Joris van Huët

Grow Your Boat

Still figuring out where your revenue comes from as a Fashion brand running on Shopify doing > 30K MRR? Read on 👇

We do this:

Connect your marketing data sources,
>>>
Ask questions,
>>>
Act upon clear and actionable insights.

We cure frustrated DTC brands of their inaccurate data analytics.

It's really that simple.

Founder & CEO

marketingupgrade.pro

People call me when their marketing broke or it's slowing down. We then have a fun call after which a usually equally fun follow-up meeting takes place. By then we've narrowed down what needs to be down and how much time will be needed to get there.

Owner - Performance marketeer - EN, FR & NL

Marketing Advisor - NL

Scaled DTC brands in the Netherlands doing 1Mio+ ARR.

- Paid Social performance marketing execution.
- Growth Manager of a performance marketing team (5).

Senior Growth Specialist - NL

Helped design, build and operate inbound - and outbound marketing systems.

Digital Marketeer - NL & EN

Helped validate and / or soft launch MVP's designed by R&D departments of AAA's in the F&B, GM/HBC and Financial Services industries.

Corporate Venture Marketeer - EN & FR

Helped with the definition, conception, implementation and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish Briqwise as a global brand.

Chief Marketing Officer - Briqwise - NL & EN

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Helped Tournify with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish Tournify as a global brand.

Chief Marketing Officer - Tournify - EN, FR & NL

I worked as a research assistant for Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch executive agency for public works and water management. My main task was to conduct a research project on how to scale the use of second hand furniture in the Netherlands to bolster sustainability in the industry.

The research project involved:

- Reviewing the literature on the environmental and social benefits of second hand furniture, as well as the barriers and drivers for its adoption by consumers and businesses.

- Conducting interviews and surveys with various stakeholders, such as furniture manufacturers, retailers, resellers, refurbishers, NGOs, and customers.

- Analyzing the data and identifying the best practices, opportunities, and challenges for scaling the use of second hand furniture in the Netherlands.

- Developing recommendations and strategies for Rijkswaterstaat and other relevant actors to promote and facilitate the circular economy of furniture.

The research project was a valuable learning experience for me, as I gained insights into the complex and dynamic system of furniture production and consumption, and the potential for circular solutions to reduce waste and emissions, while creating social and economic value. I also improved my skills in research design, data collection and analysis, report writing, and stakeholder engagement.

I enjoyed working with a diverse and motivated team of researchers, consultants, and experts from Rijkswaterstaat and other organizations. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important and innovative project.

(a.i.) Marketing Advisor - Rijkswaterstaat

Whether it’s a card game for two players with battling animals, a tactics game for your PC or your favorite digital board game on mobile, Grumpy Owl Games wants to turn your game experience into something that puts a smile on your face.

Smiling is a lot easier if the game you’re playing is easy to understand, nice to look at and makes you come back for more. That is why we create beautiful, accessible and high-quality games for your screens and tabletop.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Grumpy Owl Games with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the Grumpy Owl Games brand worldwide.

(a.i.) Marketing - Grumpy Owl Games - EN, FR & NL

Huispedia aims to democratize the real estate industry and give the power back to whom it's all about: the homeowners.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Huispedia further establish their brand among homeowners in the Netherlands.

(a.i.) Marketing Advisor - Huispedia - NL

INNOVATE is committed to finding and supporting the Most Innovative Student in the
Netherlands. The grand ideas of tomorrow should be given a stage today. That’s why
we are looking for students with either an idea or a functioning start-up, who aim
to solve social and environmental issues. Ideas that tackle macro problems and are
being worked on to produce a head-on solution. Social inequality, climate change, the
relationship between essential data and privacy: in order to face the societal challenges
of the future, we have a hunch you’re out there coming up with innovative solutions.

