Lester Chng

Cyber CEOs Brand Strategist. I build your brand as you build your business. | Senior Cybersecurity Advisor | Author | Naval Officer | CISSP | 🇨🇦🇸🇬 |

You head a leading cybersecurity firm.
But your online presence doesn't reflect it.

In fact, being invisible is damaging. 

You understand the power of thought leadership.
You know LinkedIn shapes deal flow and adds credibility in the industry.
You just don’t have the cycles (or the copy) to share your expertise and experience.

You have stories worth telling.

The insights from being in the trenches.
The deep conversations with your ace teams.
The hard discussions with your clients. 

Don’t let this wisdom go to waste.

That’s where I come in.

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How we work together.

Profile & Positioning
=> Rebuild your LinkedIn profile so visitors see industry authority, not “another vendor.”

Content engine
=> Ghostwritten posts that leverage your insights and expertise into engaging LinkedIn posts. 

Outreach campaign
=> Targeted DM campaigns and audience-building strategies that build your authority and land you on podcasts and conference stages.

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You focus on growing your firm and protecting your clients.
And we will ensure the industry, clients, prospects, and investors can’t ignore it.

Let’s build the personal brand that commands the cybersecurity conversation and drives business.


Worked with global client portfolio 
- MSPs
- MSSPs
- Agentic AI SOC
- AI-powered GRC 
- Operational Resilience 

Senior Advisor, Financial Crimes Unit Exercises. BMO Fusion Centre

Execution of Financial Crimes Unit Exercise and Drill Program
• Design and execution of exercises and drills to operationalize the Financial Crimes Unit Fusion Centre
• Scenario creation and exercise execution for Information Security, Enterprise Fraud Management, Physical Security, and Global Crisis and Continuity Management teams 
• Providing effective challenge of incident response readiness through exercise observation
• Execution of enterprise-wide Purple Team Exercise


Cybersecurity Exercises: Purple Team, Ransomware, DDoS, Malware, Data Corruption, Data Breach, 3rd Party Incidents
Fraud Exercises: ATOs, Attack on Payment systems, Business Email Compromise, PII Breach
Physical Security Exercise: Active Assailant, Civil Unrest, Bomb Threats
Crisis Exercises: Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity, Operational Resilience, Fire Incidents, Natural Disasters, Utilities Disruption

Welcome to yr cyber flight simulator. 

I promise I won’t make u cry. 

The Cyber Range has been a faithful workhorse of Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University. 

Incident response professionals, IT teams, municipal leaders, law enforcement officers, veterans, and foreign partners have gone through their paces at the range. 

Has yr team seen what a cyber incident looks like?

Have they been in the hot seat, trying to make sense of what’s happening and needing to coordinate and prioritise actions?

Have they been given the rigor of training to sharpen their instinct, rehearsal their articulation, and coordinate competitions priorities?

This is your cyber flight simulator. 

Step in and see what happens when the rubber hits the road. 

Or are you going to take the risk and wait for a real incident to find out?

Good luck. 
Godspeed. 


P.S 
Please follow Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University. 

We have been delivering exciting programs to individuals and organizations for years and have shaped Canadian’s Cyber Ecosystem. 

It’s going to be an eventful year. 

Follow + try to keep up w the Catalyst.

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I once received AAR feedback from an executive that changed how I view these "mundane" reports.

After-action reports are very important to the success of an exercise program. Without it, there is no chance of leadership buy-in, and soon the program will fizzle out.

These are typical uses/benefits of an AAR.

• capture lessons learned
• provide recap of proceedings
• serve as evidence for risk/auditors
• feeds into enterprise-wide action item register

On this occasion, I drafted the AAR for a fraud-related exercise. It involved many operational teams including executive involvement. The AAR was signed and sent.

One feedback from an executive stood out.

"It had alot of detail, but I don't know if it was a success".

That struck me. We just missed an opportunity.

An opportunity to highlight:
• the alignment with the overall security program
• the collaboration involved to run the exercise
• the advancement in teamwork 
• the reduction of risk

Include a clear story and highlight the win in your AAR.

Don't take these exercises and artefacts for granted.
Each event builds confidence, familiarity, and resilience.
Don't let it go unnoticed; give it its due credit.

P.S Have you seen AARs put to good use?

Most cyber CEOs think LinkedIn is about “posting more.”

It’s about posting with a positioning equation:
Authority + Trust + Leads

Don't start without a clear content strategy.

Here’s the simple way to build your content calendar.

𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆
1. Build authority so you become the obvious expert.
Authority is when your audience says,
“This person knows the space.”

Teach one niche concept per post (one takeaway).

Share your lived experienced not conceptual ones.

Break down “why this fails” in real environments.

Add proof when possible:
Lessons, patterns, results, before/after.
Authority posts go deep in your niche.
More “results, insights, wisdom.” Less "frameworks"

𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁
2. Build trust so people believe in what you stand for.
Trust is when your audience says,
“I’d take a meeting with them.”
It comes from clarity and consistency, not hype.

Show how you think, how you communicate risk, and how you make tradeoffs under constraints. Use stories, principles, and honest calls on what you will and won’t do. When people understand how you deal with situations, they start to trust your delivery.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀
3. Generate leads without sounding salesy.

