Top Talent like Brandon are on Pangea

Pangea, a YC company, connects companies with fractional talent. Fractional hiring allows companies to move faster and work with more specialized talent, while giving talent more flexibility and independence. If you are talent open to fractional work, apply here. If you’re a company looking for high-quality fractional talent, learn more here.

Brandon Hightower

Product Marketing Manager
Creative & Brand Strategist
User Researcher
New York, NY, US
Top Earner
Digital Marketing
Go-to-market Strategy
Brand Development
Content Development
UX Copywriting
Digital Strategy
Blog Writing
Messaging Strategy
Available for hire fromNegotiable
Contracts
Full-Time Roles
Brand Strategist and Creative Director grounded in user-centered methodologies
Marketer and designer with a degree in Product Design from Stanford and a passion for blending creative insight with business impact. I’ve generated $10B+ in market value by helping launch dozens of startups into market. I’ve led growth initiatives at Hott Studio, designed UX for AR apps, and collaborated with dozens of startups at the venture studio West. My work focuses on deep user research to mine insights that create meaningful connections with the end user, regardless of industry. When I’m not working, I record and perform rock and soul music in NYC.

Projects

Altro: Brand Launch

Launching a radically inclusive financial services brand, purpose-built for Generation Z. Formerly known as Perch, Altro is a Series A startup focused on helping individuals get uncounted payments—like rent and subscriptions—counted toward their credit. After a notable market entry backed by a public investment from Jay-Z, the company sought to build a brand that met the expectations of its 150,000-person waitlist. I conducted a thorough market analysis and discovered that Altro's target audience—18-25 year-old college students and recent grads—values socially conscious financial solutions. This insight guided the creation of Altro’s empowering brand identity, which included a full website build, a manifesto video, original brand photography, and user audio stories.See More

HoneyBook: Brand Strategy & Go-To-Market

Defining a new category of business software and a proud new identity for more liberated, more creative, and intentionally smaller, small business customers— The Independents. In 2021 HoneyBook was looking to define its customers, services, and category. The goal was to build community by clearly naming and defining the Honeybook customer. Additionally, the company was looking to position its unique set of services holistically in a way that differentiated it from the multitude of solutions for independent business providers and gig workers. Finally, Honeybook wanted to establish itself as a market leader for the growing freelance industry by identifying and defining the unique category that the business could build into. Throughout the project, I served as the research, strategy, and project management lead, defining and communicating the core of the brand to many stakeholders over our 18+ months working with the HoneyBook team. To meet HoneyBook’s goal of defining and owning a new category, we understood that the first step was clearly defining a target customer. Through extensive research, we dove into the mindset of business owners who provide contracted services to their customers. The team quickly realized that this independent spirit was the driving force behind these individuals who dared to pursue their passion. We named this group of customers “Independents” rather than “freelancers” or “gig workers” to give them a proud and differentiated shared identity. With this renewed clarity on the customer, the team was able to build out a category and community that HoneyBook could own and brought that work to life by designing a visual and verbal brand identity that would be applied across all the Honeybook-branded touchpoints, including a video campaign featuring a script I wrotre. The company’s valuation increased more than 5x during the time of our engagement.See More

Work History

H

Co-Founder & Head of Strategy

Hott StudioAs Co-Founder & Head of Strategy, responsible for leading strategic initiatives and business development efforts to drive growth and innovation.
W

Strategist

WestOct 2019 - May 2023 • 3 yrs 8 mosWest is a Venture Studio with a unique structure at the intersection of brand strategy, creative, business strategy, and venture capital. Brand Strategy: End-to-end brand and marketing from user research, to brand identity, copywriting, go-to-market strategy, and campaign management for early-stage (Seed to Series C) ventures. Project Management: Led cross-functional teams of designers, strategists, and developers, managing project plans and timelines to ensure seamless project execution on time and within budget. Client Management: Cultivated client relationships. Regularly pitched and delivered presentations to client teams and executives. Agency Management: Collaborated with external agencies to incorporate specialty services for select projects to deliver integrated marketing campaigns.
N

Design & Marketing Consultant

NONA.studioRadically human experiences for innovative technology. UX Design for AR: Designed the beta for a web-based AR shopping app. Created a novel AR design workflow incorporating prototypes in Adobe Aero and wireframes in Figma, implemented in 8th Wall. Worked closely with the founder and CTO with weekly design reviews for a faster development cycle. Marketing Strategy for New Media: Built go-to-market strategy and refined the brand identity for a new media startup in preparation for an in-person brand activation and new product launch.
S

