Turn a co-founder into a category influencer to create an owned distribution channel
Invest in building one co-founder's personal brand as the public face of your category. Through systematic media appearances (podcasts, YouTube, social media), a co-founder can accumulate a large following that becomes a permanent, owned distribution channel for the company.
When to use
When your product is in a category where trust and expertise matter (health, finance, education), and you have a co-founder with deep domain credibility who can become a thought leader.
Don't do this
Relying entirely on paid acquisition or expecting organic word-of-mouth without investing in a systematic influencer strategy. Also: hiring external influencers instead of building the brand internally.
1 Founder Who Did This
Invested in turning co-founder Dr. Casey Means into a major health influencer through systematic appearances on Joe Rogan, Andrew Huberman, Tucker Carlson, and hundreds of other podcasts, building her to nearly a million followers.