I will not promote - digital branding and web design discussion

Hey everyone, I’ve been diving deep into branding and Webflow-first web design and wanted to start a discussion: How important do you think branding is for startups & scale-ups? At what stage should a startup invest in branding? Do you think an early-stage startup should focus on branding, or is it secondary to product-market fit? Have any of you rebranded after launching, and what impact did it have? From my experience, a strong brand identity (logo, typography, UX/UI consistency) can be a major differentiator, but I know some founders see it as a “nice to have” rather than a necessity. Curious to hear your thoughts! How has branding played a role in your startup’s journey?