UX Designer

SAPMay 2017 - Jan 2019 • 1 yr 9 mosInteraction Design: Tasked with modernizing one of the flagship SAP products, Cloud for Customer, involving incorporating chatbots into a legacy product. Conducted user research, built wireframes, conducted usability testing, and contributed new interaction patterns to be implemented by the development team. Collaborated closely with the development team to ensure feasibility of the designs. Design Consulting: As part of the SAP AppHaus team, led design workshops and created strategic recommendations for SAP customers to better utilize SAP products to drive business success. Environmental Design: Conducted user research to inform the environmental design of the HanaHaus coworking space ahead of the launch in 2018. Innovation Strategy: Investigated the feasibility of a machine learning product to ensure pay equity with the SAP SuccessFactors HR solution.
Reviews
Exceeds Expectations
Exceeds ExpectationsRecommended by clients 2 times.
Exceeds Expectations
Top EarnerHas earned $10k+ on Pangea.
Brandon has received Kudos for:
Time Management (1)
Communication (1)

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

Education

S

Stanford University

Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Product Design

How Pangea Works

Effortlessly discover top talent

We've distilled the candidate search from endless hours down to just a few minutes. Using Pangea's AI-powered search tools, you can find top fractional talent able to take on your next project. Our system looks at your company's niche and your needs to find the perfect match faster than any traditional hiring platform.

Start working with talent today

The top talent on Pangea is ready to get started with you right now. You can message or hire a candidate right from their profile page and start assigning work as soon as they respond. And the best part? Pangea's fractional contract structure lets you start small and ramp up as your needs change, keeping your costs manageable and your team's capabliities flexible.

Track work and invoices in one place

Assign tasks, track progress, and complete invoices all on Pangea. We've combined every part of the hiring process into one platform to eliminate the miscommunication that's unavoidable on other freelance platforms. We even send out 1099s to your contractors at the end of the year!

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call
Brand Strategist and Creative Director grounded in user-centered methodologies
Marketer and designer with a degree in Product Design from Stanford and a passion for blending creative insight with business impact. I’ve generated $10B+ in market value by helping launch dozens of startups into market. I’ve led growth initiatives at Hott Studio, designed UX for AR apps, and collaborated with dozens of startups at the venture studio West. My work focuses on deep user research to mine insights that create meaningful connections with the end user, regardless of industry. When I’m not working, I record and perform rock and soul music in NYC.

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call

Top Talent like Brandon are on Pangea

Pangea, a YC company, connects companies with fractional talent. Fractional hiring allows companies to move faster and work with more specialized talent, while giving talent more flexibility and independence. If you are talent open to fractional work, apply here. If you’re a company looking for high-quality fractional talent, learn more here.

Brandon Hightower

Product Marketing Manager
Creative & Brand Strategist
User Researcher
New York, NY, US
Top Earner
Digital Marketing
Go-to-market Strategy
Brand Development
Content Development
UX Copywriting
Digital Strategy
Blog Writing
Messaging Strategy
Available for hire fromNegotiable
Contracts
Full-Time Roles

Projects

Altro: Brand Launch

Launching a radically inclusive financial services brand, purpose-built for Generation Z. Formerly known as Perch, Altro is a Series A startup focused on helping individuals get uncounted payments—like rent and subscriptions—counted toward their credit. After a notable market entry backed by a public investment from Jay-Z, the company sought to build a brand that met the expectations of its 150,000-person waitlist. I conducted a thorough market analysis and discovered that Altro's target audience—18-25 year-old college students and recent grads—values socially conscious financial solutions. This insight guided the creation of Altro’s empowering brand identity, which included a full website build, a manifesto video, original brand photography, and user audio stories.

