How to grow your personal brand in 30 minutes? |

Can you build a personal brand without turning your entire life into content? Or are we all just caught in an endless cycle of oversharing, chasing trends, and competing with celebrity brands?

Lesson #1 is all about The Business of Being Seen - what it really takes to stand out as a founder. We’re breaking down the real cost of personal branding—the time, money, and mental energy it demands. What does it take to build a brand that actually connects with people, beyond just LinkedIn marketing and viral trends? And for women founders, navigating negative comments isn’t just frustrating—it’s part of the game. So how do you handle it and still show up?

We’re taking notes from Masaba Gupta, Pooja Dhingra, Ragini Das, and Parul Gulati, who’ve mastered the game. From how to build a personal brand to steps to branding your business, this episode is your guide to making an impact, without losing yourself in the process.

Our guest, Komal Ramani-Makhija is a Brand Strategist helping founders craft their legacy brand. As the Founder of PROJEKT, she specializes in Brand Strategy, Logo Design, Brand Identity & Packaging. In the past two years, she has built a strong personal brand and engaged community of 15,000+ followers on LinkedIn. When she’s not building brands, she’s exploring new coffee spots to unwind and read.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:56 Why does a founder need brand values?
05:07 How can a founder create brand touchpoints?
08:01 What is immersive branding?
09:32 How to be private while building a personal brand?
10:47 Inspirational Women Personal Brands
12:23 Has personal branding become overcrowded?
13:55 The scary truth for women building personal brands
15:32 What is ROI on personal branding?
17:34 What type of content works on LinkedIn?
19:35 Is personal branding self promotion?
20:31 How do community-led personal brands work?
22:26 How can founders compete with celebrity-led brands?
23:57 Why is networking important for brand building?
27:09 LinkedIn or Instagram for personal branding?
31:55 Myth: Only D2C founders build Personal Brands
33:58 Is branding based on trends?
35:59 Busting Myths
38:00 3 Learnings from the Episode
38:47 Conclusion

About the show:
The FoundHers Podcast, hosted by StartInc, is a podcast for women in business. This is an unfiltered space where women entrepreneurs share the raw, untold truths of entrepreneurship.
Instagram
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Hinal Mehta, Host
  / hinalmehta15  

StartInc
  / startinc.in  
  / startinc  

Komal Ramani - Makhija
  / komal-ramani-makhija  
  / byprojekt  

Gifting Partner for this season:
Harkoi - A beauty brand solving problems for Indian skin & hair
  / harkoi_life