Jake Summerhayes

Working with founders and business Leaders to craft powerful and authentic personal brands. 

Why? Because reputation matters. 

- 82% of customers trust a company when their senior management members are active on social media

- Brand messages are shared 24x more on personal accounts compared to company accounts

- Customers are willing to pay 13.5x more for elite industry experts

Yet only 1% of LinkedIn's 700 million users share weekly content. 

Our mission at Kurogo is to solve that.

Kurogo is derived from the Japanese ‘Kuroko’ referring to the black clad stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre.

The convention of wearing black implying the invisibility of the wearer on stage. 

We are your Kurogo. 

Directing, driving and delivering your personal brand from the background. 

Giving you the spotlight to excel in what you do best.

Head Of Client Services

I routinely ask our team members to fuck off.

When they:

- Open client chats while on holiday
- Message me when they’re off
- Refuse to step away while being ill
- Go far beyond the scope when unnecessary
- Don’t take enough breaks
- Log on to do some “quick work” on weekends

I’ve far from mastered work-life balance, but I don’t buy into the hustle culture nonsense for one second.

Client Services Director @ Kurogo | We create thought leaders through Personal Branding

If I should die, make sure not to cancel the standups,
If I should die, finish off my client reports,
If I should die, activate my out of office.

Unable are the loved to die, for the value we build for shareholders is immortality.

Life before Bailey:

- Nail 4 Red Bulls a day
- Logging onto Slack at 9:15am
- Stay up till 1 am watching TikToks

Life after getting him:

- Up at 6am for morning walks
- Client retention is up 23% (coincidence? don’t think so)
- Team love me more when they see him chilling in my office on calls
- I have to get up and go outside multiple times a day to take him on walks
- More LinkedIn clout as a dog parent

If you’re struggling for routine/structure, get a dog 🐶❤️

P.S. Should I start building his personal brand or am I too late already?

"How do I get a job at Kurogo"?

We’re adding a new team member almost every month right now, and I get asked this question every week.

Here’s what you must believe to thrive at Kurogo 👇🏻

- Radical responsibility
If you say you will do something, you do it.
No blaming, no excuses, no “busy week mate”.
You own your work, your learning, and your tasks.
So you gotta pull your weight.

- Constant improvement
You look at your work and ask where you can push more.
You ask for feedback. You take it on the chin.
You give feedback with care.
You care about getting better every week.

- Client obsession
Clients are the lifeblood.
You think about them before you think about yourself.
You go beyond the scope when it is right.
You are more ambitious for their brand than they are.

- Equality
Titles aren't the most impressive thing to us.
Age does not matter.
Great ideas can come from any voice on the call.
You treat everyone with respect.
Above all, you are kind in a hard industry.

- Pride in the basics
You meet deadlines.
You keep your promises.
You communicate clearly and often.
You deliver work accurately the first time.
You take pride in things most people are lazy about.

At Kurogo, the people we hire are the foundation of our success.

I can say with utmost certainty right now that every person on the team is one of the best at what they do. 

Honestly, what more can you want as a leader?

More than half of our hires over the past year have discovered the company through one team member’s personal brand.

And this lad isn’t even a part of our senior team.

Now imagine how much top talent you can attract if everyone from your leadership team were building their personal brands.

If you want the best people to join your business, don’t sleep on EGC (employee-generated content).

Post through personal profile = good 👍
Post only through company profile = waste 👎
Don’t post anything ever = bad 👎👎

Optimise your profile and post = good 👍
Not optimise your profile and post = waste 👎
Not optimise your profile and no post = bad 👎👎

Post well written, formatted content to help people = good 👍
Post unoptimised random content to help people = waste 👎
Post motivational quotes with no value = bad 👎👎

Connect with targeted people and network = good 👍
Connect with random people and no talk = waste 👎
Connect with everyone and pitch = f*cking 👎👎

--

Download our full guide to personal branding (see comments) = good 👍

Kurogo - Personal Branding Agency Branding Agency turned 5 last month, so we asked our team why they love working here, this is what they said 👇🏻❤️

We asked our team what the best part of their job is 

The true cost of not building a personal brand is that:

Reputation compounds, but so does silence.

