Of brands and onions: Billie’s new look

Where we are coming from and where we are headed 

Billie has been live for five years! Which, in the start-up world, almost feels like forever. And a lot has happened since then, which is now also reflected in the external appearance. Let’s take a look back. 

In 2016, we started out with the idea to bring ease to the world of business finance by offering a digital factoring solution to small and medium-sized businesses. By using genuine fintech. 

We wanted to create a fundamentally new technology that would make factoring better, faster, safer and most importantly — accessible to all businesses no matter the size, the industry or location.

So, shortly after, we thought what we successfully achieved in factoring can also be transferred to the other side of B2B e-commerce: purchasing. Because the most popular payment method in B2B is nothing other than reversed factoring: Payment by invoice. And here too, the business world is still lagging behind by ten years. If you select ‘business customer’ when shopping online, you’ll suddenly be sent back to a different age. This was reason enough for Billie to decide: We want to set a new standard in business purchasing. 

What does this have to do with our brand? 

After a few years with two products, we realized in 2021: The factoring issue has been solved. We want to put our full focus on the business-buyer side — with our experienced team, our pioneering technology, our first customers, and a strong partnership with B2C pioneer Klarna.

This was a bold decision that also meant leaving behind our proven factoring product. A decision that probably would’ve caused tension in other companies. But the enthusiasm we received by everyone for entering uncharted territory revealed more than ever: There is real pioneering spirit in Billie. We have a vision and mission that set us apart. We share values you can’t find anywhere else.

And we want this to be represented externally. Which brings us to ‘the brand’.  

What brands and onions have in common

As with everything we do, the aim of our ‘rebranding’ was not just to build a pretty facade. We wanted to rethink the Billie brand from the inside out. With a clear strategy, an ambitious goal in mind and — in proper start-up manner — with a tight schedule.

The end product that is visible from the outside — colors, fonts, imagery, language — is only the outermost layer of the ‘brand onion’. At the beginning and in the center of it all are the existential questions: What do we actually want? Why are we doing all of this? What is our brand supposed to convey anyway?

So, before our design team could get started, the strategists came into play: with interviews, surveys, and workshops, workshops, workshops. And all of that in addition to the usual start-up routine — during ongoing operations, so to speak.

We asked all of our Billies: What values are most important to you? How do you want to work together? What do you want to achieve? We sat together in workshops, we pushed the Miro boards to the limits, and we discussed, collected and condensed over and over again, from CEO to working student.  

The Result

Thanks to many clever brains, inside and outside of Billie, our fantastic designers, project managers and developers we are now live — only a few months later!

With a design that really reflects who we are inside: people with a pioneering spirit who want to make a difference and are human-centered. And at the same time shows our customers: We are by your side to simplify the purchasing experience for your business and to open up new opportunities for growth — regardless of location, industry, or size.

“Together, we create what’s next.”

The team behind our rebranding:

Design: 

Adriano García Suárez, Constantin Rueff, Helen Pepper, Ferris Yeh, Eoghan Shanley, Maria Revkov, Belén Villanueva Alcón; Consultant: Fabian Roser

Strategy: 

Helena Pabst; Consultants: Gerald Hensel, Lina Gralka

Project leader implementation: 

Susan Pfundt

Content: 

Marcel Debong, Ashley Jubb, Elena Solms, Maria Zabel, Sascha Kringel, Johannes Kohlmann

Development: 

Katherine McGlone; Maria, Violeta und Viktor Malinova; Leticia Fernandes, Anwuli Chukwurah, Maciej Piosik, Ilaria Brizi, Karim Elshami, Ayumi Saito, Artem Khodos, Blerina Beqiraj, Firas Soufi, Mohamed Bouallegue, Mohannad Zitoun, Edwin A. Serrano Maradiaga, Rodrigo Catalano, Samar Tanvir, Sina Bengsch