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I work with healthcare and life science companies as their Fractional Chief AI Officer: bridging boardroom strategy and hands-on implementation. 

No experiments. 
No buzzwords. 
Measurable results within weeks.
 

What I do:

• Identify where AI saves the most time and money in your specific business
• Build a prioritized AI roadmap with clear ROI
• Leading implementation – working with your team and trusted specialists to ensure it gets done
• Enable your people to work independently with AI
• Provide ongoing strategic sparring at C-level
 

Who I work with:

• PE portfolio companies scaling operations without adding headcount
• MedTech and pharma companies building AI capabilities
• Leadership teams who want strategy AND execution – not just slides
 
Past work: AI transformation programme for European pharma leadership. AI strategy workshops for financial services. Sales team AI enablement across life sciences.
 
Based in Munich. Working remotely across DACH and Europe.
 
Open to conversations about Fractional Chief AI Officer engagements, board advisory, and speaking.
 
→ karolynehahn.com

📩 [mail@karolynehahn.com] | 🌍 | 📞 [https://calendly.com/karolyne-hahn/20-min-zoom]

Karolyne Hahn

7 Free AI Courses for Healthcare Professionals.

Share this before your team spends money on expensive training:

1 – AI in Healthcare (Stanford University)
The gold standard. Free to audit on Coursera.
https://lnkd.in/diKZB5-a


2 – Generative AI for Healthcare (Google Cloud)
Specifically built for healthcare professionals.
Free to audit. Practical, not theoretical.
https://lnkd.in/d3twgWtQ


3 – AI for Medical Diagnosis (DeepLearning.AI)
For those who want to go deeper. Image analysis, diagnostics.
https://lnkd.in/dCQAS4K7


4 – How to Use ChatGPT in Healthcare (edX)
The most practical one. Day-to-day applications.
edx.org → search “ChatGPT in Healthcare”


5 – Elements of AI (University of Helsinki)
Best starting point for non-technical leaders.
Free. Certificate included.
elementsofai.com


6 – AI for Everyone (Andrew Ng / Coursera)
Not healthcare-specific but the best foundation.
Free to audit. Mandatory for any healthcare leader.
https://lnkd.in/dFhuxXZQ

7 – Fundamentals of Machine Learning for Healthcare (Stanford)
For those ready to go beyond ChatGPT.
https://lnkd.in/dtz8sWBM

Save this. 
Share with your team. 
Forward to your CEO.


#HealthcareAI #FreeLearning #MedTech #PharmaAI #AIEducation

10 AI tools healthcare teams can use for free right now. No hype. Only what actually works.

→ 1. Nabla Copilot - AI clinical documentation. 30 free consultations/month. nabla.com

→ 2. Glass.health - Differential diagnosis + ambient scribing. Free trial. glass.health

→ 3. DeepScribe - Voice-to-clinical-notes. Free trial available. deepscribe.ai

→ 4. TL;DV - Meeting documentation + transcription. Free tier. tldv.io 

→ 5. Perplexity AI - Medical literature research with citations. Free. perplexity.ai

→ 6. Claude.ai - Summarize regulatory documents, policies, reports. Free tier. claude.ai

→ 7. Elicit.org - Accelerate systematic reviews. Free for researchers.
elicit.com

→ 8. Consensus.app - Evidence-based answers from 220M+ papers. Free version.
consensus.app

→ 9. Synthesia - Create internal AI training videos. Free trial. synthesia.io

→ 10. Notion AI - Structure clinical SOPs and protocols. Integrated. notion.so/product/ai

Which of these have you already tested?
Save this and share with your team.

Who on your board owns this?
 
Share and save for your next board meeting.

Fractional Chief AI Officer | Healthcare & MedTech | Board Advisory | Speaker

If you’re reading this, you’re statistically in the top 0.04% of AI adoption on Earth.

You‘re not late. 
And no, AI is not a bubble. 
It might be your timeline tricking you.
Most people don’t know what Claude is.

Ps. The red dot at the bottom right corner are people that vibe code apps and tools from scratch (eg. using tools like Lovable, mostly without even knowing how to code).

Save and share it

Cc Ben Tannenbaum

I've been quiet on here for a while.
 
Honest reason: life happened. A difficult personal year that took most of my energy.
 
But I've used that time to get very clear on what I do – and who I do it for.
 
I work with healthcare and life science companies as their Fractional Chief AI Officer.
 
Not as a consultant who delivers a deck and disappears.

Not as a trainer who runs a workshop and moves on.
 
As someone who stays until AI actually works inside the organization.
 
I've seen too many companies go through the motions – workshops, strategies, pilots –
only to watch everything dissolve back into daily business three months later.
 
That's the problem I solve.
 
If you're leading a healthcare or MedTech company and AI hasn't stuck yet – I'd love to talk.
 
#FractionalCAIO #HealthcareAI #MedTech #AIStrategy #LifeSciences

I've worked with leadership teams across pharma and life sciences.
The pattern is always the same.
 
Workshops go well. Energy is high.
People see what AI can do for their specific pain points. 
(And there's always a solution – that part never fails to surprise them.)
 
Then the session ends.
 
Without top management commitment – a named owner, a protected budget, a clear mandate – everything quietly returns to business as usual within weeks.
 
AI doesn't fail because of the technology.
It fails because of organizational gravity.
 
The companies that get results are the ones where someone at the top has personally decided: 

This Is Happening.
 
Everything else is just noise.
 
Is your leadership team aligned on AI – or just interested?

 
#HealthcareAI #AILeadership #MedTech #FractionalCAIO #LifeSciences

No alternative text description for this image

The gap between 'having an AI strategy' and 'AI actually working' is the most expensive gap in healthcare operations right now.

An AI strategy that lives in a document 
is not a strategy.

It's a liability because it creates 
the illusion of progress.


Real AI strategy looks like this:

→ One named person responsible
→ One process changed per quarter
→ One metric to measure it
→ One honest review every 30 days

That's it. No fancy roadmap deck needed.


