Can founder branding be more than just PR 2.0?

Delhi-based paediatrician Dr Ravi Malik never thought his daily work at Radix Healthcare would land him in the social media spotlight. But within six months of working with Binge Labs, his Instagram following jumped from zero to 158,000. Almost every third reel now crosses the one-million-view mark.

“People have started to discover us more, and trust our brand more because of the scientific content they see on social media,” he said. For someone with nearly 38 years of practice, the sudden shift in brand equity has been dramatic.

Dr Malik admits he chose digital visibility over traditional marketing because “people are now spending their time on phones, consuming bite-sized content. So, that's the place to be in right now.” His choice illustrates a larger trend reshaping Indian business: the growing belief that founder-led branding is no longer optional but essential.

Into this shift steps The Founder’s Playbook, launched by Binge Labs, a strategic storytelling company that has grown from a creative experiment into a 50-plus member outfit. This initiative positions personal branding not as vanity but as a leadership discipline, urging founders to prioritise conviction over mimicry and consistency over short-term virality.

It promises tools to avoid founder-brand dissonance, improve investor confidence, aid hiring and sharpen customer loyalty. In a noisy marketplace where content recall is low and attention spans are shorter, this framework claims to offer structure.

But here is the more pressing question: is founder branding a genuine long-term play in trust and narrative equity, or just another PR exercise in a new costume?

From invisible founders to the age of attention

Not long ago, the identities of brand founders barely mattered. Consumers picked up Maggi, Surf Excel or Colgate because of habit, utility and advertising. Trust was outsourced to celebrity endorsers while the people behind the companies stayed invisible.

That equation has collapsed. Today’s consumers spend eight to ten hours online, navigating feeds where authenticity trumps polish. They are acutely aware of transactional endorsements and sceptical of glossy campaigns.

Brands no longer compete only on price or functionality but also on perceived authenticity. In this economy of attention, founders hold a rare edge: conviction built from lived experience.

Aryan Anurag, co-founder of Binge Labs.

“When founders share their stories, they offer the highest form of trust because their conviction stems from lived experience, not financial compensation,” said Aryan Anurag, co-founder of Binge Labs. He insists that founder branding “is not a campaign, but a discipline” — one that ties values to business goals and demands content that is “audience-first and value-driven.”

A different kind of ROI

For smaller startups without the muscle for costly influencer campaigns, founders themselves become the face of the brand. “We see founders get big returns by showing up regularly,” Anurag said. “One of the D2C founders we worked with chose founder-led content instead of expensive influencer campaigns. His face and voice drove excitement for the product and helped sales with no influencer spend.”

Fintech SaaS Classplus’ co-founder Bhaswat Agarwal argues that founder content does not replace paid media but complements it. “While paid marketing yields quicker results, content creation in the long term proves to be more effective. However, you can’t expect organic content to outperform paid strategies in a short timeframe. The ideal approach is to run both paid and organic efforts simultaneously,” he noted.

 

 

 

 

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The risk, however, lies in mistaking personal branding for self-promotion. When does authentic storytelling tip into PR spin?

Anurag draws a sharp line, “PR is usually one-off, self-focused and transactional. Founder content is recurring, audience-first and value-driven. If the founder talks more about themselves than about value for the audience, the content simply will not work.”

That requires effort from the founder’s side too. While agencies can build systems, only the founder can supply voice and perspective. According to Anurag, outsourcing helps with strategy, structure and execution but it cannot create authenticity.

He feels that a personal brand needs the founder’s own voice, experiences and ideas. Even a few hours a month of genuine input, he insists, can prevent content from slipping into generic territory.

The shelf-life question

Founder-led storytelling naturally draws media attention, but does it risk running out of steam? Can a founder’s story remain relevant after the initial novelty fades?

Anurag believes the answer lies in learning. “If a founder keeps learning and bringing fresh insights, the story will not go stale. I do not really buy the ‘overexposure’ argument. The real risk is being repetitive. Evolve the narrative with the company: start with vision, then share lessons and failures, and later talk about industry shaping,” he added.

That evolution can turn personal branding from a one-time visibility boost into a long-term credibility engine.

Global cautionary tales show what happens when visibility becomes distraction. Tesla CEO’s Elon Musk’s freewheeling tweets have sometimes unnerved investors, raising questions about when personal expression strays too far from business focus. Could Indian founders fall into the same trap?

“Visibility works best when it is intentional,” Anurag cautioned. “Founders should focus on topics that connect to their business, industry and values. They should avoid jumping into every trending debate.” Measured cadence, not impulsive hot takes, reduces reputational risk while still signalling clarity and discipline.

Investors, once wary of oversharing, now increasingly encourage founders to create content — provided it is intentional and aligned with business outcomes.

When done well, content does not just build consumer trust; it shapes how investors, partners and talent view the company. “Creating content allows you to share your ongoing learnings, which in turn establishes credibility and builds trust,” said Agarwal. “This continuous learning cycle plays a crucial role in positioning yourself as a reliable and progressive figure.”

Raghav Gupta, founder of fintech startup 1% Club.

Raghav Gupta, founder of fintech startup 1% Club, agrees. Building a personal brand through content has added a 360-degree layer of trust to his profile.

“Any stakeholder, whether it is an investor, a potential hire, or a partner can see who I am and what I stand for. It has also given me distribution and influence, which creates respect in the ecosystem. In many ways, it has become a differentiator between me and others running similar businesses,” he stated.

Beyond vanity, towards narrative equity

In crowded markets, where products often look alike, a founder’s story can be the deciding factor. “Content alone will not sell a bad product,” Anurag admitted. “But when the product is good and not hugely different, the founder’s story gives people a reason to choose you.”

Healthtech founders speaking from personal caregiving experience or fintech entrepreneurs emphasising financial literacy can add a mission-driven layer that advertising alone cannot achieve. Dr Malik credits Instagram as the most effective platform to reach parents.

“As a professional doctor, it’s not easy for us to understand the constantly changing dynamics of Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. With the help of these young professionals, the entire process has become effortless. I strongly feel that doctors and other professionals should focus on their core work, and let experts handle digital growth.”

Dr Ravi Malik, director, Radix Healthcare.

Examples across sectors show how intentional storytelling shifts outcomes. One D2C founder moved from sporadic posts to consistent, structured content around product ingredients and health advice. Trust grew, contributing to the company’s eventual acquisition. This suggests that founder branding, when rooted in narrative discipline, can influence far more than social media metrics. It can shape market credibility.

The fragile edge of authenticity

Yet, the approach carries inherent fragility. Authenticity, once commodified, risks eroding the very trust it seeks to build. The paradox is that founders must constantly show up, yet never appear performative. They must share enough to appear transparent, but not so much that they unsettle investors or dilute focus.

In a digital culture where every post can be scrutinised, amplified or cancelled, the founder’s voice is both an asset and a liability. If handled with discipline, it can humanise the brand and create lasting equity. If misused, it can become another hollow PR exercise.

The choice, ultimately, lies with founders themselves. Are they willing to treat personal branding as more than a marketing tactic — to invest in it as a discipline of trust, consistency and restraint? If so, the founder advantage could endure. If not, it may fade into the crowded noise of performative storytelling, remembered as another trend that promised authenticity but delivered spectacle.