Why every founder should be a content creator!

Erdinc Ekinci
Dec 10, 2025
13 min read

Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Here is the contradiction no founder wants to admit, most founders think traction begins after you have a product. They spend months building silently, then wonder why nobody cares. In 2025, 2026 and beyond, your value as a founder is equal to the content you put online. Not the product. Not the pitch deck. Not even your revenue. If you stay silent, you don’t just lose visibility. You lose opportunity, deal flow, talent, partnerships, and time. And here’s the resolution: Founders who become content creators generate millions of dollars in value before the first line of code is written. I’m going to show you exactly why and how, with real research, examples, and a practical roadmap.

Why me talking on this topic:

I work with founders every day across Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. I see their pitches, their struggles, their breakthroughs, and the conversations investors never say publicly. And here’s the strange pattern I’ve noticed: the founders who win are rarely the ones with the best product; they’re the ones who learn to communicate their value early and loudly. I’ve mentored hundreds of founders, run multi-country accelerator programs, built cross-border investor networks, and seen deals come together because of one thing: visibility. So when I talk about why every founder must become a content creator, it’s not theory. It’s what I watch happening in real time, every single week.

Chapter 1: The End Goal Is Always Communication

Chapter 2: Why You Can’t Escape Social Media’s Gravity

Chapter 3: Proof That Content Creators Outperform Quiet Founders

Chapter 4: Case Studies — How Content Created Billion-Dollar Outcomes

Chapter 5: You’re Not Just Building a Startup, You’re Building a Media Company

Chapter 6: Why Founders Fear Content (And Why That Has to Stop)

Chapter 7: Why Content Is a Founder’s Highest-ROI Action

Chapter 8: Practical Paths — How to Start Creating Today

Chapter 9: The Ultimate Reason Founders Must Create Content

Chapter 10: The 30-Day Challenge — From Silent to Visible Founder

Final Chapter: My Goal With This Channel and an Open Call to Collaborate

CHAPTER 1: The End Goal Is Always Communication

What is the end goal of everything you do as a founder? Clear communication of your achievement. You write a book, you publish it. You run an event, you announce it. You hit a milestone, you share it. Everything ends with distribution. Everything ends with communication. Content is simply the modern word for distribution of impact. If you don’t communicate, your achievement doesn’t exist in the eyes of the world. As Peter Drucker said: “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” And online content is how people hear you; even when you're not in the room.

CHAPTER 2: Why You Can’t Escape Social Media’s Gravity

You may think you’re not a “social media person.” But the digital world has reached a point where avoiding it doesn’t protect you from its influence. Think petroleum prices. You might not buy oil, but everything in your home costs 10% more when oil rises. Social media works the same way. Whether you post or not, the online world shapes the value of your brand, startup, opportunities, and even your hiring ability. Harvard Business Review found that 64% of early-stage deals involve some form of online signal evaluation: founder presence, clarity of communication, and perceived influence. If you’re silent, people fill the silence with assumptions. And assumptions never help founders.

CHAPTER 3: Proof; Content Creators Outperform Quiet Founders

Let’s look at research: Stanford published a study showing that founders with active online content presence are 2.5x more likely to raise capital, even controlling for traction and revenue. Why? Because content builds: Trust at scale. Consistency. Proof of thought leadership. Social validation. Founder-market fit. McKinsey found that buyers trust founders who “show their thinking publicly.” Content is simply the new due diligence. You can fight this, or you can leverage it. You can hate, or you can love this reality but you can it ignore it. You are either a content consumer or producer. Content Is Traction Before the Product Exists: Most founders wait until they have traction to communicate, but the smart ones communicate to create traction. A single video can do what months of cold outreach cannot. A simple breakdown or story can reach a decision-maker who normally sits behind layers of gatekeepers. And a consistent publishing habit builds the kind of ambient trust that accelerates hiring, partnerships, and fundraising. You speak once, and value compounds forever. No other entrepreneurial activity gives you this level of leverage.

CHAPTER 4: Example of Content Creates Multi-Million-Dollar Value

CATEGORY 1: ENTREPRENEURS WHO TURNED CONTENT INTO EMPIRES

1. High-Volume Personal Brands → Multi-Million Dollar Companies

Gary Vaynerchuk — VaynerX/VaynerMedia ($300M+ rev, net worth ~$200M)Gary grew from a small wine YouTuber into a global marketing mogul by producing thousands of raw videos. His channels now reach 10M+ followers across platforms, powering his 2,000-employee agency group generating over $300M in annual revenue, proving that a founder with media leverage can build a corporate empire faster than traditional sales.

