What brand building really meant for me while building IDALS!

When I started IDALS, one thing came naturally to me. Providing real value through service. This was always part of my work ethic, even before entrepreneurship and I carried the same mindset into my startup.

From day one, my focus was not just on building a product, but on how we treated our users. No matter how good a product is, real brand building happens through the value you consistently deliver through your service.

We focused on creating genuine content on YouTube. No gimmicks. No shortcuts. Just honest knowledge that actually helped learners. At the same time, I personally stayed connected with our users to understand their experience, challenges and feedback.

There were issues too. For example, in some cases the payment would get deducted but not reflect due to a technical limitation. Even though it was not frequent, I made sure every such case was resolved on time with constant support. There was no hard selling. Just clear explanation of the product and how it could help solve their problems. Everything was genuine.

This continued for more than a year. Good service, honest content and strong support.

At one point, when the platform was close to shutting down, I decided to try offline programs based on my past experience of running an educational institute. After a month of research, curriculum planning and design, we launched our offline course.

The response surprised me. We started receiving many inquiries and calls. That trust did not come from marketing. It came from the brand IDALS had already built through its work. People trusted us.

We started our first offline batch with seven students in March 2022, which felt meaningful since I was returning to offline training after three years post Covid. From there, the focus remained the same. Quality training, personal attention and genuine care.

You can see this reflected in our student podcast videos and online feedback. Almost all reviews speak positively about the experience. I still say 99 percent positive, keeping one percent for things like studio infrastructure. But when it comes to service and training, I always aimed to keep it top notch.

I am sharing this because brand building is often misunderstood.

A brand is not built through promotions, visuals or aesthetics alone. Those are only supporting elements. A brand is built when people trust your work, your service and the way you make them feel valued.

Coming from a service background, this was never a strategy for me. It was simply how I worked.

So if you are building a startup or a brand, focus first on your service, your honesty and your care for people. That trust will stay with you far longer than any campaign ever will.

People remember how you made them feel. That is what builds a brand.

#EntrepreneurshipLessons #BrandBuilding