There’s a reason audiences stop scrolling when a founder speaks on camera. Think of the hold Elon Musk has in the X space, or how Steve Jobs used to get a ton of traction from viewers. The video marketing arena is flooded with scripted ads and generic messaging. When founder-led videos enter, they connect and convert.

The idea behind these videos isn't to chase virality or impress peers. Instead, founders who've successfully used video build a content engine that supports their sales funnel. Since the founders themselves are a part of the content, there's more credibility to whatever is being said.

If you’re working with a video marketing agency or planning to invest in a video production company, this is the strategy that makes every other video work harder. Especially for brands in competitive markets like Chicago, where standing out is half the battle, founder-led content might be the most strategic move you can make.

Let's look at why founder-led videos may just be the code to marketing success for B2B and B2C brands.

People Trust Faces, Not Logos

It's in human nature for us to connect with people rather than branding. From infancy, we’re wired to read faces and detect sincerity in tone and expression. That wiring doesn’t switch off in the buying process.

When a founder speaks directly to the camera, unscripted, unrehearsed, even a little imperfect, it triggers a basic psychological response: trust.

Logos signal an organization. Faces signal accountability. People want to buy from those they feel they know, and founder-led video taps directly into that instinct.

Take Daniel Lubetzky, founder of KIND Snacks. He frequently appeared in product videos and interviews explaining his mission to make healthier snacks without compromising on taste. For example, in this video, he explains how he built the brand.

Even his personal YouTube page is primarily dedicated to his brand. He's covered pretty much everything you'd want to know about his product. For example, he even explains where the name came from.

Even in B2B, this principle holds. Chris Ronzio of Trainual regularly uses founder-led content to talk through product updates and customer wins. It’s not polished, but it’s persuasive. And that's part of the reason it converts.

He has gone on multiple podcasts to share his story and what the brand stands for.

Similarly, he shares business tips to establish himself as a thought leader. Then, he pitches his platform as a solution for these businesses, which ultimately gets Trainual exposure.

When a founder shows up in a video, talking about why the company exists, the problem it’s solving, or what’s next, they’re putting their name, face, and reputation on the line. That sense of accountability builds confidence and rapport faster than any corporate video script ever could.

Founder-Led Content Builds Emotional Connection and Authority

Founder-led video content works because it speaks to two core needs in any buyer: the need to connect and the need to trust expertise. Emotionally, seeing a founder explain their company’s mission, product, or process activates a sense of personal connection. In fact, 82% of consumers trust a company more if its executives are active in online spaces.

There’s also the authority factor. When a founder discusses their product in a video, they signal ownership and deep product knowledge. That builds credibility.

It’s why founder-led explainer video company projects tend to convert more viewers into qualified leads. They're not hearing from a hired spokesperson but directly from the source.

The same approach works across industries. In SaaS, founders like Rand Fishkin (Moz, SparkToro) and Guillaume Moubeche (Lempire) routinely produce videos that break down marketing trends, product updates, and growth strategies.

These videos rely on insight and consistency rather than production value. So, they eventually built trust with the audience.

For B2C brands, the pattern holds. Video marketing agencies working with ecommerce companies can see higher engagement and return on ad spend from the founder version since these videos are more believable as they feel less like a pitch and more like a conversation.

It’s the Fastest Way to Differentiate in Crowded Verticals

Most brands sound the same in a saturated market since many of them offer similar features and use the same ad formats. Founder-led video breaks that pattern. It puts a real person in front of the brand, which makes the message harder to ignore and easier to remember.

In verticals like SaaS, e-commerce, wellness, or professional services, where every company claims to be innovative or customer-focused, customers look for that one differentiator. They need a signal that the brand is thinking differently and knows what it’s doing. A founder who can articulate a clear point of view on video instantly sets their business apart.

Ben Francis, founder of Gymshark, is a good example of a founder assisting his brand in marketing. He often appears in content detailing product drops, business updates, and behind-the-scenes decisions.

He even shares videos from new product drops on his Instagram page. That direct-to-consumer transparency helped Gymshark cut through in a highly competitive fitness apparel market.

If you're working with a video production company Chicago or planning full-funnel campaigns, make sure founder-led videos are a part of your strategy. No explainer video or brand ad will stand out as quickly as a founder with a clear message. 

Use Cases for Founder-Led Video in B2B and B2C

The practical execution of founder-led videos across the customer journey is what makes it effective. Here's how businesses are using it to drive outcomes.

B2B Use Cases for Founder-Led Video

In B2B, founder-led videos build trust and drive conversations. They also shorten the sales cycle since consumers hear from a trusted source. Some types of B2B videos founders can create include the following.

Thought Leadership Content

B2B buyers research extensively before reaching out. Founder-led thought leadership gives them reasons to trust you early.

