Tools to surface a brand's personality

What happens when everyone can build, but no one breaks through the noise?

In this episode of Supra Insider, Ben Erez sits down with Elan Miller, founder and CEO of branding and design studio Off-Menu, for the podcast’s first live in-person recording. Elan unpacks why this moment is uniquely challenging for brand storytelling—AI has made it easier than ever to build and ship products, but harder than ever to get people to care. He explains how the standard tech playbook (great product + clever go-to-market) no longer works when 10 competitors can copy you within a month, and why honorable points of view are the only sustainable moat.

They explore Anthropic’s Keep Thinking campaign and Super Bowl ads as a masterclass in positioning against OpenAI, discuss why successful positioning must repel people as much as it resonates, and unpack the Granola rebrand (including Ben’s honest reaction as a customer). Elan shares why most rebrands fail (visual makeover without moving anything forward), the different reasons companies should rebrand (talent attraction, internal alignment, crossing the chasm), and his process for finding the “holy s**t insight” that makes people feel seen. Plus, how he’s building AI tools that turn brand strategy into practical inputs for higher-quality outputs, and why strong point of view is the antidote to slop.

If you’re building in a crowded space and struggling to stand out, wondering whether a rebrand is the right move, or trying to articulate what makes you different in a way that actually resonates—this episode is for you.

All episodes of the podcast are also available on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.

New to the pod? Subscribe below to get the next episode in your inbox 👇

Want company-specific interview intel?

If you’re preparing for PM interviews at OpenAI, Google, Stripe, DoorDash, Uber, or Figma… we think you’re going to love Insider Loops. You can read about it in Ben’s LI post, Marc’s LI post or check out the site directly below.

In this episode, we covered the following topics:

* (02:25) Never been easier to build with AI, never been harder to get people to care

* (03:20) If your product works, 10 people copy you within a month—honorable POV is the only moat

* (05:00) Anthropic/Claude case study: Keep Thinking campaign, NYC popup, Super Bowl ads

* (10:10) The enemy question: if your brand had an enemy, who would it be and why?

* (18:30) Granola rebrand discussion: Ben’s honest reaction as a customer

* (29:20) When is a rebrand the right move? Start with the problem you’re trying to solve

* (30:20) The process: what do we believe that nobody else believes? Why should anybody care?

* (38:00) AI opportunity: strong point of view as input for better outputs—antidote to slop

* (50:15) Who Off Menu turns away vs. who they’re perfect for: big bets to reach inflection points

* (1:02:25) Tech world about to operate like CPG: best story wins, not best product

* (1:12:50) Rubric-based coaching: working backwards from what interviewers actually evaluate

* (1:17:20) Personal trainer analogy: not doing reps for you, showing form and pacing

* (1:29:10) When things are fun, nobody can compete with you

* (1:31:10) Gratitude Corner: thanking his parents and anyone who’s taken a bet on him

* And more!

Links:

* Off-Menu: https://www.off-menu.com/

* Off-Menu Newsletter: offmenu.substack.com

* Elan’s X: https://x.com/elanmiller

* Elan Miller: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elanmiller/

* Marc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbaselga/

* Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benerez/

If you’re a new subscriber, we encourage you to check out some of the recent episodes you might have missed:

To support the podcast, please check out the links below:

* Check out Ben’s AI Practice Copilot and top-rated Maven course: Self-Paced PM Interview Bootcamp: Product Sense & Analytical Thinking (selected by Lenny Rachitsky as a top course 🔥). Get 25% off the course with promo code suprainsider (auto-applied here).

* Supra has teamed up with Maven to bring you something special – courses that our own community members have personally curated. And because you’re part of the Supra family, you can get up to 35% in some of these handpicked selections with code SUPRAxMAVEN.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit suprainsider.substack.com