The market doesn’t reward hidden operators.

It rewards visible thinkers.

You don’t need to be an influencer.
You just need to be findable.

Because when recruiters, founders, or investors look you up and see nothing…

You’ve already lost half the battle.

📷 - me when Sam G. Winsbury asks me to post more InDuStRy InSiGhTs

We’re a team of 21 people in 3 continents.

These 5 tools stop us from going insane having meetings all day ⬇️

1. Slack: every time I have to use Teams I almost cry
2. Loom: NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS A 60 MINS MEETING
3. Fathom: so that I don’t have to rely on my brain to remember stuff
4. Notion: makes complicated shit easier, also makes everything look good
5. Canva: makes creativity easy for artistically challenged people 🙋🏻‍♂️

When your content is so dangerously good, LinkedIn decides to keep it a secret.

We’ve packaged the system we use to build personal brands that actually drive revenue into one  guide:

🚨 How To Become The Authority, Sign More Clients and Grow Your Business In 2026.

Growing a business in 2026 is a bit of a minefield.
What worked a few years ago doesn’t work the same anymore.

Cold outreach gets ignored.
Ads get more expensive.
Buyers take longer to decide.

And the most frustrating bit…
You’ll often see competitors who aren’t even as good doing better than you.

It’s not luck.
The market has changed.
People don’t buy like they did in 2016 anymore.

Back then, it was simple:
Ad → Click → Buy.

Now the journey is messy.

Prospects research you.
Check your profile.
Look at your content.
Ask their network.
Watch you for months before reaching out.

So when you consistently share your thinking, ideas and expertise online:

- Prospects trust you before the first call
- Sales cycles shorten
- Your content becomes a 24/7 salesperson
- Opportunities come to you instead of the other way around

That’s exactly what this guide breaks down.

Inside you’ll find:

→ The 9-step Authority Engine we use with clients
→ How to position yourself so people actually listen
→ The G-A-C content system that drives growth, trust and clients
→ How to social sell without being a LinkedIn knobhead
→ The lead capture and conversion ecosystem that turns attention into revenue

If you’re a founder or marketing leader trying to grow in 2026, this is the system that’s working right now.

To get free access:

1. Like this post
2. Comment “AUTHORITY”
3. Make sure you’re following me so I can share ✅

“I don’t want to be one of those LinkedIn people.” Fair.

But the issue is… 

You’re already being judged.

By:

- Prospective hires.
- Agencies pitching you.
- Founders considering you.
- Recruiters building lists.

And if the only thing they see is:
“Head of Marketing at X” (company name, not platform)

You look like everyone else.

Your thinking is your edge.
But if you never publish it, it has zero market value.

I’m not saying go the random selfies and hustle posts route.

But in 2026, documented perspective matters more than ever, because:

If you don’t shape your narrative, someone else will (usually poorly).

So with that in mind, what impression do you get of me from this work setup?

This is who you’re talking to when you say you’re ‘taking it in-house’ btw

Right here's the truth with LinkedIn content:

Your first two lines decide everything. Fuck them up and your post is invisible.

You can spend an hour on a post.
Pour your soul into it.
Share your best framework.

But if the hook is weak, nobody sees it.
You are shouting into the void.

I like big views.
I love leads more.

We use a simple way to write posts that both grow and sell:

1️⃣ First: find the right angle

Same idea.
Two options:

- “5 tips to write content”
- “How I pulled 100,000 views from one post”

One is homework.
One is clicks 💷

Good angles:

- Create curiosity
- Feel unexpected
- Go against the crowd
- Sound a bit extreme

“Good and bad” dies.
“Best and worst” wins.

2️⃣ Channel your inner psycho editor

You only get one or two lines before the reader has to click “see more”.
Miss that and nothing else matters.