#HealthcareCEO #AIStrategy #MedTech #HealthcareAI #Leadership

The EU AI Act is officially in force.
Healthcare boards are panicking.
You shouldn't.

I read all 400+ pages so you don't have to.
Here are the 8 things every healthcare leader needs to know now:

1. High-Risk is the Default
Almost all clinical AI systems qualify.
This isn’t a "maybe" or a "borderline" case.
If it touches a patient, it's likely High-Risk.

2. Conformity Before Deployment
Assessment is mandatory before you go live.
Not after. No "grandfathering" in old systems.
Compliance starts at the design stage.

3. Human Oversight ≠ "A Doctor Looks at It"
"A human is in the loop" is a phrase, not a strategy.
You need documented protocols on how humans intervene.
If it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen.

4. Radical Transparency
You must disclose AI use to patients.
Trust is the new currency.
Transparency is the only way to earn it.

5. Validation is Never "Done"
One-time validation reports are dead.
Ongoing performance monitoring is the new standard.
AI evolves; your oversight must evolve faster.

6. Data Provenance is King
Where did the training data come from?
Is it representative? Did you test for bias?
Show your work. All of it.

7. The Clock is Ticking
- New systems: The time is now.
- Existing MDR/IVDR systems: You have until 2027–2029.
The runway is shorter than you think.

8. Compliance as a Competitive Edge
Don't view this as a hurdle. View it as a moat.
Organizations building for compliance now will lead the market in 2028.
Chaos is a ladder—if you have the right map.

The Hard Truth:
Most boards are waiting for a "compliance officer" to handle this.
That is a €35M mistake. (Or 7% of global turnover).

The EU AI Act isn't a legal checkbox.
It’s a fundamental shift in how healthcare tech survives.

The Question:
Who on your board actually owns the AI Risk Map?
If the answer is "no one," you're already behind.

💾 Save and share this post. You’ll need it when the 2027 deadline hits.

I've watched 4 pharma AI pilots fail in 2 years.

Same reason every time.

They got the anatomy wrong.

Here's what a pilot that actually scales looks like:

→ Start with pain, not technology 
"We lose X hours/week because of Y." 
No specific pain = no real use case.

→ Audit your data before you build anything 
Is your CRM 80%+ complete? 
Are HCP records deduplicated? 
If no: fix that first. AI won't save bad data.

→ Pick boring over ambitious 
Not the sexiest use case. 
The one your reps will actually use on Monday.

→ 4 people make or break the pilot 
1 champion. 1 data owner. 1 frontline user. 1 exec sponsor. 
Missing one = it dies quietly.

→ Define "working" on day 1 
Not "improve efficiency." 
But: "Pre-call prep under 15 min within 8 weeks." 
3 metrics. Measurable. Non-negotiable.

→ Week 1 is everything 
Let one rep generate one AI brief. 
Watch their face. 
That reaction is your internal case study.

→ 90 days. Then decide. 
2 of 3 metrics hit? Scale. 
If not? Diagnose. Re-pilot. 
Never just abandon.

The transformation doesn't start with the technology.

It starts with getting the anatomy right.

♻️ Save and repost if this is useful for someone building AI initiatives in pharma or medtech.

The Anatomy of a Pharma AI Pilot

Viele Vorstände behandeln AI wie ein Software-Update. Nett zu haben, aber delegierbar.

Falsch. 
AI entwickelt sich rasant zu einem reinen Board-Thema. 

Nicht wegen der Technik, sondern wegen der existenziellen Einschläge:

1. Angreifer brauchen keine 10 Jahre mehr, um den Markt abzunehmen. Sie brauchen nur ein besseres Modell und weniger Overhead.

2. Die aktuelle Wertschöpfung wird in Echtzeit entwertet. Was heute Marge bringt, ist morgen Freeware.

3. Wer "AI" nicht versteht, kann sie nicht führen. Wer sie nicht führt, haftet für die Konsequenzen.

Wer wartet, bis die IT-Abteilung antreibt und eine Lösung präsentiert, hat verloren.

Agree?

Two sentences are killing European healthcare.

They don’t sound like failures.
They sound like "careful leadership."
1. "That’s an IT decision."
2. "Global has to decide."

Both mean exactly the same thing:
„Not my problem.“


1. The Ownership Trap

When a CEO says "That’s an IT decision," they aren't being humble.

They are outsourcing the soul of the company.
• IT manages infrastructure.
• IT reduces risk.
• IT maintains systems.

IT was never designed to answer:
• What does AI mean for our workforce?
• Where is human judgment irreplaceable?
• What kind of company do we want to be in 2030?

Those aren't technical hurdles.
Those are leadership mandates.
The moment you hand them to IT, 
the vision dies in a support ticket.


2. The "Global" Mirage

I’ve seen organizations wait years 
for "Global" to approve a framework.
While you wait, your competitors move.

Understand this:
- Silence is a decision.
- Waiting is a decision.
- "Let’s see how it develops" is a decision.

You aren't being "strategic."
You are delegating ownership to nobody.


The Reality Check

AI isn't a tech stack. 
It's a leadership choice.

If you treat your future like a software update, don't be surprised when your organization crashes.

P.S. If your CEO’s first reaction to AI is "Ask IT," you’re not leading a company.
You're managing a museum.

Agree?

Die meisten Pharma-Vertriebler hassen ihr CRM. Sie pflegen Daten ein, um Ruhe vorm Chef zu haben, nicht um besser zu verkaufen. 

Das Ergebnis? Millionen Euro für Lizenzen (Veeva, Salesforce), aber null Impact auf die Verschreibungsquote.

Warum? Weil die Angst vor der DSGVO jede intelligente Nutzung blockiert.


Hier sind drei konkrete Hebel, wie AI das CRM rechtssicher zum Profit-Center macht:

Beispiel 1: Der "E-Mail-Clustering" Bot (Datenschutzkonform): 

Statt dass ein Mitarbeiter mühsam liest, welche Betreffzeile bei welchem Onkologen zieht, anonymisiert eine AI die Interaktionsdaten. 

