The Pied Piper team goes looking in all the wrong places for a logo. Erlich Bachman recruits a street artist by the name of Chuy to get some edge added to the brand.

Bachman arranges a deal with Chuy for $10,000 to create the logo. The total budget for Pied Piper is $200,000. In reality the logo should probably not cost five percent of the total operating budget.

Another issue that is brought up in episode five is that Richard had submitted an entry for the TechCrunch Disrupt competition, and forgot to withdraw the entry.

For startups looking for brand awareness and funding, TechCrunch Disrupt works well to showcase and highlight new companies. It does create a conflict when Richard leaves his entry in the contest as a funded company.

Silicon Valley season 1, episode 5 screenshot. Photo by: hbostore / YouTube

Jared attempts to build structure within Pied Piper, and is met with opposition from Dinesh and Gilfoyle.

Peter Gregory, performed by Christopher Evan Welch, says a line when reacting to a question from a waiter that Mike Judge, creator of the Silicon Valley, has said during casual conversation.

“I was never enjoying it, I only eat it for the nutrients.” – Peter Gregory

A deep rivalry between Gregory and Gavin Belson is shown during a lunch. Belson informs Gregory that his company will be releasing Hooli’s latest product at TechCrunch.

Their conflict goes beyond ownership of Pied Piper. The writers have let the audience know that these two characters were friends at a younger age, and have grown apart.

Richard, Monica and Erlich have a meeting to discuss Pied Piper’s role at TechCrunch. Richard pushes to have the company drop out of the competition, and Monica talks them into staying in the contest.

The two return home to see Chuy’s unique artwork on the garage door.   

Jared implements additional structure to the company. Dinesh and Gilfoyle resist and work along with the new management system under Jared.

Bachman strikes another deal with Chuy to rework some of his art for the company.

Monica and Richard have one of their first emotional moments on the show. Their chemistry starts to shine through near the end of episode five. During their discussion, Monica reveals that she has invested in her own income with Pied Piper.

The team goes to check out their new logo, and Monica informs the group that Chuy sold the first garage door piece for a half a million to an investor. Episode five ends with a comedic twist.

Points I learned from within episode five, season one:

• A business should find a cost effective way to create and copyright a logo for the company.
• It is important to have structure within a company.
• Technology-based companies should consider entering competitions to learn new skills and display their brand. Along with competitions, tech conferences is also another excellent way to network and experience the latest technology on the market.