Introduction

These days, every startup operates as a media company in some capacity. You can control the narrative — or let someone else define it for you.

I’ve seen this play out firsthand with a company I work with as a freelance writer: beehiiv. beehiiv is an email newsletter platform that has grown into one of the most recognizable brands in its space, not just because of a great product but because its founder, Tyler Denk, has been building in public since day one.

That kind of presence isn’t accidental. It’s the result of consistent, strategic content led by the founder, and it works. When beehiiv opened a new investment round, it hit capacity within a day because the audience already believed in what the company was building.

Image Source

Most founders think content is optional. It’s not. Content is how you shape perception, build trust, and create demand before you ever get on a call. Ignore it, and you’re relying on luck to get noticed. Own it, and you become the default choice in your space.

In this guide, we’ll break down:

• Why founder-led content works (with real-world examples)
• The most common challenges founders face and how to overcome them
• A step-by-step approach to creating a founder-led content strategy in 2025

What is founder-led content?

Founder-led content is exactly what it sounds like: content created by or directly shaped by the founder of a company. It’s a way to build trust, communicate your vision, and make your company feel more human.

Image Source

We typically think of LinkedIn content, specifically, when talking about founder-led content, but it can also include:

• Newsletters
• Podcasts
• Blogs
• Videos

Founder-led content is personal. It’s how you share your insights, your experiences, and your lessons from the trenches. It’s also why some of the fastest-growing startups today have founders who are actively creating and sharing content, like Ben Francis, the founder of Gymshark.

 

What is the best part of founder-led content? It works, and it’s one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business.

This approach can be particularly valuable for early-stage startups. In a competitive space, founder-led content can be the difference between being unknown and being the go-to solution in your industry.

Why founder-led content matters for startups

If you’re an early-stage founder, you’re probably already doing some version of founder-led sales.

You’re the one pitching customers, explaining the product, and getting people to buy in. Founder-led content is the same thing but at scale. Instead of repeating yourself in one-on-one calls, you’re putting your ideas out there for a much larger audience.

Cassandra Naji, CEO at Campfire Labs, is another great example of how you can take your expertise and share it in a way that promotes your larger strategy.

Image Source

The reality is that most buyers today are making decisions before they ever get on a call with you.

Studies show that 70% of the buying journey happens before a prospect talks to sales. By the time someone reaches out, they’ve already researched you, your product, and your competitors. The question is: what are they finding?

If your content isn’t shaping that narrative, something else is.

Content can affect more than branding, too. According to research from Hard Numbers, CEOs who had the largest audiences on LinkedIn also attracted the highest level of investment.

So, if you’re serious about what you’re building, it’s a good idea to take founder-led content seriously, too. You’ll likely reap dividends from it.

Here are some top benefits of a founder-led content strategy.

1. Founder-led content makes your product easier to buy

I heard a great quote recently from a colleague who said, “If you’re selling in your discovery calls, your content isn’t strong enough.”

It’s a great reminder that your content should do the heavy lifting before a call even happens.

It should communicate your product’s value, address common objections, and give potential buyers a clear understanding of what you do. That way, when someone books a call, they’re already 80% of the way to saying yes.

2. It reduces customer acquisition costs (CAC)

Paid ads and cold outreach can quickly become expensive. However, founder-led content compounds with time. It organically attracts the right audience, making each new customer cheaper to acquire. Entrepreneur reported that 77% of customers are more likely to buy from a company if the CEO is active on social media.

Jay Singh is the CEO of Casper Studios. After investing heavily in his founder content, he said he’s been able to drive 90% of inbound leads organically through LinkedIn.

Image Source

Jessica Schultz, founder and CEO of Amplify Group, has built her entire pipeline through inbound content.

“I don't do any cold outbound and always have a healthy pipeline — primarily sourced through referrals and inbound driven by LinkedIn thought leadership and my weekly newsletter thought leadership,” she explained.

If you’re an early-stage startup trying to gain traction, building a content engine can prevent you from relying entirely on cold outreach.