HoneyBook: Brand Strategy & Go-To-Market

Defining a new category of business software and a proud new identity for more liberated, more creative, and intentionally smaller, small business customers— The Independents. In 2021 HoneyBook was looking to define its customers, services, and category. The goal was to build community by clearly naming and defining the Honeybook customer. Additionally, the company was looking to position its unique set of services holistically in a way that differentiated it from the multitude of solutions for independent business providers and gig workers. Finally, Honeybook wanted to establish itself as a market leader for the growing freelance industry by identifying and defining the unique category that the business could build into. Throughout the project, I served as the research, strategy, and project management lead, defining and communicating the core of the brand to many stakeholders over our 18+ months working with the HoneyBook team. To meet HoneyBook’s goal of defining and owning a new category, we understood that the first step was clearly defining a target customer. Through extensive research, we dove into the mindset of business owners who provide contracted services to their customers. The team quickly realized that this independent spirit was the driving force behind these individuals who dared to pursue their passion. We named this group of customers “Independents” rather than “freelancers” or “gig workers” to give them a proud and differentiated shared identity. With this renewed clarity on the customer, the team was able to build out a category and community that HoneyBook could own and brought that work to life by designing a visual and verbal brand identity that would be applied across all the Honeybook-branded touchpoints, including a video campaign featuring a script I wrotre. The company’s valuation increased more than 5x during the time of our engagement.

Work History

H

Co-Founder & Head of Strategy

Hott StudioAs Co-Founder & Head of Strategy, responsible for leading strategic initiatives and business development efforts to drive growth and innovation.
W

Strategist

WestOct 2019 - May 2023 • 3 yrs 8 mosWest is a Venture Studio with a unique structure at the intersection of brand strategy, creative, business strategy, and venture capital. Brand Strategy: End-to-end brand and marketing from user research, to brand identity, copywriting, go-to-market strategy, and campaign management for early-stage (Seed to Series C) ventures. Project Management: Led cross-functional teams of designers, strategists, and developers, managing project plans and timelines to ensure seamless project execution on time and within budget. Client Management: Cultivated client relationships. Regularly pitched and delivered presentations to client teams and executives. Agency Management: Collaborated with external agencies to incorporate specialty services for select projects to deliver integrated marketing campaigns.
N

Design & Marketing Consultant

NONA.studioRadically human experiences for innovative technology. UX Design for AR: Designed the beta for a web-based AR shopping app. Created a novel AR design workflow incorporating prototypes in Adobe Aero and wireframes in Figma, implemented in 8th Wall. Worked closely with the founder and CTO with weekly design reviews for a faster development cycle. Marketing Strategy for New Media: Built go-to-market strategy and refined the brand identity for a new media startup in preparation for an in-person brand activation and new product launch.
S

UX Designer

SAPMay 2017 - Jan 2019 • 1 yr 9 mosInteraction Design: Tasked with modernizing one of the flagship SAP products, Cloud for Customer, involving incorporating chatbots into a legacy product. Conducted user research, built wireframes, conducted usability testing, and contributed new interaction patterns to be implemented by the development team. Collaborated closely with the development team to ensure feasibility of the designs. Design Consulting: As part of the SAP AppHaus team, led design workshops and created strategic recommendations for SAP customers to better utilize SAP products to drive business success. Environmental Design: Conducted user research to inform the environmental design of the HanaHaus coworking space ahead of the launch in 2018. Innovation Strategy: Investigated the feasibility of a machine learning product to ensure pay equity with the SAP SuccessFactors HR solution.
Reviews
Exceeds Expectations
Exceeds ExpectationsRecommended by clients 2 times.
Exceeds Expectations
Top EarnerHas earned $10k+ on Pangea.
Brandon has received Kudos for:
Time Management (1)
Communication (1)

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

Education

S

Stanford University

Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Product Design

How Pangea Works

Effortlessly discover top talent

We've distilled the candidate search from endless hours down to just a few minutes. Using Pangea's AI-powered search tools, you can find top fractional talent able to take on your next project. Our system looks at your company's niche and your needs to find the perfect match faster than any traditional hiring platform.

Start working with talent today

The top talent on Pangea is ready to get started with you right now. You can message or hire a candidate right from their profile page and start assigning work as soon as they respond. And the best part? Pangea's fractional contract structure lets you start small and ramp up as your needs change, keeping your costs manageable and your team's capabliities flexible.

Track work and invoices in one place

Assign tasks, track progress, and complete invoices all on Pangea. We've combined every part of the hiring process into one platform to eliminate the miscommunication that's unavoidable on other freelance platforms. We even send out 1099s to your contractors at the end of the year!

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call
Pangea empowers fractional work across the world for marketing and design roles.