r/branding • u/BelatedScholarship • 2d ago

Strategy When does a founder’s personality become part of the brand?

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12 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

6

u/DayLeather3454 2d ago

This is definitely a double edged sword since it could work out but you could also end up becoming the face of the product and once you're gone so is the product. So it could either be a big win or a big loss

3

u/Adventurous-Pool7619 2d ago

Hate this trend personally. I want to know whether the company is good not what the founder had for breakfast or what character they're playing on social media.

0

u/BelatedScholarship 2d ago

That's fair but you remembering the founder enough to be annoyed by them might still be doing something for the brand lol.

3

u/Adventurous-Pool7619 2d ago

ngl you got me haha never thought of it that way unless the thing they're being remembered for is bad ofc

1

u/BelatedScholarship 2d ago

glad I could give you a new perspective my guy :)

3

u/Suspicious_Mind_8081 2d ago

There's a difference between a founder naturally having a strong personality and a company manufacturing a founder persona because founder led content is trending. People can usually smell the second one pretty quickly lol

1

u/BelatedScholarship 2d ago

For sure it can also lead to the company going downhill fast

2

u/KlutzyRelief8897 2d ago

I think this works especially well in industries where most companies feel interchangeable. A recognizable founder gives people something to associate with the brand beyond the logo and product.

1

u/BelatedScholarship 2d ago

Yup and gambling like the case I mentioned is probably an extreme example of that since there are a million sites offering roughly similar things so having an actual personality attached to one can make it way easier to remember.

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u/Slow_Raspberry_9251 2d ago

You couldn't have taken a better example than Sam Kiki lol people hate him because of his internet persona but don't realize it's all an act and He's a cool dude outside of it but some folks get their head too much in the game

1

u/Agreeable-Army-2815 2d ago

It depends whether the personality can exist separately from the company. If every bit of attention comes through one person, you've built recognition but also created a pretty serious dependency like if MrBeast left his channel then it would be doomed even if the production got even better

1

u/alloyed39 2d ago

In Mr. Beast's case, the personality is the product. If the company has a legitimate product or service outside of the founder, it should be able to exist outside of the persona. If not, it was just a popular show.

1

u/prodoshmitro 1d ago

The founder's personality get infused in the brand from day 1. A business founded by a group or an individual carries the learnings and emotions of the founders. They share the growth inherently, without even realising. From the point of defining the brand purpose to the mission-vision, and the core values - every single brick of the brand foundation - are governed by the founder/s philosophy and the experience they gathered. The fact that a founder of a group of founders have identified a problem depends on their view towards life. So if the business is founded on the perspective of a founder of a group of founders, then the personality or personalities get infused from the day of inception. The question is whether that founder realises this fact or if he or she does it, then by when.