A quick scroll through Instagram is all it takes to realise businesses, particularly female-led businesses are increasingly tapping into founder-led marketing, and for good reason: it works.
This marketing strategy is by no means reinventing the wheel. Look no further than Mia Freedman, who founded Mamamia in 2007. She built her empire largely on the success of her personal brand, sharing anecdotes that went beyond her work and pried into her personal life: miscarriages, friendship breakdowns, stories about raising her kids, an adult ADHD diagnosis. These personal stories that resonated with women inevitably gained her a loyal following and turned her business into Australia’s largest independent women’s media group.
In a world obsessed with personal brands (just scroll LinkedIn for a hot minute) and a video-forward marketing landscape, “community building” has become the buzzy marketing tactic for getting people to actually buy what you’re selling. With that in mind, it begs the question: Can women truly launch and market a business without openly sharing elements of themselves to build this community?
“It absolutely is possible,” says Laura Henshaw, Co-Founder of fitness app, KIC. “It really depends on the industry. Even in categories like beauty, where we see major successes from front-facing founders, I still believe companies can have success without it. It truly depends on their strategy and the audience they’re going after.”
According to Crystal Andrews, founder of the independent news outlet Zee Feed, female founders definitely face an expectation to be the public face of their businesses. “It is often framed in a really favourable way – like, ‘you are your business’s biggest asset,’ and people will come because they care about you and your perspective. In my case, running a media business, they’ll care about what I have to say.”
Laura Henshaw agrees that “there’s definitely pressure to be a front-facing founder, especially seeing so many brands achieve massive success this way”.
“In today’s saturated market, connecting with people online is crucial for building a sustainable business and community. Companies are harder to connect with than people, and that’s an advantage of putting yourself as the face of your brand,” she says. “So, while I feel the pressure is significant, particularly in fashion and beauty, I think founders need to ask: ‘Is this truly going to help the brand, or am I just doing it because I feel like I have to? And does it align with our strategy, and will it genuinely help us reach our audience?'”
For Laura, being a front-facing founder was a strategic decision for KIC from the start. “We consciously decided to be the faces of our brand because we didn’t have a marketing budget or funding, and we had a very small team. We also didn’t have the skills to be able to scale a business through paid media. So, we leaned into what we knew: building community and personal brands.”
“I one hundred per cent believe that if we weren’t the face of KIC, given our skills and resources, we wouldn’t have achieved the success we have today.”
But it isn’t always easy, says Crystal. “I think women who create content online receive more hate, abuse, and trolling than men. That’s not to say that anyone showing up online will forgo having horrible things said about them, but it disproportionately affects women. And to add another layer, it disproportionately affects Black women, Indigenous women, queer people, people with disabilities, and those who don’t subscribe to conventional beauty standards.”
Crystal adds, “I’ve actually had to stop making video content that features myself or my staff for a while. It just became too upsetting. It’s really difficult to create videos without faces; they’re time-consuming and [the content] doesn’t perform as well.
“I felt penalised and unable to grow my business or reach as many people as possible because of who I am and who my staff are,” says Crystal, who actively strives to commission and hire women of colour.
For Laura, there is an obvious societal double standard: “I think we definitely hold female founders to a different standard than men. It really comes down to the fact that, as a society, we’re just not as comfortable with women making money. The pedestal we put them on, and the requirements and expectations we have for female founders, are so different and much higher than those for men. We expect female founders to be purpose-led with their businesses, and if that’s not the case, there’s less community acceptance.
“With male founders, especially in Australia where a lot of funding statistically goes to them, many are building huge tech companies that, while having a purpose, don’t necessarily give back to the community. They make a lot of money, and that’s celebrated. Whereas for women, we have this expectation that if they’re going to make money, they have to donate, it has to be purpose-led, and everything has to be perfect, otherwise they’re undeserving. This, I believe, is a societal belief rooted in our expectations of different genders, which is obviously so wildly unfair.”
Georgia Grace, a sexologist and founder of the sexual wellness company Normal, agrees, saying: “We live in a patriarchal society that holds women to a much higher standard regarding how they run their business ethically, how diverse it is, and how they treat their team. I don’t see that accountability held to businesses run by men.”
For Georgia, being the face of her business is rooted in creating safety and legitimacy for her customers.
“At Normal, we offer free sex education, conduct research, and make sex toys. A lot of feedback we get is because very few people have received any sex education, those visiting a sex toy company for the first time often have no idea what to buy. So, having a trusted expert helps people feel more confident in their purchases.”
For Laura, one of the hardest things she’s had to grapple with as a front-facing founder is being comfortable with the fact that she isn’t always going to live up to what everyone expects of her. “People might have a parasocial relationship with me through social media, seeing only one side. But for me, it’s always been incredibly important that I’m authentic online. I don’t know how else to show up online.
“However, I am a different person in my role at KIC – whether working with my team or negotiating with an external party. What I’ve had to learn to accept is that just because I’m not exactly the same person on social media versus in a boardroom, that doesn’t mean either part is inauthentic. It simply means I need to play a different role in those areas, and I’ve had to get comfortable with that. I know it can be jarring for people if they get to know someone online and then they’re not exactly as they thought, because you are playing a different role, but I’ve had to accept that in order to do my job.”
When it comes to showing up online, Georgia has always made a concerted effort to keep her personal life private. “I was happy to share my expertise, qualifications, and research online, but I drew a firm boundary: I’m not willing to discuss my relationships, family, or friendships,” she says.
“For experts, especially, there’s a tricky power dynamic where people might emulate their life rather than learning from their work. All experts need to be conscious of the power they hold when sharing personal details. Beyond that, I simply wasn’t comfortable with people knowing intimate details about my life. It’s strange enough when a stranger recognises you and knows about you, while you know nothing about them, and it can also lead to them making assumptions. Maintaining that privacy has always felt incredibly important to me.”
For Crystal, she still has a tough relationship with showing up online. “I do it because Zee Feed is my baby. I’m very passionate about it. When people tell me they love Zee Feed, or that our content has been helpful, I find that incredibly rewarding. Do I like running this business, being the founder and owner, having my brain, heart, and soul in it? Absolutely. Do I like being the face, having my face out there? I don’t think so.”
“I find this whole idea of a personal brand to be, frankly, gross,” says Georgia. “I see it as capitalism’s way of turning human beings into products. We’re told we need an aesthetic, a certain look, a specific sound – just like products or businesses. The fact that we’ve been brainwashed into thinking we need to be recognisable, with a specific look, is a concerning sign of capitalism’s greedy grip, transforming us into ‘pretty objects’ that are easily understood. I think it’s deeply concerning that we’re made to be these things that ‘look good and are understandable’ instead of just being human beings.”
Top photo – Pictured: Laura Henshaw, Crystal Andrews and Georgia Grace, Source: Supplied
