Polished corporate messaging got old a long time ago, but still I see these five-paragraph essay style LinkedIn posts and tweets from companies (not people) that sound like my 8th grade teacher red pen checked them for grammar. The worst part is that once you get past the formality of it all, I still don’t know anything about who wrote it and why.

Founder-led content is generating 8x more engagement than corporate posts on LinkedIn, because people like hearing from and about people. After analyzing content performance across 120+ B2B companies in our portfolio, we've found that companies with active (and more importantly, honest) founder voices see 40% higher client retention rates and significantly shorter sales cycles.

One security client, Station70, landed three enterprise deals worth $650K+ directly attributable to their founder's unexpectedly effective analogy comparing crypto security to deodorant.

This week, I'm breaking down why authentic founder voices are consistently outperforming corporate messaging, and providing a framework you can implement without turning content creation into a second full-time job. If you've been relying on your corporate account to do the heavy lifting while competitors' founders are building personal connections with your ideal customers, this letter will be the roadmap to fixing that.

Welcome to Catalyst—your bi-weekly insights on emerging fintech and Web3 trends, a behind-the-scenes look at some of the top players in the space, and actionable strategies you can implement today. No fluff. No basic takes. Just clear insights on what's actually happening in fintech. 💻

Forwarded this email? Get Catalyst in your inbox each week.

Will’s Picks

A few things I’ve loved reading this week—

• How to strategically build and deploy social proof throughout the sales process

• The case for founder-led content

• This Strategy Drives Startup Success—Founder-Led Marketing

• Harnessing the Power of Stories in Founder-led Content

• Everything (important) I’ve learned about founder-led content

The Unexpected Power of Simple Analogies

The highest-performing content from our portfolio was a founder's simple analogy comparing crypto security to deodorant:

"Security is the deodorant of crypto. You might look great, but underneath those fancy clothes? Not so much, you probably stink."

This everyday comparison generated more qualified leads than months of technical content because it made a complex concept instantly relatable.

The 3-Layer Distribution System

To maximize impact, the most successful B2B companies we work with implement a three-layered content approach that creates a comprehensive ecosystem of messaging.

At the core is the founder account, which serves as the primary vehicle for thought leadership, industry perspectives, category creation, and sharing behind-the-scenes insights that humanize the brand.

This foundation is amplified through strategic employee advocacy, where team members extend reach through their specialized expertise and front-line experiences.

The traditional company account completes the ecosystem by handling product updates, case studies, official announcements, and resource distribution.

Each layer serves a specific purpose in the buyer's journey while maintaining narrative consistency across all channels, creating multiple entry points for potential customers to engage with your brand's story.

The 20/60/20 Formula for Content Creation

Content that converts follows a specific distribution across the marketing funnel, with each segment playing a crucial role in moving prospects toward a buying decision.

The top 20% of your content should focus on attention-grabbing elements like contrarian perspectives, bold predictions, industry paradigm shifts, and memorable analogies that capture interest and build awareness.

The middle 60%—the workhorse of your content strategy—should deliver tangible value through tactical frameworks, implementation guides, problem-solving approaches, and educational deep dives that establish your expertise and build trust.

The final 20% focuses on bottom-funnel conversion through client success stories, product innovations, feature spotlights, and implementation insights that help prospects envision working with you.

This balanced approach ensures you're capturing attention, providing value, and converting interest into action without coming across as purely promotional or self-serving.

The Weekly Content Framework

If you're going to build a sustainable founder content motion, consistency trumps volume. We recommend posting 5x weekly using this proven framework:

Monday: Contrarian Industry Perspective (MOFU)

Challenge conventional wisdom about your industry to establish thought leadership.

Tuesday: Authentic Company Story (TOFU)

Share behind-the-scenes insights or founding journey moments to build connection.

Wednesday: Strategic Framework (MOFU)

Provide actionable frameworks or methodologies that solve specific problems.

Thursday: Case Study or Feature Spotlight (BOFU)

Showcase client success or highlight product capabilities through real results.

Friday: Industry Breakdown (MOFU)

Analyze trending topics or break down complex concepts with simplified explanations.

This cadence creates rhythm for your audience while ensuring you're covering all stages of the buyer's journey.

How to Scale Without Sacrificing Authenticity

The most common objection I hear from founders is about finding the time to create content consistently without sacrificing quality. The solution just means implementing a structured content extraction system that maximizes efficiency.

This approach starts with bi-weekly strategy sessions lasting just 30-60 minutes, where focused questions mapped to funnel stages help capture your authentic perspectives on targeted industry topics. These raw insights then undergo a transformation process that converts your expertise into algorithm-optimized posts while carefully maintaining your authentic voice and perspective.

The final step involves systematic engagement amplification through strategic ICP comment targeting on potential customers, positioning on competitor content, and ensuring responses to every comment within 12 hours.

This comprehensive system typically requires only 1-2 hours of founder time per week while preserving the authenticity that makes founder content so effective in the first place.

Companies executing this framework for 90 consecutive days transform LinkedIn from a brand awareness channel to a legitimate demand generation engine.

The results we consistently see include measurable pipeline attribution increases of 40-60%, sales cycles shortening by 22% on average, and competitive win rates improving by 31% as prospects develop familiarity and trust with the founder's perspective before formal sales conversations begin.

The Real Cost of Corporate-Only Content

If you're still relying exclusively on your company account for LinkedIn content, the data shows you're operating at a significant disadvantage compared to competitors leveraging founder voices.

Corporate-only content strategies typically generate 315% less engagement than competitor founder accounts, convert at rates 270% lower than equivalent founder content, and miss out on approximately 40% of potential pipeline generation opportunity.

This performance gap translates directly to higher customer acquisition costs and longer sales cycles. In today's increasingly personal B2B marketplace, founder-led content is becoming a fundamental requirement for companies serious about cost-effective organic growth and establishing genuine connection with prospects.

Starting Your Founder Content Journey

Day 1: Content Audit

• Review past 90 days of company content

• Identify top-performing topics

• Analyze engagement patterns

Day 2-3: Framework Selection

• Choose your primary content framework

• Identify your natural storytelling strengths

• Select 3-5 core themes aligned with business goals

Day 4-5: Content Calendar Creation

• Map initial 30 days of topics

• Apply the 20/60/20 funnel distribution

• Schedule bi-weekly content extraction sessions

Day 6-7: Engagement Strategy

• Identify 50 target accounts for comment engagement

• Create response templates for common questions

• Set up monitoring systems for industry conversations