Henrik Bredenbals

Passionate about Web3’s transformative power of shaping the consumer behavior of the future. Product & design guy investing in early stage startups driving innovation in the application/consumer layer of Web3 with w3.fund. Co-Founder at w3.group.

Co-Founder

w3.fund | Investing in early stage startups & the open metaverse
w3.vision | Web3 media house with a flagship conference "w3.vision"

Growing Personal Brands for Founders & Executives | Aspiring Coffee-Influencer & Founder at notus

Turn your story into your competitive advantage.

I decided to take a gap year in 2018 to follow my entrepreneurial dream, left my hometown in Switzerland, and traveled to the US.

The goal was to figure out things as I went, learn by doing, document my journey, and connect with inspiring people.

Just a few months into this adventure, because I had been posting content and doing free marketing consultations with local businesses, I co-founded notus in the heart of New York City alongside a former employee of GaryVee.

THIS was when I realized how powerful personal branding is.

Since then, we've had the privilege to work with 150+ founders & executives across DACH and the US, helping them strategize, launch and grow their personal brands on LinkedIn and beyond.

At notus, our core offering is the content engine:.

A seamless process that helps you:

- build an audience
- save time
- attract talent
- make more sales.

We capture your authentic voice through podcasts and voice memos...

...turning your raw expertise and unique story into content that builds brand equity and attracts the right people.

Want to talk personal branding?

Just drop me a LinkedIn message, and let's connect!

Outside of work, you’ll find me strolling through the streets of Berlin (probably with a cup of coffee), filming & editing videos, listening to music & podcasts, and drinking a whole lot of water.

Marvin Sanginés

Pls send help. January & February were crazy months for notus. We brought on many incredible new personal branding clients. Now we need someone to interview them and turn their expertise into content:

You'll be working directly with founders and executives of 7-figure+ companies, helping them turn their personal brands into growth engines.

What you'll own:

• Crafting the personal brands' content strategy
• Optimizing their online presence
• Conducting bi-weekly content calls
• Extracting their knowledge and insight
• Managing their entire content operation
• Consulting them across their GTM motion

I'm not interested in your CV or what school you graduated from (if any).

Ideally, this is you:

→ You speak German
→ You enjoy continuous learning
→ You are obsessed about the content game
→ You possess strong emotional skills and empathy
→ You are curious and eager to learn about any topic
→ You are highly organized and able to manage many moving pieces
→ You are a strong communicator who adapts to different personalities
→ You work hard and hold yourself to high standards

What we offer:

• 100% remote (anywhere in the world)
• A full-time role
• A fun, high-performance environment
• The ability to shape the trajectory of our company
• Access to all internal training & development resources
• Support to build your own personal brand

How to apply:

Record a loom video answering 2 questions:

1. Who are you?
2. Why should we hire you?

Send the loom to people@notus.xyz.

No rules. You be you.

Max Dixon and Luca Wetzel will personally review every single application.

notus is looking forward to hearing from you. :)

Building Effective Personal Brands for Founders & Executives with Purpose | B2B Content Engines & Founder-Led Marketing | Coffee Connoisseur & Founder at notus 💆🏽

18 months ago, this guy was my gym buddy. As of last week, he closed $1M+ in contract value as Head of Partnerships at notus:

Back in 2024, Selim Burcu was consulting other companies on operations. At capacity. Debating whether to make his offer more scalable or double down on 1-2 clients.

The more we talked about notus, the more he saw potential in what we were building.

So in May 2024, he joined as a fractional COO on a project basis.

2 months in, we hit a crossroads.

While making progress on operations, Selim hadn't fully found his place. At the same time, I had one critical gap: I needed someone to take sales calls off my plate.

So we pivoted his role to Head of Partnerships.

I won't sugarcoat it. The first 3 months were rocky.

My sales call reviews highlighted plenty of issues:

• He talked 80% of the time
• He wasn't asking enough questions
• Some people found him "too salesy"

But Selim stuck with it.

He ate the dirt. Received feedback. Iterated on it.

With coaching from Levin and consistent feedback loops, his call performance steadily got better.

Then it all clicked in February:

→ he was closing deals consistently
→ he was receiving great feedback from clients
→ he helped double our MRR over the next 6 months

In the process, he also found his style: Calm, laid-back, supportive.

He speaks from a place of abundance, consulting people on what makes sense for them.

Exactly the way I want notus to be represented.

Selim, thank you for pushing through.

I'm forever grateful to call you a friend and partner.

$1M+, check. Next up, $10M?

