How Founders Can Build Their Brand on LinkedIn

SDS 065: How Founders Can Build Their Brand on LinkedIn

Hey! thank you for reading issue 065 of Startup Definition Sunday (SDS). You can read past issues here.

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Let’s explore the future of Africa, together.

Last week, I explored how three African founders use X to build momentum and clarity for their personal brands.

This week let’s dive into LinkedIn — a slower, more deliberate platform. Today, LinkedIn is more than just a resume site. For founders, it’s often the first place potential investors, partners, or team members go to decide:

Is this someone I want to bet on?

Here are three founders using LinkedIn strategically, and what you can learn from them:

1. Dr. Ola Brown - Founder & General Partner, HealthCap Africa

Dr. Ola’s LinkedIn presence is purpose-driven. As the founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria and HealthCap Africa, she uses her platform to address systemic challenges in African healthcare.

She shares essays on development finance, highlights gaps in public health, and connects the dots between business, policy, and healthcare. Her posts are confident yet approachable, reflecting both strategic thinking and a clear mission.

What founders can learn:
→ Align your voice with a long-term mission, not short-term wins
→ Educate and inform, rather than just promote
→ Be generous with what you know. Insight builds authority

2. Iyinoluwa Aboyeji - Founder, Future Africa

Iyin is one of the most recognizable voices in African tech. As a co-founder of Andela and Flutterwave, and now GP at Future Africa, his brand on LinkedIn centers around one thing: vision.

What makes Iyin’s posts effective is that they don’t feel performative. He shares frameworks, macro views on Africa’s development, and hard truths about policy, leadership, and startup growth. His brand is shaped by showing up with thought-provoking, sometimes controversial perspectives that spark conversation.

What founders can learn:
→ Speak from experience, not theory
→ Challenge the status quo with confidence
→ Use storytelling to invite others into your perspective

3. Gregory Rockson - Co-founder & CEO, mPharma 

Gregory, CEO and co-founder of mPharma, has built a quiet but powerful presence on LinkedIn. His posts are focused, reflective, and often anchored in tangible progress. He doesn't post daily, but when he does, it’s substantive, whether he's announcing a new pharmacy launch, reflecting on healthcare access, or sharing lessons from scaling across markets.

Whether reflecting on healthcare accessibility or announcing new milestones, Gregory’s tone is humble and mission-first. He highlights team efforts and systems change, rather than centering himself.

What founders can learn:
→ Share progress without self-promotion
→ Let your mission guide your voice
→ Use storytelling to highlight systems change, not just startup wins

My Two Pesewas

A personal brand on LinkedIn isn’t about being impressive. It’s about being intentional.

If you’re a founder looking to build one, pick a lane: industry insights, founder reflections, hiring culture, or macro trends. Post with purpose. Once a week, or even once every two weeks, is enough if what you’re saying adds value.

Clarity beats noise. And consistency, even light-touch consistency, builds real trust over time.

If this issue helped, send it to a founder who’s wondering how to show up more intentionally on LinkedIn.

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That's all for today. As always, thank you for being an engaged reader. Let me know your thoughts on this issue. I’d love to hear your experiences or tips on navigating tough decisions in leadership.

Until next time,

Jasiel

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