The Weird Truth About Building a Founder Forward Brand

The BFF 03.17.26 | AKA: the story of how competitor research turned into a shopping spree.

Erin Cummings

Mar 17, 2026

HEY THERE, ERIN HERE!

It’s no secret I’ve been beyond hesitant to “build a founder following” on social media.

I’ve said it a million times:

Talking to a camera feels wildly inauthentic to me.

It’s not that I’m not interested in people’s opinions of our tissue paper, packaging, or our logo…it’s just that so much of “founder content” feels forced or still completely scripted.

There are some founders that do this so well. It’s natural, effortless, and they are good at it, but for some reason I have a huge block about it.

Of course I’m worried what people will think.

Of course I’m worried about rejection.

Of course I’m worried about being judged.

And yes, I’m absolutely worried some douche-bag is going to comment something ridiculous that makes me want to start a fight in the comments section.

But, here we are, me creating a “personal brand” and “founder story” on social media.

You can find me on Tiktok making my second cup of coffee, sharing outfit details, and posting funny videos of my dog, Chocolate Chip.

You can also find me on Instagram as the little bridge between from Tiktok to Substack.

But since you’re here reading this:

Hello and Thank You! I find myself being able to authentically share in my writing, so again I have so much gratitude for you reading this.

👉 Catch up on last week:

I Thought It Was Just a Phase

Erin Cummings

Mar 10

Read full story

The Weird Thing About Watching Other Founders

Here’s the irony: I’m scared to post my own story on Tiktok, but I’ve been hitting the follow button on so many founders AND I’ve been hitting the “Add to Cart” button because I’m just so impressed with everyone building everything.

Building a brand in public is hard, I was reminded of that when we were at NY Fashion Week a few weeks ago. (If you need you can catch up on that story here.)

There’s a huge difference between 30 people who don’t care and 5 people who actually do.

And, it just takes one person to find you, become interested, and then actually buy something.

The Post-Holiday Reality Check

A few weeks ago, the team and I sat down together to review our Black Friday/ Holiday Sales analysis while it was fresh on the brain. Along with that, we also did a massive competitor analysis of brands that *could be* competitors of Armine + Ambrose and brands that we WISH we could compete with.

I think overall, the team looked at almost 15 brands. The excel document was HUGE.

Babes, we are talking about EVERYTHING:

Every email.
Every holiday promo.
Every website change.
Every product push.
Every ad campaign.

Honestly, we missed the mark over the holidays. We struggled with brand awareness, getting our products in from manufacturing in a timely manner, and just getting the word out as well as trying to have a Black Friday Sale. I mean hey, it’s our first Black Friday, it can’t be perfect.

We walked away with some key strategies and takeaways for this coming holiday season, and one unexpected decision.

Competitive Shopping (Yes, It’s a Real Thing)

We decided during that meeting that we needed to do some competitive shopping when we went to NYC for Fashion Week, because many of the stores were there.

After our showcase event, we headed to lunch and then off to Soho for a shopping adventure…personal AND competitive of course!

I’ve always been a shopper. I’ve always loved fashion. Now, I’m totally jewelry obsessed…obviously.

The Jewelry Pricing Rabbit Hole

I have a few pieces of fine jewelry, but I normally stick to semi-fine or fine basics. I get it if you feel differently than me, it’s totally personal preference.

Again, this is where the personal-founder-brand thing drives me crazy because some people get on Tiktok and GO OFF on how you shouldn’t buy certain things because of their perceived value. I get educating people on the difference between “flash-plating”, “filled”, and “solid gold” but the rules of business say the value of something is worth whatever the customer is willing to pay. I don’t want to be judged for what I buy because I like something that might be worth more or less than it actually is.

All of that to say, now that I know the cost to manufacture certain pieces, some brands are making a SH*T ton of money on their jewelry. HA!

…For instance, here’s a pic of The Armine + Ambrose A-Chain bracelet I designed and a bracelet I bought at Chanel.

Armine + Ambrose, The A Chain: $125 | Chanel, Bracelet: $825

Ours is actually higher quality material and plating (*I think* because their website doesn’t explicitly mention the actual plating and microns, other internet research, and the itchiness of my ears from the 2 pair of earrings I’ve purchased a few years ago leads me to my hypothesis that they use a mix of metals and we’re just paying for brand name.)

Yes, it’s important to educate the customer on metal type, because their bracelet isn’t “worth” the cost, but clearly its value is correct…because well, I bought it.

Some people buy for materials, some people buy for the brand name, and some people buy because of how it makes them feel.

My Current Founder Problem

My problem isn’t a problem, but maybe it is if you ask my husband… I keep buying jewelry.

And, no, Chanel isn’t our competitor.

But, I keep finding amazing founders on Tiktok and buying stuff. Or, I’ve realized what I DO want to spend money on when it comes to cost and value.

And the more I watch other founders on TikTok build their brands, the more I realize something:

People don’t discover brands through perfectly polished marketing anymore. They discover brands through people.

So even though it still feels wildly uncomfortable…

I’m going to keep posting, even though I hate it. I’m just keeping things simple and doable for me. It’s my outfits, what I’m working on, and little Chocolate Chip (my dog.)

Because the people who eventually find Armine + Ambrose and see value in it will find it through me (boop, hello, I’m a person).

And if even a handful of them care? That’s enough, because it just takes 1 person to show up and actually buy something.

Recent “Competitive Shopping”

You didn’t ask for it, but here’s all of the “competitor” shopping I’ve done recently, including the bracelet I bought in New York. Please note: I would consider the first one an actual competitor and the rest are just dream competition, either way we can all co-exist.