Four Powerful examples of founder-led marketing in tech

Four Powerful examples of founder-led marketing in tech

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This week we’re quoting Prince (Singer and Multi-instrumentalist, with over 100 million records sold worldwide)

What Prince said: 

“To create something from nothing is one of the greatest feelings, and I would - I don't know, I wish it upon everybody.” 

Hold on…why are we quoting Prince? 

We know – we usually bring you quotes from tech industry leaders, innovators and activists…not famous musicians. 

But this week, we wrote a blog post about founder-led marketing. And we couldn’t get these words from Prince out of our heads. 

Because founders do create something from nothing. And when they throw themselves head-first into founder-led marketing, they take that something from nothing, and they show you how they did it – which inspires more people to take the leap and bring their ideas to life. 

(By the way, in this email we’re also going to share a few exciting new details about LEAP 2025. If you’re just here for that information, you can skip to the bottom of the newsletter NOW.) 

We know you need real examples 

We included a few examples on the blog of tech leaders who are driving success for their businesses by putting themselves front-and-centre of their marketing strategy. 

But we know you need more. So to drive that inspiration home, here are four powerful examples of founder-led marketing in tech. Add these to your swipe file – the place you keep inspiration that will help you grow your own tech company. 

1.  Steve Jobs’ ‘Stevenotes’

Remember ‘Stevenotes’? They were the product launch presentations Steve Jobs gave to the world – and they became legendary events, generating immense excitement around every new launch from the company. 

He had a talent for storytelling, and knew how to build the audience up to a dramatic reveal

2. Adam Robinson at RB2B

Far lesser known than Steve Jobs, Adam has used his personal LinkedIn profile to drive growth for his SaaS company. In under two years, he went from zero to 80,000+ followers on LinkedIn, and he’s taken his business from nothing to over USD $20 million in annual recurring revenue. 

How did he do it? He embraced the concept of ‘building in public’, and shared his business growth journey openly and unashamedly – including actual revenue figures and the internal processes that have got him there. 

3. Tyler Denk at beehiiv 

Another SaaS company smashing it on social media is Beehiiv – and the company’s success is largely down to its Co-Founder, Tyler Denk. 

Tyler doesn’t just post on LinkedIn. He engages on LinkedIn; commenting on other people’s posts about the company, taking audience ideas on board, and actively feeding social media interactions into the company’s product development strategy. 

That engagement is an element of founder-led market that’s often overlooked. But it shouldn’t be. Posting content is one thing, but having conversations takes your strategy to the next level. 

4. Jimmy Kim at Sendlane 

Also in the SaaS space, Sendlane is all about bringing the customer’s tech stack back to a place of simplicity and control. And its founder emphasises the value of this by actively deploying a ‘beef marketing’ strategy – positioning Sendlane against Klaviyo, a much larger competitor. 

By openly comparing to (and even criticising) Klaviyo, Jimmy has been able to drive a high level of engagement on his social posts, particularly on LinkedIn and X. 

What do all these founder-led marketing strategies have in common?

Each of these founders did it in their own way – integrating their own personality and personal goals into their tech company’s marketing strategy. 

But there are some common factors you can learn from: 

  • LinkedIn is a powerful platform for B2B tech founders who want to leverage founder-led marketing.
  • Be relentless. Don’t stop posting, don’t give up. You don’t have to post five times a week, but you do need to show up regularly.
  • Have an angle. Often, founders worry about being too repetitive on social media – so they don’t talk about the same thing over and over again. But the most successful founder-led marketers do talk about the same topic repeatedly. If it drives engagement, then people want to hear about it – so keep talking about it.
  • Don’t try to make your content appealing to everyone. Make it specific and targeted at the audience you want to attract. Don’t worry about being liked – aim to be effective instead. 

Not sure where to start with founder-led marketing? 

Read our blog post now and begin building your strategy: How to leverage founder-led marketing for your tech company. 

Have an idea for a topic you'd like us to cover? We're eager to hear it! Drop us a message and share your thoughts.

Catch you next week,
Richard McKeon
Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Tahaluf

Mark your calendars for 📅 9-12 February 2025.