Sie erkennt: „Ärzte in Unikliniken öffnen Studien-Links montags um 8 Uhr, niedergelassene Ärzte bevorzugen Video-Snippets am Mittwochabend.“

Der Witz: Die AI lernt das Muster, nicht den Namen. Der Datenschutz bleibt gewahrt, die Klickrate verdoppelt sich.


Beispiel 2: Voice-to-CRM (Effizienz): 

Der Außendienst verliert 20 % seiner Zeit mit Tippen. 

Die Lösung: Ein lokales, verschlüsseltes Sprachmodell. Der Mitarbeiter spricht das Besuchsresümee ins Handy. Die AI filtert medizinische Insights heraus, kategorisiert sie nach Compliance-Vorgaben (keine unzulässigen Heilversprechen!) und füttert das CRM.

Der Clou: Die AI fungiert als „Compliance-Filter“, bevor der Text überhaupt dauerhaft gespeichert wird.


Beispiel 3: Churn-Prediction für Apotheken: 

Die KI erkennt im CRM: „Apotheke X hat seit 3 Monaten keine Schulung mehr angefragt und die Bestellintervalle vergrößern sich.“

Die Aktion: Das CRM schickt nicht blind den Außendienst vorbei, sondern triggert automatisiert ein individualisiertes Fortbildungsangebot.

Die Realität: Datenschutz ist kein technisches Hindernis, sondern eine Frage der Architektur. Wer AI in das CRM integriert, statt sie davor auszusperren, macht aus einer Protokoll-Pflicht eine Wachstums-Maschine.

Hören wir auf, Daten zu sammeln. Fangen wir an, sie zu nutzen.

Agree?

A pharma leadership team.
3 half-day workshops.
One honest lesson.

I worked with a European pharma company's leadership team to identify where AI could solve their biggest operational pain points.

We went deep. Mapped processes. Prioritized opportunities.

The energy in the room was real.
By the end, they knew exactly which 5 areas AI could transform - and in what order to tackle them.

Then: the Managing Director left. 
Internal restructuring. 
Global compliance questions.
The roadmap sat in a folder.

The lesson wasn't that AI failed. The lesson was that strategy without implementation ownership is just an expensive workshop.

I don't deliver roadmaps. 
I stay until the change is real.
That's a different kind of engagement. 
And it's the only kind that works.

DM me if you're ready for that.

#PharmaAI #AIImplementation #HealthcareAI #ChangeManagement #FractionalCAIO

6 signs your AI initiative will fail by 2027.
Most companies aren't "innovating."
They are stalling.

If these 6 signs look familiar, you aren’t in an "evaluation phase."
You’re in a graveyard.


1. Zero Accountability

There is a team. A committee. A working group.
There is no single name.
If nobody’s career depends on it, nobody is working on it.


2. Vague Definitions

Bad: "Improve patient outcomes."
Good: "Reduce ICU documentation by 40% by Q3."

If success isn't one sentence with a number and a date, it’s a hobby.


3. Governance Theater

The last meeting produced a slide deck, not a decision.
Real governance says "No" more than it says "Maybe."
Everything else is just a coffee break.


4. Activity ≠ Outcomes

Your board sees reports on:
• Pilots completed.
• Workshops held.
• Vendors met.

They should be seeing:
• Cost per case.
• Hours saved.
• Errors caught.

Stop reporting on how busy you are. Start reporting on how much you saved.


5. The Ghost Sponsor

The project sponsor changed roles 8 months ago.
The initiative is still "running."
But nobody knows who is driving the bus.


6. The Regulation Excuse

"We’re waiting for the EU AI Act to settle."
Winners aren't waiting for permission.
They are building flexible governance that complies by design.


2027 is closer than you think.

In two years, you will either be a Case Study or a Cautionary Tale.

P.S. What’s the biggest bottleneck in your industry? 👇

There is no middle ground.

Last Friday, Donald Trump didn't just criticize Anthropic. He blacklisted them.

Effectively immediately: 
A "National Security Supply Chain Risk."

The Crime?
Anthropic refused to let the Pentagon use Claude for "unrestricted lethal operations."

They stood by their safety guardrails.
Washington responded with a total ban and threats of "criminal consequences."

If you are in Pharma, MedTech, or Healthcare, the "Safe AI" era is over.

You are caught in the crossfire of a Geopolitical War.


The 3 Brutal Realities for 2026:

1. Compliance is a Liability: If you have US federal contracts, your "safe" Claude-R&D stack is now a legal ticking time bomb.

2. OpenAI is the "State Model": Speed over safety. Military access over ethical guardrails. That is the new US mandate.

3. The Sovereign Pivot is Mandatory: If you don't own the weights and host them on your own servers, you don't own your research.

The Move:
Stop buying subscriptions.
Start building a fortress.
Own the model. Control the hardware.

The "Old World" follows the landlord.
The "New World" owns the house.

Where is your intellectual property tonight?

#PharmaAI #AnthropicBan #DigitalSovereignty #AIStrategy #TrumpAI 

Image cc evolving ai

The 6-Week AI Pilot Plan For Pharma Sales (Week By Week)
You want to run an AI pilot in your sales team.
Here's the exact 6-week plan:

Week 1: Diagnose before you build
Don't touch technology yet.
Interview 10 reps. 

Ask:
→ "Where do you lose the most time every week?"
→ "What information do you wish you had before every HCP call?"
→ "What does a great prep session look like vs. a bad one?"
You will hear the same 3 answers from almost everyone.

Those 3 answers are your use cases.

Week 2: Fix your data
Choose one use case from Week 1. 
Audit the data you need for it.

CRM completeness: are call notes filled in? 
Are HCPs deduplicated? 
Are territories current?

You cannot build good AI on bad data.
Don't skip this week. 
It's the most important one.

Week 3: Build the simplest possible version
MVP only. 
No integrations. 
No fancy dashboards.

If the use case is pre-call briefs:
→ Build a simple template
→ Have a team member manually compile it for 5 HCPs using existing data
→ Give it to 3 reps and watch them use it

If the brief helps them, you've proven the concept.
Now you automate.

