Why Should the Founder be the Personal Brand?

Why should the founder be the personal brand? Why not just run it all through the company brand or let a marketing person build a personal brand?

Anyone at a company can build a personal brand but if you, as the founder, let someone else become the face of the company, you’re taking a massive risk.

Here are 3 reasons why:

1. Ownership of your audience:
If you have your marketing person be the face of the company, you don’t *own* the audience. If they join another company in 1–2 years, they take their followers with them.

2. In the beginning, it’s always you who’s selling:
If you’re still a small company and you’re on the field talking to customers or prospects, it’s easier to leverage your personal connections for business development.

3. You know the product best:
As the founder, you know your market, your customer’s pain points and how your product solves them better than anyone. If you delegate this communication to a fresh hire, it won’t resonate with your customers.

Nothing speaks against letting someone else become the face of the company, just train them properly and know the risk.