Giving the power of brand development to entrepreneurs and small business owners and started the worldwide brand craze.

Entrepreneurs Served

Customers served! 10000 + (Globally)

Audio Training Hours

Customers served! 10000 + (Globally)

Video Training Hours

Customers served! 10000 +

Business Books Written

Customers served! 10000 (600+ Pages)

I’ve watched the process used more than once, and every time, not only was a deeper understanding of the project gained by its team, the way into the marketplace was clearly forged. Audiences and executives alike connected to it easier. Agency-quality materials were developed at a mere fraction of the normal cost.

J.A. MALLA, Los Angeles, CA


BrandU should be a required education for businesses and entrepreneurs. I gained more clarity in one day than I've gotten in any other course.

LORRIE MORGAN-FERRERO, Van Nuys, CA


Every business owner should experience BrandU.

ILAN MANDEL, Los Angeles,CA


The power and the extreme clarity I gained out the other side are absolutely incredible. BrandU really pushed me to learn who my business really is. Thanks to you, I'm never giving my business power away ever again. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

KIM RHODES, Los Angeles, CA


Thank you very much for your insight and support. It has brought quite a new light to the direction of my business. Oh, what a relief! I’m energized and committed again and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your process and help.

SUZANNE LACROUX, Canada


BrandU changed the way I perceive my business, my self-image, and life.

DEBORAH DERAS, Fairview Heights, CA


The BrandU process not only gave us a grand understanding of how to reach the target, but we also discovered how to communicate what our film was truly about. We cannot imagine shooting without completing the process first. We felt as though we were supported by an army of experts.

ERIC KLEIN, Hollywood, CA


In just two weeks…my business grew 400%!

JESSICA DUQUETTE, Topanga,CA


We often made losses…Just five months after bringing my business through your process…our May net profit is 19% and June is 23%! My team and I have not done anything different except to go through your process. We’ve just worked hard through this process and somehow, miraculously, I have results 8 to 9 times the industry average!! WOW!!

PAUL BOOKER, United Kingdom


After going through the BrandU process, we had our best income year ever in our business. We were able to buy and move to our dream home way ahead of schedule!

ANN AND JIM SCARBOROUGH, Santa Barbara, CA


I must confess, I was very skeptical at first based on the promise and extremely low cost. You truly exceeded my expectations. Now knowing what changed in me and my business, I would have gladly paid $16,000.

WILL PATTON, San Jose, CA


If I hadn’t invested in developing my brand with Kim and Vito, I can honestly say that I would have half the income that I have today. The BrandU process was a home run for my business!

ARI GALPER, Sydney Australia

Process-driven creativity leads to reliable results.

For over 30 award-winning years, we’ve been supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners as they start, grow, and expand their businesses as a brand.

We started as a boutique creative house serving new and emerging brands, consumer product launches, and entertainment studios and production companies releasing new properties. We discovered through working with our clients there was a lot of guessing on their end which resulted in projects being over budget, over schedule, and burdened with inefficiencies. True to our nature, we developed several processes to speed up the creative process starting with the steps to develop a brand.

With Verve Integrative our award-winning strategic agency, we use these reliable business-building processes to serve thousands of new business brands, thousands of ground-breaking market entry launches, thousands of advertising campaigns, and thousands of people confidently entering the market with their products and services.

The first to bring brand development out of advertising agencies and guide entrepreneurs and small business owners to develop their own brand.

BrandU® was an accident. At least at first.

Like any young business, we were always searching for ways to make our boutique creative house (founded in 1991) relevant and thriving. We weren’t thinking about building a premiere bra
nd-development training program. That came later.

We worked with some very prestigious and ubiquitous brands. And a wild and unexpected opportunity came our way. As it turned out, we would prove the power of a brand even for a new leading-edge company. It helped our boutique agency to boot. We started Virtual Conventions, LLC to leverage brands in an immersive, experiential way using the Internet.

We invested $500,000 and focused everything we learned and all the creative resources at our disposal solely on the first project. We assembled a team of 70 people from around the world and worked 18-hour days for an entire year. We created and delivered a groundbreaking first-ever 3D Virtually Star Trek Convention.

We found ourselves with international success and never-seen-before details about the attendees that shocked even Paramount. Attendees received an experience of the Internet that no one had yet imagined. And it showed that even a startup can wield the power of a brand—1.4MM people engaged in just 30 days from 95 countries. Click here to download the stunning results with just a dial-up modem.