Week 4: Automate and test
Connect your data sources. 
Generate the brief automatically.
Test it on 20 HCPs. 

Check accuracy. 
Fix errors.
Let reps give real-time feedback — what's missing, what's irrelevant.

Week 5: Measure obsessively
Three metrics only:
→ Time saved per rep per week (self-reported + CRM logs)
→ HCP meeting quality (rep-rated on 1–5 scale pre/post)
→ Call conversion rate (meeting request → accepted)
No other metrics matter at this stage.

Week 6: Decision and scale
If metrics improved: write up the results. 
Present to leadership. 
Get budget for Phase 2.

If metrics didn't improve: 
Go back to Week 1 with what you learned. 
Change the use case or the approach.
Don't kill the initiative because one use case didn't land.
Learn and iterate.

6 weeks. One use case. Real data.
That's how AI transformation actually starts.

Save and share 🙋🏻‍♀️

PE investors are sitting on an untapped value lever in their portfolio companies.

It's not a new product. 
Not a new market.
It's operational efficiency through AI.

Here's the math.

A healthcare company with 80 employees,
each losing 1.5 hours/day to tasks AI could handle:

→ 120 hours/day recovered
→ ~600 hours/week
→ Equivalent to 15 additional FTEs

→ At €60k average cost = €900k/year in recovered capacity
Without hiring a single person.

Most PE-backed healthcare companies haven't touched this yet.
Not because it's hard. 
Because nobody has made it a priority.

That's what a Fractional Chief AI Officer does for your portfolio.

One engagement. 
Measurable EBITDA impact. 
Scalable across companies.

Curious what this could look like for your portfolio? 
Let's talk.

#PrivateEquity #HealthcareAI #PortfolioValue #MedTech #FractionalCAIO

Die meisten Unternehmen scheitern nicht an AI, sondern an Führungsentscheidungen rund um AI.

Nicht, weil die Technologie unklar wäre, sondern weil sie drei unbequeme Punkte aufwirft:

1. AI zwingt zu strategischer Priorisierung.
Man kann nicht mehr „n bisschen experimentieren“.

2. AI verschiebt Machtstrukturen.
Daten, Entscheidungsbefugnisse und Verantwortlichkeiten verändern sich.

3. AI macht fehlende Leadership-Alignment sichtbar. Viele Führungsteams sind sich nicht wirklich einig, was strategisch zählt.


Deshalb ist AI kein IT-Thema, sondern ein Führungsthema.

Und gehört ins Board-Level.


Die entscheidende Frage ist nicht mehr:
„Sollen wir AI einsetzen?“

Sondern.. 

„Wo schafft AI echten Wettbewerbsvorteil - und wo nicht?“

Agree?

I used to tell clients AI would transform their medical affairs team.
I was wrong. 
AI doesn't transform medical affairs.
It gives back the 90 minutes before the real work starts.

The real work - medical judgment, HCP relationships, regulatory strategy - AI can't touch that.

What AI can do: structure a clinical study summary so your team spends 10 minutes reviewing instead of 90 minutes writing.
That's it. That's the honest promise.

Here's the prompt that delivers it. 

"You are a Senior Medical Affairs Manager preparing a briefing for a specialist physician. The physician has 3 minutes and is deciding whether this data changes their prescribing behaviour.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Identify and state: (1) study type - RCT, observational, meta-analysis, or single-arm (2) whether a comparator exists (3) study phase. Frame your entire summary through these three facts.

STUDY IN ONE LINE: Drug name, mechanism class, indication, population, phase, duration. One sentence. No interpretation.

HEADLINE NUMBER: Absolute risk reduction AND relative risk reduction. 
If only relative risk is reported - flag this explicitly. 
Relative-only reporting is a red flag.

SAFETY SIGNAL: Exact incidence rates. Discontinuation rate due to AEs. 
If no significant findings - state explicitly. Do not skip.

VS. STANDARD OF CARE: How does this compare to what the physician currently uses? If no head-to-head data exists - state explicitly. 
Do not imply comparison where none was made.

WHAT CHANGES IN PRACTICE: Would a physician rationally change a treatment decision based on this data alone? 
If yes - for which patient profile specifically? If no - say so.

STATISTICAL ROBUSTNESS: Sample size. P-value. Confidence interval. 
Flag if present: underpowered sample, wide confidence intervals, high dropout rate, per-protocol vs intention-to-treat discrepancy.

LIMITATIONS: Maximum 3. Prioritise what a regulator or payer would flag - not what the authors listed.

EXPERT REVIEW FLAGS: List every claim requiring medical-legal review before HCP use. Cite the claim - not just the section.

CONTRADICTIONS: If any data appears internally inconsistent - flag it. Do not smooth over contradictions.

Format: Bullet points only. No jargon. Max 260 words. Never speculate beyond the data. If insufficient data for any section: write exactly 'Insufficient data.' Do not assume."

Paste into your fav. AI, e.g. Claude, Copilot.
Upload any clinical study.

What took a medical writer 90 minutes now takes 3.

Save and share this prompt.

One honest warning:
AI still hallucinates in medical contexts. 

Especially:
→ Numbers from PDF tables: often extracted incorrectly 
→ Confidence intervals and p-values: sometimes invented 
→ Study population details: summarised instead of cited

#MedicalAffairs #PharmaAI #HealthcareAI

Anatomy of a Medical Affairs AI Prompt

Die eigentliche Herausforderung von AI ist nicht die Technologie.

Sie ist organisatorisch.

Denn AI verlangt von Unternehmen:

• schneller zu entscheiden
• stärker zu priorisieren
• transparenter zu führen
• mutiger Verantwortung zu übernehmen

Viele Organisationen sind darauf nicht vorbereitet.

Nicht, weil sie die Technologie nicht beherrschen.
Sondern weil ihre Entscheidungsstrukturen aus einer anderen Zeit stammen.

Die Unternehmen, die AI erfolgreich nutzen werden, sind nicht die mit der besten Technologie.

Sondern die mit starkem Leadership. 

Agree?

The most underused AI tool in healthcare companies right now:
Meeting intelligence.

