Brett Butler MBA FMVA®

Sales Director

Founder & CEO @ Brass Synergy — the vetted, talent ecosystem for Web3 professionals.

I’ll never forget the lemonade stand I ran when I was eight years old.

It only brought in $100…

But that hustle inspired me to try real estate, forex & stock trading

Ultimately allowing me to build a credit services company from 0 to $5M ARR.

And college? Graduated with a double major and double minor — but I was restless.

And with $5K in graduation money, I went all in on cryptocurrency—

And in 6 months, that investment multiplied to $250K.

I felt unstoppable, scaling a startup’s community to 50,000 and its market cap to over $100M.

But then it happened—

The founder did a rug pull; crashing the project, wiping out millions & turned my world upside down.

I had my Mike Tyson moment—realizing everyone’s got a plan ‘til they get punched in the mouth.

I had no choice but to keep going. So, I pivoted back to financial consulting, managing $50M.

But my entrepreneurial passion persisted.  

I went all in to find answers, and noticed something remarkable.

I connected with countless freelancers, professionals, & companies all who had a similar story.

Applying for countless roles to find out the company or role wasn’t legitimate.

Performing work and not getting paid or taking weeks to receive payment on freelancing platforms.

Or hiring someone only to receive late or poor quality work, costing much needed time and money

I knew there had to be a better way to network, transact, and source talent in a transparent way.

I just needed a sign and during my conversations I made a striking discovery.

Freelancers and Web3 users share a striking resemblance—

70% were millennials and Gen Z with similar age ranges, locations, and interests.

And when the world went remote, it was my cue that now was the time.

HireSphere AI was born—

An AI Powered, full automated, talent verification, recruitment, and workforce management platform with a global verified talent marketplace. 

A fusion of Web3, AI, and Blockchain revolutionizing how people hire and work 
→ Understanding what makes people top performers AND how to consistently validate those skills through robust interviews with deep people science
-> Creating digitally verifiable on-chain profiles to build trust & safety
-> Augmenting the process with AI to match talent with jobs, streamline hiring and verify history
-> Ultimately building the world's best verified global talent marketplace that supports fiat & crypto payments & rewards active members 

I started with a lemonade stand and a dream…

Now we have a global council of the world's best helping us.

And the best part is I’m just getting started.

Owner

• Serve as a consultant to educate individuals/businesses regarding Financial Wellness, Investment Due Diligence, Risk Management, and Financial Planning

• Services include Financial Goal Setting, Facilitating Education Webinars, 1 on 1 Conversations, Debt Management Strategies, Life Event Planning, and much more

• Assists startup clients with financial modeling beginning with identifying potential revenue drivers and assumptions to quantify those drivers.  Used information to create custom financial model for current/potential investors to secure additional capital.

• Currently working on my CFP designation (2023 estimated completion)

Brett Butler

My goal in life is to help people achieve sovereignty
(and to protect our planet)

That means different things at different stages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
➤ For some, it’s the elevation of consciousness.
➤ For others, it’s feeding their family.

◇ After, managing billion-dollar transformation projects for FT100 and FT500 companies, 
◇ Helping launch tech unicorns, 
◇ And building my own startups, 
◇ I realized my greatest impact comes from connecting people to the capital, strategy, and structure needed to turn vision into reality.

𝗦𝗼 𝗜 𝗱𝗼 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀:

🔲 Chief Growth Officer @ FORUS 

A $200M impact fund and blockchain platform advancing financial inclusion and capital access across emerging markets. I lead global expansion, commercial strategy, and partnerships that align profitability with systemic change.


🔳 Investment Banking Managing Director @ Castle Placement 

Connecting founders with a global network of 110K institutional investors and 600K accredited investors, and structuring capital raises across venture, debt, and private equity markets. FINRA licenses 7 and 63.


🔲 Start-up Advisor @ Y42 

Guiding impact-driven founders on fundraising, go-to-market, and commercial strategy, with a focus on investor readiness, growth optimization, storytelling, and brand positioning.


▫️Previously, I founded startups in the climate and psychedelic spaces, worked in finance and strategy at Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, and Accenture, led corporate innovation projects and startup partnerships at Founders Intelligence, and served as Launcher and Managing Director at Crimson Education.

▪️To date, I have advised more than 100 companies on go-to-market, commercial optimization, growth strategy, and fundraising, helping founders scale sustainably from pre-seed to IPO.

▫️I hold a BA in Economics and Political Science from Columbia University and a PgD in Differential Psychology from the University of Edinburgh.

▪️Outside of business, I’m obsessed with the 4Ps of life: Psychics, Philosophy, Psychology and Psychedelics. I love traveling, fashion and photography. I’m a mixed-media visual artist, amateur bodybuilder, calisthenics and boxing enthusiast, and a former model represented by Elite.

I split my time between London, LA, SF, NYC, Rio de Janeiro, and Cape Town (so always somewhat jet lagged…)

Carina Cunha

I am 35. Single. Focused on building my Empire.

Finally.

(A break from the Valentine's Day posts that flooded your feed this weekend, you are welcome 😘)

I am at the most productive,
prolific stage of my life.

2 years ago, after I ended my last relationship, I decided to no longer settle in any area of my existence.

Relationships, career and otherwise. 
Since then, I quantum leaped.

⚡ New projects
⚡ New sources of income
⚡ New passions (intellectually speaking)

This kind of growth that only happens when my energy is focused in one person:

ME.

And I’m still not the best version of myself. The one that I would like to bring to someone I chose to spend my life with. 