Despite the ground-breaking innovation, we were a decade too soon. We were emotionally, energetically, and financially exhausted…the paltry 5MM we were seeking was out of reach. Like all true entrepreneurs, we rested and said “next.”

We experienced first-hand the power of a brand. So combining the design to share that experience with the processes we used to create and market that Vir-Con and all our clients, we became the first people to introduce self-brand development to entrepreneurs and small business owners in 2003. We started sharing the power of developing a brand as BrandU®, and the worldwide phenomenon was born.

In our live talks and magazine columns, we were tireless in our efforts for small business owners to own their power in their business and the market as a brand. Our hands-on trainings, workshops, and intensives guided them through the process and the tools to confidently develop a clear and sustainable path for their business from plan to brand to market. 

BrandU®  took off like a train going 500 miles an hour with tracks…a wild ride to say the least.

Today everyone talks about brand building or wanting to grow their brand, as if “brand” was always a part of the business-building lexicon. It wasn’t. Back in 2003, brands were something that the average Joe or Josie couldn’t create without truly big bucks. Normally, you had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to an advertising agency.

Kim started attending female-focused entrepreneur networking groups to recharge with other women like her. Women with career experience. Women with a vision to create a financially independent life for themselves. Women with a dream to serve others while making a difference in the world. A flame was lit in her heart.

Meeting these women up close, Kim realized that despite having career experience, a desire, and a dream, these women were not operating with their fullest power. The power of brand communication—inside and out. The power of brand strategy. The power of brand perception in the market. The very power she created for Fortune 100 companies working at the top 25 advertising agencies in the world. How could they? They didn’t know the power of a brand was available to them to harness.

Kim thought that if we could help these values-led, committed entrepreneurs how to develop and grow their businesses as brands then they could grow into financially-sustainable businesses deeply connected to the impact they have on the world around them. In turn, these entrepreneurs would experience strength in their businesses, the market, and their lives.

We agreed on a vision to guide entrepreneurs to develop their own brands. Together we developed the curriculum, the processes, the underlying science behind the programs, and the first 8-step process that is known today as Brand Power was born.

Forty-five days after the idea, we held the first BrandU® live workshop in a sold-out room and offered the Brand Power workbook before it was completely written. This time we were right on time and it paid off. Making over 2MM dollars in just three years and helping tens of thousands of small business owners harness the power of their business as a brand.

We demonstrated the power entrepreneurs can have if they harness the power of their vision, idea, and communication. We taught it and were living proof. The curriculum kept expanding… mindset, business models, financial plans, and systems of scale needed to launch a business.

While empowering entrepreneurs to develop the power of their brand through the processes of BrandU®, they continued to serve hand-picked clients as our boutique creative house grew into the strategic agency known as Verve Integrative.

Learn about Verve Integrative.

Lives Forever Changed


We went through all of the programs of IBI, CEO Space, and a solid year of business coaching. We got more clarity about our business future working with you and we're only halfway through Power Path. That's only four lessons!

Steve & Celia Kirshenbaum Parkland, FL


When I first decided to go through branding I was under the misconceived idea that branding was all about designs colors, and shapes.  After completing this comprehensive program, I now understand that branding goes far beyond this physical dimension. Working with Kim and Vito has given my business a soul whose strong spiritual purpose, is the foundation that makes its vision sparkle in anyone's eyes, from the inside out not the other way around. This process has truly strengthened my purpose and vision beyond material limits, Knowing how valuable branding Is, I could never imagine being in business without it. BrandU doesn't leave any dimension unexplored and makes your business shine.

Dominique Bossavy, CEO DominiqueBossavy.com


Kim Castle delivers brand vision and passion in a powerful, illuminating seminar that shows you how big you really are.

Ann Convery


BrandU is a laser approach to a complex process that leaves you feeling (re)inspired, (re)directed, (re)focused, and ready to bring your brand mainstream in a huge way! Wow!

Tami Walsh, Teen Wisdom


The BrandU® workshop was the beginning of taking myself and my business seriously. I am excited about the possibilities and the process!

Donna Mills


Thanks immensely for an indescribable experience that helped fill the invisible “kinks” in my brand. The intensity and depth of this process will benefit me for years to come.

Adele Sommers


Wow! I am now “un-stuck” in my thought process on where to take my business.

Jim Connolly


Kim & her BrandU® team pull a group of strangers together and get everyone to dig deep into their soul with such ease. We all left feeling like friends and fellow brand warriors – simply amazing!

