I find myself turning into a Founder Whisperer and that is fulfilling

When a founder walks into my office to discuss their marketing and growth plans, I can read the signs before they even speak. The subtle tension in their shoulders from their last board meeting. The eager glint in their eyes from their recent product breakthrough. The slight hesitation when discussing marketing budgets. I notice these things not because I’m particularly observant, but because I’ve been in their shoes.

You see, I’m not just a marketing consultant – I’m a founder myself, building and scaling my own consulting company while helping others grow theirs. Every day, I walk the same path as my clients, making the tough calls that come with running a business. This isn’t about experience; it’s about being in the trenches alongside them. I’ve sat across from marketing agencies myself, nodding along to impressive presentations while secretly wondering if they truly understood what it meant to build something from nothing. Did they know what it felt like to make decisions that could make or break your company? Had they ever had to choose between hiring a key employee or investing in that promising marketing channel? These aren’t hypothetical questions for me – they’re part of my daily reality as a founder.

Traditional marketing agencies offer excellent technical expertise – they know their CAC from their LTV, their SEO from their PPC. But what founders often miss in these relationships is the unspoken understanding that comes from shared experience. It’s the difference between getting advice from someone who’s studied the game and someone who’s played it.

This isn’t just about empathy; it’s about effectiveness. When I work with founders, we speak the same language. We can skip the corporate pleasantries and dive straight into what matters. I can tell them, “I know exactly what you’re trying to achieve here” – and mean it. Because chances are, I’ve tried to achieve the same thing myself.

The best part? When I suggest a marketing strategy, it comes from a place of practical experience. I’m not just sharing what I’ve read or what worked for some distant case study. I’m sharing what I’ve personally tested, failed at, refined, and eventually succeeded with. Every recommendation is filtered through the lens of someone who has had their own skin in the game.

Just recently I was sitting with the founder of a $50 million tech company. We started discussing their marketing challenges, but our conversation naturally evolved into something deeper. They opened up about the complexities of building a diverse business – the delicate balance of maintaining the right organizational mix while creating inclusive policies that work for everyone.

What struck me most wasn’t the content of our conversation, but rather why it was happening at all. Here was a successful founder, sharing sensitive organizational challenges with their marketing partner. When I reflected on it later, I realized – this wasn’t just a client meeting anymore. It had transformed into a founder-to-founder conversation, where marketing challenges were just one part of a larger dialogue about building and scaling companies.

These broader conversations aren’t just casual chats – they’re golden insights that shape how I approach their marketing strategy. When that same founder shared their challenges about organizational diversity, it completely reframed how we approached their talent acquisition marketing. We pivoted from standard recruitment campaigns to storytelling that authentically showcased their commitment to building an inclusive workplace. The message resonated deeper because it came from understanding their real struggles and aspirations, not just their hiring targets.

This is what makes the founder whisperer relationship unique. Our conversations rarely stay within the rigid boundaries of marketing metrics and campaign strategies. They naturally flow into broader territories – organizational design, culture building, leadership challenges – because founders know they’re talking to someone who understands that business challenges don’t exist in silos. These conversations become a safe space where founders can voice their real concerns, beyond just the immediate marketing problems. They know they’re speaking with someone who won’t judge them for having incomplete answers or complex challenges.

In today’s crowded market, founders need more than just marketing expertise. They need a partner who can whisper back to their entrepreneurial spirit, who can translate their vision into reality, and who understands the weight of the decisions they face. They need someone who’s not just a marketing expert, but a fellow traveler on the founder’s journey.

Because at the end of the day, who better to guide you through the challenges of growing your business than someone who has successfully navigated those same waters?

If you are founder feeling stuck in your growth journey, reach out to me. I am always happy to have a chat.

Storyteller