Direct: a clear CTA after you have earned it.

Indirect: a walkthrough of what it is like working w you.

Remove friction:
scope, timeline, roles involved, what success looks like.

Make it obvious you solve this specific problem for this specific buyer. Lead posts can be direct or indirect, and “walk-through” posts remove buying friction fast.

If you want a repeatable content calendar, stop brainstorming topics.

P.S Do you start writing without a plan?

Thanks Timothy Martens for prompt inspiration.

And Gerald Auger, Ph.D. + Mike Miller
for the reminder to include an image =)

How was your first full week at work?

This will happen if you don't intervene.

The Rule of the First 5 Days is a stock market indicator that states that if the market performs positively in the first 5 trading days of the year, there is a high probability that the markets will end the year positively.

Historical probabilities are between 69 - 84%.

Some of the reasons are:
Early Positioning
Investor Sentiment
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy


Bringing it back to how was your first week back at work?

Busy?
Stressed?
Juggling priorities?

Chances are if you don't make any changes, this will be how your year pans out.


If you had a great week, keep at it!

If not, time to review:
- the triggers
- the pain points
- the larger picture
- the longer term goals

Good luck for week 2!

P.S Dow has best 5-day start to year since 2006!

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bootcamp

Sign up here:
https://catalystcorporatetraining.classe365.com/form/view/AutoBootCamp?_gl=1*9rfqtg*_ga*MTQ4NTczNDM0MC4xNjk4MjQxODM1*_ga_YYXBQS6S5Q*MTcwNzgzMzEyNi4xODEuMS4xNzA3ODMzMTYwLjI2LjAuMA

Time is flying by. Jan is almost over. 

This is 1 thing I miss from 10 years ago. 


My lucious hair that would give me a chance at K-pop auditions. 

Just kidding. I stand no chance. 



What do u miss from 10 years ago?




Thanks sir Chris Chia for taking this pic and sending it again to me recently!

Leader, Coach, Facilitator

If your cyber exercise doesn't make you sweat,

why do you call it an exercise?

Too many teams are taking a stroll during tabletop exercises. They don't prepare in advance, they talk in circles, and frankly take it too lightly.

I have seen teams prepare extensively for exercises.

They relook their process and hold internal preparation meetings to validate if it still makes sense. They ask tough questions internally and the leaders confirm if their assumptions about alternatives, recovery times, capabilities, and priorities are still accurate.

The best teams go in well-prepared and respond confidently. This is not just for show. This is an opportunity where leadership teams have recognized the importance of readiness and set aside protected time to be intentional about preparation. 

This only happens if the exercise program is well-socialized.
When the experience and outputs are understood.
And the leadership is serious about training.

Otherwise, what's the point?
Check a box? It's 2026, do better.

Your next Cyber TTX will be miles better with this small tweak. 

Don’t rush the start of the exercise. 

I know you have been planning it for months. Your adrenaline is pumping and you assume the participants are chomping at the bit to begin. 

But don’t neglect the pre ex brief. 

Here’s why it matters. 

1. Not everyone is familiar w exercises

Some have never participated in one. 
Others can’t remember what it’s like. 
1 or 2 even have weird assumptions. 

2. Remind everyone of the Why

The stakeholders are not equally invested in the exercise or outcome. Half are wondering why they are there. 

3. A good start is important

Some exercises that start poorly can result in minutes of waffling, rabbit holes or just straight up disengagement. 

4. Questions forces a buy-in

Facilitate a short quiz or discussion. 
This makes participants feel involved and helps them warm up as well. 

5. Simple introductions helps

You will be surprised how often teams don’t know each other or what role they play in an incident. 
Take time to do a roundtable intro. 

6. Sponsor emphasis 

Allow the exercise sponsor to speak. 
This reiterates the investment, focus, and important of the exercise. 

7. Calms your nerves

Address concerns before an exercise can help mitigate against difficult scenarios such as wrong expectations and challenging stakeholders. 
There will also be disruption but touching on some issues early helps. 

The next time you plan yr exercise. 
Spend abit more time on the start. 
It will be worth it. 

P.S any other exercise faux pax?

What most Cyber CEOs post on LinkedIn 
 
- repost their company's post 
- post about the latest hack 
- random AI blog 
 
What should Cyber CEOs post on LinkedIn 
 
- customer success stories 
- lessons learned about your business 
- strong opinion about industry issues 
 
You are the leader. 
 
Lead by example. 
 
Here are more post ideas. 

Subject Matter Expertise
- insights
- pain-points
- transformation
- trends + opinion
- counter-trends
- mistakes you have seen others made

Trust
- client success stories
- decision-making dilemmas
- framework for decision-making 
- social proof
- results

Character
- guiding principles
- values
- client examples
- stories of resilience
- leadership

Authenticity
- challenges that excite you
- lessons learned
- challenges that you overcame
- best advice that you received

Majority of my bosses in Cybersecurity have been female.

Yet female only make up 21% of the cyber workforce.

I interviewed Sarah to get her insights on Women in Cyber.

