Start ups don’t fail because the tech is not good enough.
They fail because the mission did not resonate. The wrong people were hired. The founder ran out of time, energy, or both.
At the recent VentureCEO Future of Retail Workshop with Cooper Parry, we teamed up with the brilliant team at tech PR agency Luminous PR to unpack two of the biggest levers founders have in their early-stage arsenal:
- Founder-led hiring
- Founder-led brand building
And the synergy between the two? It’s not just an overlap, it’s a multiplier.
Before You’ve Got a People Team, You Are the People Team.
Every founder knows how to pitch their product, but when it comes to pitching themselves, their company to talent, most fall flat.
The truth? Your first 50 hires will make or break your business. And no one can sell the mission, the journey, or the vision like the person who’s living it.
At Emerald, we’ve supported 500+ scaleups across 160+ countries. The best performing teams we see? They all have founders deeply involved in hiring.
- Founders should expect to spend 50% of their time hiring in the early days
- Hiring without a strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP)? You’re making it harder than it needs to be
- Most great hires happen through warm networks, founder-led outreach, or smart referrals
But founder-led hiring only works when your story travels, and that’s where founder led branding comes in.
Founder-led Hiring Only Works if People Know Who You Are
As Kirsty Jarvis, CEO and Founder of Luminous PR laid out “people don’t join companies- they join leaders, visions and missions they align with.”
The founder is the brand. And every LinkedIn post, media quote, podcast feature or celebratory team photo is shaping how future candidates (and investors) see you.
- Job seekers now check over seven sources before applying – many will start with your LinkedIn
- Founders who post regularly about team, mission and values? They see 30-50% better candidate quality
- Your personal brand isn’t fluff – it’s strategic leverage.
And it’s not about being an “influencer.” It’s about being visible, clear and intentional about where you’re going, and who you want to join you.
Where Brand Meets Hiring – The Real Synergy
The two disciplines; recruiting and branding, don’t just support each other. They compound.
Here’s how:
|
Founder-led Hiring |
Founder-led Brand |
|
Proactively reaching out to high-calibre candidates |
Attracting inbound interest through a compelling online presence |
|
Building an EVP that resonates with top talent |
Using your voice to reinforce that EVP consistently |
|
Selling the mission in 1:1 calls |
Making sure the mission is already clear before the call happens |
|
Referrals from network |
Trust from future hires before they even speak to you |
The result? Faster hiring, strong culture, better retention, more investor confidence.
What to Do Next (no matter what hire # you are on)
Whether you’re pre-Seed or scaling fast, here’s what we’d recommend:
- Build your EVP before your job spec
- Use your Founder Voice consistently, especially online
- Make your LinkedIn genuine, human-led and valuable to your ICP and peers
- Vet every key hire personally
- Celebrate your teams wins often
- Treat hiring like growth, because it is.
You don’t need to be the loudest founder on LinkedIn.
You do need to be transparent on where you’re going and why great people should come with you.
Thanks again to our partners, Cooper Parry, Luminous PR and the VentureCEO cohort for making this session such a success.