Jesse Pujji invited me to reveal the AI-enabled LinkedIn system we used to scale notus to $180k MRR & 200+ clients. The result is a 90-minute masterclass breaking down our step-by-step process:

For context, Jesse's a friend, former client and an amazing case study (we helped him scale his founder brand to 30k+ followers on LinkedIn and generated hundreds of qualified leads)

This is the 3rd workshop I've done with him & Andrew Warner for the Bootstrapped Giants B2B Sales Accelerator program.

For this one, I created an entirely new presentation, where I break down our personal brand-led LinkedIn System that we used to scale our agency to 180k MRR and help our partners grow.

And for the first time ever, I pulled back the curtain on how we strategically use AI to amplify human expertise - not replace it.

The session was supposed to be 1 hour, but turned into 1.5 hours because there was so much to cover. I've compiled all the materials into a masterclass that I want to give to you guys for free.

Inside it, you'll find:

→ How to set up a content strategy using our Content Archetype Framework
→ How we create custom voice models that capture each founder's unique perspective 
→ How to turn strategic insights into booked calls using signal-based sales and thought leadership ads
→ The quality control systems that ensure every piece feels authentically human
→ BONUS: Our AI-enabled Content Creation process

The AI handles the mechanics. Our team handles the strategy, voice development, and relationship building that actually drives results.

All you have to do is:

1. Like this post
2. Comment "notusOS"
3. Send me a connection request saying “notusOS” (if you want it quicker)

And me or a notus team member will make sure to send it over ASAP.

How I figured out exactly who I can reach on LinkedIn (and built a 2,000-person target list in 20 minutes):

Last week I needed to scope a new market for notus: construction companies in DACH.

I wanted clarity on who I'm trying to reach, whether they actually spend time on the platform, and how to get more touch points with them through content, ads, network expansion, and DMs

So I opened LinkedIn Sales Nav and ran this process:

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 (𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲)

Most people go straight to Lead Search. I did the opposite.

I filtered for construction companies with €100M+ revenue in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

LinkedIn gave me around 700 relevant companies. I saved them all to an account list.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀

I saved that general list first. Then created a second list filtering for companies showing buying indicators:

→ Department headcount = internal team composition
→ Growing X team (pick the function) = signal for certain offers
→ Job postings = active hiring (perfect if you're selling HR/recruitment)
→ Funding rounds = signals growth (great for selling to SaaS)

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀

I took my saved company list, went back to Lead Search, and filtered for people working at those accounts.

12,000 people appeared. I added one more filter: "Posted on LinkedIn" in the last 30 days, which put me at around ±2000 people. 

It's the only filter we have to get closer to active users.

I'd rather have a smaller list than a bunch of inactive accounts. I can always expand from there if needed.

This gives me cleaner data to work with.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗦𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀

±2000 was the total. But I focused on decision-makers.

So I ran more filters:

→ 300+ were Director level or above
→ 700+ sat in operations roles
→ 60% were based in Germany, 25% Austria, 15% Switzerland

This helped me know exactly who I was writing for.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱: 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀

Now comes the actual "outreach". I can do this manually or with a tool.

I ran campaigns for the decision makers in Switzerland and decision makers in Austria/Germany, which let me A/B test acceptance rates across audiences. 

Swiss decision makers hit 27% acceptance rate → Austria and Germany only got 10%.

Clear signal that my profile resonates better with Swiss executives.

As these campaigns ran and my network grew with these target personas, I sprinkled in some niche-relevant content such as a construction case study with Hubert. Still tied to my core service, but showing I’ve operated in their world.

The goal was to make sure they know I exist and start building the relationship.

Next up will be running targeted thought leadership ads to this audience. 

Let's see how it goes.

P.S. Want a vid walkthrough? Comment "TAM" and we’ll DM it to you.

Charlotte Ankerstjerne was documenting her work life on LinkedIn. Just another employee at Ramboll, one of Denmark's largest consulting firms, until her posts started getting serious attention:

→ 3,500+ followers
→ 1000s of likes on her posts
→ Content that kept spreading across the platform

Together with a colleague she built a training program and community for employees’ who want to build a voice in their industry using social media. 

She walked her managers through the engagement metrics, showed them the conversations happening around Ramboll's projects, and demonstrated how the colleagues’ personal content was reaching audiences their corporate communications never touched.

The company was so impressed, they created a position that didn't exist before. Just for her:

𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆 & 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿.

She now leads their 1400+ member employee advocacy community. Runs their internal award programe. She’s a board member of the Ramboll Foundation - elected by her colleagues.  

And she posts content like "a day in the life of a board member" showing the real behind-the-scenes of leadership.

Charlotte didn't pitch employee advocacy as an idea. She proved it worked by doing it.