Two ways our elite writing team writes hooks:

- Cliffhangers for stories
- Promising value for how-to posts

Then we stack the posts with:

→ Personal proof
→ Clear payoff
→ Numbers
→ Key pain points of one clear person we're speaking to

“I got 187,392 views with this hook framework. Here is how you steal it.”

That gets clicks from the right people.

3️⃣ Deliver or get called clickbait

Once they click, we owe them.
We keep the body:

- Stupid simple (grade 8 level)
- Full of white space
- Built around a clear process or framework

High perceived value + low effort to read = holy grail.

Your hook wins attention.
Your post's body earns trust.
Both together build authority 🤝🏻

I'm in a generous mood today, so here are 228 of our best hooks:

https://lnkd.in/e5fX5YKT

P.S.

Join our waitlist for free personal branding workshops (no pitches ever, I promise)

https://lnkd.in/exVYf5Pc

If your leaders are invisible online, your company might already be losing the trust game.

Your board think “brand” is logos.
Your execs think “visibility” is speaking at one conference a year.
Your marketing team post safe beige nonsense from the company page.

Meanwhile, your buyers stalk people, not PDFs.

They check who runs the place.
What they believe.
How they think.

82% of customers trust a company more when senior leaders show up on social.

Leaders who:

- Share how they make decisions
- Admit when they got it wrong
- Talk like a human, not a press release

When a CEO posts every week, three things happen:

1. Trust goes up.
People see a real person, not a logo, behind the promise.

2. Influence goes up.
Decision makers think “I know how this person thinks, I can bet on them.”

3. Alignment goes up.
Teams stop guessing the strategy, because they can read it in plain sight.

—

Personal branding for leaders is not vanity.

It is how you export your judgement at scale.

It is how you turn “our values” from poster fluff into visible behaviour.

💬 If you don’t know where to start, grab our free guide from the link in the comments, it’s a new resource we built to help you leverage LinkedIn to scale your business, reputation, and audience.

LinkedIn is a lot like dating.

And there are two types of people on LinkedIn.
(Both are doing it wrong).

- First type:

They propose on the first date.
They connect with you and immediately hit you with:
“Hey mate. Loved your profile. Want to jump on a quick call to discuss how we can 10x synergies?”

Instant ick.

- Second type:

They never propose at all.
They post for months.
They get followers.
They get DMs like “this is really good”.
They get profile views.

And they do absolutely nothing with it because they’re scared of being “salesy”.

So they stay in the talking stage forever. Neither wins.

The sweet spot is what we call hand raises 🙋🏻‍♂️

That’s when someone is basically telling you:
“I’m interested in what you do.”

Examples of hand raises:

• They view your profile
• They like and comment regularly
• They follow you after a strong post
• They join your newsletter
• They DM you with an actual question
• They keep showing up

These are hot prospects.
Not because they’re ready to buy today.

But because you’re already on their radar.
So your job is not to pitch them.

Your job is to start a normal conversation and nudge.

➡️ Here’s the simple play:

1. Spot the hand raise

Profile views. Repeat engagers. New followers.

2. Send a normal message

No pitch. No calendar link. No “just circling back”.
Something like:
“Alright mate. Seen you’ve been engaging on a few posts. What side of marketing are you focused on this year?”

3. Listen, then help

If they mention a problem, you can share something useful.

4. Only then offer a next step

If they keep asking questions, they’re basically inviting it.

—

If you want the full breakdown of how to sell effectively on LinkedIn, we put the blueprint in this ultimate guide. I’ll leave a link to it in the comments for you.

As a kid, I’d watch people on TV and think:

“You’re a doughnut. Who let you on camera?”

What I realise today though, is that this was the OG personal branding.

You were handed visibility and opportunities that others didn’t get because you had the skills, sure, but also a strong brand.

Personal branding isn’t new.
We just gave it a name.

What’s changed is not the concept.
It’s access.

