Capital is plentiful; trust and access are not. An investor's personal brand decides which rooms they are invited into and which deals find them first.
The Manifesto names the investor directly among the people who build a personal brand for money: the young investor who wants better deals can use a personal brand to get into rooms with decision makers. A known name with a clear point of view makes you the investor founders seek out instead of one they are pitched to by chance.
Investors also carry unusual leverage risk. A public image of success that does not match reality, or an endorsement given too freely, can undo years of trust. Credibility is the asset.
The young investor that would like to land better deals can use their personal brand to get into rooms with decision makers.
Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition, 1.7
Most investors are known within one network or city. The State Representative, recognized across a region or a sector, is where inbound deal flow tends to change.
Where most stand: Tier 3, The Local HeroBuild toward: Tier 4, The State Representative
The tier measures how large a position is. How good it is, is measured by The Five Personal Brand Pillars. Read more about the six tiers.
The moves MCG starts with for investors and fund managers, grouped by pillar, in order. Each one cites the subchapter of Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence it comes from.
Advice Isaac Mashman has given on his own shows and in interviews that applies to investors and fund managers, from the same library MCG consultants work from. Each one keeps the words he said it in, and links to the transcript where there is one.
Before every important meeting, pitch, or event, dress a level above what you think is required: clean, groomed, well fitted.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“if you're going into a business meeting and you're dressed like a slouch”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “Dress The Part”, June 14, 2021
Share your knowledge openly without tying every piece to a sale. Plan on a twenty year horizon in which relationships built today pay off in ways you cannot predict.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“i'm going into this with more of a 20 year plan”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “The Future of My Brand and Chase the Vision Podcast”, August 18, 2020
Before you accept a sponsor or affiliate, ask whether you want your name attached to theirs for good. Prefer brands that fit what you are already known for.
“you're given a little bit of your brand equity away”
Unrivaled Results with Mashman Ventures, “UNRIVALED: Personal Branding Training”, April 13, 2022
Collect your accolades, results, and recognitions in one place and feature the best of them where people first find you.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“shine that spotlight on the individual”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “What Is Public Relations”, April 18, 2022
All consumed media educates, entertains, inspires, or connects. The Skyline Strategy asks for two pieces about your work for every one about your life. Here is one of each, for each purpose.
| Purpose | Brand Post | Personal Post |
|---|---|---|
| EducateTeach something useful. | What you look for in the first five minutes of a pitch. | What you read every weekend. |
| EntertainMake it enjoyable to follow you. | The most creative pitch you ever saw. | The worst investment you made outside of work. |
| InspireShow what is possible. | A founder who came back from the edge. | Why you started investing. |
| ConnectGive people a reason to reply. | Introduce a founder you back and what they are building. | Ask founders what they wish investors understood. |
Draw a Week
Two posts about your work, one about your life, drawn from the ideas above.
Plan the ratio with the free Skyline Planner (opens in a new tab).
The Manifesto warns about the business guru who rents a car to look wealthy. When the truth comes out, the trust goes with it.
Every public endorsement of a founder or product extends your good faith. Do the due diligence first.
If founders cannot learn what you invest in and why, they cannot bring you the right deals.
Twenty-five questions, about seven minutes, free. Choose Investor / Fund Manager on the intake and the audit scores all five pillars, places you on The Hierarchy of Personal Branding, and returns the three moves that would raise your score most, each traced to the subchapter it comes from.
Every investor already has a personal brand; founders and co-investors form an impression either way. Building it on purpose is how you become the investor the right founders seek out and get into rooms with decision makers. A known name with a clear thesis attracts deal flow.
Your thesis, how you think about decisions, and lessons from deals, with the human side mixed in so people know who they would be working with.
Leverage: a public image that overstates reality, or endorsements given without due diligence.
Your company has a brand. So do you, and the two should grow together. A founder's personal brand opens doors the company cannot open alone.
In finance, trust is the product. A personal brand is how a client decides to trust you with their money before they have ever met you.
More executives are becoming the public face of their companies. The ones who do it well build a presence before a crisis or a stock price asks them to.
To be a public figure is to be watched. As your efforts pay off, the people who hold leverage over you, and what they could do with it, matter more.
Every endorsement is an extension of your good faith and your influence. Research before you attach your name to anyone or anything.
Follower counts only get you so far. What matters more is how much the people who follow you trust you.
Engagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter. Tell us who you are, what you are building, and the position you intend to hold.