(a.i.) Marketing Manager @ Innovatiefste Student van Nederland - INNOVATE

INNOVATE has the power to inspire people, and to show that innovation is something you should do, especially when things go wrong. That is why INNOVATE was there in 2020. This time we mainly manifested ourselves digitally, and not in the form of all kinds of large physical events. We developed into an online platform where others can present themselves, and organized no fewer than 5 online (live) INNOVATE Meetups with dozens of innovative parties from the Arnhem, Nijmegen and Wageningen region. This formula provided connection, inspiration and activation. In 2021, we will continue to work from that online vision for the time being. There will also be a number of offline activities, where regulations allow.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps INNOVATE with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Communication strategies. Together we aim to further establish the INNOVATE brand, mainly in the Netherlands.

(a.i.) Marketing Manager - INNOVATE

It is only logical to use existing materials and to produce locally with fair conditions and transparent payments while designing products that last. We see waste materials as a mountain full of potential, and by simply maximizing the lifespan of materials we aim to reduce the waste pile, one bag at a time.

Introducing our bag made out of banners, car seatbelts and inner tubes from bicycles. For every occasion, we got your bag!

Co-Founder - Het Nieuwe Logisch - EN & NL

The Bin creates products from waste. With us, any company in any industry can become part of the new economy. Simluator of the circular economy.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps The Bin with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the The Bin brand, mainly in the Netherlands.

(.a.i.) Marketing Lead - The Bin

Health organizations and insitutes come to Amulet for custom eHealth platforms, (web)apps, portal and websites. Thanks to a broad range of clients we are familiair with a number of technologies and innovations, which we can apply in each industry. Our belief is that tech is a tool the bring joy to hard-working individuals.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Amulet with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the Amulet brand, mainly in the Netherlands.

(a.i.) Marketing Lead - Amulet

Start-up minded companies come to IGNE for platforms, (web)apps, portal and websites. Thanks to a broad range of clients we are familiair with a number of technologies and innovations, which we can apply in each industry. Our belief is that tech is a part of your team. When your tech starts to show it's limitations, it is like a team that is not performing well. How do you start optimising your tech? IGNE guides you towards the answer.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps IGNE with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the IGNE brand, mainly in the Netherlands.

(a.i.) Marketing Lead - IGNE

An organization commited to helping children regain inner peace and calmness in an age of information overload.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Stichting Glimlach in je Hoofd with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the brand among Dutch schools.

(a.i.) Marketing Specialist - Stichting Glimlach In Je Hoofd

Scanfie lets your guests order quickly and easily.

Did you know that the biggest annoyance among visiting guests the long wait for service? Sometimes guests visiting a (dining) café even have to wait half an hour before they can place their first order.

Would you stcik around around after having your patience tested like this?

This summer there were even several beach tents, cafes and other catering companies that had to close off part of the terrace or drastically shorten their opening hours due to staff shortages. An unnecessarily big disappointment for your guests and an unnecessarily large impact on your turnover.

Avoidable, with Scanfie.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Scanfie with the researching and realization of (new) strategic partnerships for Scanfie. Together we aim to further establish the Scanfie brand in the Netherlands.

(.a.i.) Business Development Manager - Scanfie - NL

Searious Business creates business solutions aimed at increasing sustainability and limiting plastic waste. To that end, Searious Business collaborates with companies to solve plastic waste.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Searious Business with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the Searious Business brand in Europe.

(a.i.) Chief Marketing Officer - Searious Business - EN, FR & NL

Positive change starts from education. The BD School believes that everyone deserves a chance to build the future of their dream. The mission is simple: to enable individuals and ambitious founders to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to leave their mark in society.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps The BD School with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing strategies. Together we aim to further establish the BD School brand around the globe.

(a.i.) Chief Marketing Officer -  The BD School - EN

Stichting Oogfonds Nederland

Het aantal mensen met een oogprobleem stijgt. De oplossing ligt in voorlichting, preventie en meer oogonderzoek. Het Oogfonds financiert wetenschappelijk oogonderzoek naar het voorkomen en behandelen van oogproblemen. En steunt patiëntenverenigingen in het verbeteren van de kwaliteit van leven voor mensen met een visuele beperking.

