Human Brands Win

Every startup needs its founder to have a strong, authentic personal brand. But not for the reasons that you probably think. For several years as a VC-backed founder and CEO and now today in my advising work (and with the 21k+ lovely humans following me here on LinkedIn), I've been able to help a lot of founders develop their unique personal brands… But it’s *NOT* to turn them into “influencers” or to mimic other leaders in their space. It’s to scale their unique vision in a way that drives strength, clarity, and growth to their business. It's to transition from early-stage startup founders just trying to figure things out into confident, bold, poised, thought-leading, scale-up CEOs with perspectives and leadership styles that are uniquely their own. I’ve received a lot of outreach from founders seeking this guidance. So, I just opened up 5 exclusive 1:1 mentorship slots on Intro. And to kick things off, 50% of proceeds generated now through July 15 will be donated to Dove Recovery House for Women, led by my dear friend Wendy Noe. What do we cover in these sessions? ✔️ Developing your one-of-a-kind founder brand ✔️ Transitioning from founder to CEO ✔️ Scaling your vision to scale your business ✔️ Building your business around your unique vision and values ✔️ Finding your voice and trusting it as you lead ✔️ Fundraising from VCs by embracing what makes you different ✔️ & more Honored to be on Intro alongside world-class experts like Linh Peters (former CMO at Walgreens & Calvin Klein), Carly Martinetti (co-founder of Notably, Helped 65+ companies be acquired or go public), and Jennifer Grunebaum (Global CFO, raised over $400M). Interested? Secure a spot now: intro.co/lindsaytjepkema

Would you take driving advice from someone who never drove a car? How about travel advice from someone who had never been to the destination you're visiting? Perhaps tips on how to grill the perfect steak from a vegetarian? (and I can add that one because I am pretty much vegan! 👋 🥕 ) Then why do you as a founder listen to the critics, analysts, or so-called "experts" who have never been a founder? Just remember - if they have not been where you're going, done what you're doing, or experienced the extremely unique challenges and pressure you're facing, their advice and support may be helpful, but it can only go so far. And it's really easy to be a critic.

As a founder, there was one thing I heard all the time that I didn't fully understand or appreciate at the time. But as I have begun coaching and consulting other founders, get it. I see it so clearly now. It's the fact that nothing has a greater impact on the business's success than you as the founder. It's a heavy weight. An often impossible amount of pressure literally no one else understands. As a founder, so much of this world will crush by telling you who to be, how to show up, how to hustle and grind your way to success the same way others have, how to fit into the "successful founder" mold. But the truth is that the only path to true success (as a founder and personally) is to embrace what actually makes you different. When you can see beyond that noise, you get to see that being a founder is an incredible opportunity to build a business based on your deep passion and unique vision. So embrace who you REALLY are. What YOU believe in. Your "Why". What YOU stand for. What YOU get excited about. What breaks YOUR heart. What makes YOU weird. All the reasons YOU don't fit in anywhere else. All the molds and stereotypes YOU break. That's the unique selling proposition. That's the differentiator. It's YOU.