The SaaS landscape is more saturated than ever. With tens of thousands of platforms competing in every niche from productivity to cybersecurity, it’s no longer enough to have the best features or the cleanest UX. In 2025, the most valuable PR strategy for SaaS companies isn’t a polished press release or paid media—it’s the founder’s face and voice.
Yes, the “Founder-as-a-Brand” strategy is the most effective PR lever in today’s SaaS world. Not just for startups, but for mid-market platforms struggling with differentiation and even for late-stage companies seeking cultural relevance.
The Collapse of Traditional B2B PR
Let’s start with what doesn’t work anymore.
Old-school PR strategies for SaaS PR—like product press releases, executive quotes in trade publications, and roundups in tech blogs—have become background noise. They’re often SEO filler or bought coverage with little credibility. B2B readers are savvy. They know when they’re being marketed to, and they’re increasingly resistant to top-down messaging from brand accounts.
Meanwhile, attention is drifting toward people. Founders who tweet, podcast, publish, or engage in public debates are outperforming any press release or earned media hit. We’re living in an era where people follow people, not companies. SaaS companies need to stop pretending otherwise.
Founder PR: Human, Sticky, Credible
Consider how impactful a consistent founder presence is across LinkedIn, podcasts, Twitter/X, or Substack. When a founder becomes a visible expert in their vertical—sharing hard-won insights, speaking candidly about company challenges, or simply engaging with users—the brand benefits exponentially.
Let’s take real-world examples.
- Mathilde Collin (Front) built her brand around radical transparency. By publishing her internal emails and openly discussing management struggles, she didn’t just build trust—she made Front feel accessible and human.
- Jason Fried (Basecamp/37signals) has long been a polarizing but respected figure. His anti-hustle narrative, blog posts, and books made Basecamp more than software; they made it a movement.
- Tomasz Tunguz (Redpoint Ventures), while a VC, operates like a SaaS founder in his output. His deep-dive blog posts on SaaS metrics became a magnet for every SaaS operator, raising the profile of companies he works with.
The pattern is clear: in SaaS, founder-led storytelling builds more trust, visibility, and long-term differentiation than any paid placement or agency blast ever could.
Tactics That Work
Here’s what a strong founder PR initiative actually looks like in 2025:
- Weekly thought leadership on LinkedIn or Substack
Share short, tactical posts—not promotional fluff. Talk about the pain points your customers face, how your team solved internal problems, or your take on where the market is heading. - Founder podcast tours
Skip the press release for your Series B. Instead, send your founder on 10 high-reach industry podcasts. Podcasts are intimate, sticky, and long-form—the perfect channel for B2B storytelling. - Engagement > broadcast
Don’t let your founder post and ghost. The best results come from founders who reply, debate, and support other voices in their space. - Opinion columns
Founders should be submitting op-eds to TechCrunch, Fast Company, or vertical-specific outlets. Not just about their company—but about trends, culture shifts, or product philosophy. Editorial presence beats advertorial every time.
But Isn’t This Risky?
Yes. Putting your founder front-and-center comes with real risks.
They could say something controversial. They might burn out. The brand could become overly reliant on one voice.
But here’s the truth: all marketing carries risk. And the bigger risk in 2025 is sounding like everyone else.
The brands that win are those that sound and feel human. And in SaaS, that humanity often starts with the founder.
Whether you’re building an AI tool for accountants or a workflow platform for dev teams, the market doesn’t just want to hearwhat you built. They want to know why—and from whom.
If you’re still hiding your founder behind a company Twitter account and a third-party PR firm, you’re not just behind. You’re invisible.
