A vision that needed a voice

With decades of venture and tech experience, General Partner Scott Kraege had a clear vision for what Ivy Ventures could be. But without in-house product marketing or brand expertise, he didn't yet have the foundation or digital presence to raise a fund, attract limited partners, or win over founders at potential portfolio companies.

Ivy came to Innovatemap needing a credible, compelling, and differentiated go-to-market foundation, one that could hold up in rooms with LPs, advisors, and founders who'd seen a hundred pitches before.

We started with product marketing, positioning Ivy to stand out in a crowded VC market and building the foundational statement and benefit pillars that would guide every message that followed. Because Ivy has two distinct audiences, that messaging also had to flex — resonating with founders and with the advisors and LPs backing them, each with different expectations to meet.

Ivy needed to attract a very specific type of founder — extraordinary founders. It's an operator-backed fund, meaning the corporate partners, LPs, and advisors have all built companies of their own. Ivy invests in the qualities that can't be taught, and coaches the ones that can. The messaging had to carry that.

Brand hasn't traditionally been a priority in venture capital the way it has in SaaS. But as more capital providers enter the market, a strong brand is one of the clearest ways for a fund to stand out to the founders it wants most.

To give Ivy that edge, we built a brand identity that strikes the balance between differentiation, boldness, professionalism, and credibility.

Red was a blue ocean choice in VC. No one really goes red. The brand looks elevated, premier, and established from the first touchpoint.

The icons and illustration shapes draw from dominoes creating a flywheel — a nod to Ivy's own thesis. If you tip the domino the right way, the flywheel starts. Ivy's smart capital tips the dominoes and kickstarts something different.

To put the new brand and messaging to work, we built:

• A website that leveraged Ivy's new positioning and identity from the first visit.
• A pitch deck that helped the team tell Ivy's story and win over LPs and advisors.
• Sales and marketing materials that gave the Ivy team one consistent story to tell.

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After launching with their new brand and website, Ivy earned verbal commitments for a $20M fund in just three weeks.

Clear, consistent messaging that accurately reflected Ivy's thesis took the guesswork out of tough branding decisions and gave them a real edge in a crowded VC landscape.

Because the raise moved so fast, Scott and the team could stay focused on deal flow and building the fund instead of chasing their story. Five portfolio advisors signed on, and Ivy has since invested in 15 companies and counting.

We worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Scott and the Ivy team throughout the engagement, and the partnership didn't end when the brand went live.

From launch execution to thought leadership support, we were along for the ride.

We take pride in producing exceptional work, but the real value was in how we showed up: embedded in the team, guiding strategic decisions, invested in Ivy's success as if it were our own.