Senior Online Marketeer

internationovel

This projected was terminated. 

- Concept was successfully validated.
- Follow-through to expand operations was more arduous than expected.
- Will be repeated in the future!

The world is changing. The way we consume literature is changing. But our mission remains the same: to bring you the best stories, from the finest writers, every single day. Sign up now and receive our novel one page a day in your inbox for free.

The Writers

Our young writers were carefully selected to form an international team composed of vastly various backgrounds. Each playing an instrumental part in this project.By signing up, you'll get access to the novel for free! You'll receive one page a day directly in your inbox.In our messages, we'll give you opportunities to support our writers (should you become a fan of their work).

The Story

Each writer narrated the story of their own protagonist. Making it that they all come from different worlds (like in real life!)In this epic fantasy tale, five unlikely heroes are brought together by a shared touch of fate.Be it so remedy their own misery or to fight for something much bigger than themselves: their convergence was no coincidence.

Founder

Infi

Infi believes in the strength of long-term and balanced collaborations. Together with our customers, we seek out the most effective and efficient road to success. Their dreams become ours, as do their problems. "Growing together" defines us best. My mission within Infi takes form with the following tasks;

- Marketing strategy
- B2B community management
- Business development
- Developer community management
- Content & social media marketing
- Brand management
- Storytelling 
- Partnership management
- Event management

In a nutshell: Infi takes pride in building loved products with our awesome clients, by writing beautiful code with their team of amazing developers. Both in Utrecht, as in Amsterdam.

#infinl

Chief Marketing Officer - EN & NL

Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences

Topics within Online Marketing; 

- Consumer Behavior 
- Content Marketing
- Influencer Marketing
- Programmatic Marketing
- Social Media Marketing (B2C / B2B)
- Storytelling in Marketing

Guest Speaker - EN & NL

United Wardrobe

Tasked with the cultivation and and nurturing of United Wardrobe's presence in France.

- Business Development
- Campaign Data Processing & Analysis
- Content Production Management
- Imagineering
- Influencer Campaign Conception
- Influencer Campaign Management
- Influencer Partnership Management
- Multichannel Storytelling Strategy

Influencer Marketeer - BE & FR (directly contributed to EXIT)

Omnicom Media Group

Tasked with with the trafficking, set-up, optimalisation and evaluation of programmatic media trading campaigns. 

- Contribution to Content Marketing
- Contribution to Copywriting
- Contribution to Translations

Account(s): Bacardi, EasyJet, Levi's, Monsterboard, PepsiCo and Renault.

Programmatic Media Planner / - Buyer & AdOps Specalist (OMD NL) - BeNeLux

Publicis Groupe

Tasked with with the trafficking, set-up, optimalisation and evaluation of programmatic media trading campaigns. 

Account(s): L'Oréal & Film1.

Digital Executive (Zenith NL) - Programmatic Media Planner / - Buyer & AdOps Trainee - BeNeLux

WeTransfer

Tasked with the acquisition of new potential advertisers in designated regions, as well as the negotiations and management of branding campaigns.

- Account Management
- "Artvertising"
- Business Development
- Channel Management
- International Sales
- Key Account Management
- Media Trading
- Sales Process Optimization (Eastern Europe, APAC, GCC)

Sales Manager - APAC, EEU, FR & GCC

We cure frustrated DTC brands of their inaccurate marketing analytics. || Founder Grow Your Boat. || Freelance End-to-End DTC & SaaS Growth Strategist.

Let's be honest, most marketing tools are stuck in the past. 

You just want that helping hand to do your thing, but tools nowadays...

They give all the credit to the 'last click' like some kind of participation trophy. 

Who cares about the last pat on the back?

You need to see the whole customer journey, 
from the wide-eyed browsing to the 'buy now!' moment.

But those old-school tools? 

Blind to all that juicy data.

This means:

→ Hidden growth opportunities waving goodbye.

→ You waste money on ineffective marketing.

