New startups often have a clear disadvantage when they enter the market because they're, well, new. They don't have enough brand recognition to compel users to try their offerings, so they must spend much of their funds and effort getting the word out about their business.
There is one exception, though. Startup founders with a strong personal brand can leverage the credibility and trust they've established with their audience to give their startup a much-needed boost in its early days.
To help you in your own brand-building efforts, we'll share what we've learned from founders, entrepreneurs, and professionals who have succeeded in connecting their personal and startup brands. In particular, we'll cover:
- What is a personal brand?
- Four benefits a strong personal brand brings to a startup
- Seven tips on building a personal brand that creates value for your startup
- The shortcut to startup success
What is a personal brand?
First, let's get clear on what a personal brand is. Your brand is made up of the way you present yourself in person and online, professionally and personally.
Think of your brand as your values, beliefs, reputation, skills, experience, achievements, and online presence all wrapped up into one. It's what people think and say about you when you're not in the room.
As a startup founder, if you haven't done much to cultivate your personal brand intentionally, it's essential to start now. In today's increasingly online world, people who come across you are just one Google search away from discovering your startup too --- and vice versa. Their impressions about you will also impact how they perceive your business.
If that's not enough to convince you, here are four other ways a solid personal brand can help you grow your startup.
Four benefits a strong personal brand brings to a startup
It builds credibility and trust with potential customers
Perhaps because we have so much information available at our fingertips, today's consumers want to know more about the people behind a brand before they support it. By establishing your expertise and credibility, you make it easier for prospective customers to trust you and eventually buy your products or services.
"When your personal brand is solid, you're not constantly trying to sell yourself or prove your capabilities in every meeting. Your brand does that work for you. By the time you meet someone new, they already trust you and understand what you bring to the table," said Scott Gabdullin, the founder and CEO of lead generation platform Learo. "This means you can spend less time building trust and more time on growing your startup and getting the word out about your product or service."
It expands your startup's reach
Promoting your personal brand also increases visibility for your startup --- which, in turn, can attract people who would be a good fit for your company's offerings.
Jake Munday, founder of Custom Neon, shared how personal brand-building helped his startup: "Our online presence helped to draw in customers who were aligned with our mission and interested in supporting a startup and founder they felt they knew personally."
Spending time and effort cultivating your personal brand can also help reduce your marketing costs and your reliance on traditional startup marketing strategies, as it did for entrepreneur James Oliver.
"Strangely enough, the personal brand benefits really came in when I combined it with outbound marketing. For example, my call booking rate from cold email went from 2% to just under 20% once I had properly built out Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube profiles."
He continued, "I think this is because when people receive a cold message from you, the first thing they do is type your name into Google. They then respond based on what they see about you online as much as what you say in your message itself."
If people are interested in you and what you have to say, they'll take the time to learn more about you --- and, in the process, they'll discover the startup you're building too.
It attracts potential investors and expands your network
Growing your personal brand means getting more eyes on you and your work from various places.
"Journalists and bloggers often reach out to individuals who have a strong personal brand," revealed Munday. "We have gained a significant amount of free PR simply because we were active and vocal about our journey, the opportunistic way our business started, industry insights, and awards won."
This, in turn, can land you in front of angel investors and venture capitalists looking for their next opportunity, as many of them want to support someone with a strong personal brand and professional reputation.
Expanding your network and your reach can benefit you in other ways too. Connecting with people in your industry can help you discover new opportunities, learn about new and upcoming trends, connect with other experts, and find prospective employees who are just as excited about your vision as you are.
"One thing often overlooked is the power of your personal brand in attracting talent. We've hired three key team members who reached out after following my content. Your personal brand isn't just about customers --- it's about building your entire business ecosystem," emphasized Kevin Shahnazari, the founder and CEO behind consumer fintech startup FinlyWealth.
It influences public perception of your startup
The strongest personal brands leave an imprint on everything they touch. If someone is well-known as a philanthropist, for example, it's easy to assume that any company they build will have a strong altruistic component to it.
By intentionally crafting a personal brand that reflects the values and mission of your startup, you can harness the power of first impressions and influence public perception of your company.
Seven tips on building a personal brand that creates value for your startup
Decide what you want to be known for
Before you can build your personal brand, it's crucial to decide what you want it to stand for --- or, in other words, what you want to be known for.
To get the most out of your branding efforts (when it comes to your startup), you want to align your brand with your company's brand. Your personal brand values and identity should connect in some way with your startup's vision, mission, and values as well as your overall business goals.
This is because marketing software provider Yotpo found that 84% of consumers are more inclined to buy from a brand if its values align with theirs. And if you attract followers with values similar to yours, chances are their values will align with your startup, too.
So if your startup operates on the cutting edge of your industry, you might brand yourself as an innovator in your space, trying out the latest technologies in your field and publishing your thoughts on them.
Of course, you can't fully control what other people think of you, but establishing your brand identity will help you make decisions that align with and reinforce your personal brand.
Share your story
Every founder's story is unique, but there will be parts of it that your customers will be able to connect with.
