Float

Project Story

"I'm joining this startup and I hate the brand. I need it changed before we announce that I'm joining."

That was the call I got from Rob Khazzam, who was about to take the helm of a small fintech startup called Journal. He knew they had something special: a product that solved real problems for Canadian businesses. But he also knew their brand wasn't just weak, it was actively holding them back.

The challenge was clear: transform their positioning before Rob's announcement as CEO. But as we dug deeper, we discovered what many startups face. They were drowning in their own possibilities. Their solution did so many things well that it became almost impossible to explain what made them different.

Finding Focus

During our initial strategy sessions, a pattern emerged. While the team could talk for hours about features and capabilities, they lit up most when discussing how they removed hurdles for growing businesses. Every story, every customer win came back to the same theme: giving businesses the runway they needed to take off.

This insight led to two pivotal decisions:1. Renaming the company to Float, a name that captured both their financial product and their mission to help businesses rise2. Distilling their sprawling capabilities into a crystal clear promise: "Business spending as it should be"

The Power of Strategic Clarity

The impact of this strategic clarity went far beyond marketing. It became a decision making framework that transformed the company's trajectory. In one memorable instance, the team faced a lucrative short term opportunity that didn't align with their newly defined direction. Instead of chasing quick revenue, they had the confidence to decline, maintaining focus on their core vision.

This discipline paid off. Months after the rebrand, Float secured a $37M round led by Tiger Global at nearly 10x their previous valuation. Rob later shared that the strategic clarity we developed together was instrumental in their pitch conversations. Investors weren't just buying into a product, they were investing in a clear vision for the future of business spending.

Scaling with Purpose

As Float grew into Canada's fastest growing company, our partnership evolved. The challenge shifted from establishing clarity to maintaining it at scale. We worked closely with their team to ensure their narrative remained sharp even as they expanded into new market segments and launched new capabilities.

In late 2024, we conducted a Brand Therapy Sprint to tackle their next strategic challenge: how to effectively serve both small business and mid market segments without diluting their message. The sprint resulted in a refined messaging architecture and homepage overhaul that significantly increased conversion rates while staying true to their core strategic positioning.

This strategic foundation continued to pay dividends. In early 2024, Float secured an additional $70M in Series B funding to accelerate their growth, bringing their total funding to $107M since our initial work together.

Lasting Impact

Float's transformation wasn't just about finding better words to describe their product. It was about building a strategic foundation that enabled confident decision making, unified team execution, and sustainable growth. They became Canada's fastest growing company not just because they had great technology, but because they knew exactly who they were and where they were going.

The journey from that first urgent phone call to today proves something I deeply believe: brand clarity isn't just about external perception. It's about creating internal conviction that drives every decision, every product choice, and every customer interaction.

"This was one of the most important and foundational projects we've ever done at Float. Completely changed the direction of the company." - Rob Khazzam, CEO

Key outcomes

• $107M total funding ($37M Series A, $70M Series B)

• Became Canada's fastest growing company

• Significant increase in homepage conversion rates

• Successfully expanded from SMB to mid market segments

• Built lasting strategic foundation for sustained growth