→ Your competitors get ahead with better data insights! 

We clearly don't want that, 
right?

Enough is enough, 
my friend. 

We get it. 

You deserve better.

That's where we come in. 

Grow Your Boat isn't your old-school marketing tool. 

We go beyond the limitations of those old school tools and help you to see the complete customer journey, 
identify hidden growth opportunities, 
and optimize your marketing spend.

All you need to do is connect your data, 
talk to it, 
get insights,  
act upon them and generate profitable growth. 

The result? 

We've seen our clients scale their marketing from 30k MRR to 500k MRR. 

Typical problems we solve entail questions such as;

"What are the consequences if I turn off Pinterest ads? The ROAS on other channels is much better, but is Pinterest perhaps contributing to those somehow?"

+7% renvenue growth in Q1 2024.

"My return rates are eating my margins, what customer segments should I be targeting per channel to reduce the liklihood of returns?"

+3% margin increase in Q1 2024.

See where I'm going with this?

You can throw any problem at Grow Your Boat and work it out together.

That's a clear advantage you can't afford to ignore.

Until then, ask yourself:

What are your customers REALLY telling you? 

Do you know what you DON'T know?

Book a free demo to find out. 

It's a no-brainer (probably the best decision of your week).

((yes, we truly think so.))

(((jump on a call with us and you'll hear our irresistible offer.)))

((((man, even I want to get on a call with us now.))))

The world is changing. The way we consume literature is changing. But our mission remains the same: to bring you the best stories, from the finest writers, every single day. Sign up now and receive our novel one page a day in your inbox for free.

The Writers

Our young writers were carefully selected to form an international team composed of vastly various backgrounds. Each playing an instrumental part in this project.By signing up, you'll get access to the novel for free! You'll receive one page a day directly in your inbox.In our messages, we'll give you opportunities to support our writers (should you become a fan of their work).

The Story

Each writer narrated the story of their own protagonist. Making it that they all come from different worlds (like in real life!)In this epic fantasy tale, five unlikely heroes are brought together by a shared touch of fate.Be it so remedy their own misery or to fight for something much bigger than themselves: their convergence was no coincidence.

Chris Johnson, CPA, CCIFP

🌟CEO at CJ CPAs | Construction & 401k Auditor | Tech-Savvy Innovator 🌟

With over a decade of experience in the world of accounting, I'm dedicated to helping businesses in the construction industry and those requiring 401k plan audits navigate their compliance needs in the most effective and efficient way possible. 

In my role at CJ CPAs, my focus is on providing exceptional client service, fostering strong relationships, and utilizing innovative technology to deliver outstanding results.

I'm passionate about staying up-to-date with industry trends and embracing new technologies to create more efficient and effective solutions for our clients.

Outside of crunching numbers and analyzing financial statements, I'm a husband to my amazing wife Kimberly, father to three beautiful children, a jiu-jitsu hobbyist, tech enthusiast, avid YouTube learner, and a proud Texan. 

I'm always eager to connect with fellow professionals and share insights and ideas, so feel free to reach out!

Chief Executive Officer

We are paying our team to read! $1,500 bonus to read 6 books in 6 months. Heres the list: 

1) Mindset by Carol Dweck
2) Atomic Habits by James Clear 
3) Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
4) Buy back your time by Dan Martell 
5) Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
6) The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

I know what these books do to a mind 
because I watched it happen to mind

They unlock your potential.  
Excited to see these words continue to change lives ❤️

🌟CEO at CJ CPAs | 401k Auditor | I'm "button-clicking" the whole dang thing 🌟

Since Friday at 7pm, Claude Code and I have made 35,931 lines of code. That resulted in a LEGIT, full-blown SaaS app. Front end. Back end. The whole kitten caboodle.

Let me say that again.
In one weekend, we built an 
entire production-ready application.

Not a prototype.
Not a proof of concept.

A real SaaS app.

