One of my favorite people to read on Twitter is Pieter Levels.
And one of the reasons he’s one of my favorite people to read on there is not only because of his insights as a founder, it’s because of his raw honesty. No sugarcoating, just his honest opinion. Even Sam Parr from My First Million Podcast admits to be a bit jealous of him. He is one of the few founders that actually does things his own way.
In this tiny Internet bubble, there are plenty of founders that have leveraged their personal brand and used it to promote their business. Some companies are even more recognized by their founder’s name than their own, like Neil Patel from the marketing agency NP Digital (Yes, I had to look up the name of his company.)
For us solopreneurs, personal branding is one of the few tools we have to promote our business. We build in public, share our journey, and join the MRR-sharing competition.
They can get a lot of love, but they can also get a lot of hate:
Love them or hate them, personal brands are here to stay.
So, let’s look at how some successful founders are making it work.
Jason Cohen
Jason Cohen is the founder of the hosting platform WP Engine.
Cohen frequently attends conferences and events, and joins multiple podcasts as a guest to discuss topics like product/market fit, scaling businesses, and WordPress technology. A clever strategy he’s employed is adding a “Speaker Request” section on WP Engine’s website specifically for him.
Jason also maintains a personal blog called “A Smart Bear,” where he shares long-form articles. He’s likely contributed to WP Engine’s blog and other platforms, sharing his expertise and experiences in building successful startups.
His reputation in the tech community is well-deserved. After all, he’s built four technology startups to more than $1 million in annual revenue, including WP Engine.
If you’re out of the loop, there’s been a recent controversy between his company and Anthropic. WP Engine has made demands of Automattic, and in return, WP Engine has been banned from WordPress. For a WordPress-focused hosting platform, this is one of the worst things that could have happened. But I believe Jason’s proven track record and widely recognized personal brand will help him navigate this challenge, whether by pivoting the company or embarking on a new venture.
Jason Fried
Jason Fried, the co-founder of the project management platform Basecamp, has created a cult following with his work and product development philosophy.
He shares essays in his company’s blog, Signal v. Noise and on social media. These pieces are often praised and discussed places like Hacker News and other startup communities.
Jason has co-authored several popular work books, including “Rework” and “It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work.” These advocate for a healthy work-life balance and challenge conventional startup culture.
Jason also makes multiple podcast appearances where he typically shares insights from his experiences at Basecamp, discussing how he learns and implements new ideas within the company. He’s open about Basecamp’s history, from its origins as a web design firm to its evolution into a successful SaaS company.
What we can learn from him is the power of advocating principles and a philosophy around work. Whenever he speaks, he puts his mission upfront, creating a strong association between his personal brand and Basecamp’s values.
Alex Hormozi
Alex Hormozi is the founder of the investing company Acquisition and the learning platform Skool. He’s pretty popular among founders because he shares educational content on entrepreneurship.
He started starts posting YouTube videos, claiming he’s got “nothing to sell.” His no-nonsense advice for founders got a lot of traction, and before you knew it, he had a massive following.
But people have some strong feelings about Alex, you either love him or hate him. He has a strong “salesy” style, which isn’t surprising given that he’s been greatly influenced by Russell Brunson. There’s actually a lot in common between what Alex teaches and what the founder of ClickFunnels shares.
One of the tactics he uses is creating his own mass movement by becoming the charismatic leader with a clear cause: to be a successful entrepreneur. He’s positioned himself as the hero of his own story: the guy who faced challenges, overcame them, and is now here to show you how to do the same.
Love him or hate him, you’ve got to admit that Alex Hormozi knows how to build a personal brand. And for solopreneurs, that’s a skill worth its weight in gold.
Key learnings
So, what can we take away from these successful personal branding strategies? Here are some key points:
- Make time to create content regularly
- Actively seek speaking opportunities and add a speaker request section to your website
- Reach out to relevant podcasts to appear as a guest
- Share educational content that provides value to your audience
- Promote your unique vision, beliefs, and principles
- Learn and apply storytelling techniques to share your experiences from a unique perspective
- Create a mass movement or tribe by consistently sharing your point of view
You don’t need to become a media personality to leverage your personal brand for your business. Simply sharing your vision and what you believe in can be enough. The more you share, the more trust you’ll gain.
I’ve experienced this firsthand with my newsletter. Now, people come to me asking questions about growth. And to be honest, sharing what I do has helped me realize how much I know and how I can better help people. And to be honest, sharing what I do has helped me realize how much I know and how I can better help people.
By the way, I’m now offering growth consulting services for solopreneurs. If you need help ideating growth strategies, building a custom growth plan, or finding the best way to implement a strategy, you can contact me at paulina at upgroves dot com. Or book a call directly here: https://cal.com/paulinasaez/15min
Keep leveraging your unique, beautiful self.