3. It helps people instantly “get” what you do

One of the biggest challenges for startups is clarity. If people don’t instantly understand your product and how it fits into their world, they won’t buy.

“The very best thing you can do for your pipeline AND your company is to develop your personal brand and your thought leadership. Full stop,” Schultz said.

Founder-led content simplifies complex ideas. Instead of leading with technical jargon, it makes your product feel relatable and relevant.

Take Parker Conrad, CEO of Rippling, as an example. His multi-product, B2B SaaS company could easily be overwhelming to explain. But his content makes it simple; he frames Rippling’s value in a way that’s intuitive and easy to understand.

“Like most good things in life, it doesn't happen overnight,” Schultz added. “You have to commit and stick to it for a minimum of 4-6 months before you'll really get the flywheel spinning. But once it's spinning, it's beautiful and it's powerful.”

4. It builds trust and credibility at scale

Customers don’t trust faceless brands. They trust people, especially when they see those people consistently show up over time.

Founder-led content works because it makes your company feel more human. It shows your thinking, your expertise, and your vision. Customers want to know who they’re buying from. Investors want to see how you think about the industry. Potential hires want to understand your company’s mission before they even consider applying.

Instead of relying on a stale corporate brand, founder-led content puts a real person with real insights at the center of the business.

The challenges of founder-led content (and how to overcome them)

All of this probably sounds great so far, but there’s a big caveat. Most founders aren’t sitting around with extra hours in the day, wondering how to create LinkedIn posts or record a podcast.

As a ghostwriter, the biggest pushback I hear from founders is time. The second is not knowing what to say. And the third? Not being a “content person.”

These are all valid concerns, but they’re also solvable. The key is having a system that makes content repeatable, efficient, and actually worth your time.

Here are the most common challenges founders face with content and exactly how to overcome them.

1. “I don’t have time”

This is the top concern I hear from founders, and it makes sense. If you’re a founder, you’re already balancing product, sales, hiring, fundraising, and a dozen other responsibilities. Content can feel like one more thing on the list.

 

How to fix it:

• Batch your content. Instead of trying to post every day, block off one hour per week to record ideas, answer common questions, or talk through insights you already have.
• Use a content assistant or ghostwriter. If you don’t have time to write, don’t. Speak into a voice memo or hop on a 20-minute call with a content marketer who can refine your ideas into posts.
• Repurpose what you’re already saying. Every sales call, investor pitch, and internal team meeting contains valuable content. Instead of creating from scratch, document what you’re already talking about.

2. “I don’t know what to say”

Some founders hesitate to post because they’re unsure what’s worth sharing. They don’t want to repeat what’s already out there or feel like they’re posting just to post.

How to fix it:

• Stick to 3-5 content pillars. Choose key themes that align with your expertise and repeat them often. Examples:
  • Industry insights and predictions
  • Lessons from building your startup
  • Customer stories and case studies
  • Product updates and behind-the-scenes content
  • Personal takes on trends in your space
• Answer common questions. If customers ask the same questions on sales calls, turn them into posts.
• Share your mistakes. Some of the best-performing founder content isn’t about boasting all of your wins. It’s about what you learned from failures and being transparent in the process.

3. “I’m not a writer”

Not every founder is a natural writer, but that doesn’t mean they can’t create content.

How to fix it:

• Talk instead of write. Record a voice memo, do a quick Loom video, or have someone interview you. Then, turn that into written content.
• Use AI as a tool, not a crutch. AI can help structure posts, refine drafts, and generate ideas, but the insights still need to come from you.
• Work with someone who can translate your voice. Many great founder-led content strategies involve ghostwriters or content editors who take raw ideas and refine them.

My top advice is to lean into whatever platform or medium you feel most comfortable with. This strategy will be the most sustainable in the long run.

How to build a founder-led content strategy

It’s easy to see how valuable founder-led content can be, but the challenge is how to make it sustainable and worthwhile.

The goal isn’t to turn yourself into a full-time content creator. The goal is to create a simple, repeatable system that allows you to share insights, engage with the right people, and build credibility without it taking over your schedule.

