The results were a chaotic mix of Fiverr gigs and suspicious-looking generators. Then he saw a name that popped up repeatedly in forums: BrandCrowd .

BrandCrowd offers two main paid plans (plus a free trial):

~$8.99/month (billed annually ~$108/year)

"We can't afford 'identity' right now," Marcus said, his voice tight. "We need a face. We need to launch."

The real cost was his ego.

Marcus rubbed his temples. He was the founder of Apex Gear , a startup selling eco-friendly hiking packs. He had thirty thousand dollars left in the bank, a warehouse full of inventory, and zero sales. He didn't need an identity; he needed a logo that didn't look like it was drawn in MS Paint so he could launch his website tomorrow .

He downloaded the ZIP file. Inside were PNGs, vectors, and black-and-white versions. He dragged the vector file onto the mock-up of his hiking pack website.