PR used to be for the top 5-10%.
Now, reputation building is democratised because social media exists.

Personal branding isn’t a trend.
It’s a core distribution channel that can’t be ignored anymore.

Leaders are forced to be visible, whether they like it or not, so you might as well control the narrative.

—

We’ve built 350+ personal brands. Join the waitlist to learn all our personal branding knowledge for free (no pitches I promise) 👊🏻

https://lnkd.in/exVYf5Pc

It does my head in how many marketing execs think the problem is still demand gen.

When what they really have is a visibility problem.

If you’re hitting pipeline targets, running paid, got the CRM dialled in.

But no one knows who you are or what you do…

I hate to break it to you mate 😶

When budgets tighten, attention shifts.
Boards don’t double down on anonymous operators.

They double down on visible leaders.

The uncomfortable truth:

If your CEO is invisible, and you’re invisible, your company feels invisible.

Company pages don’t build authority. People do.

And yet most marketing leaders still treat personal branding like a side quest.

Here’s what actually happens when leadership shows up consistently:

✅ Sales cycles shorten.
✅ Inbound quality improves.
✅ Recruitment gets easier.
✅Pricing pressure drops.
✅ Category authority compounds.

This isn’t about ego.

It’s about risk and reputation management (which I know a thing or two about)

Reputation is insurance.

Ignore it now, pay for it later - upto you.

Most founders post for likes. 
Smart founders post for leads.

Here is how I think about content when we build accounts at Kurogo:

This is based on: 

→ building 350 accounts
→ Writing over 40,000 posts 
→ hundreds of millions of views)

Your content has 3 jobs, not 1:

- Growth content → pull new people into your world
- Authority content → prove you are the safe, obvious choice
- Conversion content → move buyers from “interested” to “where do I pay?”

Miss one of these and you’re wasting your time. 

Every post should look like this:

- Hook that stops the scroll
- Clear point of view
- Proof you’re not chatting nonsense
- Takeaway or CTA
- Ideally, a complementary image

Not viral cringe fluff.
Not vague “authentic” nonsense.
Not oversharing for your dopamine fix.

Just ideas/opinions from lived experience.

Hope this helps ✌️

80% of businesses fall into one of two marketing camps. Both are shite.

➡️ Camp 1: No marketing

These are the people who say:
“We just focus on doing great work. It speaks for itself.”

Lovely sentiment.
But in 2026, great work is table stakes.
There are thousands of people doing good work in every industry.
If nobody knows about yours, congratulations.
You’ve become the best-kept secret in your industry.

➡️ Camp 2: Send and spend

These are the people who say:

“Just send more emails.”
“Run more ads.”
“Book more cold calls.”

So they:

- Blast cold emails
- Hammer the phones
- Spend a fortune on ads

And yeah… they convert 0.1% of people.
Which technically works.

But the moment they stop sending or spending, the pipeline disappears overnight.

It’s basically marketing on life support.

—

What if I told you there’s a third option?

➡️ Authority Positioning

Instead of chasing attention every day,
You build a reputation that brings people to you through:

- Content
- Ideas
- Perspective
- Proof

Suddenly, prospects show up already knowing you.
Already trusting you.
Already halfway sold.

We see it every week.
Someone messages our clients saying:
“Been seeing your posts for months. Can we talk?”

That’s not magic.
That’s what happens when trust is built before the sales call.

—

If you want the full breakdown of how this works, we’ve just put it into a step-by-step system called:

💡 The Authority Engine.

It covers:

- Positioning
- Content strategy
- Profile optimisation
- Social selling
- Lead capture

Basically, it teaches you how to stop chasing leads and start attracting them.

