Building a strong public persona is one of the most crucial skills a founder must master. For early-stage startups, the founding team’s background, experiences, motivations, and the business origins are significant chapters of the narrative that founders need to convey compellingly.
Yet for many female founders, telling their story publicly can be especially challenging, often facing added scrutiny and bias. Stories of being interrupted, patronised, or overlooked are unfortunately common themes in the LinkedIn feeds of female founders.
A striking example comes from the cybersecurity startup, CAPSLOCK, where a tally was kept during meetings to observe how often their two female founders were addressed compared to their male co-founder. Alarmingly, the male co-founder was spoken to over 80% of the time, even in meetings chaired by Lorna, the CEO, and a co-founder.
So, how can female founders build visibility, credibility and confidence in their public voice?
We collaborated with Antler to host our Female Founder Roundtable, bringing together a group of female founders and VC communication experts. We explored everything from building a personal brand beyond the company to effectively handling online negativity.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the session:
Lead with your expertise – it’s your edge
Many founders admit to hiding behind the company page on LinkedIn, but sharing your personal insights builds trust and positions you as the expert behind the brand. By sharing your own experience and perspectives, whether as your own posts or by engaging in wider conversations, you build authority in both yourself and your brand.
Your founder profile is a leadership tool
Your persona isn’t just about building recognition for yourself – it’s about showing the kind of leader you are. Authenticity attracts talent, partners and investors. That’s a lot more powerful than a company post on LinkedIn when hiring.
Investors invest in people, not just products
Funding for female founders is still drastically behind male counterparts, with female-founded companies in Europe receiving only 2.8% of venture capital funding in 2023.
Jack Davies, the European Marketing & PR Director at Antler, emphasised the importance of a founder persona when looking to attract investors:
“Building a public persona as a founder is part of your job – you are the ambassador for your brand. We are looking for outliers who see the world differently. We want to know this person is someone who has it in them to win and build something that is category defining.”
Visibility grows with support
Whether it’s a LinkedIn group or a peer network, a solid community can help champion your efforts to raise your own profile. From encouraging each other to bite the bullet and post accomplishments online or engaging with the content to support and promote the author, you can build your confidence and persona one day at a time.
Female Founder Rise was called out as a great place to start when you don’t know where to turn, connecting female founders throughout the UK for collaboration, support and growth.
Ready to raise your profile and amplify your voice as a founder?
If you’d like to hear about how we could help you build your personal brand and amplify your voice as a founder, get in touch at [email protected]
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is building a public persona important for female founders?
Building a public persona helps female founders establish credibility, challenge bias and increase visibility with investors, customers and potential hires. A strong public voice positions founders as experts and leaders, not just representatives of their company.
How can female founders build thought leadership on LinkedIn?
Female founders can build thought leadership on LinkedIn by sharing their expertise, commenting on industry conversations and posting insights drawn from personal experience. Consistency and authenticity help build trust and grow influence over time.
Does founder visibility really matter to investors?
Yes. Many investors look at founder visibility and persona as indicators of leadership, conviction and the ability to build belief around a business. A clear public voice helps investors understand how a founder thinks, communicates and inspires others.
