founder based marketing only takes you so far.

early on, a founder’s voice can drive trust and attention, especially when the company is small and scrappy but that advantage has a ceiling.

take tesla for example: the brand leaned heavily on elon as its main marketing engine.

but, when his public perception shifted, that attention turned into friction and sales felt it as there was no separation between tesla and elon, they were the same entity in people's minds.

the mistake wasn’t founder marketing, it was over-reliance.

the lesson: the founder's face and voice can start growth, but real marketing has to carry it long term.