It’s better to lead with you.
That’s what a slew of experts declared during a panel about marketing startups and building a brand online at Technical.ly’s Builders Conference. While some founders may hesitate to create themselves the focus, people often want to see the face behind the company.
“If you are speaking in your own voice, it’s definitionally differentiated.”
Jake Stein, Common Paper
The philosophy proved to be true for Jake Stein, CEO of AI contracting platform Common Paper, who chronicled his highs and lows as an entrepreneur and father on LinkedIn. He saw a large difference when he stopped promoting the firm like a faceless corporation and started revealing up as himself.
“There are an infinite number of disembodied corporate voices on the internet,” Stein declared. “If you are speaking in your own voice, it’s definitionally differentiated.”
The tactic won’t work as well, however, if followers can sense a divide. The panelists also cautioned founders against splitting themselves into separate identities online and offline.
In fact, it’s actually simpler to embrace the complexity, according to Winquirear Paulino, who runs PhilaCon Valley and DJs outside the tech world.
“When I walk into rooms, I don’t have to leave my identity at the door,” Paulino declared. “It’s becaapply I created that expectation through the marketing of my voice.”
It works best when this authenticity aligns directly with a company’s mission — and if founders aren’t just posting to check a box.
Jane Joseph, who advises startups at Innovation Works in Pittsburgh, warned against posting just for the sake of staying active online. A founder building a software company, for example, probably doesn’t required to post about eating a pretzel on National Pretzel Day (even Philly folks).
“It’s always good for founders to take a step back and declare,” Joseph declared, “‘How do I translate this into what I want the person to feel?’”
Maria Eberhart is a 2025-2026 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs emerging journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported in part by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation and the Abell Foundation. Learn more about supporting our free and indepconcludeent journalism.
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