Performica
Branding an Algorithm, Building Trust at Scale
Client
Performica
Category
Brand Creation & Product Marketing
Services
Creative Direction,
Brand Strategy
Messaging
Team Leadership
Year
2025

Challenge
Performica is a radically different kind of HR tech—an AI-powered platform that maps influence, performance, and attrition risk inside complex organizations. But when I joined, none of that was clear. There was no brand, no narrative, no visual language—just powerful tech and a big idea: make critical operational and workforce decisions confidently!
My challenge: translate this invisible value into a clear, credible, human story that resonates with HR leaders and CFOs alike.
What we needed was something clear.
Something you could trust.
Something like Google Maps in the Age of Columbus.

Solution
I built the brand from scratch:
- Defined voice, tone, and visual identity
- Designed the core narrative around clarity, fairness, and trust
- Created sales decks, demo flows, and award-winning campaign materials
- Hired and led a cross-functional creative team (design, copy, motion, web, dev)
- Developed LinkedIn outbound content and Apollo messaging strategies to support sales

Key elements:
- Messaging: “Make critical operational and people decisions confidently.”
- Narrative arc: From ‘broken performance reviews’ to ‘X-ray vision for org health’
- Design system: Soft, network-driven visuals echoing the product’s social graph
- Storytelling strategy: Emotion-forward messaging backed by hard performance data

Impact
- Established Performica’s brand from the ground up, contributing to a $3M seed raise
- Helped secure major HR industry awards (TalentCulture, SHRM, Brandon Hall)
- Positioned the company as a thought leader in people analytics
- Drove qualified sales leads through outbound campaigns and clear positioning
- Built a cohesive visual system across web, product, and investor materials
- Led creative across all channels to ensure brand consistency and audience engagement
- Developed targeted outbound campaigns to PE firms using personalized billboards and tailored messaging strategies


“Dima has been the creative engine behind Performica’s brand and marketing from day one.”
—Alex Furman, CEO, Performica


Role
Creative Director from inception. I led the brand strategy, messaging, design, team building, and go-to-market creative execution. I bridged technical complexity and emotional clarity—transforming a backend algorithm into a product people trust.