Here's the setup that saves my clients hours every week:

1. Every internal meeting gets recorded (with consent, always)
2. AI tool (tldv , Jamie, or Microsoft Copilot ) auto-transcribes
3. After the meeting, AI generates:
  → Key decisions made
  → Action items with owners
  → Open questions
  → 3-sentence summary for stakeholders who weren't there

The meeting ends. 
The follow-up is already written.

In pharma and MedTech, where documentation is everything,
this alone saves a team lead 3–4 hours a week.

Setup time: 20 minutes.
ROI: immediate.

What's your current meeting documentation process?

#HealthcareAI #MeetingIntelligence #AITools #PharmaOps #MedTech

The most underused AI tool in healthcare companies

Entrepreneurs, Tech & Sales: Own Your Voice on LinkedIn | Social Selling and Personal Branding —> Increase Pipeline & Brand Awareness | LEGO Flower Power 🌻

You're not a content creator. (Phew!!) 

You're a business owner leveraging content to grow your business.

2 very different ways to approaching LinkedIn.

You don't need to post daily. 
Chase the algorithm. 
Or become someone you're not.

You need conversations that turn into relationships that turn into revenue.

I'm on LinkedIn to help you get off LinkedIn.
The platform isn't the point. The relationships are.

That's what fills my cup AND my bank account.

---

Hi, I'm Natasha. 🙌

New mom. Breadwinner. Introvert who hates cold outreach.

I built my business to half a million in 2 years. All because of how I show up on LinkedIn.

Not by being loud. Not by gaming the algorithm. Not by sending soul-destroying pitch slaps in the DMs.

By building real relationships.

I've been "doing LinkedIn" for 10 years - as a scrappy sales rep who hated cold calling, running sales at Forbes Books, to now growing my own business exclusively through this platform.

I teach founders and executives to do the same.

---

Who is this for?

6-figure founders who've built something real.

You're good at what you do. Clients stay, refer, and thank you.

But on LinkedIn? Oddly invisible.

Your competitors aren't better. They're just louder.

The issue isn't confidence. It's knowing what to say and who to say it to.

---

Through my REALationship Growth Method I help founders go from respected offline to recognized online - without becoming someone they're not.

No hacks. No volume tactics. No influencer cosplay. 👀

Real outcomes:

→ Josie closed 3x 12 month contracts from one event
→ Michelle landed two $30k speaking engagements in three months
→ Dr. Ashley secured two speaking gigs in two weeks plus a five-figure client

If LinkedIn feels like noise, performance, or a mild existential crisis...

You're exactly who this is for.

DM me "LFG" and let's chat. 💜

Natasha Walstra

I hate drama. I have no bandwidth for it. I'm building a business, raising a toddler, and pouring everything I have into both.

But something came to my attention last week that I can't ignore.

Someone I trusted has been reaching out to my network - clients, partners, prospects. Scraping my posts and using my name to get in the door.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't sting.

Nothing prepares you when you realize not everyone operates with the same integrity you do. And that's a hard lesson when you assume the best in people.

The silver lining? It makes the right people stand out even more.

The ones who show up for you, the ones who protect your name when you're not in the room, the ones who would never use your success to build theirs.

Those are the relationships worth protecting.

So instead of losing any sleep over this, I'm focusing on how I show up. For me, for my family, for my clients, for all of you. And I'll keep doing it the way I always have - with integrity and real relationships.

All this to say, if you've received a message using my name, please know that's not a referral from me. Working with them reminded me why I don't operate that way. And never will.

Ok. Back to building.

You’re not a content creator. Good. You don’t need to be | LinkedIn personal branding & social selling for founders (not influencers) | Filling APRIL cohort - ask me about it! 🙌

I got reprimanded by 4 men on a call at 10am.

By 2pm, the President of Nokia asked for my resume.

Here's the full story:

I was on a call with the CEO, my manager, and two other senior colleagues. They were telling me how badly I was performing, especially on my cold calls.

(to be fair, I was sh!t on those calls.)

But I'd started leveraging LinkedIn for outreach instead, focusing on quality over quantity, building relationships instead of dialing for dollars. (booked calls with top companies like Home Depot even!)

They didn't see it that way.

For 30 minutes, I sat there shaking, on the verge of a panic attack...or throwing my computer out the door - wasn't sure which.

The crazy part? I had an in-person meeting in San Jose with the President of Nokia a few hours later..to pitch the tech from the company that just yelled at me.

You can imagine how that went.

I walked in and said: "I'm so sorry, I'm not sure what I'm doing here. I think I'm going to resign tomorrow."

He looked at me and asked, "Do you have a resume?" Then gave me a tour of the office.

I resigned the next day. And although I didn't end up going to Nokia, it led me to a unicorn 3D printing company that actually embraced my crazy LinkedIn ideas.

Sometimes the thing that feels like rejection is actually redirection. 

The approach that got me scolded is now the foundation of my entire business.

Turns out I wasn't bad at sales, I was just bad at their version of it.

P.S. How did I get that meeting with the President of Nokia? Through my network. I'd started intuitively connecting with and reaching out to people who already knew me, trusted me, and liked me. Wasn't intentional then (it was just better than cold calling 😅). 

P.S.2 Even crazier? Yesterday I had a call with the VP of CX from that same company. She was there that day, making sure I didn't break things (in the most supportive way). She's been following me ever since. Now she wants to bring what I do to her current company. Talk about full circle moment!

I'm finally retiring my profile pic.

(long overdue)

My hair is 3x the length now, I've got a lot more wrinkles, and a whole different life.

The pic was fun while it lasted! You might not even know the original actually has a plant on my head - edited it out last year. It was a whole vibe (see below).

But a lot has changed since 2021.

Back then, I was newly in leadership as VP & Director of Sales at Forbes Books and I'd just moved to South Carolina (for the first time).  

I was very unsure of myself, very single, and honestly? A lotta bit lost.

Feels like a lifetime ago...and it was.

Now? 

I'm a Founder, a wife, a mother.

Same me. Just with more clarity, more stories, and a lot more life lived.

