8 Founders Who Are the Ultimate Influencers for Their Brands
Ever been so absorbed in a brand's founder's journey, so much so, their milestones feel like a personal victory to you? That's the power of a strong, founder-led brand.
The post is inspired by Fisayo Longe's recent video, where she shares 4 ways first-time founders gain traction for their businesses. I want to delve deeper into her fourth point; “building a personal brand as the foundation for a thriving community,” and share some founder-led brands that have personally resonated with me, not just as a consumer but as someone who works in marketing.
Here's the thing: In 2024, consumers crave authenticity and connection. When founders become the face of their brands, sharing their journeys, struggles and triumphs on social media, they form powerful connections with their existing and potential customers. We consumers, feel like we are on this journey with them and become invested in their success.
In a hurry? Use the table of contents to jump right to the founder's story that caught your eye.
Founder-led brand?
Think: founders who use social media to connect with their customers on a personal level share updates and product insights, building a sense of familiarity
Fisayo Longe: Building Community for Kai Collective
Fisayo Lounge truly walks the walk when it comes to building community.
I've been following her personal Instagram since 2016/2017, and she's consistently shared her journey of building Kai Collective alongside snippets of her personal life. It's almost seamless - you see glimpses of her personal life intertwined with the brand story.
Sharing the behind-the-scenes
She is transparent and carries us along in the design process, sharing the thought processes behind designs and fabric choices. She also allows her followers to contribute to the creative process. We've helped choose colours for new collections and shared our opinions on samples ( we helped pick one of the colourways for the robe, I think)
Building community
Fisayo’s vulnerability and authenticity have undeniably built a strong community around Kai.
She shares her wins, struggles, and glimpses of her personal life, friendships, etc. By showcasing her journey and the values of friendship and sisterhood, she's infused those values into the brand itself.
Kai Collective feels like a girls' club-a community of fearless, confident, and stylish women.
Engaging with your community
She actively reposts and comments on Instagram stories mentioning her brand, further strengthening the community.
She regularly shares her opinion on trending issues affecting women and things that interest her in general further building a relationship with customers who might have the same interest.
She's not a mysterious founder, she's part of the conversation.
Styling Tips and Tricks
As a fashionista herself, she uses outfit pictures to tease new designs and showcase different ways to style Kai's pieces.
P.s She has a newsletter called “Many Mentors” and is also doing a series on TikTok and Instagram for entrepreneurs.
Grace Beverley: Building a Business Empire Through Personal Branding
Grace Beverly is the queen of personal branding to me. From her days at studying at Oxford to building Shreddy, activewear brand Tala, The productivity method ( a physical and digital planner) and an incredible investor portfolio. She's consistently invited us on her entrepreneurial journey.
Presence across multiple platforms
Grace actively shares her journey across platforms. You’ll find her to-do list using her digital productivity methods planner almost every other day on Instagram stories. On her podcast, she openly discusses the tools that have fueled her success and interviews, other founders and investors. On TikTok, she shares a mix of lifestyle content, content promoting her brand and snippets of her podcast.
A screenshot of Grace Beverley’s to-do list Source: Grace Beverley’s Instagram story
Building a presence across multiple platforms allows her to reach a wider audience in two key ways.
It enables her to drive customers between platforms; for example, from TikTok to YouTube to listen to her podcast.
Secondly, it ensures she can reach customers wherever they spend their time online. If everyone's on TikTok, she can still promote Tala there. Suddenly switch to YouTube? No problem; Tala will be there too.
Multi-Brand Presence
Despite juggling multiple businesses, Grace manages to be a recognisable face for each. You will find her doing product demos and hauls for Tala, sharing her daily to-do lists almost every other day on Instagram stories and on her podcast, she talks about her life as an investor.
Building an emotional connection
By sharing her journey, to-do lists, and the hustle behind building multiple businesses, Grace fosters an emotional connection with her audience. It's relatable, entertaining, and fuels our curiosity about her success. Customers feel like they "know the ins and outs" of the brand, creating a feeling of trust and loyalty.
Aimee Smalle for Odd Muse: Share the backstory
Aimee Smalle has quickly become one of my favourite brand founder accounts on TikTok.
