Kriya
In a nutshell
Market Finance (their old name) was an innovative fintech held back by its brand identity. I worked with them to develop a fresh identity and narrative, a clearer product overview and even a new name.
FULLER STORY
The company had evolved multiple times over the years, layering on new services from invoice financing to loans and most recently, ‘embedded finance’ (By Now Pay Later functionality for B2B).
On one hand, this continuous innovation had kept Market Finance relevant, even through the turmoil of Covid. But in a noisy, fast-changing category it made them hard to understand and remember.
Their visual brand was also looking tired compared to the new startups on the scene. It had bank-ish vibes. Not ideal, given that so many business owners had been denied finance by those institutions.
Market Finance’s old website
Now the race was on to lead the nascent Embedded Finance category. Frustratingly, tech startups with no finance legacy were stealing attention with simpler propositions and more accessible brands.
Speaking to customers, I learned that they were wary of young tech startups. Market Finance’s proven resilience and support was actually what made them so appealing in comparison.
Market Finance had been personally committed to helping business owners for 12 years. It wasn’t just their technology that was ‘embedded’, it was their people. They were a part of the SME community.
CEO and co-founder, Anil Stocker had even started his own podcast, interviewing business owners out of a genuine passion to understand their challenges.
Love a good name-based pun
In contrast, the category norm was to boast about tech superiority, speed and ease. Market Finance talked about ‘Frictionless finance’ too, which was in danger of making them part of the noise.
Competitor messaging from the finance category
Narrative flip
It wasn’t finance - even the frictionless kind - that excited Market Finance’s clients. They cared about the momentum they could achieve without said friction. Which is what excited Anil too.
So we went back to the company’s DNA and inverted the narrative. It wasn’t about friction, it was about flow. The thrill of making things happen with other people. This led to a new organising brand idea:
Focussing on the exciting progress businesses could make together brought community back to the centre, with tech playing a supporting role. A warm contrast to competitors’ cold, tech-obsession.
NAME change
The new story needed a new name. Something true to the brand idea, suitably snappy and would work well next to product words like Pay and Loans, I ran the naming process with key team members.
It was highly collaborative and the final name actually came from the client. “Kriya” is sanskrit for ‘completed action; state of flow’ nodding to the idea of momentum. I think it’s rather good.
Logomark by designer, Duncan Gravestock
messaging
I helped Kriya to reframe their services from a list of disparate solutions to a fluid suite of tools. This gave them the flexibility to innovate and pivot freely, using the brand story as connective tissue.
Below is some of the messaging I wrote, including a brand manifesto and product overview. Always instilling a sense of smooth integration, community progress and dependable support:
From Kriya’s website in 2024
From an unmemorable brand with a mish-mash of products to a modern brand with a suite of tools, all anchored in the concept of entrepreneurial progress. You might say that it all flowed brilliantly.
““Andy got under the skin of our brand quickly. He was proactive in talking to customers and partners and is good at mixing qualitative interviews and survey data.
He’s a strong writer, good at taking on feedback and great at bringing in other experts that are needed. I’m very happy we went with Andy and didn’t use a big agency that would have charged us much more, taken much longer and I’m sure the results would not have been as good!””
Final thought
Many companies rally around their brand idea internally, but fail to project it to the world. Kriya embraced the concepts of camaraderie and flow, weaving them proudly into their name and messaging. They get it.