Unpolished & Unapologetic: Why Founder-led Visibility is Non-Negotiable

I once believed that visibility was something you earned once you were ‘ready.’ Once your product was perfect, your service was flawless, your confidence was unshakeable. Yet through life’s twists and turns, and the many chapters of growth I have experienced as a communications entrepreneur, I now know the opposite is true.

Visibility isn’t something you earn, it's something you grow into. The more you show up - raw, frayed, unpolished - the more resonance you create. That’s been my experience as a founder, a communicator, and a creative navigating an industry that still values polish over personality.

The harsh truth is, we don’t trust brands anymore. We trust people, and the brands that are winning attention, loyalty, and community? They’re led by the people who are willing to be seen - flaws and all.

I’ve worked in PR long enough to know how the games played. Every narrative is shaped to persuade, the founder so often relegated to an About page, and the brand is left to speak for itself. 

Yet, the classic public relations model is beginning to shift.

What audiences and consumers are looking for now - especially in creative and lifestyle industries - is connection. Whether you’re building a skincare brand or running a creative studio, people want to know the story behind the product. They want to feel aligned with the leader behind the business. They want to see the authentic human element embedded within the product or service they choose to invest in.

This is where founder-led visibility is vital to a business or brand, and it’s not about being loud for loud’s sake - it’s about transparency, clarity, and relatability.

Whilst I will always shout for visibility and relatability, it is almost just as important to protect and preserve boundaries. Visibility is not about laying yourself bare to the world; it’s not a chance to publicly therapise yourself, but about letting people in just enough to feel something real. To trust you, to root for you, to even sometimes envy you.

For me, that's rooted in sharing my mental health journey whilst navigating building a public relations agency in an often cut-throat industry that really waits for no one. It’s rooted in sharing the ups and downs of owning an agency, imposter syndrome, burnout, making mistakes, and the loneliness of leadership. It’s rooted in launching Uncut - a podcast for creatives and founders who are brave and bold enough to talk about the messy middle of building a business or brand that matters.

Each and every time I show up, I show up with honesty, integrity, and authenticity - and in return? People meet me with something powerful: connection. Direct messages from strangers saying, ‘I’ve felt that too.’ Opportunities that arrived because someone saw me simply being me, and thought, I trust him.

That’s what visibility does when it’s done right; it builds intimacy at scale.

Founders, however, are not infallible. One of the biggest myths I see fellow founders fall for is the idea that visibility is needed all the time, on every platform. What they often fail to realise is that presence is not the same as visibility. 

Personal views aside, in my professional opinion focus on one or two platforms that feel natural to you. For me, it’s LinkedIn and Instagram - I get the choice to write long-form pieces of thought leadership, then pivot myself to expressing my thoughts, feelings, and ideas visually. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s sustainable because that’s where the magic of visibility comes. The goal is not to burn yourself out chasing engagement or aligning yourself to algorithms - it’s to build a consistent, values-led presence that people can rely on, and more importantly, look forward to seeing and engaging with.

Visibility, as great as it can be for businesses and brands, is not for everyone. Not every founder wants to be the face of their business, which is a valid stance to take. Here’s the thing though - whether you or I like it, people are going to form impressions and opinions of us. The question is: do you want to help shape those perceptions? Or let others define them for you?

Founder visibility is not about feeding your ego, or giving a ‘humble brag.’ Founder visibility is rooted in influence and giving people a reason to care, to buy your product or use your service, and then come back for more.

You don’t need to become an influencer or a TikTok sensation, you just need to show up as you, with enough clarity and courage to let people see the person behind the brand, behind the business, behind the product.

In my view, visibility is no longer optional for leaders, it has become an inherent leadership skill - most in part because it happens regardless of whether cultivating a public personal brand is intentional or not - it has become something that just happens in a world so obsessed with the digital space.

Like with any skill, inherent or otherwise, it takes practice.

It takes courage to be consistent. It takes self-awareness to know which stories are yours to share. It takes emotional intelligence to read a room - and to know when silence is the most powerful message you can send.

Yet, when you do get it right? The results are undeniable. You attract aligned opportunities. You build trust faster. You create magnetism - not because you’re shouting the loudest, but because you’re speaking the clearest.

I truly believe the next generation of standout founders - especially in creative, beauty, fashion, and lifestyle industries - won’t just be excellent at what they do, they’ll also be visible while doing it. They’ll build in public, share behind the scenes, lead with values - not with strategic propositions.

That’s how you build not just a business - but a movement.

So, if you’re a founder reading this and feeling nervous about stepping forward: good. That means you care, that means it matters.

Start small, be consistent, and remember: your story doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be yours.

In the end, people don’t fall in love with products. They fall in love with people, and when you show up - unpolished, unapologetic, unmistakably you - you give them something to believe in.