The role of a founder is a unique undertaking and not one for the faint of heart.
Running a fast-growing tech business is full-on, fast-paced and often unforgiving in the early days. The full weight of securing investment, developing partnerships, keeping stakeholders satisfied and acquiring the right talent – while managing operational, financial and cultural functions – all sit on your shoulders.
So how can you find time to be the ‘face’ of your business? And why should you bother?
Our own founder Kirsty Jarvis, has worked in the tech and digital industry for over 20+ years and steered countless startup founders through their early days of growth.
She has seen, first-hand, the challenges founders face: time-poor, juggling responsibilities, pulled into multiple directions. All of which leaves founders with zero time or energy to be the public-facing figurehead for their business.
But, Kirsty urges, this is actually business critical, as a founder’s public profile can determine the success of a business. So why is it so often the first thing to be sacrificed?
We sat down with Kirsty to understand the impact a founder’s profile can have on a business’ growth path and what steps you can take, right now, to start building yours.
You’ve worked with tech startup founders here in the UK and overseas. What are some of the common challenges they’ve shared that prevent them from building their own profile?
Kirsty: A founder’s focus is necessarily pulled into all sorts of directions: from growing customers, securing new investment and building confidence with current investors, to ensuring your proposition/service is market-leading and able to adapt to the ever-changing technology landscape and expectations of your target customers. That doesn’t even take into account the day-to-day running of the ship. Nor does it factor in the need to find time to lead your crew in a way that inspires and engages them and future members.
In the growth phase, founders may not be big enough to have a full squad of expert leaders to cover all the bases, so for the most part, the weight of it all lies on them. You can be developing a product in the morning, pitching to prospect partners in the afternoon and buried by invoices in the evening. It’s relentless.
And so with all the things above considered, it’s no wonder many founders just can’t find the time to develop their own profile.
Can a founder’s profile really have a direct impact on the shape of a business’ commercial success?
Kirsty: Absolutely. Whatever sector you’re in, whatever problem you’re trying to solve, whatever stage of growth you’re at – your profile matters. It can attract your next investor, or it can deter your customer base, it can bring new partnerships to the table, or it can put new talent off. Not working on your profile is a risk you can’t afford to leave to chance.
When you have an emerging brand trying to make a name for itself, prospect customers or potential new recruits will want to know who is steering the ship. As we know, people work with people they align with. So it’s important that who you are, what you stand for and your viewpoints about relevant subjects are front and centre. You won’t onboard anyone more passionate than you, but you do want them to align and be as close as possible on the passion scale.
How you are perceived as a leader can be a game-changer when it comes to the all-important investment too.
It’s been tougher than ever to raise over the last few years and investors are ever-more cautious about doing their due diligence on, not only the business but on the leaders to whom they will be potentially entrusting their money.
Yes, your product market fit, growth plan and potential to deliver a return for investors is crucial. But more than ever, investors will be looking into you, the founder or the CEO, through a lens of whether they believe you have the skills, attitude and approach to be responsible with their investment.
So knowing this, why is it that many founders and CEOs aren’t pursuing tactics that could help them build upon their credibility, convey their vision, showcase their successes and inspire the talent they may need in the future?
Kirsty: I work 1-2-1 with founders all around the world. Whenever I am asked about this subject, most I’ve spoken with give me a little sheepish shrug in acknowledgement, along with a facial expression that says “Something’s got to give, right?” Time constraints are the major shackles preventing them, but it’s not the only factor.
Often, limitations and expectations around resources can hold them back. It’s not that they don’t ‘get it’. They know that they need to be doing more but, with marketing and PR teams taking on the responsibility of ensuring that the brand strategy is rolling along nicely, leaders can be forgiven for leaving communications strategy to the experts.
Sadly, the hard truth is, when founder communication is lacking, the business misses out on key support and amplification of the work that is already happening with the brand communications. When the brand’s biggest advocates – the people behind the whole show – are silent, there is a whole piece of the ‘perception’ puzzle missing.
Some are often swallowed up with the ‘here and now’ challenges. The urgency of addressing operational hurdles can overshadow the longer-term benefits of building credibility or inspiring talent. Early-stage founders are very ‘fingers-in’ – they have to be in amongst the nitty gritty, solving day-to-day problems. The luxury of developing a strategic positioning simply comes in second place.
And for some, it’s as simple as not realising the potential impact. They may not fully appreciate how much a strong profile can influence stakeholder trust, attract talent and create new business opportunities.
It can be a total game-changer in drawing out your point of differentiation – people are more savvy these days about how, when and why they choose to engage with brands. It’s not just about product or service anymore, as differentiation and true innovation is becoming harder and harder to convey. You, as the founder, are the point of differentiation and a major reason why an investor will back you, a professional will join you, or a customer will choose you.
What are your top three tips for founders who are ready to take the next step in building their public profile?
Kirsty: Focus all your efforts on the business goals you need to achieve. You need to work back from the outcome you want to achieve. If you are looking for investment, think about how your personal messaging showcases the wins, the growth and your leadership prowess. If you are looking to recruit amazing new people, think about how you can convey your leadership vision and the culture of your business.
- Social media is your friend (or foe!). But you need to be ruthless and focus on only the right platforms for your target audience and post consistently. A one-hit wonder is not going to make any magic happen. Nor is ignoring your audience, so try to find ways to work with your team to help you stay on top of comments, engage with people, spark conversations and connect with other thought leaders in your space. This shouldn’t all be on you but ensure you are clear with your trusted team about what you want to say.
- Create and share the right content – from blog posts and articles on industry-relevant topics to participating in webinars and podcasts, as well as sharing case studies and successes. They all work to demonstrate your expertise, vision and know-how. However, this may need to be a different type of content to what the brand is already putting out so, again, think about what you need to convey – as a leader – that might bring you closer to hitting your goals.
- Network network network. Get yourself out to industry events, take that event speaker gig, get involved with mentorship programmes or local business communities. It’s an age-old tactic but it remains an impactful one for building your profile. But again, keep your activities focused on what will make waves happen for the business.
I know, from experience, that this all looks like another stone that will pull you down, but finding a way to just do some tactical things can elevate you and your business. The key to making this happen is to find a way for founders to do this, that doesn’t add to their already bulging day-to-day workload. The good news is that this is possible with a clear messaging strategy and a realistic activity plan laid out to work efficiently with your existing team.
Being a founder herself, Kirsty has some great workarounds to share to help you cut through the noise and focus on getting communications activity out there that helps you get the business to where it needs to be. Drop us a line to organise a chat now.
By Kirsty Jarvis
Kirsty, our CEO and founder, has spent the past two decades in PR and marketing roles, resulting in a wealth of experience leveraging the power of media and creating impactful campaigns for hundreds of startups and well-known brands.