Here’s how to build a founder-led content strategy that works, even if you’re short on time.

1. Pick the right platform

One of the biggest mistakes founders make is thinking they need to be on every platform. You don’t. The key is consistency, and that’s much easier when you focus on one or two channels.

Here are the top platforms you can consider for founder-led content:

• LinkedIn: This option is best for B2B, investors, and hiring. (Most founders should start here.)
• Email: If you already have a small list, an email newsletter keeps you top of mind for customers.
• YouTube: This video platform is great if you do a lot of speaking, webinars, or deep-dive content.
• Twitter/X: This social media site is good for the tech industry and startup founders, but engagement is harder to sustain here.
• TikTok: This video platform is strong for consumer brands and products with visual appeal but requires short-form video skills.
• Bluesky: This platform is an early-stage, decentralized alternative to Twitter/X. It’s good for tech, open-source, and niche startup communities.
• Threads: Owned by Meta and integrated with Instagram, Threads is growing in popularity among casual and creator-driven audiences.

Don’t feel overwhelmed by this list. Instead, try to pick the platforms that feel most important to you and where your target customer is and start there. If your ideal customer is on LinkedIn, don’t waste time making TikToks.

Consider what type of media feels most natural to you, whether that’s short-form videos, shorter text posts, or long-form articles. Again, you want to invest in a content strategy that you can maintain in the long run.

2. Get crystal clear on your ICP and content pillars

If you’re talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one.

The most successful founders create content with a specific person in mind. That means knowing:

• Who they are (role, industry, pain points)
• What they struggle with (biggest challenges)
• What they want (outcome they’re looking for)

Before posting, ask yourself, “Would my ideal customer find this helpful?” If not, refine it.

Instead of posting about random topics, structure your content around three to five key pillars that reinforce your authority.

Consider covering the following segments for your content.

• Industry insights and trends: Provide your take on what’s happening in your space.
• Lessons from your startup journey: Discuss the real, unfiltered stuff.
• Customer success stories: Show how your product solves problems.
• Behind-the-scenes product updates: Share why you’re building what you’re building.
• Personal perspectives and founder lessons: Reveal what you’re learning along the way.

3. Take the building-in-public approach

Building in public is one of my favorite ways to approach founder-led content, especially for early-stage startups. There’s something relatable to seeing the highs and lows of the founder's journey. Let’s explore some examples of building in public.

Marie Martens, co-founder at Tally

The post below from Marie Martens, co-founder at Tally, is a great example of how to build in public. She’s sharing transparent revenue updates and celebrating a major ARR milestone.

It’s easy to feel like you’re celebrating the win alongside the Tally team and rooting for their success. As you can see, Tally has also embraced founder-led marketing through the company blog, which has become a sort of ‘personal diary’ that documents every step of the way.

Image Source

John Hu, CEO of Stan

Few founders have embraced building in public as effectively as John Hu, CEO of Stan. What started as a TikTok side project turned into a quickly growing business, thanks in large part to his radical transparency (last year, they had an 8.6x increase in ARR). From day one, Hu has shared everything: wins, losses, investor updates, and even financials. His approach hasn’t just built trust; it’s made Stan impossible to ignore in the creator economy.

By documenting his journey, Hu has cultivated an audience that feels personally invested in Stan’s success. When the company raised funding, it already had an engaged base of customers, investors, and champions ready to back Stan.

 

Arjun Mahadevan, CEO of doola

Most founders hesitate to put themselves out there. They worry about looking unpolished, saying the wrong thing, or — worst of all — being “cringe.” But according to Arjun Mahadevan, CEO of doola, embracing that discomfort is what leads to success.

“Success in life is directly correlated to the number of uncomfortable conversations you’re willing to have,” he said. In other words, if something feels awkward or unnatural, it’s probably a sign you’re pushing yourself in the right direction.

For Mahadevan, that meant showing up online even when no one was engaging with his posts. It meant continuing to share updates on doola even when early traction wasn’t obvious. It also meant not letting the fear of judgment stop him from testing strategies that ultimately worked.