Alex Hormozi — Acquisition.com ($200M+ portfolio, net worth ~$100M)Hormozi uses long-form education content to dominate business YouTube with 2.3M subscribers and billions of impressions. His philosophy of giving away everything for free built trust that fuels Acquisition.com, which now manages over $200M+ in portfolio value. His content is the front door to every deal he signs.

Patrick Bet-David — Valuetainment & PHP Agency (agency revenue $400M+, net worth ~$450M)PBD’s Valuetainment channel has 4M+ subscribers, and his charismatic interviews and business storytelling created a cultural brand that funneled talent and clients straight into PHP Agency, which scaled to 400,000 agents before exit. His YouTube presence is arguably the most successful “content → recruiting → empire” model in entrepreneurship.

Sam Parr — The Hustle ($27M exit, net worth ~$12M)Sam grew The Hustle into a 1.5M-subscriber business newsletter, sold it to HubSpot for $27M, and now runs one of the top business podcasts “My First Million” with 2M+ listeners per month. Every new company he launches has instant distribution because of his content footprint.

2. Educator-Founders → Media-Driven Product Launch Machines

Ali Abdaal — Creator → $5M/yr Education Business (net worth ~$8–12M)Ali’s YouTube channel has 5M+ subscribers, and his honest, practical teaching built a $5M+/year online course and productivity empire. His content gave him the leverage to become a bestselling author and launch products that sell instantly through trust alone.

Alex Lieberman — Morning Brew ($75M acquisition, net worth ~$30M)Alex grew Morning Brew to 4M+ daily email subscribers by making business news fun and digestible. The content-led growth led to a $75M acquisition by Insider. His content-first philosophy now powers his new venture fund and multiple media spinoffs.

Sahil Bloom — $10M+ Investment Syndicate (net worth ~$20M)Sahil scaled from zero followers to 1.5M+ on X/Twitter in under three years by writing viral business frameworks. That audience now drives a $10M+ investment syndicate, coaching businesses, and product launches that sell out instantly. His brand is the source of every professional opportunity.

3. Product Founders → Content-Engineered Explosive Growth

Ben Francis — Gymshark ($1.2B valuation, net worth ~$1B)Ben documented Gymshark from zero on YouTube and IG, building a tribe that helped Gymshark reach $1.2B valuation by age 28. His authenticity gave the brand instant influence among fitness creators worldwide.

Nathan Barry — ConvertKit ($50M+ ARR, net worth ~$10M)Nathan publicly shared every failure and milestone as he built ConvertKit into a $50M+ ARR bootstrapped SaaS, earning trust from creators and turning transparency into a growth engine.

Rand Fishkin — Moz ($45M rev) & SparkToro (net worth ~$20M)Rand’s “Whiteboard Friday” series built Moz into a $45M/year SEO giant and made him the most recognizable educator in SEO. That content credibility later powered SparkToro’s hyper-loyal customer base.

Aaron Patzer — Mint.com ($170M acquisition, net worth ~$100M+)Patzer built a personal finance blog that attracted hundreds of thousands of readers pre-launch. That content-first GTM helped Mint scale fast and sell to Intuit for $170M—one of the most famous content-driven exits.

Noah Kagan — AppSumo ($80M+/yr revenue, net worth ~$45M)Noah’s YouTube channel (1.5M subs) and transparent “build in public” content help AppSumo grow to $80M+ revenue, all without traditional ads. Content is literally his primary acquisition channel.

John Hu — Stan Store ($25M+ creator commerce GMV, net worth ~$10M)John grew Stan Store through TikTok-style educational content, reaching millions of creators and driving tens of thousands of active sellers. His videos turned Stan into the go-to monetization tool for modern creators.

Bryan Johnson — Blueprint ($100M+ ecosystem, net worth ~$400M)Bryan’s radical transparency around longevity (millions of views weekly) made him the most visible figure in anti-aging tech. Blueprint and Kernel benefit from his global media reach, effectively turning content into scientific influence.

CATEGORY 2 — VENTURE CAPITALISTS WHO BUILT DEALFLOW THROUGH CONTENT

1. Global VC Titans Using Media as Their Moat

Harry Stebbings — 20VC ($800M+ raised, net worth ~$50M+)Harry’s podcast 20VC has over 100M+ downloads, giving him unmatched access to top founders and LPs. His media brand directly enabled him to raise $800M+ across funds. No VC in history built a fund this big from a microphone.

