Confessions of a DTC investor on the difficulty of dealing with the ‘increasingly common’ founder-influencer

The rise of the founder-influencer has been commonplace in recent years, especially for direct-to-consumer brands. As founders grow their brands they at the same time tend to use social media to post how they’ve done something or what their path to success has looked like online and, in turn, grow their own personal brands. 

When that helps to boost brand growth that’s something DTC investors can appreciate. However, when it seems like brand founders are more focused on their own personal brand over the brand growth that can be a tricky situation for investors to navigate. In the latest edition of our Confessions series, in which we trade anonymity for candor, we hear from a DTC investor on what it’s like to work with founder-influencers and why it’s a difficult balancing act.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

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