The Breakdown:

Total: 35,931 lines

By Language:
• TypeScript/TSX: 33,925 lines
• SQL: 1,836 lines
• CSS: 170 lines

TypeScript/TSX Breakdown:
• Components: 20,546 lines
• API Routes: 4,179 lines
• Pages: 3,900 lines
• Data Definitions: 2,686 lines
• Lib/Utils: 1,735 lines
• Types: ~879 lines

**What this actually is:**

Full authentication system.
Client portal.
Auditor portal.
Database architecture.
API endpoints.
Complete UI.

Everything you need for a working SaaS application.


Claude Code went to town and 
knocked in out in under  48 hours.
Built at the speed of thought.


**This is the future.**

Not AI doing everything.
Humans with AI doing 100x 
what humans could do alone.

I can't in good faith recommend ChatGPT anymore. 😭
I have used it almost every single day since December 2022.

But the latest updates have been extremely disappointing. 
The web app experience has regressed 
while Claude and Gemini have 
exploded beyond belief.

It's a bummer. 

I've built lots of infrastructure 
around the ChatGPT ecosystem.

But if I had to quantify it: 
it takes at least 3x as many chats to 
achieve a goal in ChatGPT versus Claude.

3x.

That's not a minor difference. 
That's a fundamental gap in capability.
It almost feels like it might have gotten too 
smart losing an ability to effectively communicate. 
(honestly reasonable as it happens to humans too 😅😬)

The AI landscape is shifting fast.
Loyalty to a tool that's falling behind 
will cost you time and results.

Use what works.

I'll still test GPT daily. 
But I cant use the web app as my primary interface.

We built the automated audit. Under 5 hours per audit. 100% testing. Rolling out by April 1st. (ZERO Ai in our program 👍)

We'll use it to extract value from the market.
Attract and compensate the absolute best talent.
Build something incredible.

Could I sell it for 9 figures within 5 years?
Probably.

But here's what I'm gonna do instead:

After we extract value.
After we get our people and staffing right.
I'm giving it away.

Open source.
Free.
For everyone.

Why?

I care more about how our time as a 
collective is being spent than personal enrichment.

I'm gonna save your time whether you like it or not. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

This mentality will attract investors knocking on the door.
And it won't sit well with them.
Giving away world-class revolutionary processes?
Purpose over profit?
Id assume they'd hate it.
_________________________

But that's what progress looks like.
That's what our industry needs.

Time to wake up.
Let's make amazing things happen. 🚀

"This feels like you just came in and handed me a million dollars!!!". Yesterday was the most value I've ever provided a client in a single day. Here's how I did it.

We're performing an audit where I hadn't 
been heavily involved in the process. 

When I came back in, I found incredible 
amounts of confusion among all parties involved.

Years of errors had been uncovered. 
Significant education and understanding was needed. 
I needed to bring it all together.

Here's what I did:

First, I had multiple conversations
with everyone involved

All recorded.

I took those transcripts and fed 
them into a large language model. 

Asked it to find clarity. 
Reconcile all our different understandings 
based on our specific viewpoints.

It created an incredible PDF document—
all the technical details alongside plain 
English interpretations—so everybody
knew exactly where we stood.

Then I turned that into a podcast.

16 minutes of clarity.

My client likes podcasts.
So he listened. 
And absorbed.

The next day, I walked into the most 
effective conversation of my career. 

Everyone was primed and ready.

I then used my expertise and gave them 
6 hours of in-depth understanding. 

We worked through everything. 
Pinned down every detail.

At the end of the day, the client said:

"This is incredible. This feels like you just came in and handed me a million dollars."

This is what we're doing in this future.

Leveraging these tools to provide 
mind-blowingly insane value.

Leverage them.

Go give somebody a million dollars.

Make their day.

I was analyzing the 16,777 emails I've sent since starting the firm and saw soemthing pretty cool. The first email I sent in January 2023 was about automating the 401k audit. 

And the logic was right on! 
I knew that it was possible but 
needed to pin down specifics.

