I was very proud for Twist to be named as one of Interbrand’s Breakthrough Brands of 2016. It was an honor for Twist be recognized at such an early stage. As part of this recognition, I was asked to participate in a brand summit with the other amazing nominees -- Shake Shack, Shinola and Sweetgreen to name a few. We got to ring the NYSE closing bell and be a part of an awesome panel called, “Brand: Day Zero.” I was interviewed on Twist’s journey, from bright idea to luminary product, and how important having a strong brand has been throughout the process. While we continue to build our brand each day, I invite you to discover how our story began.
1. What is the problem you are trying to solve?
The smart home ecosystem today is both expensive and complicated. We wanted to be the opposite; to make accessing the smart home easier, by essentially just having to replace a couple of lightbulbs. In turn, the name led to the product innovation: Twist - the actual action of installing the product.
The entire goal of our brand is to make everything as easy and simple as possible.
2. What was your thinking around the brand itself? When did it become important?
For us, the brand was important from the beginning. From day one we identified that simplicity is something no one in the smart home ecosystem does. Thus, the Twist experience revolves around how easy this technology is to install, maintain and uninstall. The entire goal of our brand is to make everything as easy and simple as possible.
3. Having the brand before you even had the product, how did that work?
We looked at the smart home space, which is overly complicated and filled with so many products. Wanting to make something different and simple led us to the light bulb - one of the easiest daily experiences any of us have with technology.
4. How has your brand led to the experiences you are creating for customers?
We are in a unique position. Since we are in the preorder phase, we don’t yet have the benefit of someone experiencing our product first-hand. Until then, we have to convey Twist's uncomplicated and beneficial customer experience digitally.
We are simplicity, we are not complexity.
5. How does your grasp of your brand and business permeate to new people you’re bringing onto your team?
Everyone who originally joined had smart home experiences and didn't enjoy them. They don’t work for us or for the general consumer. All those at Twist buy into what we are and what we are not. We are simplicity, we are not complexity. We hire around that.
6. How do you retain your brand and your culture as you expand?
We are currently going through another round of growth and are excited to have different personalities. Our company has outlined important values, while recognizing the need for diversity. We want people to ask questions and collaborate. The goal is to create a safe place where people don’t get upset that their ideas are sacred, because ideas aren’t sacred.
We are building something no one has really seen before or interacted with.
7. How have you been able to get creative with your brand while working on a tight budget?
We are building something no one has really seen before or interacted with, so we need to get people excited and willing to engage with this new and novel idea. To achieve this, we will be creating valuable content revolving specifically around how technology can help improve your life.
8. What partnerships have you sought out that help your company?
We deliberately don’t integrate with any other smart home products, forcing us to look elsewhere for partnerships. Currently, we are having conversations with health influencers about how Twist benefits sleep and well-being. We are also working with tastemakers in the lighting industry to see how our bulb can influence technology and design in that space. It is exciting stuff!
Over the past two years we have come a long way from just an idea to imminently launching our first product. Our vision for the company expands beyond just a light bulb, but our mission is to always keep things as simple as a twist.
If you would like to watch the full panel interview, you can view it here.
