Lightning Lab
Refocusing startup support
Industry
Services
Education
Community
B2C
Role
Brand strategy
Year / Duration
2020
Overview
In 2013, Lightning Lab launched, bringing the TechStars mentor-driven model to life in New Zealand as its first member of the Global Accelerator Network (GAN). Despite supporting over 250 ventures through accelerator and incubation programmes, by 2020 Lightning Lab faced some critical challenges; shifting leadership, evolving startup and founder needs, and the need to align more closely with its parent organisation.
Lightning Lab faced a pivotal question: how could it amplify its impact while aligning with Creative HQ’s broader mission?
Results
In early 2021, Lightning Lab and its team were reintegrated into Creative HQ, retiring as a standalone brand. However, our strategic work clarified the vision for startup support and paved the way for better-aligned services. Today, its legacy lives on through the consolidated efforts of the broader organisation, ensuring founders receive the support they need to thrive in the Aotearoa startup ecosystem.
Enhanced alignment
between the team’s efforts and the wider organisation’s goals
A consolidated vision
that aligned with Creative HQ’s mission, emphasising capability, confidence, and connections
Lasting impact
insights and frameworks that informed the ongoing support for Kiwi founders
Understanding the present to shape the future
Beginning with a deep dive into the brand’s existing services, audience perceptions, and place in the market, I worked alongside the Lightning Lab team to help understand their challenges. This wasn’t just about redefining what Lightning Lab did, it was about understanding why it existed.
Through interviews with founders, alumni, investors, and other stakeholders, we unearthed insights into where Lightning Lab stood:
Missed expectations
between Lightning Lab's offerings and the needs of its diverse audience.
Lack of clear positioning
Within the maturing and growing startup ecosystem in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Misalignment
Between Lightning Lab, the team's previous efforts and their long-term goals as part of Creative HQ's broader mission.
Lightning Lab: Where we are going
A new beginning
Key stakeholders, including founders and investors, joined us to define the focus, co-design the next steps and reimagine the service offerings, ensuring the strategy was grounded in real-world needs.
Through these sessions, we redefined Lightning Lab’s purpose: to build creative resilience, curiosity, and community across Aotearoa’s startup ecosystem. These values became the foundation for a revitalised brand strategy, brought to life with mood boards and a refreshed brand manifesto as a roadmap to guide the team.
Draft manifesto
Community
We believe great ideas start with people.
Curiosity
We believe curiosity should be celebrated.
Curiosity is driven by passion and inspires change.
Empathy
We listen first.
Creative resilience
We believe times of change are opportunities for creative thinking, growth and transformation.
Authenticity + vulnerability
We always feature real people, real stories, in their real-life settings.
Humble support
We believe in you.
I loved that the process was very collaborative and was informed by brand perception data we collected from a range of stakeholders. It really allowed us to better identify our audience and what a typical startup founder in our programmes looks like. This fed directly into our outbound deal-flow strategy and helped us to be targeted rather than reactive.
The brand development process also allowed us to step back and understand our brand values and the outcomes we provide, as opposed to getting too tunnel-visioned on what we do activity-wise from a programming perspective. Even though the Lightning Lab brand may not continue, the learnings from the process have certainly helped the startup team to better communicate and consolidate their vision, their brand and the overall impact and purpose of their work.
– Michelle McCarthy, Incubation Manager (2019–2021)
What I did
Strategy
Market analysis
Competitor analysis
Discovery and user research
Values, purpose, proposition and personality
Language, tone of voice and messaging
Design
Content and information architecture
Moodboard concepts
I'm always keen to collaborate when I have the time. Give me a shout about an upcoming project, email:
© Copyright 2017–2024 | Kelcey Braine