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Apply — 2025 Q3 Intake

Submitting this application is itself a positioning move.

A curated conversation for Series A–C founders and CMOs preparing a launch, rebrand, or category entry. We read every submission in the order it arrives, and we reply to every one within seven business days.

Begin the application
Five long-form questions ~12 minutes Treated as confidential

Before you apply

The terms, in plain English, so only aligned founders continue.

We believe the diagnostic is the most useful ninety minutes of brand work you can buy this quarter — but it is also a paid engagement, not a discovery call. The four terms below are non-negotiable, and we publish them here so the application reads as a two-way interview from the first line.

If any of these terms don’t fit your stage, timing, or budget, we would rather you pause here than submit a form we can’t honor. The studio is capped at fourteen clients per year; the diagnostic exists to make sure every one of them is the right match.

Cost
$1,500USD, paid in advance via invoice. Credit applied in full toward any retainer signed within 60 days of the diagnostic.
Time
90 minHeld on Zoom or in person at our Brooklyn studio. Every diagnostic is led personally by Omarion Reyes — never by a strategist on the team.
Window
Q3 2025We open intake four times per year. This quarter we are accepting applications through Friday, October 10. Decisions ship by October 24.
Fit
Consumer · Hospitality · B2BWe do best with founders shipping a physical product, a service line, or a category-defining SaaS for a defined buyer. We do not work on logo refreshes, internal rebrands, or pitch decks.

The roster, in numbers — updated October 2025

  1. 3 of 14 Spots remaining for the Q3 2025 cohort The studio cap is published publicly and held without exception. Two diagnostic slots open each month.
  2. 3.2 yrs Average tenure across the active client roster Measured across every engagement opened since 2019. Multi-phase relationships, not project-of-the-month work.
  3. 92% Client renewal rate on multi-phase engagements Across the past three fiscal years. The diagnostic is the front door; renewal is the proof the work landed.

A note from the principal

“We are not looking for the founder with the best deck or the loudest traction. We are looking for the founder who can tell us, in three paragraphs and without a slide, what their company is for and why now. If you can do that here, you can do it for a customer, an investor, and a journalist — and that is exactly the muscle we will build together. The application is the first rep. Take it seriously and we will take you seriously.”

Omarion Reyes Founder & Strategy Lead, Omarion Studio · formerly Wieden+Kennedy Portland

Questions we get before every application

Six things serious applicants ask, answered once and in writing.

  1. Will you sign an NDA before I share the deck?

    Yes — mutual NDA, countersigned within 48 hours of a scheduled diagnostic, sent by our counsel in New York. We will not ask you to share proprietary material before the NDA is in place, and the application itself only asks for information you are comfortable sharing publicly.

  2. Is the diagnostic genuinely useful over Zoom?

    Yes. Roughly 70% of our diagnostics are held remotely and the work translates; the strategy is in the conversation, not the room. In-person sessions are available at our Brooklyn studio for founders within driving distance and include a working lunch.

  3. What happens after the ninety minutes?

    Within five business days you receive a written recap: the strategic thesis we whiteboarded, the three positioning moves we discussed, and a recommendation — retain, revisit in a quarter, or decline. The $1,500 is credited toward a retainer if we both choose to continue.

  4. What are the refund and credit terms?

    The full $1,500 is credited toward any retainer signed within 60 days of the diagnostic. If we agree the engagement is not a fit before the call, the fee is refunded in full within three business days, no friction.

  5. Who actually attends the diagnostic?

    Omarion Reyes and one senior strategist from the studio. You are welcome to bring a co-founder, a CMO, or a head of product — we find the diagnostic is sharpest with two or three on the client side as well.

  6. What if I’m not ready to apply this quarter?

    Add yourself to the Brand Moat newsletter and we will let you know the moment Q4 2025 intake opens. We also publish ‘The Positioning Brief,’ a free 38-page guide, which most applicants read before submitting.

The Application

Five questions. Roughly twelve minutes. Read once by the principal.

  1. 01 ~2 min

    If you cannot finish this without a slide, that is the most useful thing we can work on together.

  2. 02 ~3 min

    A launch, a rename, a rebrand, a category entry, a press moment. Be specific about the date and the audience.

  3. 03 ~3 min

    Three references is plenty. We are listening for the vocabulary you use to describe good work.

  4. 04 ~2 min

    A range is fine. Diagnostic ($1,500) to a multi-phase retainer ($80K–$240K) is the typical arc.

  5. 05 ~2 min

    A referral, a Brand New feature, the Brand Moat newsletter. Honest context helps us prepare for the diagnostic.

By submitting, you agree to be added to our private applicants list. We never share submissions and never sell contact data.