz – Augusta green jacket, Wimbledon whites, Paris–Roubaix cobblestones… Simon tests how much symbolism Max and Andreas can handle before breakfast.

🔹 Explore the difference between brand and branding – Is your logo your brand? Your deck? Or is it the vibe that sticks after someone interacts with your company? (Spoiler: it’s the vibe.)

🔹 Ask: what makes a good brand? – Andreas introduces his guitar obsession: Aristides. Great product, great storytelling, no marketing fluff—just real passion that speaks to a real audience.

🔹 Talk about why software brands suck – Why do most SaaS companies look and sound the same? Max argues it’s because they try too hard to appear “credible” instead of standing for something.

🔹 Break down Kevin Russell’s viral post “This is not a brand” – From positioning to purpose, we unpack why your pitch deck won’t save you—and what it really means to build emotional connection at scale.

🔹 Debate startup identity vs. team culture – Is your brand what your customers feel, or what your team lives every day? Andreas says it starts inside. Max says a vision isn’t a brand. Simon just wants his cycling kit to look good.

🔹 Reflect on culture, subcultures, and brand ownership – Who really builds a brand: the founders, the users, or the community around it? (Also: why cycling’s rise from outsider sport to hipster status symbol is a branding case study in slow-burn magic.)

🔹 Close with a branding rant for the ages – If your team doesn’t know what you stand for, no customer ever will.

And of course, we wrap with our musical therapy picks:

🎵 Trinity of Heresy – Cradle of Filth (Andreas, being Andreas)

🎵 LU (Mixed) – Pianika (Simon staying Juicy and Large)

🎵 Guerrilla Radio – Rage Against The Machine (Max, rebelling with rhythm)

🎧 Subscribe to Mayhem & Masterplans wherever you get your podcasts—and follow us for unruly branding debates, startup therapy, and questionable sports analogies:

📍 Max on LinkedIn

📍 Simon on LinkedIn

📍 Andreas on LinkedIn

🎙️ Produced by: Hypecast

#MayhemAndMasterplans #ThisIsNotABrand #EmotionalConnection #SaaSBoringAgain #CyclingCulture #AristidesVibes #StartupBranding #HypecastProductions

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