On Brand with Kira Klaas
Hi, Iām Kiraāa brand marketer whoās built and scaled brands at companies like Notion, Brex, and Gusto. Iāve been the person in the room fighting for brand investment when everyone else wanted to put more money into Google ads. (And Iāve won that fight.)
On Brand is where I share what Iāve learned about making brand work in the real worldānot just in pitch decks. I bridge the gap between textbook brand theory and the messy reality of execution in fast-moving companies.
Start with these reader favorites
āš¼ The Brand vs. Growth Myth
What is On Brand all about?
A few times a month, I break down things like:
Why you canāt get by on product-market fit aloneāand how to find your brand-market fit
How to get executive buy-in for brand work (especially from skeptical founders)
Brand insights from culture that your competitors are missing
Templates and tools that make abstract concepts immediately actionable
Who should subscribe
On Brand is for people who need to make brand work in high-stakes environments:
Brand marketers and strategists trying to prove why their work matters
Marketing teams navigating complex internal politics
Startup founders who know brand is important but donāt know where to start
Cultural observers interested in how brands both shape and reflect society
Anyone fascinated by the interplay between cultural trends and brand evolution
This newsletter reaches over 2,500 readers across 90 countries who care about building brands with substance.
Where to find me
Press/Media: Iām available for commentary on brand strategy, marketing trends, and tech industry developments. Email: kiraklaas@gmail.com
Partnerships: For sponsorship or collabs, check out my Passionfroot profile. You can also reach out on LinkedIn or send me a message on Substack.
Education: Join my hyper-tactical Maven course on brand leadership, take my Brand Marketing Foundations program on Reforge, or download my templates on the Notion Marketplace.
Consulting: I selectively advise companies from startup to post-IPO because brand is universal. I also coach individuals through pivotal moments in their brandās development and growth challenges.
About Kira Klaas
Iāve led brand through critical moments at some of techās fastest-growing companies. At Notion, I directed global campaigns that helped grow our user base to 35+ million. At Brex, I led the rebrand that helped us scale from serving startups to enterprise clients and a $12B valuation. At Gusto, I helped develop the delightful brand voice that defined Gustoās category-leading marketing.
These days, I lead corporate marketing at Later while teaching brand leadership through my Maven course. I know what itās like to fight for brand budgets, manage stakeholders with strong opinions, and translate creative vision into business growth.