I’m not selling you anything, just drop me a DM saying “TAE” and I’ll share free access 😊

📷 - How the team used this exact system to get these insane results for Shan Hanif

Building CFI India | 140k + followers | 50M + views | Accelerating the social media growth of people, founders, and startups | Talks about Finance, Career and Lifestyle | I write reality

With over 4.5 years of experience in the Fintech and financial services industry, I specialize in Financial Analysis, company analysis, Social Media Management, Growth and Gtrategy, Finance Content Creation, Fundamental Analysis, Ratio Analysis and Equity Research. I've worked extensively Handling all social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Linkedln to amplify the reach and boost the organic visibility.

I’ve analyzed financial statements of over 100+ companies, assessed credit risk, and built robust financial models to support investment recommendations and strategic planning. My work consistently helps stakeholders make high-impact decisions backed by data.

Beyond finance, I’ve built a strong personal brand on LinkedIn, combining my expertise with a talent for storytelling. I’ve helped 30+ founders and professionals craft compelling narratives and improve their digital presence through personal branding, content strategy, and thought leadership.

This blend of analytical thinking and communication allows me to bridge the gap between numbers and narrative empowering both businesses and individuals to grow with clarity and purpose.

Looking for insights in financial research, personal branding, career development, or corporate training? Let’s connect.

Reach out via DM or email me at siddhantgarg19@gmail.com I’m always open to collaborating, mentoring, or contributing to your growth.

Siddhant Garg

₹10 crore in India is freedom.
Not luxury. Not yachts.

Freedom.
Freedom to say no.
Freedom to switch careers.
Freedom to take a break.
Freedom to not panic over every market crash or job loss.

The interesting part?
For a dual-income professional couple starting in their mid-20s, building ₹10Cr by 40–45 isn’t unrealistic.

With consistent investing, 12–15% returns, and discipline it’s math, not magic.

Yet, very few reach there.
Why?

Because most people block their biggest wealth-building years early.
At 25 or 28, emotions take over:
 “Own house = success.”
 “Rent is waste.”
 “Everyone is buying.”

So they lock themselves into a 20–25 year EMI.

And once ₹40K–₹80K per month goes into EMIs, flexibility disappears.
Risk-taking reduces.
Investing slows down.

It’s not that buying a house is wrong.
It’s about timing.

The first 10–15 earning years are your compounding years.
 If you protect them, they change your life.
 If you block them, they control your life.

Only 2% think long term.
The other 98% follow emotion.
So here’s the real question:

Are we buying assets for freedom or buying liabilities for validation?

If you want to become financially aware and secure better loan deals, you can join our community of like-minded people working toward smarter financial decisions.

Link to join - https://lnkd.in/gaQgKEH7

#finance #stockmarket #investing #money #wealth #mentalhealth

These 5 financial milestones are not optional. They are the need of the hour.
Everyone has different dreams, lifestyles, and goals.

But there’s a basic financial foundation that everyone needs at least as a minimum to live freely and peacefully.

I’m not saying you should stress yourself trying to achieve these overnight.
But if you start early and stay consistent, you can realistically reach these milestones before 30.

And once you do, life changes.

Not just financially but mentally.

Because the truth is, today 90% of problems can be solved with money and the right wisdom about spending and investing it.

When you combine these two elements, you create stability.
And stability creates freedom.

If I had to define 5 core financial milestones, they would be:
• ₹30 lakh minimum net worth
• 6 months of emergency fund
• Zero consumer debt (no credit card or personal loan outstanding)
• Health insurance with at least ₹20 lakh cover
• Term insurance with at least ₹2.5 crore cover

This isn’t about showing off wealth.
It’s about building a safety net strong enough that life’s surprises don’t break you.

Once your base is secure, growth becomes easier and stress becomes lighter.

What’s your view?

Are these realistic minimums or would you change something?

#finance #stockmarket #investing #india #wealth #money #investments

When I say choose a life partner, not a lifestyle partner, I truly mean it.
It means both partners are hardworking and planning for a great futurewhile also enjoying the present.

Recently, I connected with a couple who are consistently investing a part of their income to build long-term wealth.

At the same time, they are enjoying life today.