Chamath Palihapitiya — Social Capital (net worth ~$1.2B)Chamath’s podcast appearances, interviews, and contrarian takes made him one of the most influential voices in venture. His media presence helped Social Capital source global founders and LPs based on intellectual conviction, not cold outreach.

Marc Andreessen — a16z (firm valuation $20B+, personal net worth ~$1.7B)Marc’s era-defining essays and a16z’s massive media arm (podcasts, videos, blogs) turned the firm into a content powerhouse. Their YouTube channel and editorial machine attract founders before fundraising even begins.

Jason Calacanis — Angel + LAUNCH (net worth ~$120M)Jason’s “This Week in Startups” has 150M+ cumulative views and is responsible for much of his early access to Uber, Robinhood, and Calm. His entire investment career is built on media-driven inbound dealflow.

Alexis Ohanian — 776 Fund (net worth ~$70M)The Reddit co-founder uses YouTube, short-form video, and storytelling to be the most “relatable” VC in the space. His content builds founder trust globally, powering 776’s brand and portfolio.

CHAPTER 5: The Founder as a Media Company

This is the shift: You’re not just building a startup. You’re building a media engine that makes your startup possible. Think of yourself in two layers:

Media Layer: You talk, share, teach, show your journey.
Startup Layer: You plug offers, products, and opportunities into the attention created.

When you operate in this structure, you no longer chase investors, customers, or partners. They chase you. Because you’re visible. Because you’re consistent. Because you are the source of value — not the audience.

The Ultimate Shift: You’re Not Just Building a Product; You’re Building a Narrative

If you’re building a startup today, you must understand that you are building two things simultaneously: a product and a story. One solves a problem. The other opens the doors. The market rewards founders who communicate, who show their thinking, and who let their expertise live publicly. Because attention now moves faster than capital. And clarity is becoming a more valuable signal than even traction. Content is simply the new price of admission.

CHAPTER 6: Why Founders Fear Content (And Why They Must Stop) - Influence Is Infrastructure

Founders say: “I don’t have time.” But you have time for bad fundraising cycles? Time for hiring struggles? Time for cold outreach hell? Founders say: “I’m not good at content.” You weren’t good at pitching either until you practiced. Founders say: “I don’t know what to say.” But you literally solve problems every day. That’s content. Everything in your daily work is a story. You’re sitting on a goldmine of insights. But you don’t share them. So the market thinks you're invisible. That is why you need a mind set shift The New Reality: Influence Is Infrastructure The biggest shift founders still underestimate is that content is no longer “marketing.” It’s the operating system behind modern opportunity. The strongest founders today—across every industry—scale because people understand how they think, how they execute, and what they stand for. Trust is built publicly, not privately. When your ideas, lessons, and frameworks live online, people discover you before you ever reach out. Investors know your philosophy before a meeting. Customers trust you before a demo. Partners approach you pre-aligned. Influence becomes infrastructure

CHAPTER 7: Content Is a Founder’s Highest-ROI Action

Content multiplies.

One post can:

Attract a co-founder
Bring a customer
Trigger a partnership
Land a speaking gig
Get you inbound investor interest
Build trust for years

It is asymmetric leverage.You do it once.It works forever.

There is no other activity in a startup with that kind of ROI.

CHAPTER 8: Million-Dollar Examples You Can Copy

Here are practical paths any founder can take:

1. Document, don’t create.Turn daily work into posts.Your standups, mistakes, progress.

2. Teach your market.If your target is CFOs, talk about CFO problems.Become their favorite teacher.

3. Distribute your wins.Every milestone?Package it into a story.

4. Build a newsletter.The most undervalued asset in modern startups.

5. Collaborate with bigger creators.Borrow authority.Borrow attention.

Most founders are one collaboration away from doubling their pipeline.

CHAPTER 9: The Ultimate Reason Founders Must Create Content

Because if you don’t tell your story, someone else will; and they won’t tell it the way you want. Silence is not neutral. Silence is surrender. Content is not about vanity. It is about survival. It is about leverage. It is about building demand before you build product. Every successful founder eventually becomes a storyteller. You can start early, or you can start late; but you will start. The Simple Truth: Founders Who Publish Win: In 2025 and beyond, the founders who publish consistently will outperform the founders who stay silent. Not because they’re louder, but because they’re understood. Not because they’re influencers, but because they’re trusted. Content has become the new infrastructure of entrepreneurship, and the ones who embrace it early will build the next generation of companies, deals, and ecosystems; exactly the direction we’re scaling toward right now.

