Under After Business Analysis: Executive Summary

Date: October 30, 2025

The Opportunity

Under After has exceptional creative capabilities and proven client outcomes, but significant untapped revenue potential due to underdeveloped business development systems and strategic positioning.

Bottom Line: With focused improvements to positioning, lead generation, and conversion optimization, Under After could grow from an estimated $160-360K annual revenue to $750K-$1.2M within 12 months, with relatively modest cash investment (~$10-15K) and strategic time allocation.

Critical Findings

What’s Working Well

Exceptional Portfolio Outcomes
- Bison Trails: $30B+ assets under management, acquired by Coinbase
- Liquid Collective: $1.669B TVL
- Rubicon: IPO success
- Notable clients across web3, climate tech, venture capital
Differentiated Expertise
- Mark’s operator background (CMO with successful exit)
- Deep web3/emerging tech category knowledge
- Founder-led accessibility
- Strategic + creative capabilities
Strong Personal Brand
- TechCrunch “Verified Expert” recognition
- Network and credibility in target sectors
- forscher.com demonstrates creative range

What’s Holding Back Growth

Weak Positioning & Differentiation
- Generic “brand strategy and design” messaging
- Doesn’t emphasize unique operator experience
- Positioned as vendor vs. strategic partner
- Missing clear “why us?” narrative
Underdeveloped Conversion Systems
- Single CTA (“contact us”) loses 70-80% of prospects
- No lead nurture or email capture
- No lead magnets or content offers
- No segmentation for different buyer stages
Limited Business Development Infrastructure
- No systematic content marketing
- No formal VC/accelerator partnerships
- Minimal referral program structure
- Heavy reliance on personal network
Service Model Constraints
- Project-only model, no recurring revenue
- No clear service tiers or entry points
- Missing pricing indicators (wastes time on unqualified leads)
- No leverage model for scaling
Market Concentration Risk
- Portfolio heavily weighted to web3/crypto
- Vulnerable to sector cyclicality
- Untapped potential in adjacent markets

Strategic Recommendations

Priority 1: Reposition as Strategic Partner (Not Design Vendor)

Current Positioning: “New York creative studio specializing in brand strategy and identity design for early-stage businesses”

Recommended Positioning: “Strategic brand partner for ambitious founders building category-defining companies. Led by former CMO Mark Forscher, who helped scale Bison Trails from seed to a $30B+ Coinbase acquisition, Under After brings operator perspective to brand strategy—not just design.”

Why This Matters:

Differentiates from commodity design services
Justifies premium pricing
Attracts outcome-focused clients vs. price shoppers
Positions on hard-to-replicate expertise

Implementation: 10-15 hours + copywriting (~$3-5K), 1-2 week timeline

Expected Impact: 30-40% improvement in lead quality, 20% higher pricing power

Priority 2: Build Lead Capture & Nurture System

The Problem: Only capturing 1-2% of site visitors as leads. No mechanism to build relationships with prospects who aren’t ready to commit immediately.

The Solution:

Create Lead Magnet
- “Founder’s Guide to Brand Strategy for Fundraising” (PDF/microsite)
- Captures email in exchange for value
- Positions expertise and builds trust
Multi-Tier CTAs
- High intent: “Start a project”
- Medium intent: “Download brand guide”
- Low intent: “Subscribe to insights”
Email Welcome Sequence
- 5-email nurture series
- Case studies, insights, soft CTAs
- Builds relationship over time

Implementation: 15-20 hours + design/dev (~$5-8K), 2-3 week timeline

Expected Impact: 200-300% increase in leads captured, 30-40% of those convert to projects within 12 months

Priority 3: Launch Strategic Partnerships

The Opportunity: VCs and accelerators have portfolio companies who need exactly what Under After offers. Create formal partnership programs.

Target Partners:

VCs: Variant, Electric Capital, First Round, Homebrew, Lowercarbon Capital
Accelerators: Y Combinator, Techstars, On Deck, South Park Commons

Partnership Model:

Brand office hours for portfolio companies
Preferred partner rates
Revenue share on referrals (10%)
Co-marketing and case studies

Implementation: 20-30 hours relationship building, 1-2 month timeline

Expected Impact: 8-12 projects per year from partnerships, 30% lower customer acquisition cost, 40-50% of leads from partnerships within 12 months

Priority 4: Implement Service Ladder

The Problem: Single service model misses opportunities at different price points and engagement types.

Recommended Service Architecture:

Tier 1: Brand Sprint ($15-25K)

2-week intensive positioning workshop
Entry point for smaller budgets
Potential upgrade to full brand
Capacity: 4-6 per quarter

Tier 2: Brand Foundation ($40-75K)

6-8 week full brand identity
Core offering, highest volume
Capacity: 3-4 per quarter

Tier 3: Growth Brand Evolution ($75-150K+)

8-12 week comprehensive rebrand
Premium projects
Capacity: 1-2 per quarter

Tier 4: Strategic Partnership ($10-25K/month)

Ongoing retainer, fractional CMO support
Recurring revenue model
Capacity: 2-3 concurrent

Implementation: 10-15 hours to formalize, immediate timeline

Expected Impact: $180-300K additional annual revenue from new tiers, 40% of revenue from recurring sources

Priority 5: Launch Content Marketing

The Opportunity: Demonstrate expertise, build SEO, establish thought leadership, generate inbound leads.

