Medtech Branding: Why Startups Need to Define Their Story Early

At LSI USA ’26, the panel “If You Don’t Create Your Brand, Your Market (or Competitors) Will” explored a critical but often underprioritized part of company building: medtech branding. For early-stage innovators, brand is not simply a logo, color palette, or polished pitch deck. It is the foundation for how a company defines its purpose, positions its technology, earns credibility, and creates consistency with customers, investors, employees, and strategic partners.

Moderated by Rachel Knutton, CEO of Alluvia Studio, the discussion featured Amanda DePalma, SVP of Ultrasound Global Marketing at Siemens Healthineers, and Terri Burke, Senior Partner at Intuitive Ventures. Together, they made a clear case for why brand development should begin long before a company is ready for commercial launch.

Brand Starts Before the Logo

For Burke, one of the most important misconceptions to correct is that brand begins with visual identity. “For me, a brand is a lot more than a logo or colors,” Burke said. “When I think about brand, I think about everything that comes before that. What problem are you solving? What’s your value proposition? How are you positioning yourself? What is unique?”

That work, she explained, determines whether a company is credible, relevant, and differentiated. The logo may eventually express the brand, but it does not create the substance behind it.

DePalma framed brand as a promise. “It’s the promise that you’re making to your customer,” she said. “Your customer experiences that brand both functionally and emotionally.”

In medtech, that promise extends across every interaction a customer has with the company. A website, a package, a sales conversation, a complaint process, and a clinical interaction all shape how the brand is perceived.

“In my opinion, every single interaction your customer has with you is an experience they’re having with your brand,” DePalma said. “That experience either builds their brand perception up with them or it tears it down.”

Medtech Branding Begins With the Define Phase

Knutton described Alluvia Studio’s brand process as “define, refine, shine,” with the most important work happening at the beginning. The define phase is where a company does the harder, less visible work of understanding who it is, who it serves, what it stands for, and why the market should care.

Burke said that for startups, this early definition is especially important because it directly affects how investors understand the company.

“For any startup, I think the define phase is the most important thing that you can do and spend time on because it’s who you are and what value you’re bringing and why an investor should care,” Burke said.

That does not mean a startup needs to have every answer from day one. Instead, Burke encouraged teams to test positioning, listen to customers, and refine the story as they learn.

“Try it out with some customers, talk to some physicians, and figure out, does it resonate or not resonate?” Burke said. “You may have to modify as you go.”

The key is making sure that claims, positioning, and evidence all connect. If a company says it will save time, reduce burden, or improve outcomes, it needs a plan to prove it.

This blog is originally published here: https://www.lsiusasummit.com/news/medtech-branding-why-startups-need-to-define-their-story-early