As we get close to rolling this thing out, 
it's wild to think about the journey. 

I didn’t think it would take this long 😅
And I honestly thought someone else would do more of it!

So we micro-analyzed every single 
detail down the to metaphorical atom. 

And built it back up. 
Closer and closer every day!!

HOLY SHEESH. Supabase is 🔥🔥🔥🔥 and I didn't realize it until last night.

Looking back, I now understand what a few 
people have been trying to tell me for over a year.

Backend logic has been hard for me to grasp.
How the tools in this space work.

But something clicked last night.
And I made some crazy stuff.

In a 5-hour sprint.
Half of it from my phone.
> A full portal with login.
> Email verification.
> Client site.
> Auditor site.

The stuff it does is nuts.
I'm mind blown that I just built this
.
The backend that I've been struggling to understand?
Supabase handled it.

Authentication that seemed complicated?
Built in.

Database logic that confused me?
Just works.

Sometimes you need to be ready to 
hear something before you can actually hear it.

People told me about Supabase for over a year.
But I wasn't ready.

I didn't have the context.
I didn't understand the problem well enough yet.

Last night, I was ready.
And it clicked.

5-hour audit, here we come.

I'm starting to see less and less difference between effective communication with people and effective communication with LLMs.

Clarity matters.
Context matters.
Specificity matters.
Don't pump them full of too much data.
Ask better questions, get better answers.

If you get better at one, you get better at the other
if you think about them through the same lens

The things we are doing and making every single day are hard to believe. But the proof is right there in front of us 🤯

All glory to God in all things at all times 🙏🙏🙏🙌🙌🙌

The clarity of thought and ability to be so 
consistent on this journey for so long 
has been an incredible blessing. 

Excited and honored to be used in Gods plan 

Theres going be some incredible impacts that 
we get be apart of and we're going to be 
able to help out and lift up alot of folks ❤️🌎

"1, 2, 3, go!" Something really cool has been happening lately with my son. And it's been years in the making.

For years, I've had my kids jump things to me.
It's scary for them but we have 
worked up to 10 foot jumps 

And every time, we do the same thing:
"1, 2, 3, go!"

You just gotta do it.
Get up there.
And when I say go, you just do it.

Last night, something incredible happened.
We were out and Carver saw a little girl.
He wanted to play with her.

But he was so shy.
So nervous.

He told me, "I wanna play with her."
I said, "Cool. Go ask her if she wants to play."
"No. No. No. I can't do that. I can't."
"Can't never did nothin" 

We talked for a bit.
Man, he was just all bundled up.
Full of nerves.

I looked at him and said:

"1, 2, 3, go."
And by instinct, he just took a step.

A slow step.
But he took it.
He started walking towards her.
Came up shyly.
Stood there.
It was so hard for him to get the words out.
But he did it.

"Do you wanna play?"
She said, "Yes lets play!"

Man, he lit up so big.
He was so happy.
He looked at me with this huge smile 😃 

It was so cool.

To see that thing I knew years ago.
That instilling this in my children would have 
some long-lasting, pretty cool impacts.

"1, 2, 3, go" isn't just about jumping anymore.
It's about courage.
It's about doing the scary thing.
It's about taking that first step.

My hope is that all these reps keep them 
from spending so much time on the 
sideline of life like I did

Our official public launch will be 4/1. I want you to imagine  the most amazing thing you think we could make and put out into the world 4/1.....I'm going to try to beat that expectation.

I just built an automation in 20 minutes that saves 1-2 hours every single week.

For the past year, my EA has manually compiled a weekly digest of our team's time from Clockify. 
Every week. 
An hour or two of pulling data, formatting, summarizing.

This morning I used n8n to automate the entire thing.

Now I get a clean breakdown emailed to me automatically:
→ Total hours
→ Billable vs. non-charge split
→ Detailed breakdown of where non-billable time is going

20 minutes of setup. 
52-104 hours saved per year. 
Instant visibility into team utilization.