Here's to the next chapter. 🙌 

P.S. Peekaboo! Expect some new fun pics in the coming weeks! 📸

I don't know what I was doing in college, but it sure wasn't this!

On Tuesday, I spoke at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina to an entrepreneurship class where every student is starting a business this semester.

Let that sink in...they're not just learning about entrepreneurship. They're doing it. Literally! One student has an AI automation company and already bringing on big clients! 🤯

What we covered:
→ Why LinkedIn matters even when you're 20 
→ My 3-step framework for a successful LinkedIn presence 
→ 3 things they could do today

I also gave them a custom GPT, the Profile Glow Up, I built to help with their profiles. 

The questions they asked were so on point:

"I have a job lined up, but I'm building a business on the side. How should I show up on LinkedIn?"

"What content should I create beyond 'about me' posts?"

"How do I get a company's attention without pitching in the DM's?"

These students are thinking about intentional relationship-building NOW.

While everyone else waits until they "need" to network, these future founders are already making trust deposits. 😎

AND what was cool about this on a personal note? 
This is the third time I've spoken to this class.

The first time was exactly 2 years ago. 
I was six months into my business. Terrified. 
I have no idea what I even said to them.

Now I'm back. More confident. Having FUN.
Growth is wild when you're paying attention.

P.S. Shoutout to Jeff Savage, PhD for inviting me back. We met at a previous startup, and one of the best things that came from it was meeting him. Some relationships outlast the circumstances that created them.

Anything look strange here? 

Yep, my eyes are super dilated. 👀

And if you could see me right now, I’m typing this post at an arms distance since I can’t see sh!t. 

I’m doing something I never thought I’d be able to afford: 

Correcting my eyes! 

The prescription is too strong for Lazik but there’s another surgery that works despite the -7.0 eyes and astigmatism! 

It’s something I’ve wanting to do for some time, but even more so now because it makes me so sad every time I have to tell my son to “watch out for my mamas glasses!” I just want him to be able to touch my face. Sounds silly typing that but, how cool would that be?? 

Have to admit though, I feel pretty proud I’m able to do this. 🤓

Happy Monday, y’all! Anything you’re feeling proud of this week? Share below! 👇

Edit: today’s just prep, surgery isn’t for a few months. I’m too excited not to share though. Someone just told me, ‘shine your light’ so I’m shining it!

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The CO— by U.S. Chamber of Commerce featured me!

They asked me to be part of their "Ask the Board" series - where they connect business owners with thought leaders to help solve their biggest challenges.

(A fictional fantasy board of directors. Pretty cool, right?)

They asked me to share how to build a reputation-first business that cuts through the noise.

I've got a lot to share on this, as you can imagine.

Your reputation isn't part of your strategy.
It IS the strategy.

Everything else... your brand, your relationships, your growth... flows from it.

In the article, I break down 7 ways to build a reputation-first business:

1. Why your LinkedIn profile is your reputation's home base 
2. The content balance that builds trust (hint: it's not just expertise) 
3. Why posting alone isn't enough 
4. What to show instead of polish 
5. How to turn clients into amplifiers 
6. The long game most people skip 
7. The one thing that makes you referable

With fluffy BS, exaggerated claims, and flashy marketing, people are looking for something REAL.

This is how you become it.

Take a look!

https://lnkd.in/eR25iWea

P.S. Still can't believe that the girl who was "too empathetic to be in sales" is now giving business advice in the US Chamber of Commerce. Pretty cool stuff if I can say so! 🤓

I took a 7-day "break" from alcohol.

That was 3 years ago this week.

I didn’t realize it then, but alcohol was my "extrovert fairy dust" 🧚‍♀️

For years, I used it as a security blanket to transform my introverted (and insecure) self into someone I thought the world wanted me to be.

The result?
→ Chronic migraines (for 5 years straight)
→ Relationships that never felt right
→ Insomnia that wouldn't quit
→ A career that drained me

Then 3 years ago, I took a break after going to SXSW
That break turned into weeks, weeks to months...

In the first 2 years:
- met my now husband
- started a business
- got married
- had a baby
- crossed $500k in revenue

In just the last 6 months?
- bought a house
- signed a Big Four contract
- Sold Out of 3 cohorts (and filling my 4th!)
- accidentally built a community.

Coincidence? I think not.

But, this isn't an anti-alcohol post.
It's an anti-hiding-who-you-truly-are post.

For me, drinking masked my introversion and kept me chasing relationships and environments that weren't aligned with my authentic self.

The moment I embraced who I really am?
Literally my world did a 180.

Now I have a beautiful toddler, the love of my life by my side, and a thriving business that energizes me instead of draining me.

Life doesn't truly begin until you stop forcing yourself into shapes that weren't designed for you.

If you feel stuck, misaligned, or something is holding you back from doing "the thing" you're meant to do...take a look around.
Maybe something isn't serving you the way you thought it was. Maybe it's time to make changes.

And once you do?
Everything really does fall into place.

PS: Being your authentic self is probably the most strategic thing you can do.

When you show up as who you really are, you attract the right people, opportunities, and energy that fuel sustainable success.

I've never felt better.🤸‍♀️

You know those days where everything just flows?!

Yesterday was not that day.

→ Didn't sleep a wink
→ Massive headache
→ Bombed a workshop 
→ Mixed up client work
→ Dog threw up everywhere 
→ Spoke gibberish on my cohort call
→ Showed up 13m late to a call (thought was an hour later)

The good news?

Apparently, there's some planetary alignment happening that explains all of this.

I'm choosing to believe that. 👀

____

Anyone else blaming the planets this week? 🪐
.
.
.
TGIF

Yesterday, 2 clients renewed with me.

One's a biotech sales team that's been with me for 2 years. 

The other is a 1:1 client for 4 months.

Different industries, different stages, same reason for staying:

There's always more to do.

New approaches to test, relationships to deepen, and business development that never stops (#AlwaysBeProspecting)

The first few months are the heavy lift...profile, content, figuring out your voice. Gaining the confidence to get into the DMs and understanding how to show up without feeling weird about it.