Robyn Eastman


If you can’t identify and utter what exactly you do, then you can’t do it. BrandU gives you that clarity.

Juliette James


BrandU® is a must-do for any small business. It gives you the tools to move into big business success.

Julie Mason, Seattle, WA


BrandU® is a great process for clarifying what can be one of the most tedious and frustrating processes for entrepreneurs. Kim actually made it fun!

Debra Lindegren


BrandU’s step-by-step process led me through the murky waters of my new business vision to one of clarity and empowerment. I am now on the road to launching a successful business thanks to Kim and the BrandU team!

Marie Healy


You’ve enlightened me – I never dug deep enough to find out what I’m really trying to convey to the world until I went to BrandU.

Bernadette Antonino


When I came to the program I thought I would be developing a tagline or some marketing materials. What I gained instead was the fuel that will propel my business branding forward. Thanks so much for the direction.

Candis Ross


Kim and BrandU™ brings your brand to life.

Jill Redfern


I came in confused…I left clear. 

Jacki Houghton


Thanks to Kim’s engaging program. I actually feel stronger. I finally have an inner foundation on which to build my business.

Mawiyah Clayborne, PhD


You’ve enlightened me – I never dug deep enough to find out what I’m really trying to convey to the world until I went to BrandU.

Bernadette Antonino


This by far is the most beneficial day I’ve spent at work during my 11 years of self-employment.

Kerry Lehto, Seattle WA


In just one hour with working with your Power Power process, I walked away with the most clarity I have ever had about my business.  It was as if I put on a much-needed pair of corrective lenses…and there it was…just like that...the focus I needed for my business.  I went from 200,000 people to 2,000,000 people in just 15 minutes!  It was amazing!

Kate Sanner of Vivacity

Replicatable results is  in our DNA

At the core of all the BrandU®  programs were market-tested, science-backed processes. These are the very same processes we use in serving our agency clients.

Just a few of the dozens of programs we developed:

Power Path - Workbook- BrandU - Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone - image

Power Path supports the entrepreneur at the idea stage. This science-backed program helps them create a foundational development path and a living plan for their business. The Power Path processes have been expanded into the Master Plan stage we provide for our agency clients.

BrandU Bible-Brand Power Stage 2- 2nd Edition Workbook- BrandU - Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone - image

The processes captured in Brand Power, often referred to as the BrandU® Bible, is the science-backed program that launched BrandU® and the worldwide brand craze. These are the steps to create your own brand at any level of your business. We employ these same processes with our agency clients as a part of our Market-ready stage.

Market Power Stage 3- 3rd Edition Workbook- BrandU - Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone - image

The processes captured in Market Power map out the exact steps to confidently prepare and launch a brand and its products reliably into the market. These science-backed steps and processes form the basis of our agency’s done-for-you marketing program, Driven.

Our revolutionary 4-day live intensive brings Brand Power to life in four powerful days. 25 different companies are mentored through the entire process and walked away ready to implement their unique brand.

CLearing the Path- BrandU - Kim Castle - image

Utilizing the same science behind our business development programs, Clearing the Path quickly shifts any limiting thought holding someone back and channels the energy into immediate action. Clearing the Path process is still used in our Master Plan stage and is currently being developed into an app.

Big Business Success - Workbook- BrandU - Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone - image

This easy-to-read book helps us educate audiences on what a brand is and how they can be a brand at a time when people only knew that they bought brands not that they could be one.

This lead-generating live audio training was a precursor to modern-day webinars. In this program, we lay out the reasons for developing a brand with examples of simple ways to get started.

BrandU BIZ 180 - Kim and Vito - WhyBrandU - Top Companies - New Customer Attractions

This program walked people into using social media as a broad approach to marketing back in the early days of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

BrandU - clicktrack - 13 part Tele course - Kim and Vito - WhyBrandU - Top Companies

This hands-on 13-week live mentoring program guides entrepreneurs through the steps of Brand Power and gave them personal mentorship without becoming an agency client.

In addition to these seminal programs, we spoke on stages all across North America for over a decade fuelled by our vision to create 1 million entrepreneurs who are successful and whole so that they could make a difference in the world. While BrandU’s self-study courses are no longer our driving focus, this vision and the processes perfected through BrandU® are exclusively delivered in the three stages of Verve Integrative.


The BrandU process not only gave us a grand understanding of how to reach the target, but we also discovered how to communicate what our film was truly about. We cannot imagine shooting without completing the process first. We felt as though we were supported by an army of experts.

