„I speak plainly. Anything else would be no use to you.“
Whoever works with burnt works with me. And hears things nobody else says: that your price is too low, that your pitch sounds like everyone else’s, that your business model does not add up.
Because decisions cut both ways. The wrong one costs you time, money and sometimes the company. The right one puts you in a position to challenge your market. That is what I am here for.
Positioning that starts with your customers.
Most people ask how to position their business. I also ask how you position your customers. Wer wollen sie sein, und wie bringt euer Produkt sie dorthin?
Most people build a product and then look for customers. I turn that around: the customers are the product. The offer, the price, the communication, all of it follows from there.
Marcel Schubert, founder of burntI know your side of it too
Before I advised startups I was a co-founder myself. I sat in investor meetings und gemerkt, wie schwer es ist, in einem Satz zu sagen, warum man die bessere Wahl ist. Ich weiß, wie sich eine Entscheidung anfühlt, bei der viel auf dem Spiel steht und niemand im Raum die Antwort hat.
That is why I now ask the questions I was missing back then.
The story with Marty Neumeier
In 2016 I came across Marty’s books and was hooked. Soon after, I took part in his first certification programme.
Years later THE BRAND GAP came out in German. I ordered it the same day and could not believe how little of it had to do with the original. Readers felt the same, and Marty had the edition pulled.
Weeks later he wrote to me: would I rework the German edition and work with the publisher Pearson on it.
Ten minutes after saying yes it hit me what I had taken on: a book more than 20 million people have read. One that Steve Jobs worked with. I was honoured, and a moment later I was afraid. Afraid the German edition would fail again.
It landed. In 2025 ZAG and THE BRAND FLIP followed. I completed his other programmes along the way, and Marty and I are still in regular contact. In all three books he let me write a foreword of my own, giving German-speaking readers my own perspective.
A highlight every time is seeing each other in person. We talk about what is shifting in business right now. And about how to write a book.
I have also written about business and brand architecture in the international magazine Branders.
What I learned from Marty and Level C, I bring to the startup scene in German-speaking Europe.
The Brand Gap.The bridge between business strategy and customer experience.
Zag.From sameness to singularity.
The Brand Flip.Customers in focus.Marcel Schubert in numbers
Marcel Schubert has worked on brands and business models for over 25 years, among them Range Rover, MillerKnoll, DIESEL and Bayer.
Marcel Schubert is behind the German editions of THE BRAND GAP, ZAG and THE BRAND FLIP, each with a foreword of his own.
Marty Neumeier and his team named Marcel Schubert one of fifteen LVLC Fellows worldwide.
Sparring that hurts. And moves you forward.
Guarantees. Best practice. Nonsense.
The right questions, until your head is working. Criticism where criticism belongs. And at the end decisions that make your business more profitable and more resilient. Made by you, and grounded well enough that you can explain them at any time.
No promises of success. Anyone selling those is lying. No template that already worked for somebody else. No talk that sounds clever and changes nothing. And no “you are all great”.
Thirty minutes, free, no pitch.
You tell me where you stand and I tell you honestly what will move you forward. Even if that is not me.
Book a discovery call
Many people found a company to get rich and look for the quick exit from day one. And then there are the others: the ones solving a real problem, acting out of conviction and putting their customers at the centre. Those are the people I want to work with.
Marcel Schubert, founder of burnt