Share the backstory
She has openly shared her journey, from working as a buyer's assistant at Asos to launching her successful clothing line, Odd Muse.
Convey your brand’s mission through your content
Through her content, she consistently conveys Odd Muse's brand mission: “to create durable, timeless everyday pieces” She showcases this message by regularly styling Odd Muse pieces in different ways, demonstrating their versatility and how they can be essential staples in any wardrobe.
Authenticity is key
Her authenticity has played a key role in the brand's success on TikTok. She openly discusses the mistakes she's made running her business and offers valuable business tips to her followers. She discusses her challenge dealing with fast-fashion dupes and how they have been able to be stocked at different well-known UK retailers.
Ama Amo-Agyei for Plantmade: Isn’t limited to established influencers.
Ama proves that building a recognisable brand through personal branding on TikTok isn't limited to fashion or established influencers.
Don’t only share the glamorous bit
Similar to the other founders we've discussed, Ama uses TikTok to share her entrepreneurial journey and offer valuable business tips. She delves into the nitty-gritty aspects of running a business, such as logistics, accounting, trademarking and so on.
Building a Brand Without a Following
However, what truly sets her apart is that Plantmade isn't a clothing brand and she isn’t necessarily an influencer or someone with a massive following but despite this, she has successfully leveraged TikTok to build brand recognition and become a recognisable face associated with Plantmade.
Ama's story is especially inspiring for founders starting without a massive following
She is currently running a series documenting her journey to becoming a 9 figure CEO.
Amber Rose for Oree Mart: Use storytelling
Amber Rose uses storytelling and vlog-style content to share her and her partner's journey running their Asian convenience store, Oree Mart.
Through vlog-style “day in the life content,” she shares the behind-the-scenes of store expansion, the process of stocking and sourcing new items, market research, and everything in between.
She also incorporates fun and interactive elements like mukbangs, where she tries new noodle flavors and other new items stocked in the store, while answering customer questions live.
I find her content genuinely entertaining, even beyond its marketing purposes.
Streetwear Founders: Lifestyle Marketing and Building a Tribe
Showcasing a lifestyle and sharing behind-the-scenes content is a common strategy for streetwear brands, especially on TikTok. Unlike traditional fashion, streetwear thrives on a strong connection with its audience.
Founders often leverage this by showcasing their lifestyle as a form of marketing, blurring the lines between the brand and their personal identity. This approach builds a strong connection with their audience and often a cult-like following.
Some brands that have been able to use this strategy are Broken Planet, Suavo World, Blancs, Jehucal etc
well known brand founders
Simon Porte for Jacquemus
Jacquemus takes a refreshingly unconventional approach to social media for a luxury brand. Most luxury brands tend to be mysterious on social media; however, Jacquemus's social media feels like Simon’s (the founder) personal account.
Beyond product focus, he adds a personal touch, sharing selfies, aesthetically pleasing photos and snippets of his life in the South of France, including moments with friends. This authenticity builds a sense of connection with the brand, making Jacquemus feel less distant and more relatable.
Instagram’s Adam Mosseri
Although he is not the actual founder of Instagram and Instagram is already a well-known app with millions of users. I wanted to point out the way he uses Instagram as I find it to be different from other big tech leaders.
He uses his personal Instagram just like we all use it. He shares photos and videos with family and friends. Alongside videos updating users about new features, changes made to the algorithm and even why these changes have been made using simple easy to understand english. He also regularly hosts live Q&A sessions, addressing user concerns directly.
This accessibility humanises the brand (Instagram) and creates the impression that Instagram truly listens to its users and is committed to improving user experience.
Maybe this is a strategy more tech founders/leaders can lean towards, they can build a strong presence on Instagram, TikTok and even YouTube instead of solely focusing on traditional platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.
Actionable Tips for Founders
Don't have fancy equipment? Film on your phone! Quality content matters more.
Reach your audience directly! Pitch yourself to the podcasts they listen to. (Think customers and investors!)
Do a joint post with your brand account to jumpstart your personal page. Leverage the following on there to boost yours.
Authenticity is key! We can spot fakes from a mile away.
Embrace the startup journey. It's not always picture-perfect.
That’s all for now <3, let me know your favourite founder-led brands on socials!