We set a foundation.
Then things start to get really interesting.

Now it's tactical, strategic. Who do you reach out to this week? How do you get in front of this person or that person? How do you turn a comment into a conversation? A conversation into a call? What about that upcoming event? Or workshop? Cohort?

The trust deposits start to compound...the flywheel starts to spin.

My client asked: "Do you think we still have things we can do?"
I almost laughed.

This is when it gets fun. 🤓

P.S. He also left 2 industry associations he'd been part of for years. Said he's gotten more from LinkedIn in 4 months than he got from them in 2 years.

"Thanks to you, I've got too much work." 

Want the same thing? I'm booking for Q2. I still have space for 1x team and 4x 1:1. DM me "LFG" for deets.

I'm a day late for International Women's Day.

But let's be real, one day isn't enough anyways!

I want to celebrate the 39 women in the REALationship Growth Method right now.

12 that just kicked off in my third cohort. 27 in my other cohort and community.

Every single one of them is building something unique.

Growing businesses, dominating industries...showing up with heart, care, and an insane amount of strength.

But it's not just how they show up for their own businesses.
→ It's how they show up for each other. 👯‍♂️

The encouragement, the referrals, the "you've got this" when someone needs it most.

I wake up every morning genuinely grateful that these women trust me with their LinkedIn and business development strategies... it's not something I take lightly.

To my cohorts and my community:
You inspire me more than you know.

Keep building, keep showing up, keep being exactly who you are.

The world needs what you're creating.

Their like was the first move.

Your DM should be the second.

No one will get mad at you for sending a DM after they like your post.

In fact, they might even be grateful you reached out because, guess what,
Initiating conversations is hard!

And someone has to start the conversation - why not let it be you? 🤔

Plus, the way I see it:

- A like
- A profile view
- And definitely a comment

These are the digital (subtle) versions of starting a conversation.

It's them quietly waving saying,
"Hello, I hear you, and what you said makes sense!"

Now, don't go pitch-slapping them, please. 🙏

But connect, say hi back.
See where the conversation goes.

You never know what inspired that little hint of interest.

Might be your next client.
Might be a referral partnership.
Might be an intro to the best networking call you've ever had.

All I know is this:
The best opportunities only happen once words are exchanged.

____

PS. I know it might be time consuming. I have to admit I'm not able to do this all the time either.

But if you're not doing this type of follow-up, you're going to struggle to see results from all the effort you're putting into actually posting!

My challenge to you:

After your next 3 posts, send 5 DMs to people who engaged with each one.
Start small. See big impact.

I never felt rage towards tech until ChatGPT.

(I'm embarrassed to say that. I shouldn't have let it get to me so much, I know 🙈.)

But it just wouldn't listen!

The em dashes everywhere.
The "Here's the thing:" before every point.
The excessive praise.
The trying-to-be-my-bro energy.

I'd ask for direct,
I'd get fluff.

I'd ask for my voice,
I'd get... motivational poster.

So when I discovered Claude early last year, I literally couldn't believe my eyes.

It actually listens.
It's straightforward.
It remembers what I've shared.

Yes, it still makes mistakes. 
But it doesn't hallucinate to the extent that ChatGPT does. 

And it does SUCH a good job maintaining tone of voice and copywriting.

My writing changed significantly since I started using it.

I brain dump ideas. 
Based on my instructions, it turns them into posts. 

Always starting with my original thought. 
Never replacing it.

Which sparked a really cool idea:
What if I made custom Claude bots for my clients?

So easy they can't NOT post.
So I did.

Now all my clients get a custom ClaudeBot - loaded with information about them, my Know-Like-Trust content framework, and their brand voice, and my instructions.

All they have to do is speak into their phone and poof! - a post is there.

It's the opposite of garbage in, garbage out.

Is it perfect? 
No. But it gets to 80-90%.

And then there's the feedback from clients:

"I can write 8 new posts in 4x less time."

"It's one of my most satisfying relationships" 
(that one made me LOL)

"This stuff is really good."

AI isn't replacing your voice.
It's amplifying it - if you use it right.

____

P.S. I offer this not just for my 1:1 clients, but my cohort, also! I've got 1x 1:1 spot left for March and already filling my April cohort. 

You also get custom branding...AND video content. 

(yep, I'm basically an agency disguised as a coach. if you've been even the slightest bit curious, now's the time to lock it in before things change!) 

DM me "LFG" for deets!

Can we just say the unpopular opinion instead of stating “Unpopular Opinion:” first? 

Thoughts? 😉

"It's working out gooood!"

My client was skeptical for weeks. Wouldn't try it.
Finally did. First post? Someone reached out.

This same approach has gotten me 160+ workshop registrations and 3 SOLD OUT cohorts. 

Without a single promotional post.

What is it?

Take a peek! 👀

P.S. Can you guess what it is? ; )

Question for you: if you don't tell people how to work with you, how will they know how to work with you? Really obvious question, I know, but I find 

Open article: How to sell in posts without actually selling (I sold out 3 cohorts this way) by Natasha Walstra • 3 min read

How to sell in posts without actually selling (I sold out 3 cohorts this way)

I got real on this one.

Just did a podcast with Nick Berry about why LinkedIn feels harder than it should for business owners.

Nick's interviewed top dogs like Jason Feifer (Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine), Dr. Benjamin Hardy (10x Is Easier Than 2x, The Science of Scaling), and other impressive people. I was so shocked to be asked on it.

This was his first episode specifically on LinkedIn for entrepreneurs.

We broke down:
→ Why most advice doesn't fit you
→ Why smart people act weird online
→ What to do instead

I also shared some personal stuff I've never talked about publicly.

Take a read (and a listen!)

https://lnkd.in/eFgkAg_D

(my most honest conversation about LinkedIn yet) Hey you! I was recently a guest on The Business Owner’s Journey podcast with Nick Berry. And I’m stil

Open article: You're going to want to hear this by Natasha Walstra • 3 min read

"There's no way anyone would respond to this."

My client said this about a DM I suggested she send.

It was a simple DM for when someone views your profile.

