Monthly Archives: February 2015

Blogging & Branding

stuff

Inspired by Jason Calacanis, Chris Dixon; peer-pressured by Sol Weinreich, JD Carluccio, Terrence Yang, Kiki Schirr, Adam Marx, Chris Oestereich, Abhishek Singh

I am not sure that Steve Jobs would have blogged. He seemed more like a hyper-competitive, singularly-focused, get-stuff-done-at-all-cost kind of entrepreneur who saw everything else as a waste of time and energy. But he was a master of public relations and brand building so there is slight chance that if he were to create an Apple today, he may have invested the time to blog here and there, and possibly even religiously about his grand visions and to broadcast his reality distortion field to educate the masses.

Times are different. The brand and the person behind the brand are hard to distinguish. As a consumer, I find myself supporting brands whose leaders are similarly aligned with long-term/sustainable global perspective of improving the world for everyone. These are thoughtful, soulful leaders who believe in the power of capitalism and technology to improve the lives of taxi drivers, janitors, musicians — and the list does go on — and sure to build wealth for themselves and their investors in the process. In order to find them though, I need to research. I need to read about their visions, their experiences, and conclude if these are the kinds of leaders and brands I want to support.

It’s not just me as a fan of technology startups. I’ve heard that Y Combinator reads blogs of applicants. And I’m pretty sure a couple of the partners at the famous venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz were recruited based on their influence as thought leaders using blogs as their primary publishing tool.

So I am encouraging all founders in my network to blog and to blog regularly. Your know-how would be welcome by those who have yet to experience it. This may enhance your business and your communication skills while helping you, your customers, your investors, to understand your story. You may even create a fanbase who will support you in good times and bad. Your personal brand may enhance or outlive your startup(s).

Your constructive criticism is always welcome. Engage with me on Twitter @charlesjo. Join our growing open community of founders, angels, advisors @ startupstudygroup.com/slack/