Most positioning work ends up describing what a company does rather than why it matters to the people it is trying to reach. We approach it differently because our co-founders come from operational backgrounds, not design studios. Akhila led $100M+ urban infrastructure projects where positioning had to hold up in front of city governments and investors at the same time. Tejas scaled operations across three countries where alignment was not a nice-to-have but a condition for growth. That experience shapes how we work: structured workshops to surface what your team actually believes, real competitive research to find the space you can credibly own, and a positioning framework that holds up in a fundraise, a sales conversation, and an employee handbook. We work primarily with climate tech and B2B SaaS companies, where being misunderstood by the right buyer carries genuine cost.
From your first positioning statement to a full messaging architecture, here is what a positioning engagement with us can include.
If your positioning sounds like it could belong to three of your competitors, something needs to change. We map where you actually sit in the market, identify the space you can credibly own, and build a positioning foundation grounded in real competitive and audience research, not borrowed language from your category.
Your value proposition is often the last thing your team agrees on and the first thing buyers judge. We run structured workshops with your stakeholders, test your core claims against real customer language, and build a value framework your sales team will actually use in the field.
When different parts of your leadership team have different answers to 'what do we do and who is it for,' everything downstream suffers. Our structured 90-minute sessions are designed to surface those gaps, work through them directly, and give your team a shared starting point they can all commit to.
Knowing what your competitors say is only useful if you know what to do differently. We analyze competitor messaging, market gaps, and buyer needs to identify where your brand can genuinely differentiate and build a strategy for holding that ground.
Positioning strategy only works when people can communicate it clearly. We build a messaging hierarchy that works from an executive narrative down to a sales one-liner, with the same core idea adapted for the right audience at each level, from investor decks to product pages.
Being recognized as the go-to in your category doesn't happen by accident. We build positioning that establishes your credibility with buyers, media, and partners, and makes a clear case for why you lead rather than why you are simply one of several options.
We start with structured interviews and a 90-minute workshop with your key stakeholders. This surfaces the assumptions, tensions, and differing perspectives that exist internally, resolves the ones that need resolving, and establishes shared objectives that guide the rest of the project. Without this foundation, positioning work tends to get relitigated later.
A few examples of how we have helped companies move from vague or inconsistent messaging to positioning that holds up in the market.
"They very quickly understood the kind of messaging that was important to us and how to translate that into a compelling visual experience. I can't recommend them enough!"
"The extremely high quality of outputs with fast turn around times and availability of team at short notice has been perfect for our requirements"
"They very quickly understood the kind of messaging that was important to us and how to translate that into a compelling visual experience. I can't recommend them enough!"
"The extremely high quality of outputs with fast turn around times and availability of team at short notice has been perfect for our requirements"
"They very quickly understood the kind of messaging that was important to us and how to translate that into a compelling visual experience. I can't recommend them enough!"
"The extremely high quality of outputs with fast turn around times and availability of team at short notice has been perfect for our requirements"
We have worked with over 100 climate and B2B companies. Here is what we think makes a positioning engagement actually work.
We don't arrive at your project with a pre-formed hypothesis. Competitive scans, buyer research, and stakeholder interviews shape every recommendation we make. If the evidence points somewhere unexpected, we follow it and explain why.
A positioning framework your leadership team doesn't fully buy into won't survive its first real test. Our workshops are structured to surface the actual disagreements early, work through them with your team directly, and produce positioning that everyone is prepared to stand behind.
Both co-founders are directly involved in every engagement. You get strategic depth without the overhead of a large agency structure. Monthly partnerships start at $2,999, with project-based work scoped to what you actually need.
Positioning engagements run 4 to 6 weeks by design. If you are working toward a funding round, product launch, or market expansion, we structure the work to meet your deadline without compressing the research that makes the positioning defensible.
Operational thinkers with real business experience, applying it directly to every engagement.
Co-Founder, Lead Design Strategist
Akhila is the co-founder and lead strategist at What if Design. She helps climate tech companies turn complex science into brands and websites that close funding and partnerships. She has worked with teams backed by the US Department of Energy, ARPA-E, leading climate VCs across carbon capture, grid interconnection, and green hydrogen, contributing to over $105M raised. Founders trust her because she learns the science and market before designing, and translates what they build visually for effective communication.
Co-Founder, UX Design Lead
Tejas is the co-founder and product UX lead at What if Design. He leads product and UX for software companies, designing for adoption, retention, and the metrics that drive growth. His work spans battery management systems, fleet platforms, and ESG tools, plus enterprise software for the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia. Founders trust him because he treats every screen as a business decision, not just a design problem.
Brand positioning is the deliberate work of defining how your company is different from competitors and why that difference matters to your target buyers. It clarifies your value proposition, shapes your messaging, and gives your entire team a shared answer to the question 'what do we do and who is it for?' Without it, your marketing pulls in different directions, your sales conversations feel inconsistent, and investors struggle to understand what category you actually belong in. Strong positioning makes internal decisions easier too, because everyone is working from the same understanding of what you stand for.
Tell us where your positioning feels unclear or inconsistent. We'll respond within 24 hours with initial thoughts and a clear path forward.
Tell us about your positioning challenge and where you are headed. We will respond within 24 hours with initial thoughts and a clear path forward.
For immediate assistance, feel free to send us a quick email at team@whatifdesign.in
For immediate assistance, feel free to send us a quick email at team@whatifdesign.in