Branding in Public: Live Startup Rebrand Workshop + An Evening with Athletes Turned Investors | LA Tech Week 2025
Watch a startup get rebranded live, then learn from sports legends who built empires beyond the game. Two events. One day. October 16th in Santa Monica.
About the Event
Most founders believe great products build great companies. But the data tells a different story.
Unicorns don't emerge from great products alone. They emerge from great brands with clear positioning, focused messaging, and community buy-in. There's a blueprint—and on Thursday, October 16th, you'll see it in action.
As part of LA Tech Week, CAMINO5 and Expert DOJO are doing something unconventional: rebranding a real startup, live, in public, with nothing off limits.
This isn't a lecture on brand theory. It's a working session where you'll observe the complete repositioning process, ask questions in real time, and leave with the exact frameworks we use with Fortune 500 companies and Unicorn founders.
The Hard Truth About Startups and Brand
Most early-stage companies approach brand the wrong way. They either:
Treat it as an afterthought ("We'll figure out brand once we have product-market fit")
Overcomplicate it with unnecessary identity work before they understand their market
Confuse brand with logo design and visual identity
The reality? Brand is your positioning. It's the clarity that tells your team what you're building, your investors why it matters, and your customers why they should care.
Without that clarity, you're building on sand. With it, you unlock velocity.
What You're Walking Into
On Thursday, October 16th at 3:00 PM, we're taking over Expert DOJO in Santa Monica for over three hours of live brand strategy. You'll watch as we work through the complete repositioning of a real startup—from competitive positioning to crafting the single sentence that becomes their north star.
This is brand strategy in real time. Unscripted. Unfiltered. With the kind of pressure that comes from making decisions that matter. You'll have the opportunity to ask questions, challenge ideas, and see how brand decisions are defended under scrutiny.
Here's what we'll work through live:
Competitive Positioning
Watch as we map competitors, ideal customer profiles (ICPs), and brand gaps in real time. You'll see how we identify white space in crowded markets and position a company to own it.
The Repositioning Framework
How to bridge where a company is today with where it needs to go. This is the hard part—balancing founder vision, market reality, and investor expectations into a coherent strategy.
The One Line
The single north-star sentence that drives every decision. This isn't a tagline. It's the guiding principle that aligns your team, clarifies your pitch, and becomes the foundation for everything that follows.
You'll see how these frameworks work in practice—and understand how to apply the methodology to your own company.
Why This Matters Now
We're in the middle of a massive correction in how startups think about growth. AI has commoditized product development. Capital is more selective. And founders are realizing that without clear positioning, even the best products struggle to find their market.
Brand isn't a luxury for later-stage companies. It's the foundation that determines whether you scale or stall.
"The companies that win aren't always the ones with the best technology. They're the ones with the clearest story, the sharpest positioning, and the community that believes in what they're building." - Ryan Edwards, Co-Founder, CAMINO5
Live Workshop Format
Forget passive panels and keynote presentations. This is an interactive working session designed for:
Founders building their first brand strategy
Investors who understand that Unicorns come from great brands, not just cap tables
Operators looking for frameworks that actually work in the wild
You'll have the opportunity to:
Ask questions as we work through each framework
Challenge decisions and see how we defend positioning choices under pressure
Network with other founders, VCs, and brand builders who are betting on LA tech
This is learning by doing—and by watching experts do it in real time.
What You'll Walk Away With
1. The Frameworks in Action
You'll watch the complete repositioning process unfold—from competitive analysis to crafting the north-star sentence. By observing how these frameworks are applied under real constraints and pressure, you'll understand how to use them in your own company.
2. A Repeatable Methodology
The exact process CAMINO5 uses with clients ranging from seed-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies. This isn't theory—it's the methodology that drives real business outcomes, and you'll see it work in real time.
3. The Blueprint to Unicorn
The strategic playbook that connects brand clarity to business outcomes. You'll understand how great brands unlock growth, attract capital, and build the kind of momentum that creates billion-dollar companies.
Evening Event
Influence & inspiration : Lessons From The World's Most Competitive Stage
After the workshop, join us at 8:00 PM for an intimate evening with sporting legends who've lived under the spotlight and built empires beyond the game.
Branding Greatness: Lessons From The World's Most Competitive Stage
Hosted by the Expert DOJO Celebrity Fund, the Dream Collection, and CAMINO5, this is not another tech week panel. This is real conversation over cocktails with four sports icons who've lived it under the lights, and now live it again as investors, philanthropists, and business builders.
Featuring:
Shaquem Griffin - Former linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks and barrier-breaker, known for redefining what's possible on and off the field.
Chris Copeland - NBA veteran with the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, and Milwaukee Bucks, now investing in the future and mentoring the next generation as a pro coach and entrepreneur.
Ryan Anderson - A decade in the NBA with multiple teams including the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat. Former NBA sharpshooter now investing with the same precision he brought to the court.
Doc God - World champion bodybuilder with 27 titles and the first athlete from Anguilla to win a global crown. Now a filmmaker, blockchain innovator, and founder shaping the future of digital rights.
These aren't just athletes. They're builders who've taken everything the game gave them (pressure, clarity, discipline) and translated it into life after the buzzer.
No stage. No mics. Just real stories, shared insights, and a rare chance to be in the room where the game behind the game gets revealed.
Attendance is strictly limited. Complimentary access for accredited investors by application. $100 contribution for qualified founders and guests. This evening can be added during workshop registration.
Event Details
Location: Expert Dojo, 395 Santa Monica Pl, 308 Santa Monica, CA
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2025
Workshop: 3:00 PM (3+ hours)
Evening Event: 8:00 PM (optional add-on)
Registration: Secure your spot
Workshop Info: View on Partiful
Evening Event Info: View on Partiful
Part of LA Tech Week 2025, a week of events bringing together LA's tech ecosystem.
Your Guides for the Day
CAMINO5
The brand and growth agency behind some of the most successful Unicorn founders and Fortune 500 companies. With 25+ years of experience in brand systems, positioning strategy, and go-to-market execution, CAMINO5 specializes in turning clarity into velocity.
Expert DOJO
One of LA's leading accelerators and early-stage VCs, Expert DOJO has helped launch and scale hundreds of growth-focused startups. Their portfolio companies have raised over $500M in follow-on funding.
Together, we've seen what separates companies that scale from companies that stall. And on October 16th, we're showing you the playbook.
Who This Is For
Founders who want to move faster by getting clearer
Investors who understand that brand determines multiples
Operators looking for frameworks that work in real companies
Anyone building something that matters and wants to learn from watching it happen live
Why Brand. Why Now.
The best time to build a great brand was at the beginning. The second best time is now.
Whether you're pre-seed or Series B, brand clarity accelerates everything else. It makes fundraising easier. It helps you recruit better talent. It turns customers into advocates. And it creates the kind of momentum that compounds over time.
Most companies figure this out too late, after they've already spent years building on the wrong foundation.
You don't have to.
Reserve Your Spot
Space is intentionally limited. We're keeping this intimate so the experience stays interactive, the questions stay sharp, and everyone in the room gets real value.
Space is filling quickly. Register now to secure your spot.
Add the evening event during checkout or register separately.
See you in Santa Monica on Thursday, October 16th.
Let's build something remarkable.
Questions? Email us at hello@camino5.com