Welcome to the first edition of The Obscurity Report, we’re pretty damn stoked you’re here and boy have we got some insights for you.
But first off, we need to talk about the current state of affairs.
We have entered a new generation of entrepreneurship: the era of the public founder.
A decade ago you could name a handful of founders: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, James Dyson (some of you were twelve a decade ago so you probably couldn’t name any).
Generally, it would be founders who built enterprise companies and created consumer products. You could only name them because they were in mainstream media coverage.
We’ve entered a new dawn.
Founders are now the actors and athletes of the business arena.
Most of you reading this could probably name thirty founders if you really thought about it. You could name the founders of the software you use regularly, the tech in your hands, and the media you consume.
Why? Great question, glad you asked.
Because the founder is now part of the public image of the brand. You listen to them on podcasts, read their weekly newsletter, follow their twitter feed or scroll their reels.
We live in a world where two of the greatest founders of our generation, Musk and Altman, publicly fight on social media.
And in most cases (Musk and Altman excluded) they’re not building their personal brand for the sake of building their personal brand. They’re doing it because it creates pipeline, and that pipeline allows them to grow their company and have a bigger impact on the world.
LinkedIn’s data shows 82% of consumers are more likely to trust a company and 77% are more likely to buy from that company when the CEO and leadership teams are active on social media.
This goes beyond customers: 40% of millennials review the CEO/ founder's personal brand before deciding whether to work at that company.
Sharing your expertise publicly not only builds pipeline but unlocks access to better talent and more opportunities. I don’t know anybody who wants a personal brand for the sake of having a personal brand (because that’s narcissism).
Part of being a founder today is having a public facing profile. That may not be the reality you want to live in, but it’s the one we do live in. Oh, and it’s only going to get harder so we suggest you start now. But we’re biased, so listen to Morning Brew Co-Founder, Alex Lieberman:
You don’t have to, of course. But if you chose to remain in the shadows you are voluntarily choosing to build distribution on hard mode.
And if you’re not yet convinced, founder-led content gets 561% more reach than identical content shared from your LinkedIn company page. So no, you can’t hide behind the brand.
When you’re ready to build pipeline on autopilot, give us a shout.
See you next week,
Robbie @ Ghosta