This is the mindset shift:

Every repetitive task in your business is a 
candidate for automation. 
The tools exist. 

The barrier isn't technical
it's just deciding to do it.

What's the task your team does every week 
that you've just accepted as "the way it is"?

Go automate it.

CJCPAs just does 401k audits. (and assurance services for construction 😅😅). Amazon just sold books. 
Y'all buckle up. 

This thing going to get wild 🚀

I've been tripping out about something lately. Look at a fish in water. Your instinct is to think: that fish is trapped in there.

But from the fish's perspective, 
it probably doesn't even perceive the water. 
It's just... existing.

Now pull back.

Water is a dense fluid, pulled 
close to the Earth by gravity. 
On top of water sits air. 
Also a fluid. Just less dense.

We are fish.

We're dense fish sitting at the bottom of a fluid 
ocean called atmosphere. If we tried to swim 
to the top and leave, we'd die. 
Just like a fish pulled from water.

The entire Earth is just layers of fluids 
that happen to create the conditions for life.

This understanding has been 
sitting heavy on my mind lately.

A lot of it stems from being a father. 
Listening to my children ask questions 
and honestly admitting to myself: 
I don't know.

I need to go back and fundamentally 
understand how this experience works. 

Fill in the holes I ignored for over 30 years.

I think I'm having a lot of realizations in 
my late thirties that many other "makers"
had much earlier.


Better late than never.

For the past 3 years, focusing on revenue growth for 80%+ of companies has been the woman in the red dress. A distraction from the thing you actually should have been doing.....you're about to find out why 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

2026 feels like the year alot of eyes will be opened.
And unfortunately many will double down on 
extremely flawed logic to try to support 
their interpretation of a reality that 
does not exist. 

Unfortunately, I don't think developing
understanding can be done without pain 

Sign up for the pain yourself and get the understanding 
Or wait and have the pain forced on you. 

What a beautiful feature of the human 
experience that we are given that choice ❤️

Today at church, I saw the David and Goliath story differently. Most people know the headline: A teenage shepherd boy defeats a giant warrior with a sling and a stone.

I’ve always filed that under “lucky shot” 
or “God guided the stone.”

But the message today pointed 
out something I had overlooked.

Before David ever faced the giant in public, 
he had been fighting in private.

Out in the fields, alone, doing the 
boring job of watching sheep.

And that’s where the real training happened.
Not in front of an army.
Not with people cheering.
Not with a spotlight.

He was dealing with lions and bears.
Real threats. Real risk.
Alone.

Goliath was huge, but Goliath was one fight.
But he was ready. 
From the work he put in when no one was 
watching fighting lions and bears.

The “miracle” wasn’t a lucky stone.
The miracle was the unseen reps.
The private battles that built a 
man who could walk into a 
public battle and ensuring 
a result was guaranteed. 

Kimberly and I have had our
own lions and bears the last few years.
Not public. Not flashy. But real.

Those fights weren’t random.
They were preparation.

https://lnkd.in/gXmH2vMS

Open video: Join Us LIVE at CBC | Sunday | 10 AM on youtube.com

The amount of information you need to make an effective decision is COMPLETELY INSANE.

If we truly realized how much we need to know 
to make actual effective decisions, we might 
not ever want to sign up for the journey.

And that's a beautiful feature of the human experience. Some might call it a flaw.

We are so intensely blinded by our own ignorance.

Knowing that you don't know is a good thing. 
It keeps you humble in the journey.

But the journey also requires confidence.

At certain points, with full certainty that you will eventually be proven wrong, you need to blast 
into your endeavor with complete 
confidence anyway.

That's what it takes.

All the while, you can always be consuming.

Be the Cookie Monster of information.

Get obsessed with information consumption.

I recognized this 3-5 years ago and started 
consuming like a madman. 

YouTube videos at 2-4x speed. 
Audiobooks at 2.5x - 3.5x speed (audible caps me 😅)
Everything I could get my hands on.

In large part because I had a lot of making up to do. 
I played around a lot for the first 10 years of my adult life.