🐉 Every other week I’m in a new country
🐉 Everyday I’m meeting new people
🐉 Every moment I’m still evolving

So romantic relationships aren't a priority right now.
The Empire is 🏛️🐉
________________
***Applications 𝘔𝘈𝘠 open in 2027. Requirements are strict. Acceptance rates are lower than the odds of winning the lottery.***

Investor & CGO @ FORUS • Investment Bank MD @ Castle Placement • Strategist & Board Advisor to Frontier & Impact Ventures • Keynote Speaker • FINRA Licenses 7, 63

Today marks 1 year since I decided to post on LinkedIn daily

What happened next blew my mind:

⚡ Month one, some engagement

⚡ Three months in, I had more clients than I could manage

But the truly astonishing part were the unexpected consequences of sharing something people resonate with.

I was invited:

🐉 To join an investment TV show as "Titan" (equivalent to a Shark on Shark Tank when just 4 years before I was the entrepreneur pitching on Dragon's Den)

🐉 To join closed door meetings with world leaders

🐉 To join secret societies and networks you will intentionally never hear about

🐉 To join panels and discussions where my input can actually change global policy

🐉 To join boards, startups, scale-ups and PE backed companies sometimes even offered to lead them as CEO

❌ I could not have searched for these opportunities myself, not all within a year at least.

➡️ They came to me because I demonstrated my competency publicly.

So, if you have been contemplating posting content here...

GO FOR IT

But do so intentionally.

❌ If you are planning to rely on AI-generated platitudes to build your presence here, STOP NOW.

➡️ To attract quality people, you need quality output.

❌ Outsourcing to AI shows how little you can think for yourself and how little you respect people's intelligence.

On the other hand,

🐉 If you have a unique viewpoint and are willing to put in the work to learn the algorithm and create content like in the pre-AI era, you WILL rise above the sludge.

🐉 Doubt if this is possible? I am proof. Within 8 months of posting here I am ranked top 5 globally for Sales content.

The ROI from doing LinkedIn correctly is immeasurable.

So what's holding you back?

If LinkedIn sends me to the algorithm purgatory for this, it is still worth it ⬇️

I have to share some of my rotten tomatoes:

(In nearly 1 year posting daily on the platform)


1️⃣ I have been scammed.

Multiple times.

From upfronting contractor costs to frauds, to delivering work and not being paid by founders that never had the money to hire me in the first place.

This happened a few times.

Until my rule became: first pay, then I deliver.


2️⃣ Thirsty men.

Some reach out saying they want to collaborate on business. Then they begin complimenting my appearance. I ignore.

Then the sexual advances and shirtless pictures come.

For a while it was clockwork, and the worst part is that most could be my dad 🙅🏻‍♀️

So now I thoroughly vet every connection request.

And if they start flirting, I stopped trying to absorb and deflect as I used to 
(because why should I carry this weight?) 
and instead ask to keep the conversation focused on business.
Gets awkward, but I prefer awkward to being consumed.


3️⃣ Entitlement and/or 4️⃣ Desperation.

They are two sides of the same coin.


⚠️ The entitlement:

Some founders reach out demanding a meeting. When multiple times I share that is not a fit, they demand instead that I review their deck and strategy, introduce them to investors and become their scout. 

But the moment I tell them to book a paid strategy call 💨💨💨 They disappear.


⚠️ Desperation:

Other founders reach out begging me to invest in them. Putting the responsibility of their company surviving on me without ever considering that if they have to beg, their offering is not compelling.


5️⃣ Sweat equity galore.

I receive offers for jobs in “billion-dollar” companies on a weekly basis.

Starts with a half-baked ChatGPT-business-plan-word-salad-frankenstein and ends with the founder treating me like I don't have an actual career. When I remind them of my roles, they still ask me to swap pay for sweat equity.

I don't say no because they will try to convince me,
so I give them my hourly rate.

Emails stop. 😏


Are all of these frustrating when they happen ?

Absolutely, yes.

But I'm also grateful because it helped me see where my boundaries were weak, where I was still allowing energy to be sapped.

What are your top 5 LinkedIn frustrations?

I receive 200+ messages daily. Most want the same thing:

My strategy.

Just not my invoice.
The message usually starts the same way:

⚠️ "Hi Carina, I came across your profile and I was wondering if I could get your opinion on a few things."

Or:

⚠️ "Can we grab coffee so I can pick your brain?"

Or my personal favorite:

⚠️ "I would love to stay in touch on ideas. I appreciate your time is valuable so let me know if there is another way to exchange ideas less formally."

💀 Translation: Give me free consulting but frame it as networking so I do not have to pay.

You would not ask a doctor for an informal surgery, would you? So why is it normal to ask for an informal strategy session?

When you reach out asking to "pick my brain," you are asking for the service I sell.

You want me to:

⚡ Review your pitch deck
⚡ Identify your blind spots
⚡ Audit your business model
⚡ Map your go-to-market strategy

This takes hours of my time and years of my expertise.

Framing it as a "quick chat" or "casual coffee" to avoid acknowledging what you are actually asking for is not the sly move you think it is.

And the moment I set a boundary and direct you to book through my Hubble link, you disappear.

How convenient 🙄

🐉 If you value my expertise enough to ask for it, you should value it enough to pay for it.

❌ And if you are not willing to pay, you are not valuing my time... you are trying to extract it.

❌ So stop asking to "pick my brain."

🐉 Start respecting boundaries.

And if you genuinely want strategic advice, my Hubble link is in the bio.

Otherwise, ChatGPT is free.

And you can Go Fund Yourself!

taplio

The Battle

Brett Butler

Carina Cunha

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreCarina Cunha's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Brett Butler

Carina Cunha

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Carina Cunha's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreCarina Cunha's LinkedIn Performance