This is a very good and interesting point. While a mediocre product might not necessarily become a success just because it was launched by a person with a strong personal brand, it might however give that person the advantage of better and more initial visibility, which might result in more feedback. A good Entrepreneur (regardless of a strong personal brand), is then able to listen and adjust to the true market needs.
Well put. Gary V has 852,497 followers on Twitter - any time he launches a new product/book/cruise, whatever, that's an immediate 852,497 pairs of eyeballs on his product. Now that's a great head start.
Yes I did - thanks! I actually did the package for FOWA London 09 as well, which can be partially seen in the Kevin Rose vid. http://vimeo.com/album/132400