Videos that break down market trends, share frameworks, or discuss real customer problems signal authority and relevance. When done consistently, they position the founder as a subject-matter expert.

For example, Chris Walker of Refine Labs built demand by regularly posting short videos explaining B2B marketing concepts and tips. These weren’t high-production clips; they were screen-recorded insights. The approach led to inbound interest from top-tier clients.

Video marketing agencies can help founders plan a content system around recurring topics. This way, your content drops are not sporadic.

LinkedIn Video Clips

Short founder clips on LinkedIn outperform branded graphics and stock-heavy posts. They carry more weight because the platform favors authentic, expert-led content. A founder speaking directly to a known customer challenge or industry shift gets watched, saved, and shared.

Rand Fishkin is an excellent example here. He's usually the first to jump on new SEO trends and share them on Instagram.

A video production agency Chicago working with SaaS companies can repurpose a 10-minute video into 4 to 5 short-form clips tailored for LinkedIn and YouTube Shorts. These videos can support top-of-funnel attention for the brand.

Sales Follow-Up Videos

Sales teams often rely on decks or case study PDFs to move leads forward. You can replace (or supplement) these with personalized founder videos to increase engagement. A 60 to 90 second video where the founder acknowledges a client’s challenge and briefly recaps how your solution helps adds a layer of trust.

Many B2B video marketing agencies now offer founder-led nurture video packages, where several generic yet targeted clips can be reused across verticals and buyer stages.

B2C Use Cases for Founder-Led Video

In B2C video production, the content helps make your brand feel more personal and relatable. If the founder is in the video, the video will be memorable, too. The following types of B2C founder videos typically hit the mark.

Product Storytelling

Founder-led videos give context to products and explain the why behind them without relying on heavy branding. These product videos are particularly effective on landing pages and in paid ads.

For example, Angelo Keely, founder of Kion, appears in videos talking about the science and personal motivation behind his supplements. His direct storytelling outperforms actor-led campaigns and allows him to educate while converting.

Ecommerce brands using a commercial video production partner can replace or complement explainer animations with founder-led storytelling. Such videos are highly effective when launching new products that require explanation or trust-building.

Launch Announcements

When a founder introduces a product launch directly, it signals confidence. These videos tend to outperform stylized product trailers because they blend explanation with emotional investment. Mark Zuckerberg does this with Meta's new products, such as this video for Meta Connect.

Founders can cover what’s new and what problem it solves. Brands using video content systems for business often pre-record a batch of founder launch videos to plug into email campaigns and product pages.

Behind-the-Scenes (BTS) for Social

Audiences want to see how products are made, who makes them, and how decisions are made. Founder-led BTS videos build authenticity and keep followers engaged between product launches.

For brands working with a video production company, low-lift BTS content doesn't require a studio shoot. A hybrid setup with a professional audio and phone camera can keep costs low while producing engaging social media content.

Examples of Founders Who Scaled Through Video

Some of the most successful modern founders have used video as a core part of their growth strategy. Here are some examples to take inspiration from.

Eric Siu (Single Grain)

Eric Siu used founder-led content to grow Single Grain from a struggling SEO agency into a multi-million dollar marketing company. His daily video podcast Marketing School, co-hosted with Neil Patel, gave him constant exposure to decision-makers.

Similarly, his YouTube videos on SaaS marketing and business growth directly feed his agency’s lead pipeline. These videos are informative and founder-led, which makes them credible to B2B buyers.

Gary Vaynerchuk (VaynerMedia)

Gary Vee built his personal brand and VaynerMedia’s on relentless video output. From Wine Library TV to keynote clips and raw daily vlogs, his face was the funnel.

Clients didn’t buy from VaynerMedia because of a pitch deck. They reached out because they’d watched hours of Gary talk about marketing, sales, and execution. His model proves that frequency and directness often matter more than production quality.

Emily Weiss (Glossier)

Before Glossier launched, Emily Weiss used her blog Into The Gloss and early video content to build credibility and gather direct customer feedback. When she started appearing on camera and sharing her product philosophy, talking about skincare routines, and involving her audience in decisions, it made Glossier feel accessible. As a result, it created a customer base that trusted the founder as much as the product.

These founders didn’t rely on traditional commercial video production to get attention. Instead, they built full funnel visibility by showing up consistently with useful insights. Each video added credibility and made their brands feel more personal.

Grow Your Business With Founder-Led Video Content

If you're serious about building trust and standing out in a saturated market, founder-led video can help a lot in this process. It gives your audience a real reason to listen and a real person to trust.

With a video production company by your side, this content can become a long-term asset that you can use across paid ads, social media, landing pages, sales outreach, and investor decks. One shoot can yield months of high-impact content.

INDIRAP works with founders to make that happen. We help you script, film, and systemize a content engine around your voice, your point of view, and your revenue goals. Want your audience to see the person behind the brand? Book a free, no-obligation Discovery Call today!