This is a pattern I keep seeing.

Sometimes you don't need to convince leadership that something works. You just need someone internally who believes in it, does it, and lets the results speak for themselves.

The bigger shift here is that employees are becoming real estate for companies.

People who can build audiences naturally are becoming invaluable assets. Both for their core job function, and the attention and influence they bring to the organization.

This changes the power dynamic.

When you can generate thousands of eyeballs for your company through your personal brand, you become valuable in a way that's hard to replicate.

More companies will start recognizing this. And the employees who figure it out early will have leverage their peers won't.

PS. Shoutout Mathilde Bing for sharing this case study with me.

Sometimes I have slow weeks on LinkedIn. Sometimes I have great weeks on LinkedIn. Sometimes I love LinkedIn, and sometimes I hate LinkedIn. But all of that is irrelevant:

Because I do know that my ideal customers spend time on LinkedIn.  

So I show up every single week to keep on nurturing these relationships, to keep on getting more touch points, to keep on staying top of mind for folks, and to create more leverage for notus and for myself.  

day by day :)

​​I've spent 7 years building 200+ LinkedIn Content Engines for B2B founders & executives. We turned the process into a free template (it’s gotten me 3.8mil impressions in the last 365 days): 
`
This is the exact Operating System we used at notus to manage:

- 200+ personal brands
- Bi-weekly content calls that turn into months of content
- My own schedule with 6+ posts per week

Here's what's inside the Content Engine OS:

→ Content Sources Database (store interviews, podcasts, voice notes as pillar content)
→ Content Pieces Production Pipeline (7-stage workflow from idea to published)
→ Content Archetype Framework (our 4-pillar strategy for balanced content mix)
→ Smart Content Calendar (auto-populates with status, owner, and publish dates)
→ Content Library & Repurposing System (track your best posts for future reuse)
→ Pre-built Outline Templates (key takeaways, supporting points, hooks, CTAs)
→ BONUS: Full video walkthrough from @Max Radman (our head of product)
→ BONUS: Our complete step-by-step content creation process that generates 6+ LinkedIn posts per week

This template has been refined over 7 years and 200+ client projects. It's our most downloaded resource with 2800+ downloads.

Want it for free?

1. Like this post
2. Comment "content engine"
3. Send me a connection request with "content engine" (if you want it quicker)

notus just reviewed all LinkedIn content from our 38 active partners to find out what performs best. 3 types of posts consistently got great results:

𝟭. "𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲” 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀

Most people on LinkedIn only share their wins. We encourage our partners to talk about when they messed up. It makes them more real, more relatable.

The keyword is vulnerability:

• Name the struggle
• List things you tried that failed
• Share the moment it clicked
• Share how you are doing it now

Example angles from our partners:

"I’m a recovering awkward person…"
"The first time I tried to buy a company, I got outbid…"
"I’ve done a nervous little giggle in serious meetings, tense conversations, and yes, even in somber moments…”

𝟮. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀

Our partners are founders & executives who have big ideas about how to change their industries. By calling out what doesn’t work, they create curiosity, new insight, and maybe a little friction.

How to write it:

• State the "rule" everyone believes
• Show your contrarian data/experience
• Explain why the rule made sense (in the past)
• Prove why it doesn't anymore
• Offer your alternative approach

Example hooks from our partners:

"Everyone’s showing off their AI agents - but here’s what they’re not telling you…"
“I’m done with the excuse of ‘I need more information’...”
“The construction industry has a problem: we treat every building like a prototype…”

𝟯. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰

My dad still tells me I shouldn’t share MRR updates, but I haven’t stopped.

Showing people what’s happening behind the scenes creates trust faster than pretty much anything else.

Even better, it turns running a company into a hero’s journey. People follow because they want to know what happens next.

How to write it:

• Share some bullet point highlights
• Talk about the challenges you faced this quarter
• Share your focus for the next quarter
• Talk about wins

Example hooks from our partners:

"We’ve had multiple offers to buy us out in the last few months. I politely declined…"
"The evolution of my bootstrapping journey so far…"
"UPDATE: we rolled out a new feature to pilot clients…"

___

What isn’t on the list: sales-y, company-centric posts that provide 0 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 0 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆, and 0 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲.

Those are the 3 key ingredients across all content.

All of these categories can trigger strong emotions:

Surprise.
Sympathy.
Curiosity.
Excitement.

They all build on specific stories, perspectives, or contrarian beliefs.

And they all promise value:

Failure:
value = what they learned

Contrarian
value = discovering a new approach

Build in public
value = a model to copy

Content that does this has a good chance of performing well.

With one disclaimer: It has to be real.