Content Strategy:

2 long-form articles per month
Topics: brand strategy for founders, fundraising, category creation, web3 marketing
Distribution: forscher.com/words, LinkedIn, newsletter
Repurpose into social content

Sample Topics:

“How Your Brand Impacts Fundraising: Lessons from 50+ Startup Pitches”
“The Biggest Brand Mistakes Early-Stage Founders Make”
“When to Rebrand: A Framework for Growth-Stage Startups”
Case study deep-dives on portfolio work

Implementation: 15-20 hours/month ongoing, immediate start

Expected Impact: 100-150% organic traffic increase, 20-30 leads per year from content, thought leadership positioning

Revenue Growth Projection

Current State (Estimated)

4-6 projects per year at $40-60K average
Annual revenue: $160-360K
100% project-based, no recurring revenue
Limited pipeline visibility

12-Month Target (With Implementations)

Revenue by Service:

3-4 Brand Foundations: $150-300K
2-3 Growth Brand Evolutions: $150-450K
6-8 Brand Sprints: $90-200K
2-3 Strategic Partnerships (avg 6 months): $120-450K

Total Annual Revenue: $510K-$1.4M

Revenue Mix:

60% project-based
40% recurring (retainers)

Lead Sources:

30% content/organic
30% partnerships/referrals
20% direct/brand
20% other

Investment Required

Cash Investment

Website/messaging refresh: $3-5K
Lead magnet creation: $5-8K
Marketing automation setup: $2-3K
Monthly tools (email, CRM, analytics): $200-400/month

Total Year One Cash: $10-15K + $2,400-$4,800 in tools = $12-20K

Time Investment

Month 1-2: 20-30 hours/week (positioning, lead capture, case studies)
Month 3-6: 15-20 hours/week (content, partnerships, optimization)
Month 7-12: 10-15 hours/week (ongoing content, partnership management)

Average: 15-20 hours/week dedicated to business development and marketing

Expected ROI

Additional revenue: $350K-$1M in year one
ROI on cash investment: 1,750-5,000%
Time-adjusted ROI still exceptional given revenue increase

90-Day Action Plan

Month 1: Foundation

Weeks 1-2: Positioning & Messaging

Rewrite homepage with operator-informed positioning
Define service packages with pricing indicators
Update bio and about pages

Weeks 3-4: Lead Capture

Create “Founder’s Brand Strategy Guide”
Implement email capture (exit intent, content upgrades)
Write welcome email sequence

Deliverables:

New website messaging
Lead magnet (PDF/microsite)
Email sequences (welcome, nurture)

Month 2: Content & Proof

Weeks 5-6: Case Studies

Write Bison Trails case study (seed to acquisition)
Write Liquid Collective case study
Gather additional client testimonials

Weeks 7-8: Content Launch

Publish first 2-3 thought leadership articles
Set up content distribution workflow
Create content calendar

Deliverables:

2-3 detailed case studies
2-3 published articles
3-month content calendar

Month 3: Partnerships & Optimization

Weeks 9-10: Partnership Outreach

Create VC partnership package
Identify 15 target VCs/accelerators
Begin outreach with warm intros

Weeks 11-12: Service Expansion

Finalize Brand Sprint offering
Create Strategic Partnership package
Test with 1-2 pilot clients

Deliverables:

Partnership one-pager
3-5 VC conversations initiated
New service packages launched

Key Success Metrics

Lead Generation (12-Month Targets)

Website traffic: 3,000-4,000 visitors/month (+200-300%)
Email list: 2,000 subscribers
Monthly leads: 30-60 (+300-400%)
Lead-to-project conversion: 35-40% (from 20-30%)

Revenue (12-Month Targets)

Annual revenue: $750K-$1.2M (from $160-360K)
Average project value: $50K+ (from $40K)
Recurring revenue: 40% of total
Customer acquisition cost: <10% of project value

Partnership (12-Month Targets)

Active VC/accelerator partnerships: 8-12
Projects from partnerships: 8-12 per year
Referral rate: 30% of all projects

Thought Leadership (12-Month Targets)

Published articles: 20-24
LinkedIn followers: 5,000-10,000
Podcast appearances: 12-24
Speaking engagements: 3-6

Risk Mitigation

Market Concentration (Web3):

Diversify into climate tech, AI/ML, enterprise SaaS
Target: 60% non-web3 revenue within 18 months

Founder Time Constraints:

Service ladder with leverage (retainers vs. execution)
Build collaborator network for scaled delivery
Evaluate strategic hire at 12-month mark

Commoditization Pressure:

Differentiate on operator experience and outcomes
Thought leadership establishes premium positioning
Focus on strategic partnership vs. vendor relationship

Conclusion

Under After has world-class creative capabilities and proven client outcomes. The business is currently constrained not by talent or portfolio, but by underdeveloped business development infrastructure.

The path to 3-5X revenue growth is clear:

Reposition from design vendor to strategic operator-informed partner
Build systematic lead generation and nurture systems
Establish VC/accelerator partnerships for sustainable pipeline
Create service ladder for different budget levels and recurring revenue
Launch thought leadership content to drive organic growth

These are not speculative strategies—they are proven approaches that have scaled thousands of professional services businesses. The question is not whether they will work, but how quickly and systematically they can be implemented.

With focused execution, Under After could become the go-to strategic brand partner for emerging technology founders, commanding premium pricing and attracting ideal clients through reputation and thought leadership rather than hustle and personal network alone.

The opportunity is significant. The capabilities are proven. The market is ready.

Is Under After ready to scale?

Next Steps

Review this analysis and validate strategic priorities
Choose 3-4 highest-impact initiatives to start (recommend: positioning, lead capture, case studies, partnerships)
Block time for implementation (recommend minimum 10-15 hours/week)
Set up measurement systems (analytics, CRM, conversion tracking)
Begin execution following 90-day roadmap

Need support with implementation? Happy to dive deeper into any of these recommendations or help with execution planning.

Analysis completed October 30, 2025