She thought it was weird, too forward, pointless.
She sent it anyway.

The response? A four-paragraph novel.

The person explained exactly why they'd checked out her profile, what they were looking for, what they were struggling with.

They went back and forth and then jumped on a call.
All from one "weird" DM.

Here's the reframe (and why she sent it anyways):

You're not bothering them, you're doing them a favor.

Most people have so much to say, they're just waiting for someone to start the conversation.

They viewed your profile for a reason, they're curious, maybe interested. 
But nervous to initiate.

So you go first.

And if they have no reason? They just won't respond. No harm done.

But more often than not? 
They're relieved you broke the ice.

The DM that feels awkward to send is usually the one that starts the best conversations.


____

P.S. I'm doing another live workshop! And you bet we'll cover this. 

April 2nd at 12:00 ET

Why Your LinkedIn Isn't Converting...and the System That Fixes It

Register here! https://lnkd.in/eg3Kq5iX

Everyone in my community wants 2 things:

Visibility and sales.

And one of the best ways to get both? Speaking.

So I brought in Marta Spirk, M.A.

Her story was powerful. 
Her framework was clear. 
And her interactive Bingo exercise got everyone thinking about their next move.

The feedback?
"This was a phenomenal session." 
"This was so valuable!"

I could talk about LinkedIn all day. 
But speaking? That's not my lane.

Part of building something that actually serves people is recognizing where your expertise ends and someone else's begins.

Marta was the right person to have in the room. 
And my people are better for it.

P.S. My April cohort of the REALationship Growth Method is filling up FAST. 

We're not just learning LinkedIn tactics, we're hearing from top experts, actually implementing together, and you guessed it, building REALationships. Spaces are limited, and the next cohort won't be until June! 

If you're curious to learn more, DM me "LFG" for more deets OR let's hop on a call! https://lnkd.in/ecAKhTAq

Brain fog, breadwinner, business owner... AND content creator?

No, thank you!

This week's newsletter is a permission slip for everyone who's been told they need to "show up more" but can barely remember where they put their coffee.

You don't have to become a content creator to grow your business.

You just have to play a different game.

Check it out 😎

P.S. I'm hosting my next live workshop! April 2nd at 12:00 ET!! Deets coming next week. In the meantime, register here:
https://lnkd.in/ejGSQN2Z

You expect me to be a content creator on top of everything else going on? No, thank you. I've got a multi-6 fig business I run on my own (with a few c

Open article: Brain fog, breadwinner, business owner, AND content creator? by Natasha Walstra • 2 min read

Brain fog, breadwinner, business owner, AND content creator?

The most underutilized part of your LinkedIn profile?

→ Recommendations.

You might think no one looks at them. But if someone's about to spend $1000s with you? They're checking you out everywhere.

They *might* not notice if you don't have any...but they'll definitely notice if you do.

Here's one I got last week from Mahesh Guruswamy - CTO of Kickstarter when we worked together, now COO at Kajabi.

When someone's vetting me, they see this. They click his profile, they verify he's real, he held those positions, AND he said I'm "the real deal."

That builds trust faster than anything I could say about myself.

And right now? Trust is everything.
We're not in a trust recession...we're in a trust depression.

Everyone claims to be an expert, AI can write anything that sounds credible, and anyone can put "strategist" in their title.

How do you know who's the real deal anymore?
You don't - unless you can prove it.

Recommendations are one form of proof.

Real names, real titles, real companies, specific results.
 
Not a testimonial on your website that could've been written by anyone or a quote you could've made up.

A real person vouching for you in a way that AI (and potential clients) can verify.

If you don't have recommendations on your profile, you're asking people to take your word for it when where very few take anyone's word for anything anymore.
(Or at least, they want to trust, but they also just want a little proof to back it up. Recommendations give them that.)

P.S. I'm going to be sharing more juicy systems about why your LinkedIn isn't converting. April 2nd at 12:00 ET. LFG!

https://lnkd.in/epsuaE8z

Today’s the day!! 

LIVE MERCH LAB → Turning My “No Pitch Slaps” Into Swag! 

There’s a lot I’ve been saying lately that’s triggering (in a good way). 

Definitely could make for some good swag. 

And I love how Amanda Hofman turns your brand essence into company swag you’d *actually* wear. 

Can’t wait to see what we come up with today!! See you there!!

Branded Merch & Swag Expert | Chief Swag Officer | Your guide for sustainable & anti-boring branded merchandise | Print-on-Demand Shop Set-Up | NYC Marathoner turned Cyclist 🏃🏻‍♀️🚴‍♀️

Can LinkedIn advice become wearable? We’re about to find out.

Natasha Walstra is known for helping people sell on LinkedIn without being weird about it. She’s built her brand around making LinkedIn feel more human and helping you be more effective while you’re there.

Her signature rule: No Pitch Slaps. 

But Natasha’s message goes beyond one phrase. If her bold, honest, refreshingly real voice had to become wearable… what would actually make the cut?

In this 🎉 Live Merch Lab 🎉, we’re building Natasha’s very first merch line — translating her sharp, funny, straight-talking energy into something her community would genuinely want to wear.

If you care about building visibility without being cringe, spammy, or robotic, this session is for you.

In this live session, you’ll see:

→ How to brainstorm merch for your own brand while helping design Natasha’s
→ How to turn a strong point of view into something people proudly wear
→ What Natasha should absolutely NOT print
→ A live audience vote on the final picks

This isn’t a webinar. It’s a working session.

→→ RSVP to influence what makes the drop.

Bring your opinions, claim your (virtual) creative director seat, and help us decide what goes from idea to wearable.

Danae Gabriel, Kelly Edmondson and 34 other attendees

LIVE MERCH LAB → Turning Natasha Walstra’s “No Pitch Slaps” Into Swag

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The Battle

Karolyne Hahn

Natasha Walstra

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Performance ScoreKarolyne Hahn's LinkedIn Performance

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The Battle

Karolyne Hahn

Natasha Walstra

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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);}Karolyne Hahn's LinkedIn Performance

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Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreKarolyne Hahn's LinkedIn Performance