52 days ago, we made a bet to turn a Lisbon villa into our notus company HQ. Here's what happened so far:

→ 724,111 LinkedIn impressions on my account 
→ 75+ qualified meetings booked 
→ First company offsite of the year 
→ Product shipping faster than ever  

At the time of filming this video, we had the pleasure of hosting:  

→ Max Radman moved from Head of Content to Head of Product. He's obsessing over how to build the #1 personal branding platform.  

→ barash (GTM Lead) works from the "hustle table." He has booked 75+ qualified meetings since we arrived.

→ Luca (COO) runs fulfillment from the fire corner. He's building what I believe will be the #1 client experience in our space.  

→ Mika (Senior Content Strategist) runs deep dive interviews, content calls, and coaching sessions with clients all day.

→ Selim (Head of Partnerships & Sales) operates from the "sales cave." If you've had a call with us recently, it probably happened in that room.  

→ Max Dixon (Team Lead, Customer Success) keeps raising the bar on content quality and how we deliver results.  

It's been so much fun spending time with them and all the other great people rotating in and out of the villa.  

1 month left to make good progress, enjoy the process, and wrap things up with the notus Mastermind feat. Niels Klement , Calvin Hamilton and team notus ofc.

Let's do this :)  

PS. We're accepting the last applications for our personal brand mastermind on March 21-23, so send me a DM if you're interested.

We're hosting our first mastermind of the year in Lisbon. 6 founders. 4 days. End of March. Here's what we're building:

For the past month, the notus team and I have been living together in a villa in Lisbon.

The goal was proximity, focus, and momentum. And it worked:

→ 400K+ organic impressions on LinkedIn 
→ 60+ qualified sales calls booked 
→ Product shipping faster than ever 
→ Content output at an all-time high

But the best part wasn't the metrics.

It was having people rotate through. Founders, creators, friends joining us for a few days at a time. The energy of working together in person, going for walks that turn into strategy sessions, dinners that turn into problem-solving.

So we decided to conclude our Q1 chapter in Lisbon by turning this into something bigger.

March 20-23, we're hosting an intimate mastermind for 6 founders who are already running 7-figure businesses and want to step up their personal brand game.

What we're bringing:

→ The full notus GTM playbook and systems
→ First look at our new platform 
→ Calvin Hamilton (former personal brand manager for GaryVee, Head of Brand for Ryan Serhant) 
→ Niels Klement (CMO at Perspective, bootstrapped 8-figure ARR SaaS) 
→ Professional content shoot with 2 videographers following us around 
→ Workshops, coaching sessions, content calls 
→ Coworking, shared meals, sports, and good conversations

You'll leave with a new batch of content, access to notusOS, and the systems to carry that momentum through the rest of the year.

We hosted a similar retreat in January 2025 with 25 people and sold out. This time we're keeping it intimate. 6 slots only.

Applications close end of February.

You can apply directly here: https://lnkd.in/e7PTJmaM

We’ve helped 200+ founders and executives build personal brands on LinkedIn. Every single client spends their first 14 days the same way:

𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟬: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

The clients who get the most out of our service are the ones who show up with a well-developed baseline:

• Deep expertise in their field
• Strong track record/case studies
• Good business case with Product-Market Fit
• Typically $5-10M+ in annual revenue

These founders have a clear goal:

They want a content engine that helps them scale their expertise and become the obvious choice in their space.

More awareness → more sales conversations → more opportunities (sales, recruiting, collaborations)

They have the ingredients they need to build this over a long period.

All it takes is a system that makes it consistent.

𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥:

This doesn’t mean you should wait for $5-10M ARR before getting active on LinkedIn.

I started posting before I even knew what to do with my life. It built the backbone of my B2B business today.

Over time, as the business grew, I was able to invest into a brand team and bring on my own content strategists.

If you’re inspired to make content now, do it.

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟭: 𝗢𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴

The sales call with Selim is almost like a free consultation. If someone wants to work with us further, we sign the paperwork and start the onboarding process:

→ Send a questionnaire for background/goals/company info
→ Give free resources to help them get started right away + show value
→ Schedule our kickoff meeting

The official kick-off is when the client meets their content strategist + one of our fulfilment leaders. We align on goals, identify benchmarks and milestones, and most importantly:

Block every single work blocker on the client’s calendar.

The first big blocker is our 2-hour podcast: the Deep Dive Interview. This is where we get:

• Backstory
• Current business case
• ICP trends
• Future vision

In short, this is the client’s competitive advantage: their story.

