Xolo is all-for-solos

When I first joined the company in 2021, Xolo was at a crossroads. Founded in 2015, Xolo had built a loyal following of digital nomads and Estonian e-Resident solopreneurs who used Xolo's digital business administrative tools (now there's a sexy category name!) — to run borderless businesses.

With the post-pandemic influx of freelancing, Xolo was introducing new products and growing into new markets. And with the rise of remote work, Xolo was welcoming new faces from new places to the team.

the problem:

it's had to grow when you look like everybody else

Xolo's brand recognition was low. It wasn't that the current brand identity was bad; it was non-existent in that Xolo looked exactly like its growing list of competitors. If Xolo was going to grow into its potential as a newly-global company, they needed an identity that wasn't afraid to stand out.

With help from the entire company we articulated Xolo's values — "Big Hearted," "Maverick," and "Clockwork" — then went on to define the brand's positioning, purpose, and ambition. Along with the Xolo Leadership Team, I participated in a series of workshops in collaboration with the branding agency Werklig, who I would go on to work for as a brand strategist and copywriter.

Above: Identity design drivers based on values.

In partnership with Werklig's strategy team, I adapted the new positioning into a one-of-a-kind brand voice guidelines that used our newly defined values as their source material. I got the opportunity to bring these guidelines to the real world when we relaunched our website with our bolder, brighter, more inclusive identity that celebrates the joy of independence and the power of one.

You can find it all below, in the Xolo brand book that our brand designer and I poured our blood, sweat and tears into (not literally, but close).