Personal branding is an edge… until it isn’t 🕳️
Why entrepreneurs need an exit plan for their own brand
If you’re an entrepreneur today, you’re probably building two brands: one for your business and one for yourself. But here’s the challenge: where does one end and the other begin?
Some of the sharpest founders I’ve interviewed on Millennial Masters have leveraged their personal brands to build credibility, attract investors, and accelerate growth.
Others have faced the pain of being too attached to their business, realising that scaling, exiting, or even taking a break becomes harder when customers expect you at the centre of it all.
Millennial Masters is built on personal branding. I understand that in the early years, my name will drive the podcast and newsletter, but long-term, I’m thinking about scale.
That’s why I’m so interested in how founders balance being the face of their business while building something that lasts. Now, as I start bringing in guest posts and more voices, I’m putting these lessons into action in real time.
So how do you use personal branding to your advantage without becoming a prisoner to it? Let’s break it down with insights from eight entrepreneurs. 👇🏻
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Should your name be the brand? Think twice
For some founders, naming the business after themselves feels like the ultimate credibility move, but it can backfire.
Take Michael Buckworth, who built Buckworths, a law firm specialising in startups. While his name gave the firm authority, it also created a scaling problem:
“People want to speak to ‘the Buckworth’. And so there’s a degree to which, particularly new clients, they want to speak to me. I only have a certain number of hours in a day, and I have a huge team behind me. So, that can be tricky sometimes. And we also spend a lot of time promoting the individual lawyers in the firm because they are as competent as I am, and incredibly good at what they do.”
The same challenge hit Kamal Ellis-Hyman, who built Aim A Little Higher, his youth coaching business around his own name before realising it was limiting his growth:
“I made the mistake of making it all about Kamal and had to make a real shift to go to Aim A Little Higher. So now we’re getting calls who say, ‘Hey, we want the Aim A Little Higher methods in our organisation’ rather than ‘We want Kamal.’ And that’s been an amazing shift.”
And Peter Watson, who grew Distract using his personal brand, ran into the same issue:
“Distract was so built on my brand that it was almost painful. I could literally see moments where I would get involved with the business, we’d see growth. I would get out and go to the business and then nothing would really happen. So I had to step back and build the agency beyond ‘Pete Watson’ and make it a brand that could operate without me.”
“Me keeping Distract with me and connected to me was actually just restricting my potential growth and also the growth of our group. So I knew that I had to in some way pass the baton on to somebody else.”
🧠 Lesson: If you want to sell, scale, or step back one day, think twice before making yourself the brand. Can your business stand on its own without your name attached?
Founders as the face: Power move or trap?
Being front and centre can supercharge your brand’s visibility, but at what cost?
Just ask Harvey Armstrong & Sam Holmes, co-founders of Prime Time lager. They leaned into their personal brands to stand out in the crowded drinks market:
“I think a lot of people buy into co-founder-led content, co-founder-led brands where you really get a bit of the personality of those co-founders. Sam and I are two best mates having a laugh. We liken ourselves to the Step Brothers… We did it for ourselves to have a beer that we could drink at pubs and bars and have a more sustainable lifestyle, so we’re going to be those guys at pubs, bars, doing the promotions, the activations, and having the fun times at festivals. Then indirectly, we become the face of the brand. But it’s never been like, let’s be the face. It’s just us in a bottle or can, okay. That’s just what Prime Time is.”
For them, being the face of the business was a strategic move, helping them connect with customers in a way faceless beer brands couldn’t.
But Nick Telson (Design My Night, Trumpet) took the opposite approach. Instead of keeping himself front and centre, he brought in a third co-founder to be the CEO and take on the public-facing role:
“We also brought in a third founder for Trumpet to be CEO. So he could become the face of the brand and manage the team and the office and all of that stuff that we didn’t really want to do. So we’re very deliberate with how we approach Trumpet.”
🧠 Lesson: Personal branding works, but you need an exit plan. If you want to be the face, be intentional. If you don’t, bring in someone who can take the spotlight.
Use personal branding to fuel growth, not limit it
Personal branding isn’t just about visibility, it’s also an unfair advantage in getting a product in front of the right people quickly.
Thibault Louis-Lucas built multiple successful ventures, including Tweet Hunter and Taplio, by leveraging his personal audience for distribution:
“What worked very well for us are two main things: social media and personal branding. That’s the first: being active, building in public, sharing everything about how we grew, what we did, sharing user stories, success stories — this worked very well.”
But Tibo also warned about relying solely on social media, after having his LinkedIn account suspended:
“It is an amazing reminder that you do not own your followers. You do not own your accounts. It can just get suspended at any time. What you truly own is a newsletter subscriber base, or I guess a podcast audience.”
GO DEEPER: The UK’s #1 female LinkedIn creator, Lara Acosta, has a proven framework for building a standout personal brand. I broke down her SLAY strategy and top insights. Check it out here 👇🏻
The personal branding secret: Show up, don’t sell
Many founders don’t set out to “build a personal brand” — they simply start sharing their journey. But that in itself is what makes personal branding so powerful.
Francesca McClory (FutureCloud Accounting) is a perfect example. She never consciously planned to develop a personal brand; she just started talking about her experiences online. And then, things started happening:
“I didn’t know what personal brand was when I started, but the opportunities I had there were unbelievable. Once you’re brave and speak about your business, what you do as a person, more people want to help you out. You build a community. I never thought I’d speak at events ever. I was too scared to. I’d never do that, but I’m doing that. I get paid, I’ve been paid to speak at events.”
The takeaway? You don’t need to be a social media expert or craft a polished strategy. Just showing up and sharing what you know builds trust, credibility, and connections.
That was also the case for Amy Morris (Pop Up Global), who had always been active online but hadn’t realised the full potential of personal branding until she started listening to Daniel Priestley:
“Personal branding is something that I was always doing but without intention. I was just just sharing my life because it felt nice to do so. Once I had the switch and understood the mentality of why it was so important, it’s been a game changer for me.”
For both Francesca and Amy, authenticity was the key. They weren’t forcing a personal brand, they were simply being real, visible, and consistent. And in doing so, they built a reputation that brought them opportunities they hadn’t even been looking for.
🧠 Lesson: You already have a personal brand, it’s just a question of whether you’re shaping it with intention or letting it form on its own. Either way, people are paying attention.
GO DEEPER: Daniel Priestley’s books Key Person of Influence and Oversubscribed kept coming up in my Millennial Masters interviews, so I broke them down for the Book Club to show how you can apply his strategies to build influence and demand.👇🏻
TL;DR: How to make personal branding work for you (without it owning you)
✔️ If you’re the face of your brand, have a transition plan. Can your business survive if you step back? If not, start separating yourself from it now.
✔️ Use personal branding not just for visibility, but for distribution. An engaged audience can mean instant traction for new ventures.
✔️ Don’t rely on social media alone. Build your own newsletter, community, or direct channels to avoid losing access overnight.
✔️ Your personal brand will open doors if you use it right. Share your real story, and people will connect with it.
📺 BONUS: A primer on personal branding from Daniel Priestley on DOAC