ERIC KLEIN, Film Producer, O’Hara/Klein


Wow, just got home after working with Kim and Vito all day. The day was one of the most productive days ever. My company has been born today! From a vague wish and an idea scattered in my mind, it became a clear vision, a concrete structure on paper, and a step-by-step plan starting with the next 20 days and for the next 10 years!  Working with Kim helped me to overcome inner obstacles I did not know I had; appreciate what I have already accomplished; and gauge where I am in the creative process. Vito’s ingenuity in shaping the structure is unsurpassable. Like a magician, he was able to pull the information out of the invisible and bring it into the visible, creating a blueprint for my company. But the best part of working with Kim and Vito today was my newfound inner strength - the inner conviction that this idea of mine is a valuable and important service that is very much needed in the world and I am the right person to deliver it. Today I realized that I am, indeed, an entrepreneur. Thank you, Kim and Vito, from me and ten million babies.

Anya Swanson


It was magnificent to observe how expertly and elegantly you and Vito inspired and unified the Agape team of staff, department, and ministry leaders to forge Agape’s marketing vision. Your process allowed us to crystallize our twenty-year history in such a way that clarifies and anchors our goals to accommodate this future growth so that all who join our spiritual community will not only feel welcome but will want to be a part of our mission of service that reaches far beyond the physical walls of Agape. It is my pleasure to wholeheartedly recommend BrandU® to those who are serious about offering their talents and skills through their business—where it’s headed, what it represents, and how it’s going to arrive and thrive.

Michael Bernard Beckwith, Agape Spiritual Center


I’ve got so much out of this program; I learned so many structures and tools to build my business. I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 10 years and I’ve had several businesses that I’ve seen succeed and seen fail quickly but I didn’t have the tools and foundation that they are providing here today. I highly, highly recommend every entrepreneur get involved with BrandU!

Manny Goldman, Thought Leaders Association


BrandU’s Market Power was phenomenal. In fact, thank you for Brand Power too! When people ask me when I started my business, I have to pause. There’s the legal start date and then there’s the real start date when Kim and Vito helped me give form, substance, depth, and scope to Vivacity. The impact they have had on my business has been priceless and I am grateful for their mentorship. Thank you!!

KATE SANNER, Vivacity


In Market Power, Kim and Vito led us through a powerful marketing process that is science-based, clear, and easy to use. The best part is, it’s a process I can use over and over for new audiences, new books, and other products.

KAREN DUNCAN, Unconventional Choices for Health Care


I’ve always looked for ways to expand my knowledge and skills. A couple of years ago I

invested in a marketing course that was very thorough. I did lots of work and came away with a a notebook filled with ideas and strategies. I looked at that notebook the other day. As I read through my notes I was struck by much good work I had done. But none of it went anywhere – I didn’t have the tools I needed to use it properly. It’s just a notebook that I felt overwhelmed by every time I looked at it. Contrast that to Market Power.I don’t just have a notebook. I have a living, breathing document that actually works for me. During the course, I compiled the information for my product labels and wrote the copy for my complete website. Done! Just like the course promises. I’ve drafted an implementation plan. I not only know what pieces are still missing, I know how to take every step. All I need to do is continue working with the tools you have given us, making it better and better each time.

JAN WHITTED


Wow! I’m not even through the entire process yet, but I want you to know that it is doubtful I would have finished starting up my dream business or that my business would be as successful as it will be without performing the BrandU™ process first.

MICHAEL ARROWSMITH, New South Investment Group


Thank you for your amazing 4-day live Brand Power intensive seminar. What a great feeling it is to know what I have to do next—and I have a system to do it. I went in being skeptical and came out with a razor-sharp vision. On Sunday I flew home, and on Monday I went through the entire process, step-by-step again, to make sure my entire business was on the right track, on Tuesday, I branded another product. I now have 3 solid products that I know will succeed in the marketplace. Thank you for your clarity, passion, and open hearts.

RONDI HILLSTROM DAVIS, Co-author, Together: Creating Family Traditions


The power and the extreme clarity I gained out the other side is absolutely incredible. I've been to so-called intensives before and they were anything but. Not yours! Your 4-day live Brand Power intensive really pushed me to learn who my business really is. The power and the extreme clarity I gained out the other side are absolutely incredible. Thanks to you, I’m never giving my business power away ever again. Thank you.Thank you. Thank you.

