Many Indian startups treat branding like a line item that can be postponed — “Pehle product bech lete hain, brand baad mein bana lenge.” It sounds practical. It is also the reason growth becomes expensive later. When your brand is unclear, every marketing activity starts working harder than it should. You run performance ads but the conversion is low. Your sales team gives long explanations because customers don’t immediately understand your value. Your pricing is constantly