Why Founders Should Be Creators and Why We Manage Both Sides for Our Clients
At MOD, we like to lean into the big shift in how brands grow today: the founders who win online aren’t just leading their companies, they’re creating content.
They’re showing up on camera, building communities, sharing their thought process, and giving people a look behind the business. Whether that’s through a podcast, a Substack, speaking engagements, or even a personal LinkedIn presence, these founders aren’t waiting for press; they are the press.
And it’s working.
The Founder-as-Creator Era
We’re in an era where people connect with people before they connect with brands. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling handbags, makeup, software, or consulting services; your audience wants to know who’s behind it all.
They want to hear your story. They want to see what you’re building. They want to understand the “why” behind the business.
That’s why we refer to this next stage of marketing as the dual-brand approach. Your company’s story and your personal story are both assets, and when they work together, growth compounds.
There’s also a huge benefit here. If done well, the founder’s channels can be monetized in a huge way, and it only brings more visibility to both the founder and the brand.
Bring your community along for the ride. Show what you’re building and how it’s growing. You never know who’s watching. It might be your next customer, an investor, or the dream hire you’ve been looking for.
Why It Matters
When a founder has a voice, the business gains a heartbeat (and a personal connection). We’ve seen it across so many of our clients:
Trust and credibility: When the founder steps into the spotlight, it makes the brand instantly more relatable and trustworthy.
Visibility: You can only reach so many people through a brand page. A founder’s network, their posts, their interviews, their newsletter (hello Substack!) expands reach far beyond paid ads.
Recruiting and partnerships: A strong personal brand doesn’t just attract customers. It draws in collaborators, investors, and team members who want to work with someone they believe in.
Longevity: If the algorithms shift or platforms fade (and they will), your personal audience stays with you. That’s long-term brand equity. Thinking very long term here, if a founder sells their company (ex. Bobbi Brown, Kate Spade), they will have a monetized audience of their own to bring with them to the next venture.
Gary Vaynerchuck of Vayner Media (the original founder/creator)
Anine Bing of Anine Bing
Marianna Hewitt of summer Fridays
Building a Founder Platform
Some of our favorite examples are founders who’ve leaned into building platforms around their ideas, not just their products.
Podcasts that let them share conversations, opinions, and stories that connect deeply with their audience. If you’re starting a podcast, you absolutely must have a video component.
Substacks and newsletters that mix thought leadership with behind-the-scenes insights. This shows that the founder’s brain is just as valuable as their product and gives customers a whole new reason to feel connected. We also manage ShopMy, LTK, Travelpayouts, and other affiliate platforms. We embed these links into newsletters, blogs, and social media for founders to further monetize.
Public speaking, panels, and interviews position them as industry voices, not just operators.
These things don’t just drive awareness; they build community, credibility, and inbound opportunities.
How We Do It at MOD
We help our clients run marketing systems that work for both their business and their personal brand. That might mean:
Creating a strong content rhythm across their brand channels where we highlight launches, campaigns, and storytelling that drive growth.
Building out the founder’s online presence from newsletters, social strategy, podcast plans, and even thought leadership content. Each content medium helps develop their personal platform.
Our goal isn’t to make founders into influencers. It’s to position them as the creative minds, leaders, and storytellers their audiences already want to hear from.
By the way, being an influencer isn’t a bad thing… at all.
Start Creating
Your brand is stronger when your audience knows you. When your ideas and your voice are visible, your business marketing has depth. It feels human.
At MOD, we’re not just managing brand campaigns. We’re helping founders show up as creators, speakers, and voices that people want to follow.
Because in 2025, the founder is the marketing strategy, and if you’ve got a smartphone and wifi, the world is at your fingertips - literally.