How do you get noticed by big founders or investors without constantly promoting yourself?

’ve been thinking about this more from the personal side, not product promotion.

There are people who seem to naturally get into the orbit of strong founders, investors, operators, and builders because their work and thinking are already visible.

But if you’re starting from zero, that path feels much less obvious.

How do you actually build that kind of presence without constantly DMing people, asking for intros, or turning everything into personal branding?

Is it mostly:

• sharing what you’re building
• writing useful thoughts publicly
• contributing to communities
• open source
• helping other founders
• being part of strong teams
• meeting people offline
• or just doing good work long enough that the right people eventually notice?

I’m not really asking how to go viral.

I’m more curious about how someone builds enough visible credibility that serious founders or investors start recognizing their name and work.

If you’ve experienced that yourself, what actually made the biggest difference?