Actionable Strategies for Building a GP Brand

For decades, access to a known LP network has been the defining currency for GPs—those with the connections attracted capital. However, with many institutional LPs consolidating relationships, access alone is no longer sufficient to drive growth. Firms need to find, appeal to, and build rapport with investors just entering the private markets. 

For GPs looking to expand into private wealth, winning those LPs will not only require delivering strong returns—though performance remains essential—but also telling their story with clarity and authority.

Our recent webinar, featuring Brad Hargreaves and Paul Stanton of Thesis Driven, dives into why brand building is now fundamental for GPs and outlines practical strategies that yield real results in capital formation.

As Stanton joked, “There’s a reason everyone built their initial real estate investor network through the country club networks…that was really the only network you had access to.” That dynamic has shifted. There are now “a million different digital tools that can be leveraged to get your message out there and in front of the right people.” 

The flip side of this new reality means that LPs are now inundated with investment opportunities. Stanton shared a story from a conference in which one family office CIO reported receiving 200 pitches a day, all of which were deleted almost immediately. 

Simply soliciting capital is no longer acceptable; firms must offer meaningful value and insights to prospective LPs before ever asking them to commit even a dollar. Education, not exclusivity, has become a powerful way to build trust. Origin Investments, for instance, has over 4,000 LPs. “That was unfathomable ten years ago,” he said. “They have built a capital markets content marketing machine. There's no reason that their playbook can’t be replicated.”

That can include “educational posts, videos, things that you're producing that tell the story of your company, explain your strategy, track record, the origin story, really humanize you and your team.”

When investors genuinely understand a firm’s strategy, trust naturally follows.

Many LPs rest their investment decisions on the reputation and personal brand of an individual, not just the company. Data demonstrates that founder-led brands outperform corporate brands in engagement and credibility.

In the public arena, consider that Elon Musk has over 229 million followers on X (formerly Twitter), while Tesla’s account has only 24 million. Richard Branson’s personal LinkedIn following exceeds eighteen million, in stark contrast to Virgin’s 319,000.

The same principle holds for private markets GPs. Investors are more likely to place trust when they “know” the person stewarding their capital. GPs who invest in building their personal brand can convey authenticity, conviction, and a unique perspective—qualities that do not translate through faceless corporate pages. Stepping out from behind the logo allows for deeper, scalable connections.

Hargreaves recommended that founders start by building up their LinkedIn profile. “It is an excellent generalist tool to reach a wide variety of investors. As long as you can write, you can get going on LinkedIn. People are [there] to do business. They are [there] to find opportunities.”

When it comes to posting, he advised that GPs:

• Be authoritative. “Share information and insights you have unique access to.”
• Lead with something unexpected. “A surprising number, a statistic, a fact.”
• Don’t fear the personal. “You have to decide how personal you want to be, but stories, anecdotes, updates, family stuff, those all do very well.
• Stay positive. “Creating controversy is not going to build your brand.”

Hargreaves called out Brendan Wallace, CEO and CIO at Fifth Wall, as one of his favorite posters for GPs looking for inspiration. 

Hargreaves and Stanton outlined the three pillars essential for GPs seeking to build a brand that meaningfully supports capital raising.

No firm can be all things to all investors. A well-defined audience is foundational to all branding and communication.

Action Items:
Develop a thorough profile of the Ideal Investor Persona. Determine whether the target is high-net-worth individuals, family offices, or RIAs. Identify key pain points and recurring questions. Ensure all content and communications address these real-world needs, moving beyond broad market commentary to tangible, relevant value.

Social media should be viewed as a distribution tool rather than a relationship management platform. It is subject to shifting algorithms and unpredictable reach. The primary objective of building an online following is to transition that audience to an owned channel: email.

Email remains the most effective medium for developing relationships and driving high-conviction investor behaviors. While social platforms are excellent for top-of-funnel awareness, email enables deeper engagement, detailed information sharing, and precise calls to action.

Action Item:
Review current social media profiles and ensure each includes a clear call-to-action for email signup (e.g., newsletter, white paper, or educational content). Treat the email list as a strategic asset, employing it to nurture relationships beyond the limitations of platform-controlled networks.

Brand building is not a campaign with a fixed endpoint—it is an ongoing operational priority. Leading firms approach content creation with the same rigor they bring to other core business processes, establishing repeatable systems and clear performance metrics.

Consistent, systematized effort delivers compounding returns. For instance, Stanton outlined how a disciplined approach to content, measurement, and paid promotion turned a $20,000 ad spend into $700,000 in raised capital—a 35x ROI. These outcomes result from sustained, repeatable processes, not isolated initiatives.

Action Items:
Establish a regular content production schedule (such as a weekly investor update or multiple LinkedIn posts). Leverage tools to plan and automate publishing, and closely track performance against measurable targets. As Stanton said, “There's kind of no way to turn it into a science overnight. You just have to kinda go out there and do it.” Continuous improvement is only possible with reliable data and steady execution.

Investing in brand building strengthens firm longevity and supports capital diversification, reducing dependence on any single investor segment. A well-articulated brand and educational strategy creates a self-reinforcing cycle, attracting capital and reputation in equal measure.

As the private markets mature, transparency, education, and personal branding will determine the GPs who define the industry’s next era.