This mindset that Mahadevan called “regret minimization” separates founders who build real momentum from those who get stuck overthinking. If doola didn’t reach the level Mahadevan believed it could, he didn’t want to look back and regret not trying everything possible.

4. Set up your first content interview

If writing isn’t your thing, talk it out instead.

• What are the biggest problems in your industry?
• What’s a mistake you see people making all the time?
• What’s something you wish your customers understood?
• What’s one lesson you learned the hard way?

From this, you can easily generate five to 10 pieces of content to repurpose across different platforms.

If you want to learn more about how to conduct a founder content interview, check out this guide from Tommy Clark, founder of Compound Content Studio.

Pro tip: This is where AI can be especially helpful. Try recording your conversation using a transcription service like Otter.AI or another tool you prefer. Then, you can use the recording to extract key quotes and content ideas.

5. Develop a content calendar and posting cadence

The most important thing for developing a founder-led content strategy is consistency.

• Start with one or two posts per week.
• Repurpose content across channels (e.g., turn a LinkedIn post into an email).
• Batch-create so you’re not scrambling every day.

But don’t feel like you need to stick to any strict guidelines.

“Adopting a sustainable content strategy means allowing space for life lessons to inspire honest, spur-of-the-moment content,” added Tiffany Knighten, founder and PR consultant at Brand Curators. “It's about creating a genuine, ongoing dialogue with your audience that showcases successes and vulnerabilities. Operating your content strategy with a sustainable growth mindset allows you to build a community over time without sacrificing your energy or creativity.”

6. Mix storytelling with value

Mary Sahagun, founder of TargetLink, suggested treating content as a long-term asset instead of a lead-generation tool.

“Many focus on posting consistently, but consistency without impact is just noise. The real game-changer is storytelling that challenges perspectives, shares lessons learned the hard way and gives people a reason to listen,” Sahagun said.

I always encourage the clients and brands I work with to prioritize value when creating content.

Some ways to do this:

• Share a moment of struggle or failure and what you learned.
• Use numbers. People love insights backed by data.
• Challenge conventional wisdom. What’s a common belief in your industry that you disagree with?

“When content is built around opinion, not just observation, it stops being just content and starts becoming influence,” Sahagun added.

Sahagun has seen firsthand through TargetLink that this leads to organic press coverage, inbound opportunities, and a strong digital footprint that carries weight beyond social platforms.

7. Engage and build a community

A common mistake that busy founders make is posting and disappearing.

Social platforms reward engagement. If you’re not replying to comments or interacting with others, your reach will stay low.

• Respond to comments: This builds trust and visibility.
• Start discussions: Ask for feedback and share real experiences.
• Tag relevant people: Bring others into the conversation.

It can be tough to find time for this, but I recommend setting aside 15 minutes or so for some light upkeep here.

8. Should you outsource? Follow this decision tree

Outsourcing founder-led content is a common consideration, especially for time-strapped founders juggling multiple priorities.

But should you? The short answer is that it depends on your goals, your bandwidth, and how much control you want over your voice.

Before you choose, here’s a decision tree to help you determine whether outsourcing is the right move for you and what level of support you might need.

 

Use founder-led content as a lever for growth

I hope that I’ve convinced you that founder-led content is one of the highest-leverage things you can do for your business.

You don’t need to be perfect at creating founder-led content. You don’t need to post every day. You don’t need to write like a content marketer.

You just need to show up and start sharing what you already know.

The founders who figure this out will have a huge competitive advantage. They’ll attract customers before they even launch and close deals faster because their prospects already trust them. Plus, these founders will never have to explain “what they do” in endless sales calls because their content already does the work.

So, here’s the real question: Will people find you when they’re looking for a solution?

Or will they find someone else? By embracing founder-led content, you can ensure that your voice and your brand stand out.

Send DataSend DataSend DataSend DataSend DataSend Data

Send DataSend DataSend DataSend DataSend DataSend DataSend DataSend Data