They go on trips
They go out for dinners
They go for movie dates
They go on long drives
They work on a small business alongside their jobs
They are planning to raise their children with good values
They have proper insurance coverage
They support each other during low phases and celebrate good times
They make plans to spend quality time together
All of this is possible when there is clarity in the mind.

Confusion creates trouble.
But when you clearly decide what you want and plan for it, things usually work out.

So let me know your opinion in the comments.

Do you really need a lifestyle partner or a life partner?

#finance #money #mindset #wealth #stockmarket #Investing

One of my friends is now in mid career age and doing well on papers but shared one honest thing one day 

I don’t need another certificate. I need learning that actually helps me grow.

I think most of the newly edtech platforms are not able to understand what actually the learner or candidate wants because

They chased scale, discounts, and quick wins.

But that’s where Jaro Education quietly did the opposite.

jaro education never tried to replace universities or become a mass-learning app. Instead, it chose a clear role enabling top institutions to reach working professionals through online and blended programs.

For learners, this means:
- Credible education without quitting a full-time job
- Flexible learning that fits real life
- Programs linked to real career outcomes

For universities, it means:

- Scaling beyond physical campuses
- Staying relevant to industry needs
- Reaching the right professionals, not just more students

Jaro handles the ecosystem outreach, learner experience, technology, insights while institutions own academics and degrees.

No hype. No shortcuts. Just a model built for the long term.

That’s why, when edtech faced turbulence, Jaro scaled with trust intact.

Because real education isn’t about trends.

 It’s about outcomes that last.

What do you think, Let me know your opinion in comments

#education #mindset #skills #technicaleducation

Is it a good idea to take a loan for a wedding just because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event?

Someone reached out to me during a 1:1 session. He’s getting married in the next 8 months.

He said,
 “Siddhant, I have ₹6 lakh in savings, and my total wedding expense is ₹10 lakh. Should I take a loan?”

Instead of directly saying yes or no, I asked him something important:
What other possible sources do you have?

Let’s keep debt as the last option or avoid it completely if possible.

I suggested a few alternatives:

Can you arrange interest-free money from relatives, close friends, or cousins?
Are you expecting any bonus or additional income in the coming months?

Do you have anything at home that’s unused and can be sold? 

Maybe an old bike, scooter, car, or anything else that can generate some extra cash?


And so on.

My suggestion was simple:

 Avoid a loan as much as possible, so you don’t start your married life worrying about EMIs and debt pressure.

After one month, he came back with a big smile.

He said he managed to arrange the extra money through relatives, selling unused items, and an upcoming bonus.

Sometimes, solutions exist.

But because of so much noise around us, we fail to identify them.

That’s exactly why I’m here to cut the noise and help you make better financial decisions.

Now tell me,
Do you think it’s a good idea to take debt for a wedding?

Share your opinion in the comments.

#finance #wealth #money #mindset #investing #stockmarket

Company delayed salary by 20 days.

What would you do?
Recently, I was speaking to a friend. His salary was delayed by more than 20 days.

But his EMIs weren’t delayed.
Banks don’t wait.

 They start calling.
 They charge late fees.
 They affect your credit score.

So whose fault is it?

The bank’s?
The company’s?
Yours?
Or just the situation?
Salaries can get delayed sometimes.

EMIs can’t.
So what are the options?

A) Pay the minimum due
B) Borrow from a friend
C) Use a credit card
D) Ignore the calls

This is exactly why an emergency fund matters ideally 6–12 months of survival expenses without depending on salary.

But the real question is:

Does everyone actually have that cushion?

Maybe not.

Then what should someone do in this situation?
I’d love to know your thoughts.

#finance #stockmarket #money #investments #wealth #investing

taplio

The Battle

Jake Summerhayes

Siddhant Garg

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJake Summerhayes's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreSiddhant Garg's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Jake Summerhayes

Siddhant Garg

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);}Jake Summerhayes's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreSiddhant Garg's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJake Summerhayes's LinkedIn Performance