Brand as Capital: Turning Reputation into Growth

In today’s hyperconnected marketplace, a brand is far more than a logo or a tagline; it’s an ecosystem of experiences that defines how businesses are perceived and valued. In this insightful conversation with Sunil Chopra, Founder & Chief Win Officer, Your Win Coach, we explore the evolution of branding from a visual identity to a strategic growth asset. The discussion delves into the “business-to-brand” mindset, the growing importance of founder-led storytelling, and the power of authenticity in building customer trust. As India’s entrepreneurial landscape matures, this interview offers a fresh perspective on why investing in brand isn’t a luxury but a critical pillar of long-term business success and value creation.

Q: What role does a brand play in a business or organization?

A: Most people misunderstand what a brand truly is. They often reduce it to a logo, a name, a font, or a visual identity — something that merely looks or feels a certain way. In reality, a brand is far more than its outward appearance; it is the entire experience, the journey, and the emotional connection it creates.

Unfortunately, many businesses and founders fail to recognize this deeper value. They treat branding as an expense on the profit and loss statement rather than as an investment in long-term value. This mindset limits how they perceive and build their businesses.

That’s precisely what our brand book seeks to change. As you’ll see in this first edition, it encourages a fundamental shift in how leaders think about their brands. We introduce a new perspective — one that connects brand to business performance, customer experience, and sustainable growth.

We call this approach “Business to Brand.” Most people believe they must first build a brand before doing business. In truth, it’s the other way around: a successful business must evolve into a strong brand.

Even established entrepreneurs often come to us with the same concern: “People don’t really know who we are.” For example, one founder told us, “I’m Samyak. I teach courses, I’m well-known in Rajasthan, but beyond that, people don’t recognize me. I want to be known like NIIT — I want to become a legend.” Another, in real estate, said, “I’ve grown, expanded, and succeeded — yet people still don’t know my brand. I want to be like DLF.”

These stories reveal a universal truth: true brand power doesn’t come from design alone — it comes from meaning, recognition, and the experience you build around your business.

Q: How are you helping organizations build and strengthen their brands?

A: What we do is take our partners through a structured journey — one that unfolds across four distinct yet connected quadrants.

First, we begin by building a deep connection with the founders. Today, audiences crave authenticity. They want to hear the brand’s story directly from its creators — the inspiration, the vision, the challenges, and the milestones that shaped the journey. This is where storytelling becomes central. We help founders craft and communicate that narrative so their voice connects directly with customers. We call this F2C — Founder to Customer. It’s not D2C or B2C; it’s a more human, transparent bridge between the brand’s origin and its audience. The content could take many forms — podcasts, interviews, or brand films — whatever best captures the founder’s truth. Think of how Ritesh Agarwal did this for OYO Rooms or how Peyush Bansal brought that approach to Lenskart.

Next, we extend this connection across the country. India is vast — diverse in regions, languages, and cultures. To scale the brand narrative horizontally, we collaborate with influencers whose voices carry credibility and trust. This phase amplifies awareness and builds a national footprint, ensuring the brand story resonates across different communities.

The third stage focuses on product positioning. Here, we highlight the brand’s actual offerings — the value, details, and experience it delivers. We partner with macro and micro influencers, including regional creators, who interpret and express the brand in their own context, language, and cultural style. This ensures consistency of message while adapting the story to different audiences.

Finally, we build a direct relationship with the end consumer through user-generated content (UGC). This is where the brand becomes truly hyperlocal — in stores, in communities, in everyday conversations. Real people now share real experiences, closing the loop between founder intent and customer reality.

Through these four layers — Founder Connect, Influencer Amplification, Product Positioning, and Consumer Co-Creation — we transform a brand into a living, breathing story that travels from the heart of its creators to the hands of its customers.

Q: How crucial is branding to the success and expansion of businesses in today’s market?

A: I was conducting a session earlier, and I asked a simple but powerful question. Imagine you have a pair of Nike shoes priced at ₹10,000. Now, remove the logo — what’s left might be worth only ₹1,000. So, what accounts for the remaining ₹9,000? That difference is brand value.

Take Coca-Cola, for example. Nearly 90% of its $250 billion market value comes not from its product, but from its brand. The formula, the liquid, the can — all of that is just a fraction of the total worth. What truly drives the value is the emotional connection, the perception, the trust people associate with the name Coke.

If Coca-Cola were sold today without its brand identity, its valuation would collapse. The product alone wouldn’t command billions. The brand — that invisible code of meaning and emotion — is what turns a business into an empire.

Q: What’s the current mindset of Indian business leaders toward branding? Do you see a growing openness or continued hesitation?

A: As I mentioned earlier, most business owners struggle to see the immediate return on brand investment. To them, it still feels intangible — a little abstract, even uncertain. When they spend on production, improve product quality, open new stores, or run discounts and rewards, the impact is visible. The results show up quickly in numbers. But when it comes to brand, they often ask, “What exactly did I get out of this?”

That’s where perspective matters. Take Coca-Cola — almost $225 billion of its value comes purely from its brand, not its product. They didn’t “spend” that money; they built that value over time. Nike is another example. The company never sells its shoes by listing features or functions. It sells athleticism. It celebrates athletes. The product is just the medium — the emotion is the brand.

Through such stories, whether global or from India, we show founders how a strong brand creates tangible business advantages. In retail, for example, brand strength earns trust and credibility. It helps attract franchise partners more easily and unlocks better credit terms. That’s not just perception — that’s capital. When your reputation allows you to sell on credit instead of cash, you instantly improve your working capital cycle.

Of course, it’s hard for most business owners to recognize this at the start. The link between brand and financial benefit isn’t always obvious. So we help them begin small — measured, minimal investments that run alongside their regular operations. They don’t have to pause business, break the bank, or take risky leaps. The idea is simple: build the brand quietly, steadily, and strategically while the business keeps running as usual.