CHAPTER 10: The Final Arguments — And The Challenge to Every Founder

You are already a content creator. You just don’t publish. Your emails are content. Your pitch deck is content. Your product updates are content. Your internal explanations to the team are content. The only difference is scale. Publishing multiplies everything. So here is the final challenge: In the next 30 days, publish daily. Short. Simple. Honest. Document your journey. Teach something you solved today. Your future partners, investors, customers, and opportunities are watching — even if you can’t see them. You don’t have to go viral. You just have to be visible.

Visibility Beats Secrecy in a Fast-Moving World

The founders who document, teach, narrate, and share their thoughts publicly build reputational gravity. They don’t chase opportunities; opportunities orbit them. Their brand travels faster than they do. Their content acts as the warm introduction, the credibility check, and the first pitch. You don’t need millions of followers. You just need the right people to see your clarity. Silence is no longer strategic; it’s invisible. And invisible founders lose by default.

My Goal with this channel and an collab call for everyone

Most creators think you need huge numbers before you have real influence. The truth is the opposite: if your work is rooted in real execution, trust grows long before the algorithm notices. Let me show you how I built a multi-country founder-education engine, a trusted YouTube platform, and a deal-making presence across Asia before scaling; and why this is the moment for brands and collaborators to partner with me.

The Brand: Content Built in the Trenches: My content blends entrepreneurship, deal-making, global expansion, and founder psychology; all coming directly from my daily work with startups and investors in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Nothing is hypothetical. Every video reflects real conversations, real mentoring, real investments, and real ecosystem problems founders face. That’s why even with a small subscriber base, the cross-platform reach already generates more than 400,000 annual impressions. This channel has been in value-first mode; now we enter the growth phase.

The English-Fluent Asia TAM: Asia is experiencing a surge in English-fluent professionals, driven by global hiring, education reforms, and cross-border mobility. Research shows roughly 270 million people in Asia are fluent or near-fluent in English. About 10% of them actively follow business, entrepreneurship, and self-growth creators; meaning my addressable audience sits around 27 million. This niche represents a $200–500M market when you combine education, tools, SaaS, and creator-led business ecosystems. And it’s still massively underserved.

Founder Institute Japan / Korea / Taiwan — The YouTube Engine: Under my leadership, Founder Institute became one of the only ecosystems in Asia using YouTube as a skill-building engine, not a PR channel. Weekly pitch workshops, AMA sessions with VCs and CVCs, real founder practice, and open, transparent mentoring. Tens of thousands of founders across Asia watch these videos to improve storytelling, fundraising, traction, and clarity. This consistency has turned FI’s presence into a high-trust “open university” for founders—long before they ever join our programs.

My Channel: Real Deal-Making, Real Coaching: My personal channel expands the story: real pitch breakdowns, founder coaching, cross-border insights, and the psychological patterns investors look for. I show what usually stays behind closed doors; why founders get funded, why deals fall apart, and how investors actually think. This builds trust quickly: stronger inbound dealflow, better founders entering FI, and deeper relationships with CVCs, VCs, accelerators, and innovators across Asia. The content works because it’s honest, tactical, and grounded in real execution.

Why Now Is the Moment for Partnerships: We are entering the scale-up year. The systems are built, the ecosystem trust is established, and the audience is growing. Partnering now means tapping into a multi-country community; Japan, Korea, Taiwan—while getting early, long-term positioning. Productivity tools, SaaS products, startup platforms, travel brands, finance apps, VC/CVC programs; these fit perfectly with an audience of founders, operators, and high-intent professionals. Early partners gain both visibility and credibility inside a niche that’s expanding fast.

Closing Message: This is more than a YouTube channel. It’s a real ecosystem bridge connecting founders, investors, and global opportunities across Asia. It’s a value engine for people who want clarity, growth, and execution. And it’s the foundation for something much bigger as we move into the next phase. If you’re watching this now, you’re early—and that’s the best place to be.

Conclusion

You don’t need to be an influencer. You don’t need perfect lighting, editing, or millions of followers. You just need to stop building in the dark. In 2025 and beyond, the founders who win are the ones who let the market see how they think, how they execute, and what they stand for; long before the product is perfect.

If you remember one thing from this episode, let it be this: every email, every deck, every internal explanation is already content. The only difference is scale. Hit publish. Share what you’re learning. Teach what you’re doing. Document the journey. The right people are already out there, waiting to discover you; they just need something to find.