Becoming Bomba

Ben, Steph and Steven joined forces in 2023 to build a creative studio for explosive startup and scale-up brands.

• But what does that really mean?

• How did we get here?

• And why did we all decide to start this business?

COME WITH US NOW ON A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME AND SPACE

Let's rewind the clock to the heady days of frothy venture capital investment, when crypto was the talk of the town, and Adam Neumann was still hailed as an entrepreneurial visionary.

The startup scene in London was burgeoning, and one talent recruiter decided to flex his own entrepreneurial muscle...

THE TEMPO TIE-UP

Ben Chatfield founded Tempo in 2017 - alongside ex-Job and Talent Head of Ops, Ollie Povey, as Co-Founder & COO.

Now, the video-based hiring platform that uses machine learning to match job seekers with relevant roles can count the likes of Monzo, Starling Bank, and Bulb as some of the 3,000 employers using the product. Tempo has also since succeeded in securing an overall £10M in fundraising and became an approved talent provider on the Kickstart Scheme to help get young people into employment.

Enter Stephanie Melodia, who had just started her consultancy, Bloom, and was brought in to give the rectech platform a hand with marketing. One of the top items on the agenda? To rebrand the exciting startup - which at this point had a basic logo and colour gradient knocked up the Founder's cousin; classic!

When is the right time to rebrand? A question we often get asked as it's tricky to get the timing right. Too soon and risk wasting money. Too late and risk brand equity, market share, and a poor reputation. Read here for our professional advice on when to consider rebranding your startup. 

Meet Steven Mzar, the creator behind the most standout design portfolio of the selection Ben and Steph reviewed for Tempo's exciting rebrand. Harking from The Partners and GBH - award-winning design agencies - the designer was in business for fresh projects.

Steven Mzar and Stephanie Melodia - with so much more in common than just their initials - hit it off right away.

As Steven was developing the groundbreaking brand for Tempo - which saw a bold colour palette, a constantly-changing logo, and rule-breaking activations at every turn - he needed reinforcements.

This took shape in the multi-skilled creative-cum-copywriter harking from The Chase, Ben Parish.

The trio worked well together, with admiration, respect, and enjoyment aplenty in their collaborations.

Ben and Steven formalised their creative partnership, and, as Steph's consultancy "bloomed", it wouldn't be until five years' later the three would reunite...

A NEW VENTURE FOR NEW LANDSCAPES

Fast forward to present day and we're living in seriously challenging times. The past 18 months have seen a seismic shift in the startup landscape. With VC investment drying up, a tough talent market, rising ad costs from the tech triopoly, and a saturation of competitors in seemingly every industry, it's safe to say it's tougher than before to start & build a successful business today.

After being immersed in startup land for the past five years, Ben, Steph, and Steven knew the options available to early-stage tech businesses were not working, and these challenging times only exacerbated it. Want quality? Work with an expensive and slow agency. Want speed? Roll the dice on whoever's immediately available. Want value? Take a chance with a temporary freelancer.

And from our side? We don't fit into any of those categories either. The three of us all have great ambitions and a singular vision on which we're aligned: deliver great work to impact-driven businesses.

With a high-quality network; extensive experience on brands both big & small; and a desire to deliver creative impact (without charging you for that expensive flower arrangement on the front desk), the three of us came together to start BOMBA.

WHY THE NAME BOMBA?

Two reasons;

Firstly, it's a crowded space and people's attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Reports have shown that people don't care about your business, with 94% of UK consumers citing they wouldn't miss your brand if it disappeared tomorrow. Combine this attitude with challenges in fundraising, talent acquisition, and marketing costs, the answer really points to one thing: invest in a strong brand that cuts through the noise.

This is what we mean when we say EXPLOSIVE brand.

Secondly, a range of scientific studies have also proved that, time and time again, Ben, Steph & Steven truly are "da bomb."

(All that plus it's easy to say, easy to spell - oh, and it's Spanish - which we all have en común ;) )

SO WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY DO?

As specialists in creativity, we combine world-class brand experience working on household names such as Apple, Coca-Cola, Ferrari, Nespresso, and Virgin - with the past 5+ years focused on early-stage, high-growth tech businesses (startups & scale-ups from pre-launch to Series B). Our services include:

Branding (including strategy, visual identity, personality, design toolkit... )

Campaigns (including GTM, launch campaign, or new product / feature)

Art Direction, Shoots & Content Creation (for campaigns or social media)

Plus monthly subscriptions (for on-demand creative services)

More about our services.

And what about the returns from working with you?

Business with a strong brand enjoy numerous benefits, including:

• Lower marketing spend. Beat rising ad costs and enjoy cheaper CPAs, thanks to a stronger brand. (Research from SimplicityDX shows that customer acquisition costs have increased by 222% in the last eight years alone!)

• Unlimited margins and 3X speed to profitability (which is what all VC investors need to see in your pitch deck these days);

• 33% more revenue and 306% higher customer lifetime value & loyalty. 

• £0 CPA. Customer advocacy is the holy grail of marketing, where your CPA is literally £0 (a.k.a. word of mouth marketing). A study by Nielson showed that 92% of consumers believe suggestions from friends and family over all forms of advertising. And referrals convert 30% better than any other marketing channel.

• Talent acquisition. Your brand is not just for customers; it's for your partners, investors, and team members too. A strong employer brand helps you to attract the A-players you need to have on your team to succeed.

• Unlock higher fundraises. Your brand has real value to the business, and savvy investors will recognise when startups have this strong asset. (The value of brand can be worth up to 20% of your overall company valuation at EBITDA).

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BOMBA - The creative studio for explosive brands

We're behind some of the most exciting tech businesses; from healthtech scale-up GripAble to UK Top 5 Startup, Tempo; from UIPath-acquired re:infer; to YC-backed AI startup Cosine, we combine world-class creativity and startup experience to deliver explosive brands that translate to real business success.

Offering services across branding, graphic design, strategy, content creation, copywriting, and campaigns, we are a remote-first collective with bases in London, Barcelona, and Medellín.

Curious to know more?

Get in touch.