Lessons in Brand from Artemis Hunters Summit

November 21, 2025

By The Artemis Fund
The Artemis Fund believes technology can create prosperity for all. With offices in New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Nevada, Artemis leads seed rounds for companies creating resilient families, individuals, and businesses across the US.
Brand isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a growth lever, a hiring magnet, and a trust engine. At Artemis, we think of brand as strategy: a tool to help our founders fundraise faster, attract top talent, and stay top of mind in noisy markets. That’s why we hosted a tactical panel on brand-building at Artemis Hunters Summit earlier this year.
We were joined by three leaders who are actively shaping the next generation of commerce:
Kait Stephens, Founder & CEO of Brij
Daria Shapovalova, Founder & CEO of DRESSX
Jessica Williams, Global Brand Marketing & Partnerships at Shopify
Together, they brought perspectives that spanned seed-stage hustle to platform-scale execution. Here are the most practical takeaways from that conversation, designed to help brand builders punch above their weight.

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LinkedIn: Personal Is Powerful
People follow people, not logos. That’s especially true on LinkedIn.
A high-impact content strategy flows like a funnel:
Top: Personal story and identity (this is how you build connection)
Middle: Thought leadership in your niche (this is how you build credibility)
Bottom: Company updates and wins (this is how you drive action)
Tactics that work:
Post links in comments, not captions, to avoid suppression
Tag people to expand reach, but only if you’re confident they’ll engage with your post
Batch content creation using voice notes + ChatGPT, then human-edit
Use short video, especially for founder updates or behind-the-scenes
Set a sustainable goal of 1–2 posts per week
If the thought of being visible on Linkedin is making you cringe, check out our writeup on creating a custom GPT for content strategy.
Reddit: High-Signal, Low-Noise
Reddit isn’t necessarily intuitive for most marketers, but it’s a powerful tool, especially for technical or niche audiences. LLMs also frequently crawl Reddit, so establishing a presence there is also helpful for AEO.
Tactics that work:
Monitor subreddits where your users ask questions
Answer thoughtfully: either in threads or by writing blog posts that solve for common gaps
Use unbranded accounts, but optimize your profile for subtle click-throughs
Build slow and steady credibility
Reddit is a long game, but if your user is there, your brand should be too.
TikTok: Virality Favors Volume
TikTok can feel chaotic to brands used to polished campaigns, but it rewards consistency, not perfection. For early-stage startups (especially B2C), it offers an unprecedented opportunity to punch above your weight and reach audiences well beyond your existing networks.
Tactics that work:
Quantity beats quality: High-performing accounts often post 50–100 short videos per month. Volume drives learning and reach.
Hook fast: The first 3 seconds are everything. Lead with a bold statement, unexpected visual, or question that stops the scroll.
Speak like a person, not a brand: Ditch the pitch. Aim for storytelling, behind-the-scenes moments, and real reactions.
Trend participation: Use trending audio or formats, but always adapt them to your voice or product. It should feel relevant, not forced.
Niche down: The algorithm rewards specificity. Whether you’re speaking to new moms or small business owners, go deep, not broad.
TikTok doesn’t guarantee overnight success, but with the right rhythm and a willingness to experiment, it’s one of the fastest ways to build brand awareness.
Other Channels: Match the Medium to the Message
For brands targeting older demographics, Pinterest and Facebook Groups are deeply underrated. These platforms are especially effective for reaching women over 50, a demographic that controls a massive portion of consumer spending but is often overlooked in digital strategy.
Meanwhile, podcasts continue to shine as a high-trust, evergreen channel, whether you’re hosting your own or guesting on others. Audio is intimate, it builds credibility over time, and it’s uniquely suited for storytelling and founder perspective. The throughline across all of these is simple: meet your audience where they are, tailor your message to the format, and show up like you belong there.
AI: Your Creative Partner
AI can help scale your voice, but it should never replace it. At Artemis, we use custom GPTs to draft content in our tone, accelerate brainstorming, and even surface new insights from existing data.
Tactics that work:
Use the sandwich method (human outline, AI draft, human edit)
Train it with past writing or social posts
Create in batches with voice-to-text
Track engagement that originates on AI-native platforms
ROI: Know What to Measure
Brand isn’t just about impressions. The real ROI is in the inbounds.
What you should track:
Warm intros that start with “I’ve been following you”
Referrals from partners or advisors
Reactions at events: Are people familiar with your story?
Signals of resonance: The right people engaging, not just the most people
Your brand should feel like your warmest introduction. It builds the muscle memory that gets your pitch opened, your product remembered, and your mission shared by others.
For early-stage founders, brand is one of the few levers you control from day one. You don’t need a budget to tell your story, show up consistently, and offer value in public. You just need clarity, courage, and a little creativity.
At Artemis, we back overlooked founders who are tackling everyday problems, the ones who are building trust before traction, and resilience before scale. Investing in brand is one way to make sure those stories (and those solutions) reach the right people.
Big thanks to Kait, Daria, and Jessica for sharing their wisdom with our hunting party. The future of brand in the early stage ecosystem is scrappier, more human, and more personal than ever.
We believe once in a generation companies will be built by unexpected founders. If that sounds like you, pitch us here!

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