How to borrow credibility from celebrities and experts

1 The bottom line

Borrow trust from a celebrity, expert or local figure, but structure the deal so the brand outlives them. Endorsement buys trust and distribution fast, yet a brand tied to one person hits a ceiling and carries risk.

2 Key takeaways

• Borrowed credibility works best when your product or name is unknown. Trust is the thing new users lack most.
  • beehiiv had a fraction of competitors' features, but its founders had built Morning Brew's growth engine, and that bought the first thousand publishers Tyler Denk, beehiiv14:40.
  • WeWard put a well-known American in onboarding so users saw a US product, and retention rose Yves Benchimol, WeWard31:40.
• Give the endorser a real stake, not just a fee. A shareholder or cofounder works harder and protects the name.
  • WeWard signed Venus Williams as ambassador and investor Yves Benchimol, WeWard37:22.
  • Purpose chose a true cofounder relationship with Mark Manson, not an endorsement or advisory one Raj Singh, Purpose24:48.
• Win experts by working with them, not by paying them. Insiders do not want to look like sales reps.
  • Sailing instructors recommend Savvy Navvy first because it is the only app company that listens to them Jelte Liebrand, Savvy Navvy52:15.
• Build the brand bigger than the person before you launch. An audience is a blessing at first and a ceiling later.
  • Raj Singh and Mark Manson planned this before incorporating, aiming Purpose at a billion people Raj Singh, Purpose33:51.
  • Natal has its own coaches make content, which moves the brand off the founder's name Nancy Anderson, Natal39:12.

architecting purpose to be a much larger brand than Mark

Raj Singh, Purpose33:51

2.1 Pick the borrowed trust that fills your gap

Each kind of endorser fixes a different trust gap, so name your gap first.

• Pay for a big name when trust will lift all your ads George, Wrestle AI27:00
  • Aim for your audience to see a trusted person using the app before your ads reach them.
  • Treat it as mindshare, and accept that the deal may lose money.
  • George spent $4,500 on three videos from a creator with about a million followers. He expected to recoup 25% to 50% and got back 75%. It was the only influencer deal on Brawler that lost money.
• Use a local-feeling face when you enter a market where you are unknown Yves Benchimol, WeWard31:40
  • Being French was no advantage in the US, so WeWard sought a well-known American figure.
  • Look for value fit and reach across borders. For wellness, that means someone in sports who is known internationally.
  • Showing her face in onboarding made users see an American product, and retention increased.
• Lead with founder expertise when the product is immature Tyler Denk, beehiiv14:40
  • Sell the track record and the story when features are thin.
  • The founders had built Morning Brew's growth engine, when everyone wanted to build "Morning Brew for X". That bought trust and the first thousand publishers.

2.2 Vet the person and the fit

An endorsement is only worth what the endorser's name is still worth.

• Audit the endorser's track record before you partner Raj Singh, Purpose24:48
  • Check which products they have promoted and which companies they have affiliated with.
  • Prefer someone who has not spread their name across a hundred products, so the endorsement keeps its value.
• Pick someone with deep audience trust and put them inside the product Josh, Blue Throne28:51
  • Waking Up uses Sam Harris's voice in onboarding, and MacroFactor uses Jeff Nippard's content.
  • Apps tied to trusted creators get distribution from day one and can sustain premium prices.
  • The risk is dependence. A buyer must keep the creator on board, and creators often refuse earn-outs.
• Pair iconic voices with local audiences you already have Jack McDermott, ElevenLabs29:40
  • ElevenReader signed exclusive, fairly compensated partnerships with icons and their estates, including Michael Caine, Maya Angelou and Judy Garland.
  • It also signed the Polish voice of the Harry Potter audiobooks, in a market where the company has deep roots.
  • The Polish voice shot to the top of the charts among Polish consumers on the platform.

2.3 Structure the deal

Give the endorser a stake, or get a partner to pay for the trust.

