You don’t need more ads. You need clarity. Most businesses throw money at marketing, thinking it’ll solve everything: low traffic, weak conversions, slow growth. But what if the problem isn’t your marketing at all? The truth is, most founders and marketers still confuse branding with marketing. They think a new logo is a campaign. They run ads without ever...
We’re hosting a pilot workshop on taste. And you’re invited to this experiment! Some things just feel right. A film. A design. A line of copy. A brand. You can’t always explain why – but you know it’s got taste. At C4E & Raw Draft, we’ve been obsessed with this. We’ve read, debated, and thrown half-baked theories into...
Before going to bed last night, I saw Motilal Oswal’s new brand make rounds on some WhatsApp groups. How do I and we as a brand design agency feel about this? So, without any context, the first thing I clicked on was: I thought the chatter was about a new payments / SaaS startup called Mo. Without immediately dissecting,...
We recently worked on a brand identity and design project for a startup that one of our long-time friends is building. And I did not raise the invoice for 50% of the project fee. Why did I say no to the money? When we take up a project, we make a promise to our clients – we will...
We don't. We play. While describing C4E, I often say we’re a unique setup. This piece is an attempt to back that claim. The risky part? When this goes out, we may realise we’re not so unique after all. But, I don’t think that would be a bad place to be at. If you find yourself building your business...
[This is a WIP document. We know certain things are missing. But at the end of this exercise, we went to one of the core values you will see here - to ready, fire, aim. And thus, this is live and it will evolve.] If you’ve ever intended to interact with any of us at C4E, this...
With C4E, it’s either a hell-yes or a hell-no. There are no “positions” at C4E. It’s a relationship. And like any other relationship, even here, the in-between is messy. This is our attempt to run far from it. Now, the responsibility for that is not just on you, but on us too. And that’s why we spend a...
C4E is built on freedom as a fundamental. When we started, the lowest hanging fruit was creating a space where you choose your working hours; instead of being dictated by a timesheet or reports. Now, with 2 people, freedom comes easy. You realise that timesheets serve no purpose within a group that is overcommunicating and has self-accountability. But,...
It's 2nd Oct 2024, and this piece is ready to leave our drafts. Last month, C and I sat down to review where we are at C4E with a 1-hour calendar block. It went on for 4 with still some to go. The point is, a LOT was happening. As we build C4E, this August Review...
Sometime last year, we stumbled upon the Input-Output-Outcome framework for tracking progress. I cannot trace it back to one individual or post, but it was a result of conversations with our friends, supporters, mentors, and people of the C4E Village. With any project / idea / initiative, there are three key indicators – Input – the time, energy,...