"When you share stories about your experiences, challenges, and successes, it humanizes your brand and makes it relatable. People connect with stories, not just products," said Mary Tung, the founder and CEO of no-code app Lido. "This advice has been invaluable in making Lido more familiar and approachable to our audience, leading to a more loyal user base."
If you haven't done so already, consider setting up a personal website that's separate from your startup's. This will serve as a digital resume of sorts --- a space where you can talk about and share your experiences so others can learn more about you.
Get active on social media
Regularly posting on social media strengthens your ability to put yourself out there and in front of people you've never met before --- a muscle that all founders should develop early on.
To avoid feeling overwhelmed, consider starting out small. You might decide to focus on just Twitter and LinkedIn at first, or perhaps you'll commit to posting just twice a week.
"A common mistake I see founders make is trying to be everywhere at once," declared Shahnazari. "I focused on mastering two platforms rather than spreading myself thin across many. This allowed me to create high-quality, consistent content that resonated with my target audience."
Keep consistent messaging and images across your platforms to help people recognize your brand, no matter where they see your content. This includes not just your brand colors and images but your handles and display names too.
"Use the exact same name across all your profiles," said Oliver. "For example, if I used James Oliver on Twitter, Jamie Oliver on my YouTube, and then James Edward Oliver on my website, it's not obvious to people or algorithms that we're all the same guy. This really will slow down any personal brand growth."
Showcase your expertise...
Be careful not to overpromote yourself and your startup, though. Research from community marketing company TINT reveals that 45% of consumers would unfollow a brand because of too much self-promotion.
Instead, focus your efforts on what your audience cares about: how you can provide value and how your expertise can solve their problems.
"It's tempting to use your platform solely to talk about your product, but that approach can quickly turn people off," mentioned Kayden Roberts, the CMO and co-founder of SaaS company CamGo.
"Instead, I found that offering valuable content --- whether it's industry insights, lessons learned from challenges, or even personal anecdotes --- helps build credibility and trust. [Strike] a balance between promoting your startup and contributing meaningfully to the conversations happening in your industry."
Don't worry too much about whether your messaging feels repetitive, either. Consistency is important to establish your brand identity and to get your point across to more people.
Oliver added, "Don't be scared to say essentially the same thing over and over again but in slightly different ways. Entrepreneurs often think they need to give unique or original insights, but people actually prefer to have their existing views corroborated. So, saying the same thing over and over again (slightly tweaked to whoever you're speaking to) is the best way to approach personal brand-building content."
...but do so in an authentic and genuine way
It's natural to want to emulate the people on social media you admire. But it's a disservice to you, your followers, and the people you may impact in the future by not putting your most authentic self out there.
In fact, 86% of consumers say that authenticity is an important factor when deciding what brands they like and support.
Nick Drewe, founder of coupon site Wethrift, emphasized that you don't have to pretend to be perfect to gain a following online. "It's not about pretending to have it all figured out. It's about showcasing the journey and letting your audience grow with you. I sincerely believe in letting our users know the highs along with the challenges, ensuring transparency at every step."
Build in public
Many startup founders embrace a "build in public" philosophy, giving their followers a behind-the-scenes look at their company's operations and daily work.
Mary Zhang, the head of marketing and finance for media company Dgtl Infra, shared her experiences working with numerous startup founders. "By openly sharing your problem-solving process, insights, and even failures on social media and other platforms, you demonstrate your expertise and build a community around your brand and product. When we started regularly sharing our challenges and solutions in building our SaaS product, we saw a 50% increase in organic lead generation through our founder's personal channels.
"This approach of 'solving publicly' also helped us attract top talent. Potential employees were drawn to the transparent and innovative culture we showcased through our founder's personal brand. As a result, our time-to-hire for key positions decreased by 30%, and we saw a 20% increase in applications from high-quality candidates," Zhang revealed.
Creating content that pulls back the curtain on your startup attracts people who are curious about your company. Over time, some of them may become your biggest and most long-standing supporters, too.
Create an online community for your audience
Another way to keep your personal brand and startup in people's social feeds is to engage regularly with your network and followers.
"Consistency is key to staying top of mind. Regular engagement, even if it's just a few times a week, keeps your audience interested and invested in your story," explained Munday.
Again, here, you want to create meaningful interactions with people rather than just focusing on yourself or promoting your startup.
"It's not just about posting content; it's about creating a dialogue," Tung clarified. "Respond to comments, ask questions, and show appreciation for feedback. This two-way communication helps build a community around your brand, making it more resilient and supportive as your startup grows."
The shortcut to startup success
The value of a strong personal brand to a new startup cannot be overstated. You can even think of it as a seasoned founder's secret weapon.
"If I had to start over, I would prioritize building a personal brand from day one. Initially, I underestimated its impact and didn't invest as much time in it," admitted Tung. "Knowing what I do now, I'd document and share my journey from the start, leveraging every step of the entrepreneurial process to build my brand and connect with potential users early on."
As the saying goes, 'The best time to start is yesterday. The second best time to start is now.' The earlier you start building and cultivating your personal brand, the sooner you (and your startup) can reap the benefits of your hard work.
And if you're looking for a payroll platform designed to cut down on the startup founder's endless to-do list, you've come to the right place. Request a demo of our software today to learn if Warp is right for you.