• Sign celebrities as ambassador and investor, not just spokesperson Yves Benchimol, WeWard37:22
  • Give shares so the celebrity works as a shareholder.
  • Cover image use, joint content, TV appearances like Good Morning America, and replies to journalists.
  • Journalists answer emails more readily when a conversation with her is possible.
  • The deal affected hiring, press replies, CAC, retention and organic reach at once, though it is hard to quantify.
• Make the person central to the company a true cofounder Raj Singh, Purpose24:48
  • Choose a cofounder relationship over an endorsement or advisory one.
  • Pairing a product and scaling operator with an audience builder gave complementary skills Raj Singh, Purpose20:44.
• Partner with manufacturers so they bundle and endorse your app Jelte Liebrand, Savvy Navvy45:10
  • Integrate with their products. Savvy Navvy started with the helm displays of the electric brand Arc Boats and later added CarPlay for pontoon boats.
  • Have manufacturers bundle 12 months of the app or an extended trial, and pay for it.
  • After the Arc Boats partnership and press release, many more manufacturers approached Savvy Navvy, some with unreleased R&D projects.

2.4 Launch on their audience and win the insiders

Use the endorser's reach to start fast, and earn the experts who keep recommending you.

• Use a celebrity cofounder's audience to beat the cold start Raj Singh, Purpose20:44
  • Use the audience to get enough traffic to test and iterate from day one.
  • Build the product to withstand a step-function traffic spike, not a gradual curve.
  • Mark Manson's audience is over 10 million readers and viewers. Purpose hit $1M ARR two weeks after launch, with the product built in about six months from a cold start.
• Turn a partnership into a launch moment Jack McDermott, ElevenLabs27:40
  • Aim for a distinctive first and build media and hype around it.
  • One book is available in Melania Trump's voice in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Hindi, which Jack calls probably a first of its kind in audiobooks. He acknowledges it was controversial but says it was valuable.
• Win trusted insiders by working with them, not paying kickbacks Jelte Liebrand, Savvy Navvy52:15
  • Give instructors the app free and offer student discounts.
  • Run webinars, take their feedback, make them beta users and build teaching tools for them, such as a three-point fix feature other apps lack.
  • Many instructors don't want kickbacks because they don't want to look like sales reps. The same approach has been repeated in the US with American Sailing.
  • His rule: "not every mouth is the same value".

2.5 Keep the brand bigger than one person

Plan for the day the endorser is not enough, and move trust onto your own people.

• Plan for the audience ceiling before you incorporate Raj Singh, Purpose33:51
  • Welcome the celebrity's fans while targeting a far larger market, a billion people in Purpose's case.
  • Line up the next channels: paid advertising, word of mouth and a user-story content engine.
  • Raj says paid advertising is already accretive and word of mouth exceeds expectations with little effort.
• Put your own experts in front of the camera Nancy Anderson, Natal39:12
  • Scope the content ideas, then have your coaches, who are physical therapists and trainers, shoot them.
  • Clients already know the coaches, so it stays authentic. Outside content hires struggled to match the sensitive brand voice.
• Borrow the founder's credibility through a relatable creator Dawson Gibbs, Evo Marketing18:18
  • Have the creator green screen the founder's video and endorse him. The creator stays relatable and the credibility comes from the founder.
  • This does not need a top creator or two hours a day of training. It replaced the Gen Z get-rich-quick format for SMB Market after the 45% churn.

2.6 Where they disagree

Paying, depending and measuring all look different depending on who you are borrowing from.

• Pay for reach, but not for experts.
  • George, Wrestle AI27:00 pays a big creator and accepts a partial loss. Jelte Liebrand, Savvy Navvy52:15 avoids kickbacks for instructors.
  • Paying fits mass audiences. Working closely fits experts who guard their reputation.
• Lean on one person, or plan beyond them.
  • Josh, Blue Throne28:51 values distribution from day one but flags dependence on the creator. Raj Singh, Purpose33:51 uses the audience but builds a bigger brand on purpose.
• Measure it, or accept that you can't.
  • George tracked what he got back, 75% of his spend. Yves Benchimol, WeWard37:22 says the Venus Williams effect on CAC, retention and press is hard to quantify.
  • Single-video deals are easy to measure. Deep celebrity deals touch many things at once.