KIM RHODES, Home-based Business Advocate


What a wonderful gift Kim has of waking up your inner passion and presenting your gifts to the world. The Brand U process is a powerful way to establish your brand so your target audience can actually see you!

MELANIE BENSON STRICK


Thank you so much for the amazing journey. You have developed a branding process that produced extraordinary results for me and my company. I truly have the clarity and the foundation I skeptically had hoped for. Your team and your process are masterful. Miracles occurred in this process. Thanks so much!

CHERYL SHEEHAN, President Divine Indulgence


BrandU changed the way I perceive my business, my self-image, and life.

DEBORAH DERAS


BrandU™ Power Path helped me to focus my thoughts and see my business plan clearly.  I now know what direction I need to go.

Sheryl Bard


BrandU® Power Path gave a great starting point for developing vision, and what to do next for your business.  It was very enlightening and mind-expanding, both from a theoretical as well as practical viewpoint.

David Kagan, Dental Care of Boca Raton


If you’re starting or growing your business Kim & Vito of BrandU are “the people” to walk with.  Their energy, enthusiasm & super knowledge will fast track you to make success that you can imagine-I’m excited to get started.

Sarah Sparto


I love that Kim and Vito have created an easy-to-understand process.  They deliver the required action steps with a passion that is positively contagious.  My goal was clarity.  I have clarity.

Joanna Garzilli


I have been chasing success for 10 years.  I now have been introduced to a tangible process to take me out of the spin I have been in.  I am looking forward to the change.

Lesley Bohm, Leslie Bohm Photography


I love that BrandU has taken something totally ephemeral such as a vision and broken it down into steps that feel grounded and accessible.  I feel empowered to take the next steps to make my business a success!

Christina Morassi


Prior to taking Brand Power, I knew the "reason for being" for my government contracting company.  Having taken Brand Power, that experience holds more power than even I realized. Brand Power gave me a structure to be able to instantly articulate that essence to anyone in any moment, for any reason. What I am telling you is that I am a raving fan and that there is a power BEYOND the power of a brand that lies in the structure of (Unified Conscious Development UCD). That framework gave me the ability to instantly craft a 30-second elevator speech that was so powerful that it moved this guy off his agenda (to play hardball) and into immediate unity with me.  I can't thank you enough!

Lorraine Costello, Coronado, CA


We often made losses...but have always been lucky to achieve an industry average 2.5% net profits. Just five months after bringing my business through your process...our May net profit is 19% and June is 23%! My team and I have not done anything different except go through your brand creation process. We have just given ourselves fully to the process and somehow, I now have earnings 8 to 9 times the industry average!! WOW!! THANK YOU BOTH!!

Paul Booker, Oops! Car Repair, Dorset, United Kingdom


In four days I branded my company! I did work that I thought would have taken me months to do on my own.

Carol Hodges, The Yes Connection


For years, my biggest blind spot was where I was standing. I had happy clients, but I couldn’t articulate why. My services are complex, and it typically took months for clients to “get it.” This frustration taught me patience, but then I saw Kim Castle present “There’s a Brand Inside You.” She cross-your-heart promised that with her Brand Power program, I could make new clients get it in seconds. I signed up. I worked hard every week, yet by week eleven, I still didn’t have it. Then suddenly, everything came together—one of those miraculous births where something brand new seems somehow to have been there always. Now I am thrilled every time I stand up in front of a group and present my company name and tagline. People get it: they recognize my value and feel my passion. I can’t thank you enough for this life-changing experience.

SUSAN RAAB, Content Wheel


I am stunned by the clarity and completeness of the process you have taken us through so that we can see the beauty of our own visions. I have a much deeper understanding of the core nature of my business and how to communicate it to the world.

Jan Whitted, ArtBeatOnline.com

Want support to grow & market your business?

Devising, launching, or growing a business has become more complicated since we started BrandU®  in 2003. While people have access to limitless free knowledge by searching on Google or on ChatGPT, the market is more sophisticated and saturated.

It’s more important than ever to have a solid foundation for your business, a clear path for your brand, and the appropriate marketing that generates results that you can rely on. That’s why Verve Integrative focuses on the three stages of: Master Plan, Market-ready, and our done-for-you marketing engine Driven.

In addition to preparing your business using our processes with over 500 steps, our Driven team becomes your outsourced marketing department handling all the day-to-day marketing tasks and lead generation for sales.

If you are a values-led entrepreneur doing good in the world, who is launching, growing, or scaling your business, we may be the right fit to help you get there… faster.

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