Woven Capital was such a fun project. The founders are changing the financial planning game in all the right ways, and it was so interesting to be a part of that process. We had to do a little backtracking and educating so that I could get my head around the status quo of financial planning and how it’s being marketed, and then turn all that upside down. The Woven founders, Aaron & Rachel, are super intelligent, well spoken, and can write just fine on their own (in my opinion), so I provided the outsider/potential-client perspective, fresh eyes, and a punch of humor and style.
We started with the name, since this is a brand new business (and business model), and naming is always a big challenge for me. I have a complicated relationship with naming things- just ask the father of my children- because I really relish the intricacies and nuances of names while wrestling with the significance of them. Aaron and Rachel were very helpful in the process, and very prepared. I had pages and pages of their perspective to work with, organized into things they resonated with (west coast), other brands they liked (Bench.co), a lot of information on the language of financial planning, and more. Woven was one of the initial front runners. We all loved the way it communicated how the target clientele would be juggling a three business card lifestyle, how it echoed the business’s personal and technological approach, how it dovetailed with the Maker movement, and how it lent itself to visuals of nifty textiles like rugs, baskets, ropes, and other items that could stylishly decorate Woven’s future office space with Aaron and Rachel’s west coast aesthetic.
Aaron and Rachel had told me at the beginning of the process that Matt Briner would likely be designing their brand. Having often worked with Matt often, I knew I could expect thoughtful, clean, and modern visuals, so I tried to orient myself accordingly. The copy needed to be clever, but not self-consciously so, and only so much as to reflect the founders’ personalities and to engage the kinds of personalities of the clients they hoped to attract. Clever for the sake of proving how clever you are is so grating (and is the reason I stopped watching Community), so I aimed for a light touch, more conversational than comedy special. I especially like how the ‘What Makes Woven Different’ section turned out, ie “Transparency. No referral fees, kickbacks, or commissions. Our two favorite directions are up and front.”
I love how Woven turned out, and am really looking forward to seeing how it’s going to shape the future of financial planning. I highly recommend anyone interested in a proactive financial future sit down with Aaron.