From Virtual CTO to Venture Crush: Why Rebranding is More Than a Name Change

Venture Crush and Kings College London

Startups evolve quickly. What begins as a prototype, or a single-use platform, often grows into something much larger than first imagined. That was the story with our original Virtual CTO Platform, which set out to match executives and tech talent for growing companies. Over time, we realised that what we were really building wasn’t just a tool for hiring - it was a community for founders and techies to connect with compatibility.

The decision to rebrand to Venture Crush came from this shift. A name that reflected the energy, ambition, and personal chemistry of startup building. Like relationships, successful companies are built on more than hard skills - they require trust, shared values, and the ability to grow together.

Lessons From the Founder’s Journey

The rebrand aligns with what Harry Geisler shared in King’s College London’s A Start-Up Founder’s Story: YAVA. One of the central themes of that piece is the need to move fast and stay aligned with your team mates. Startups don’t have the luxury of slow consensus; clarity of vision and speed of execution are what separate those that scale from those that stall.

Rebranding isn’t just cosmetic. It’s a chance to sharpen focus, communicate a clearer value proposition, and inspire both your internal team and your community. In our case, “Virtual CTO Platform” explained the function. “Venture Crush” tells the story. It says: this is about finding the right people, the right chemistry, and the right timing to make something extraordinary.

The rebrand also reminds us that alignment matters. A name change on its own doesn’t create momentum-what does is ensuring your whole team feels the shift and understands the “why” behind it. In our experience, bringing developers, designers, and co-founders into the process made the new identity something everyone could own.

Rebrands can feel like a gamble, but when they reflect the deeper truth of what you’re building, they’re a catalyst. For us, it’s not about leaving the Virtual CTO Platform behind - it’s about acknowledging that it was the foundation for something bigger.

At Venture Crush, we’re not just connecting founders and techies. We’re building a place where startups find their soulmates - and move faster because of it.

View full article here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/a-start-up-founders-story-yava