Does every startup founder need a personal brand?

How many followers do you need to build a unicorn? Millions or none at all? Let’s have a look at some of the most successful entrepreneurs of the biggest tech companies.

Social media giants’ founders are huge on their channels: Kevin Systrom, Co-founder and a former CEO of Instagram, has 7.8M followers on his Instagram account; Jack Dorsey, Co-founder of Twitter and Block, has 6.5M on Twitter; and Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook has 119M followers. That is pretty logical. But there are also cases like Richard Branson (Virgin Group) — 12.6M on Twitter; and, of course, Elon Musk (SpaceX, Tesla, The Boring Company, Neuralink) and his Twitter with 126.4M followers.

While

• Melanie Perkins, Co-founder and CEO of Canva (Total Funding Amount $572M, Valued at $40B), has 50.4k followers on Twitter and 22.4k on Instagram
• Apoorva Mehta, Founder of Instacart (Total Funding Amount $3B, Valued at $39B), has 21k on Twitter
• Ali Ghodsi, Databricks CEO & Co-founder (Total Funding Amount $3.5B, Valued at $38B), has only 5.4k followers on Twitter
• Sebastian Siemiatkowsk, Co-founder and CEO of Klarna (Total Funding Amount $4.5B), has 18.3k on Twitter

There are basically two opinions in the startup community. The first is that building a personal brand is a necessary step toward success and the second is that it is simply vanity. Personal brand refers to the image and reputation that the founder has as an entrepreneur. It encompasses the founder’s values and personality, as well as their professional accomplishments and experiences. In general, this is what others say about you when you walk out of the room.

In today’s digital age, it can be difficult to determine the line between self-promotion and expertness. As an American author and executive education professor Dorie Clark puts it, “Personal branding is not about making up a false persona, but about highlighting your authentic self and sharing it with the world.” So, why does a founder need a personal brand? Well, if needs at all…

Your personal brand can help to raise funds

A strong personal brand can be crucial for founders seeking to secure funding. Investors often make decisions based on their perception of the founders. A well-established personal brand can help founders connect with and persuade potential investors and can lead to new funding opportunities and resources.

You don’t have to look far for an example. Not so long ago,, the founder of WeWork Adam Neumann raised about $350 million for a new real estate company Flow from Andreessen Horowitz. The Flow’s valuation is more than $1 billion before it even opens its doors. If it’s not an investment because of Neumann’s personal brand, then what is it? Your thoughts on that are really welcome.

Another example of a founder whose personal brand helped him with fundraising is Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and Square. Jack Dorsey built his personal brand as a visionary and innovative entrepreneur after launching Twitter. His public appearances and speeches, and his activity on social networks have also helped to establish him as a thought leader in the industry, further solidifying his personal brand and making it easier to secure funding.

Building a network of connections and resources

A strong personal brand can also be extremely useful in building a network of connections. This is because people are more likely to want to connect with individuals who have a strong reputation and are seen as thought leaders in their industry.

In fact, Y Combinator, in their Guide to Seed Fundraising, claimed that by far the best way to meet a venture capitalist or an angel is via a warm introduction. So a network will be useful for successful fundraising.

Also, people with a strong personal brand are opening up new speaking opportunities. They are more likely to be invited to conferences, and this is another channel to attract customers, connect with key players in your industry and enter into strategic important partnerships with large companies.

Impact on sales and credibility of your company

The personal brand of a CEO is extremely important for the overall success of the company. A strong personal brand can help to increase the visibility and credibility of the company, which can ultimately lead to an increase in sales.

92% of people trust recommendations from individuals (even if they don’t know them) over brands. This means that if the CEO of a company has a strong personal brand, it can significantly increase trust in the company as a whole. For example, if the CEO is seen as an industry thought leader and regularly shares valuable insights and knowledge about their field, it can build trust and credibility for the company.

Additionally, content shared by employees is re-shared 24 times more compared to those shared by brands. This means that if the CEO is able to effectively share their personal brand through social media and other channels, it can significantly increase the reach and visibility of the company. This helps to attract new customers as well as highly qualified employees.

But there are risks too

Despite the value that the foundation’s brand staff can add, you should not get too hung up on this aspect of the work.

The potential dangers of self-promotion are:

• Distraction: the main risk is that building a personal brand can be time-consuming and may distract the founder from focusing on the core business.
• Reputational risk: a founder’s personal brand is closely tied to the startup’s brand, and any negative publicity or scandal associated with the founder can harm the company’s reputation.
• Balance: it’s about finding the right balance between promoting oneself and being genuine. over-promotion or inauthenticity can be viewed negatively by potential customers, partners, and investors and can damage the startup’s reputation.
• Burnout: The pressure to maintain a personal brand can be stressful and may lead to burnout. (Of course, if you have no PR team. If you have one, just keep an eye on their mental condition 🙂)

Remember that the most important thing for a founder is to build a business, not to gain subscribers. Otherwise, you are a blogger, not an entrepreneur:)

How to build your personal brand?

Here are 7 steps that you as a CEO should take to build a strong personal brand.

1. Understand your audience: identify who your target audience is and what they value. This will help you to tailor your messaging and content to be relevant and compelling to your audience. They are your clients, business partners, investors? What can you give to these people to make them become interested in you?
2. Define your positioning: what story can you tell? In every form of communication, it is essential to include a story. This can be a long or short narrative, but it is important because it is what engages and interests humans. Your story will help to establish your authenticity and strengthen your personal brand. You can share personal stories or experiences that relate to your industry or business, lessons learned from your career, Insights or industry trends and challenges, tips or best practices that you’ve tested yourself.
3. Create a content strategy: develop a plan for creating and sharing content that aligns with your personal brand. This could include blog posts, social media posts, videos, or other types of content.
4. Engage with your audience: interact with your audience and build relationships with them. This could involve responding to comments, participating in online discussions, or hosting events or webinars.
5. Stay consistent: consistency is key when it comes to building a strong personal brand. Make sure that all your messages and content match your brand and that you are always interacting with your audience.
6. Interact offline as well as online: balancing online and offline interactions can help to establish a well-rounded personal brand. In addition to online activities, attend events and conferences. Communicate with colleagues, investors and potential clients live.
7. Collaborate: visit bloggers and podcasts as a guest. It can increase your visibility and establish your personal brand by association with others who are already well-respected and reputable.

To be or not to be… a social media star

Building a personal brand as a founder is not a vain activity but rather a business process nowadays. A strong brand can help to establish credibility, differentiate you from competitors, and ultimately drive business success.

At the same time, it is important to remember that a personal brand is not about the number of Instagram followers but about reputation, interaction with people, and building strong, trustworthy relationships. Therefore, answering the question: “How many followers do you need to build a unicorn?” — you can build a unicorn without Instagram at all.

Do you run an innovative tech startup? We are investing in early-stage revenue-generating software startups across the world and would love to hear from you! You can reach us at info@leta.vc or fill in the form.