1 Brand modelling and ontology

We argue that brands are crucial in value modelling and business ontology, especially for startups. Brands are an asset and a strategic way to differentiate a new venture from its competitors. Also, having a well-defined brand allows the people involved in an ecosystem to communicate consistently to all stakeholders. The literature on corporate branding is dense and contains many different typologies. Nonetheless, there are very few studies on startup branding, and there are only a few models to validate and conceptualise branding in startups. We seek to identify the key concepts and relationships in startup branding in order to propose a structured vision and definition of the concept. We explain why brand modelling is crucial, what a brand is, and how to develop a branding tool. We seek to develop a startup brand ontology and to visually represent it in order to help startups co-design their brands – to help them express and communicate a clear and consistent vision, image and culture to all their stakeholders.