But extreme data consumption through 
your period of ignorance gives you a shot.

The tiniest sliver of a chance to make 
a slightly better, more effective decision.

....you'll still be wrong....😅😅😅

But that sliver compounds!!
Be the Cookie Monster.

Saying no is hard. I have turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars in construction assurance work this year. And that's really hard. Because it's my passion. 

It's honestly the thing in public accounting that 
brings me the most joy. It's the area where I 
have the deepest expertise, especially 
compared to the market. 

Especially when considering the 
amount of value I can provide.

I just got off the phone with someone 
we could serve really, really well.

And I said no.

The first person I told no to this "No" season, 
I teared up on the call. 

They probably thought I was crazy. 
It was the first time I'd ever met them.
They wanted to work with us.
And I told them no.

Not that long ago, I would have done anything 
for a construction company to want to work with me.

And now I'm telling them no?

It feels crazy. 
And it's hard.

But I know that if I can say 
no for a little bit of time here. 
Finish our automations. 
Get the right butts in the right seats. 

We can take everything we've learned through
> isolating our variables
> automating the 401k audit.

And bring those same principles over 
to automate the rest of our assurance 
services for the construction industry.

This is not goodbye to construction.
This is hold my beer. (well hold my poppy these days 😅😅)
BRB.

And you better believe that when we come back 
and start taking on new clients in this area, 
the value proposition is going to 
be mind-blowingly awesome.

We're gonna lift up a lot of people. 
We're gonna help this city. 
We're gonna help construction. 
We're gonna give stuff away for free. 
We're gonna kill problems that have persisted 
and should have been killed a long time ago.

And we're gonna do the right 
thing regardless of consequence.

LFG. 🚀https://lnkd.in/gBfbfPi6

Open video: Jony Ive on what Steve Jobs taught him about focus on youtu.be

Jony Ive on what Steve Jobs taught him about focus

The audit automation I built and going to put out there for public use has as much ai in it as this marble machine.

Automating the financial statement audit 
has got to be easier than making this marble machine 

Mindblown that no one has done it yet 🤯🤯🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

https://lnkd.in/gHeHgYSe 

Don't get me wrong. 
I'll put stuff out there with ai in it before too long. 
But there's an insane amount of value to be
provided with just actualy good software. 

And leaning into ai for an actual product 
could actually blind you to actually 
solving the problem efficiently 
and effectively.

Open video: Wintergatan - Marble Machine (music instrument using 2000 marbles) on youtu.be

Wintergatan - Marble Machine (music instrument using 2000 marbles)

If you are a financial statement auditor, you should be figuring out how to test every. single. transaction.

There's a persistent thought in our profession 
that audits are infinite—you can always 
do more, always dig deeper, 
always expand scope.

I thought that was the case for the
majority  of my career 
But that's not true.

It’s happy little lie we tell ourselves 
to justify stopping short

Financial statements are made of singular dollars. 
Those dollars have a limit. 
There's a finite point.

So here's what you or the people 
you follow should be doing: 

Calculate what it would actually take to test 
every single transaction with 100% coverage.

That's your baseline.

Now look at your fees. 
Are they reasonable for what you're actually delivering?

This is how we will transform the financial 
statement audit into something 
done at the click of a button.

I can see a future—and I believe it's coming fast—
where an entire six-figure financial statement 
audit that firms charge for today becomes 
something we give away for free.

The equivalent of a koozie. 
A gift for swinging by the office. 

If that doesn't make sense to you, ask questions. 
The opportunity is always there.

Most people won't ask. 

They'll continue trending in a direction 
where the world stops making sense to them.

The choice is given to us.
Blissful ignorance or chase the pain that
comes with understanding.

Your call 👍

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The Battle

Joris van Huët

Chris Johnson, CPA, CCIFP

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The Battle

Joris van Huët

Chris Johnson, CPA, CCIFP

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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);}Chris Johnson, CPA, CCIFP's LinkedIn Performance

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