# CE Website — Research Brief
*Compiled: 2026-03-19*

---

## The Founder's Journey

**Assaf Dagan — Creative Director / Founder, Curious Endeavor**

- **Israel** → design roots, visual discipline
- **Barcelona** → formal design education
- **Paris** → Creative Director at advertising agency (EDDI-SON) — classical ad industry rigour, European market sensibility
- **New York** → Co-founded Hykoo (social app, product/UX thinking) → Co-founded Any_ / Any Studios with Roee Lotan
- **CE** → solo evolution, full creative intelligence

20 years. Three continents. Both agency and product. Classic advertising + digital design + startup + intelligence systems.

---

## Portfolio Catalog (from Any Studios)

### Tier 1 — Lead with these

| Client | What | Why it matters |
|--------|------|----------------|
| **Wiz** | Brand, sprints through scale | $32B valuation. Fastest-growing cybersecurity co. ever. Work from early to dominant. |
| **Cisco** | Campaign — "boldly combating teamwork tedium" | Fortune 10. Enterprise credibility floor. |
| **CFR** (Council on Foreign Relations) | Digital UX — "simple interface for a complex world" | Most prestigious think tank in the world. Institutional gravitas. |
| **Atlantic Fellows** | Digital platform — "home base for humanitarians" | Global NGO. Purpose-driven work at scale. |
| **Samsung** (Jhené Aiko + A&E) | Cultural campaigns | Two Samsung partnerships. Music + media. Range. |
| **Bank Leumi** | Brand + digital — "earning interest in global banking" | International bank. Financial sector credibility. |

### Tier 2 — Supporting evidence of range

| Client | Sector | Work type |
|--------|--------|-----------|
| Tableau | Data/analytics | Brand + digital experience |
| SparkBeyond | AI | Brand — "mapping the impact of superpowered AI" |
| SodaStream | Consumer goods | Brand loyalty campaign |
| Showfields | Retail | Brand vision |
| Guidewell | Healthcare/Ed | Digital platform |
| BuffPay | Gaming fintech | Brand identity |
| Clinicanna | Cannabis/wellness | Packaging + brand |
| Highborn | Luxury CBD | Brand elevation |
| Talia | Luxury jewelry | Brand — "making statement jewelry personal" |
| Eko | Streaming/media | Brand identity |
| Venn | Community | Digital platform |
| Equashield | Healthcare | Brand — "caring for caregivers" |
| Safehouse | Digital security | Brand identity |
| Mary's Tails | Pet | Brand |
| WeNoid | UX/product | UX design |

### Industry spread
Tech giants · Global institutions · Finance · Healthcare · Consumer · Culture · NGO

---

## New CE Capability (not in Any Studios era)
- Competitive intelligence systems (eToro — 18 brand analysis pages)
- Visual research pipelines
- AI-assisted brand analysis
- Data-driven creative strategy

This is what separates CE from traditional agency.

---

## Agency Positioning Benchmarks

### Pentagram
*"Multi-disciplinary, independently owned. Partner-led. 50+ years."*
→ Leads with structure and longevity. The cooperative model is the differentiator.
→ Work-first site. No marketing copy. Partners = portfolio.

### Collins
*"Design is not what we make. Design is what we make possible."*
→ Outcome language. Transformation, not output.
→ "Incredible craft at incredible scale."
→ Self-describes as: "design studio + graduate school + hacker's lab"

### Active Theory / Resn / Hello Monday
→ All lead with motion and experience. Work IS the pitch — the website itself is the portfolio piece.
→ Awards-heavy (FWA, Cannes, D&AD)
→ No verbal explanation — visual proof only

### What CE can claim that none of them can:
1. **One creative mind** — unusual at this caliber
2. **The intelligence layer** — competitive research, visual systems, data-driven creative
3. **Three continents, both agency and product** — broader range than any boutique
4. **Built for the AI era** — not adapting to it, built inside it

---

## Positioning Angles — Ranked

**Option A — Proof-first (strongest)**
*"Wiz. Cisco. Samsung. CFR. The work that moves things."*
Lead with logos. No claim needed — the proof IS the position.

**Option B — Journey-first**
*"Twenty years. Three continents. One standard."*
Personal brand. Unusual story. Makes Assaf the differentiator.

**Option C — Elevation-first**
*"We do what agencies do. Plus what they can't."*
Positions CE above traditional agency. Risky if not backed immediately with proof.

**Option D — Declaration**
*"We make brands that don't need an explanation."*
Pure quality claim. Works if the site visually delivers.

**Recommendation: A + B hybrid**
Lead with the logos (instant credibility). Then the story (unusual founder journey). Then what's new (the intelligence layer). Don't explain it — demonstrate it.

---

## Proposed Hero Copy

### Version 1
**Headline:** *Twenty years. Three continents. The work speaks.*
**Sub:** Curious Endeavor is a creative agency. Wiz, Cisco, Samsung, CFR, Atlantic Fellows, Bank Leumi — and what comes after.

### Version 2
**Headline:** *We built the brands you know. Now we build what they can't see coming.*
**Sub:** Creative strategy, identity, and intelligence — for the companies that need to get it right.

### Version 3
**Headline:** *Good work isn't the point. Decisive work is.*
**Sub:** Twenty years, three continents, and a client list that includes Cisco, Wiz, Samsung, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

---

*Research complete. Feed to Ogilvy for editorial pass.*