Among many silly creative hobbies, one thing I love doing is making jewelry. I recently got hooked on lost wax casting and was so inspired that I set out to make Chandler a new wedding band.

It is beautiful. He really wanted something raw and textured, so I made that my mission. It took hours of carving, shaping, filing, and polishing. I learned quite a bit while making this piece (both literal skills and life lessons). While spending many late nights with gold burnished fingertips, something poetic that came to mind was:

Before gold can shine, it has to be refined… It is melted down, stripped of impurities, and reshaped by heat and pressure, and finally filled and polished until the form is flawless.

And I’ve realized: that’s exactly how great brands are built. 

Retention, loyalty, and trust– they are all built from the same process of refinement.

You carve out your logic when you audit your customer journey- remove friction, confusion, and clutter.

You melt, file, & reshape your message when you stop trying to say everything and start saying what actually matters.

You polish your brand when you make the experience consistent- tone, visuals, packaging, follow-up- all shining in the same direction.

That’s how you take something raw and refine it for impact.

The result isn’t loud. It’s solid.

A brand that holds weight.

& a trust that’s enduring.

But there’s one more thing:

One special detail in Chandler’s ring is on the inner side of the band.

When I was carving the wax to make the form of the ring, my hands got warm and left my fingerprints inside.

At the end, during the final polishing, I noticed they were still there- my quiet proof of authenticity, a trace of the love and care poured into that piece.

The same goes for you, founders. You can polish and perfect every edge, whether it be campaigns, metrics, messaging, artistic vision, etc. until the form is flawless…

And yet, strategic perfection alone isn’t the whole story…

Your unique touch, your insight, your heart- that’s what turns brilliance into something unmistakably yours. YOUR story. Because when the story stands out… The strategy impacts.

Step back…carve…refine… shine…

But, don’t forget to leave your fingerprint. 

-Hannah