“Love the hand that fate deals you, and play it as your own.” – Marcus Aurelius
I recently heard a YouTube business influencer claim:
“Everyone should start a personal brand.”
He went as far as to say:
“A personal brand is the ONLY (!!!) business you should even THINK (!!!) about starting in 2025.”
As a pseudo-personally-branded dude myself (kinda, I guess? the site URL is my name)…
…I’ll admit:
A part of me felt validated.
For about a second and a half.
Then the smoke cleared and the mirrors disappeared and I started thinking for myself again, and I remembered I’ve been doing this sh*t since the dinosaur era of the internet, while influencer dude has been doing it since 2022, and a personal brand is the only business he’s ever run.
(take that, influencer dude)
Then I thought some more, and remembered:
A personal brand might actually be the worst business for most newbies to start.
(don’t forget I said “most”, we’ll come back to that in a moment)
And, while the reason may sound harsh, it is true:
Most newbies don’t have anything to say that’s worth listening to, because they haven’t done anything yet.
I know that’s not very inspiring, but it’s also plain-ass obvious so I won’t insult you by beating around the proverbial bush.
Being a “thought leader” sounds cool, until you realize you need to have thoughts worth following, and those thoughts need to be:
a) better
b) more original
c) delivered in a way that is interesting enough to catch the fleeting attention of the brain-rotted masses.
(Jesus, am I’m being a dick? I can’t even tell anymore)
And the first step to accomplishing a), b), and c), is to, yes, actually do something worth talking about.
So there’s that.
But remember, I did say “most” — and there are a few unicorns who excel as personal brands right out of the gate…
…Riding a rare blend of creativity, charisma, and confidence that most don’t have, but all are attracted to.
The trick?
They built a business that was built for them:
Their unique personality, skill set, and natural wiring.
The big secret, if there is one, is not that:
- Personal brands are “the best”
- SMMA’s are “the best”
- E-commerce is “the best”
- Drop-shipping “hand-crafted” dog bowls from Yiwu is “the best”
It’s that “the best” business is the one that is best for you.
The right entrepreneur in the wrong business is going to fail (or at least make their life very difficult for a very long time)…
…So rule #1 of this game is to know yourself, and know yourself well.
That’s where the FounderDNA test comes in…
It’s the first (I think?) AI-powered self-discovery tool for entrepreneurs that unlocks deep insight into:
- Your unique “Founder Archetype” (a matrix of 16 personality patterns entrepreneurs naturally fit into)
- The business models you’re best suited for
- Your natural strengths, and how to set up your business to amplify them
- Your growth edges; tactical weak-points that must be accounted for, if you want your business to succeed
- What to focus on, and what to delegate to others
- How to build the perfect team to compliment your gifts
- Other famous entrepreneurs who share your Founder Archetype
…And a whole lot more, if you ask it.
I’ve been slaving away at this thing for the past month, and I finally have a working prototype ready for you to try (at no cost).
All I want in return is your feedback, to help me fine tune the test and get it ready for public launch.
If you’re interested, reply to this email with the words “I’m in.”
And my assistant Simon will get you the details.
I can’t wait ’till you see it 🙂
– T
P.S. As Path member and 8-figure entrepreneur Mason Vranes put it:
“Without this you could be constantly spinning your wheels, fighting against yourself.”
Or, as a man much smarter than me once said…
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein