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮: 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽

In the background, we’re setting up the rest of the client’s content engine + tech:

→ ICP mapping
→ TAM Analysis + List Building
→ Media Strategy (positioning, value prop, messaging)
→ Competitor analysis
→ Content Archetype
→ Profile Revamp
→ First batch of posts

Client reviews all deliverables async, then we have a meeting to finalize the strategy and content.

𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮:

• Client’s LinkedIn profile becomes a landing page for their business
• We publish approved posts 1-3x per week
• If requested, we handle community engagement
• Strategists hosts first content call with client
• We start tracking relevant ICP signals

By Day 14, the engine is fully running.

Content calls to collect new ideas. Ideas turn into posts. Posts turn into engagement. Engagement turns into trust. Trust turns into leads. Or hires. Or partnerships.

It just keeps compounding from here.

With 35+ years of experience, this doctor was ready to become a thought leader in Swiss healthcare. He just didn’t know how to get his voice out there. We helped him secure 2 strategic board mandates through LinkedIn:

Joerg Leuppi has worn many hats during his long career:

Medical resident. Senior physician. President of an extra-parliamentary commission of the Swiss government.

The same vision has driven him throughout his career:

That every person in Switzerland should have access to world-class healthcare.

Reality doesn’t always measure up. Digitalizing the Swiss system would make it more efficient. Jörg believed he could play part in that - but he needed his voice to reach further.

He asked us if we could help him connect with key decision makers on LinkedIn. He wanted to start posting, but was worried about balancing authenticity and professionalism online.  

With notus roots being in Switzerland, we were passionate about the cause and excited to help. So we took him through our signature Personal Brand Takeover process:

1.) Strategic Foundations

We began with a Deep Dive interview to discuss Jörg’s background, goals & expertise.

From there, we revamped his profile into a landing page for health policymakers & hospital leadership.

We created a Content Archetype with 4 pillars drawn from Jörg’s own experience:

• Tactical: advice on healthcare digitization and strategic leadership
• Aspirational: case studies for digitized care, research successes
• Insightful: sharing new health proposals/laws, innovative tech
• Personal: moments from across his extensive medical career

These pillars were the starting point for the next step:

2.) Content Engine

We hosted regularly Content Calls to:

• get his latest updates on healthcare trends and policy
• hear stories from his decades in the industry
• turn this raw material into posts in his authentic voice

Jörg reviewed, edited and published these posts on his LinkedIn profile.

The first one we did went viral and we’ve been stacking impressions ever since.

3.) The results

In 2.5 years, Jörg has transformed himself into one of LinkedIn’s authoritative voices on Swiss healthcare.

He had under 900 followers when he started with us. Today, that number sits at 10,527 and growing. 500,000+ people read his posts every year.

But those aren’t the most important metrics.

What we’re most excited about: since working with us, Jörg has secured 2 strategic board mandates. He says his LinkedIn presence played a key role in landing those seats.

He was also featured on SRF as a leading voice in Swiss healthcare.

This is why we’re on LinkedIn: it’s one of the best places on the internet for professionals to meet and connect.

These connections are the real value we pursue for our partners.

It just takes the right strategy.

A huge thank you to Jörg for this amazing and ongoing collaboration.

How I post 6-7x per week on LinkedIn and hit 400k+ impressions/month with one 60-minute conversation per week:

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹

I rarely sit down to write. Instead, I have a recurring 60-minute call with my content strategist every week that I don't cancel.

If you don't have anyone to talk to, a recurring video journal works too. It's great therapy.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟰 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹

My strategist comes prepared with one topic per pillar, using our Content Archetype framework:

→ Tactical: a specific how-to I can walk through step by step
→ Aspirational: a recent win with real numbers
→ Insightful: my honest take on an industry topic
→ Personal: what's actually happening behind the scenes right now

They review performance data and the content calendar beforehand, and walk in with 3-5 researched questions per topic.

I also share whatever is top of mind that week. It keeps things current, and it's where the journey + building-in-public content comes from.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

We use Riverside to host the call. It records both sides in high quality and auto-generates the transcript. Open the browser, hit record & talk.

My strategist runs the conversation, pushes for specifics, and steers it back when I ramble

60 minutes gives around 8,000 words of raw transcript with my stories + opinions + takes.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀

The strategist uploads the full transcript into notusOS (our platform). Any LLM works here, it just might not be as good.

From there, the transcript gets broken down into individual content ideas. The more my strategist adds their own notes, the better. We don't want to rely on AI alone here.

This step also surfaces ideas from things I said in passing. (offhand comments that would normally disappear after the call)

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱: 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁𝘀

notusOS generates a first draft for each idea based on the transcript and the strategist's outline. He then refines it, edits it, and adds it to my review queue.

The output sounds like me because it is pulled from how I talk.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟲: 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄, 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 & 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲

This is where I spend my second hour. I go through every draft and ask:

→ Does this sound like me?
→ Is the insight clear?
→ Would I post this?

If something is off, I rewrite it. I add my own takes, my own nuance. Nothing goes out without my sign-off, because I sell personal branding. 

Light edits. Final approval. Schedule. Done.

52 calls per year = 208-416 pieces of content.

Two hours blocked every week allows me to post 6x per week on LinkedIn. It has become our most valuable marketing process.

P.S. If you want a step-by-step guide on how to run this process yourself, comment "notus" and I'll send it.

I still cringe a bit when I watch my first LinkedIn video from March 16th, 2019.

"What's up LinkedIn? My name is Marvin. I'm a 21 year old aspiring entrepreneur and digital marketing consultant."

No income. No clients. Just someone who heard LinkedIn was great for careers, so I hit publish.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who hates watching or listening to themselves on video.

But that awkward video still got me:

→ over 20,000 impressions
→ job offers back in Switzerland
→ my first freelance client

That first client came from someone I'd met at networking events. He saw my video, visited my profile, noticed I was getting into Facebook ads and social media management, and asked if I could help his sculpture business.

All because I decided to click post.

Every year brought more momentum. The more videos I put out, the less cringy it felt. Not gradual. More like a loop of discomfort until suddenly I wasn't as uncomfortable anymore.

Then I kept doing more and more. And it felt good.

7 years later, I've:

• published 95+ videos on YouTube
• built notus to $180k MRR
•  grown to 37,475 followers
•  worked with 200+ founders & execs on their personal brands

None of it would have happened without pressing publish on that cringy video.

The barrier to building a personal brand has never been lower. The cost of not having one has never been higher.

I was early in 2019. You'll be early in 2026 if you just start and commit.

P.s: If you scroll long enough down my timeline, you'll find the video :D (or if u really want to see it you can DM me)

49 employees at this $50 mil. ARR SaaS company are active on LinkedIn with hundreds of thousands of combined followers. They've been mastering the highest-leverage B2B growth play since 2021:

I am talking about Chili Piper & their employee-led marketing playbook.

While most people were obsessing over webinars, e-books & white papers, they built an army of content creators inside their own company all the way back in 2021.

Here are some people from their team who are still crushing it:

→ Alina Vandenberghe (Co-founder & Co-CEO, 47k followers) drives roughly 50% of Chili Piper's pipeline through her personal LinkedIn. (according to an interview she did in 2025) Her content is raw, personal, and funny. She recently posted about 10 years of building the company. Real depth, not corporate fluff.

→ Roxana Irimia (VP Marketing, 58k followers) mixes tactical breakdowns with personal stories. Posts about how to generate millions in pipeline. Show-don't-tell energy.

→ Tainah Subtil (SDR Manager, 11k followers) helps other SDRs start better conversations. A week ago she posted a meme about "outbound is dead" and tied it into Chili Piper's team closing 180% of their 2025 goals. Does her own thing, but naturally weaves in the company.

These are just the ones that come to mind - there are many more out there.

Back in 2021, while most companies were posting corporate fluff twice a week, Chili Piper had already figured out unified social presence:

- They created the #chili-love Slack channel where employees would drop posts for instant team amplification. Engagement pods before engagement pods were cool.

- They'd run coordinated social takeovers during product launches. Complete media kits with pre-written sample copy for every employee. (pouring fuel on the fire)

- They encouraged employees to post about whatever they wanted, turning social activity from a chore into personal brand development. Complete freedom meant an abundance of authentic content.

Four years later, this system still seems to be running to a certain extent.

They have 260+ employees on LinkedIn. Only around 40-50 are currently active, but they all have a unified brand stamp. That pepper emoji 🌶️, orange borders & orange backgrounds on profile pictures, [Title] at Chili Piper in their headlines.

Even if employees don't post but just interact here and there, they're creating a positive brand impression of Chili Piper and stamping themselves all over LinkedIn.

They pioneered what most companies are only waking up to now.

Your company page will never have what your people have:

→ peers who relate to them
→ personal networks built over years
→ the credibility of doing the actual work

Founder-led content is powerful. Employee-led content is how you scale it.

Chili Piper understood this early, wonder who's going to be next?

P.S. If you want the article from an ex-Chili Piper employee breaking down their 2021 strategy, DM me a 🌶️ and me/another notus member will send it.

The Shield Index just dropped data from 50,000 LinkedIn posts. Here's the benchmark for typical impressions per post:

0–1,000 followers = 167 impressions (–)
1,000–5,000 followers = 469 impressions (–)
5,000–10,000 followers = 798 impressions (↑)
10,000–25,000 followers = 1,280 impressions (↑)
25,000–50,000 followers = 2,464 impressions (↑)
50,000–100,000 followers = 5,372 impressions (↑)

For context, I have 37,628 followers and my average impressions per post are 12,173.

Here's my take after 6+ years of posting on LinkedIn:

Benchmarks are useful for orientation. It's good to know where you stand vs. the average. Shoutout to andreas jonsson and Shield for pulling this data together.

But strategically, these numbers are almost irrelevant.

- You can have 100,000 followers and get 500 impressions.
- You can have 100 followers and get 10k impressions.

The correlation exists in aggregate, but individually it breaks down fast.

What actually drives impressions:

→ How relevant your content is to your audience (Topic selcetion) 
→ How strong your hooks are (Copywriting) 
→ Which formats you use (and how well you use them) 
→ How active you are on the platform overall

When I posted my first LinkedIn video 6 years ago with 400 followers, I got 20k impressions. The platform had less content, supply and demand was different. That same video today probably gets 5k.

My impressions didn't grow because my followers grew. They grew because my content got better, my hooks got sharper, and I learned what my audience actually wants.

One more thing I've noticed lately: saves seem to be a bigger signal than before.

We've had posts with less likes than usual but way more impressions. The common thread was high save counts.

My hypothesis is LinkedIn is using saves to fight back against AI slop and engagement pods.

Silent readers who save your post might matter more than people who drop a quick "Great post!"

TL;DR - Know your benchmarks. Then focus on what you can control.

In October 2025, LinkedIn became one of the top 5 most-cited domains across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode.

When people ask AI about your industry, your market, your expertise, LinkedIn content is now one of the primary sources for those answers.

The data is clear:

• Reddit citations on ChatGPT dropped from 60% to 10%
• Wikipedia fell from 55% to under 20%
• LinkedIn citations rose across all platforms

AI systems are diversifying their sources. They're rewarding consistent, professional content.

This ties into something I've been saying to founders for years:

Google your name and see where LinkedIn appears. Usually it's one of the first results. That shows you how often people land on your profile after meeting you at an event or hearing your name somewhere.

Now we're seeing the second piece. It's not just your profile. It's the content library you build when you show up consistently.

We actually noticed this in our own data. notus uses self-reported attribution on our website, and people started typing in "ChatGPT" as how they found us when booking a meeting. I was confused at first. Then it clicked:

The content we've been publishing for years is now influencing how AI tools surface recommendations.

I took a 2.5 week vacation recently and didn't post once. We still generated leads and impressions because the algorithm kept surfacing older content to people.

That's the compounding effect of evergreen content. You're not just chasing views on a platform. You're building long-term brand equity that increases the likelihood people discover you, independent of any single post's performance.

The lesson for B2B founders: build a content ecosystem where your ideal audience spends time. For most right now, that's LinkedIn.

Start with the founder or an executive who believes in the mission, has stories to tell, and is in it for the long run.

This is the new SEO (and so much more)

After booking 502 demos with a 45.76% reply rate in 2025, here's our 5-part signal-based outreach framework that actually works on LinkedIn:

𝟭. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁

Cold outreach works, but it's way less predictable on LinkedIn.

People who like, comment, visit my profile, or send connection requests already know who I am.

They're warm & this is where I focus my energy.

I save (most) cold outreach for channels like email where it's more effective.

𝟮. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹, 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗼

No pitching in the first message. You don’t want to front-load the conversation.

Instead: I keep it casual and brief based on their signal. I ask questions that help them share real pain. I acknowledge what they say. Add small statements. Then ask the next question.

The goal is leading the conversation where I want it to go, while taking it slow. 

Work from abundance.

𝟯. 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽

Long paragraphs and "Best regards" slows down momentum.

Multiple short messages work better than one long block. Abbreviations and slang that fit the context. One-word replies as standalone messages.

Obviously I adjust based on who I'm talking to, but texting like a friend beats the formal email style almost every time.

𝟰. 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 > 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘆

I don't say: "Would you maybe have time for a quick call?"

I say: "Wanna do that? I should have some time next week."

I'm leading instead of asking for permission.

I'm also positioning myself as someone who can help them, not someone who desperately needs their business.

Subtle shift & it'll completely change how my messages land.

𝟱. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆

Quality over quantity. Timing matters more than volume.

I follow up based on the conversation we had. Something relevant to what they mentioned. A post that ties to their challenge. A quick insight based on their situation.

In my opinion, there isn't a "perfect follow-up". I analyze each conversation. I figure out what value makes sense to share next.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆:

→ Step 1: Open Sales Navigator, filter for first-degree connections in your ICP

→ Step 2: Apply C-level, founder, or relevant job title filters (plus industry)

→ Step 3: Find 200-300 people you're connected to but never messaged

→ Step 4: Send them: "Hey, we've been connected for a while, never said hi."

→ Step 5: See where each conversation goes and practice the messaging style

→ Step 6: Layer in signal tracking for your LinkedIn posts as you improve (you'll be able to send more DMs)

→ Step 7: Focus on leaving value in every interaction. Detach from the outcome.

The rest will follow.

P.S.: This week’s Content Founder newsletter breaks down the complete framework, comment SIGNALS (and connect with the keyword if you want it quicker), and I’ll send it your way.

Last week I took a full ski vacation and didn't open my LinkedIn once, yet we still managed to post 7x that week and generate 110k+ impressions. All because of a content engine we've built over the years. Here's how it works:  

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸  

barash uses our content archetype to map out the content calendar weeks in advance. It's made up of 4 pillars:  

• Tactical: Immediately actionable information (like this post) 
• Aspirational: Case studies & success story breakdowns 
• Insightful: Industry insights & opinions on trends 
• Personal: Behind-the-scenes stories & building in public  

This helps him generate relevant ideas and stay consistent with the topics we cover. Before my vacation, he already had the full week mapped out.  

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹  

Once topics are locked, Barash does additional research and prepares targeted questions designed to pull my POV, contrarian takes, and stories.  

We hop on a call recorded in Riverside. Sometimes I also send voice notes or draft posts myself on topics I want to cover.  

Either way, everything gets uploaded into our platform notusOS, which creates great first drafts.  

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲  

Before my ski trip, I sat down and reviewed everything Barash had prepared. Because the system was already running, I could approve an entire week's content in one 2hr session.  

That time gets me 6-7 LinkedIn posts, repurposing material for our newsletter, and evergreen content we can revisit later. Our rule of thumb: every three months you can repurpose your best content.  

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆  

Barash schedules everything. Posts go live. I'm on the slopes, daydreaming about the lunch buffet and the notus empire.  

This is how I post 6x per week while running a 20+ person agency. The content feels authentic because it comes from real conversations about what's actually happening in my business.  

It's also the same system we implement for our clients at notus.  

P.S. Want our content engine template we used to manage all of this? Comment "ENGINE" and I'll send it over. :)

The CEO of a $156 billion company carved out time to personally interview celebrities on 33 podcast episodes. Yet founders with teams of 20+ still say "content isn't a priority right now."

Jim Farley runs Ford. One of the largest automakers in the world.

And yet he personally hosted DRIVE, a podcast where he interviewed T-Pain, Rob Gronkowski, Kelly Clarkson, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Tom Brady, and many more celebrity guests.

He didn't delegate it to a different host. He didn't hand it off to his communications team. He decided to spearhead the communication himself and be the face of Ford's content distribution.

The comments on auto forums say it all:

→ "This podcast makes me want to buy more Ford vehicles"
→ "Jim is one of us and a rare CEO with both knowledge and passion"
→ "Jim is out front talking up Ford while Mary Barra at GM keeps a fairly low profile"

There's a clear pattern: people are drawn to Ford over other brands because it feels human and personal.

This isn't just brand affinity. Farley understood something strategic: when founders control their narrative directly, as Lulu Cheng puts it, they "shape the information environment their companies need to thrive." They build movements, not just businesses.

CEO-led content isn't limited to automotive.

One of our partners, Hubert Rhomberg, CEO of one of the largest construction companies in Austria, saw this firsthand. When we launched his YouTube channel, the response was immediate. 

15,900+ subscribers and hundreds of thousands of views later, people consistently comment about how refreshing it is to see the authentic perspective of a CEO who built a billion-dollar company.

The smartest founders understand something counterintuitive: your communication responsibility grows with your company, not shrinks.

The more momentum you have → the busier you get → the more important it becomes to keep communication active and own the narrative.

Both cases prove the same thing: when founders show up as real people, audiences respond.

Your passion, vision, and conviction can't be simulated by others. The story is your product. And the CEOs who take responsibility for their company's voice are building trust and competitive advantages their competitors can't buy with ads.

If the CEO of a Fortune 500 company has time for a weekly podcast, you definitely have time to post on LinkedIn.

taplio

The Battle

Henrik Bredenbals

Marvin Sanginés

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreMarvin Sanginés's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Henrik Bredenbals

Marvin Sanginés

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);}Marvin Sanginés's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMarvin Sanginés's LinkedIn Performance