Sarah is a certified coach, facilitator, and founder of the Human Skills Leadership Lab, a unique and customizable program that helps professionals develop the human skills (or ‘soft skills’) required for effective leadership in the modern workplace. 


𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺

1. When you think about women leading in cybersecurity, what have you noticed most often in how they lead, communicate, or navigate their roles?

They’re brilliant and discerning. They carry a full plate - navigating complex decisions and significant risk - and still, they lead with calm authority, thoughtfulness and integrity. They think deeply about their teams, their organizations, their families, and the broader systems. They’re the kind of leaders the world needs more of.


2. As you look ahead to the Women in Cyber Leadership Program in Malaysia with the Catalyst, what aspects of the program are you most curious or energized about?
   
After 4 years collaborating with the Catalyst to support cyber leaders from across Canada, I’m incredibly excited to connect with cyber leaders from 7 countries across ASEAN. It will be thrilling to be part of the conversation as these women come together to learn from and with each other.

 

If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Sarah Lang (MA, PCC, CPCC). She is a human skills expert, a Leadership in Communication Skills Coach, and has trained leaders from leading corporations and brands.

P.S. How are companies promoting diversity?

Soft Skills Expert • Certified Leadership & Public Speaking Coach & Facilitator • Program Design and Instruction @ U Toronto, KPMG, ESRI, Rogers • I help leaders transform confidence into connection and influence.

I trained Principle Warfare Officers. 

We assessed them on 3 attributes. 

The Principle Warfare Officer (PWO) was responsible for fighting the ship. 

This included the deployment of weapons, manoeuvres, and in many cases the control of multiple ships and aircraft to fulfil a mission. 

These are the 3 attributes. 

Knowledge 
- know the procedures 
- know the asset capabilities
- know the adversary’s capabilities 
- know the ever changing situation 

Command and control
- clarity of situation  
- clarity of instruction 
- clarity of orchestration

Creativity 
- demonstrates intuition 
- demonstrates flexibility 
- demonstrates adaptability 


In cybersecurity operations,

We assess
.
.
.
.
.

Hope you get my point. 

Happy training.

Most cyber CEOs aren’t afraid to post.
They’re afraid to be misunderstood.

And 19 other myths of writing on LinkedIn. 

 1. “I’ll get DMs from random people and waste time.”
 2. “If I post about a niche topic, it’ll limit my market.”
 3. “I should wait until my messaging is perfect.”
 4. “I’ll get fact-checked and embarrassed.”
 5. “I’ll be judged by peers in the industry.”
 6. “Clients will think I’m wasting time.”
 7. “I’m not a ‘social media' person.’”
 8. “I need a hot take every time.”
 9. “I’ll look like I’m bragging.”
10. “My team will cringe.”
11. “I need perfect writing.”
12. “People will think I’m selling.”
13. “I’ll attract trolls or get dragged.”
14. “I’ll upset a partner/vendor/client.”
15. “My competitors will copy my ideas.
16. “I’m not ‘big enough’ to have opinions.”
17. “If I post, I’m giving away the secret sauce.”
18. “Need to sound super technical to be credible.”
19. “If engagement is low, it means I’m bad at this.” 

P.S which is your fav? Mine is #8  🔥

I reviewed the LinkedIn headlines of 23 Cyber CEOs.

Not 1 mentioned these important aspects.

LinkedIn headlines are your first impression.
More precisely, the first 57 characters matter.

They are seen:
• on your profile
• during connection requests
• on the main feed via your posts
• in the comments with every response


I help [buyer] achieve [outcome] without [pain].

None of the CEOs mentioned buyer, outcome, or pain.

How would you write your headline?



[9]
CEO at [Company]
CEO at [Company]
CEO at [Company]
Founder/CEO at [Company]
Founder and CEO of [Company]
Founder and CEO at [Company]
Co-Founder & CEO at [Company]
Co-Founder & CEO at [Company]
CEO & Co-founder at [Company] - We are hiring!

[7]
CEO at [Company]| Autonomous SOC
CEO @ [Company]- Enterprise Hyper-Automation
Co-founder & CEO at [Company]| AI for Security Operations
Co-founder and CEO @ [Company] | Security Operations, at scale
Co-Founder/CEO at [Company]| Outpace attackers with agentic AI SOC Analysts
CEO @ [Company]| Executive | Entrepreneur | Revolutionizing the SOC with AI
Founder, CEO @ [Company] Autonomous SecOps & Investigation Platform with Hyperautomation.


[7]
Hiring misfits to solve security!
Tech Entrepreneur, investor and board member.
CEO at [Company] and Author of [Book] available now!
Building Your AI Knowledge Engine for Security Operations. Hiring!
Building great teams to execute on very difficult engineering problems
Tech Founder & Executive. Defender. Nation-state Hacker. Medal of Honor Recipient. Public speaker.
Empowering businesses: ChatGPT training, strategizing AI implementation, and offering tailored LLM and AI solutions for process automation.

AI tools are being used in yr org. 
Have your IR plans kept up?
Here are 4 changes to make. 

Implementing AI tools have left security team scrambling over the last couple of years to ensure it is securely deployed and monitored. 

Your incident response plans may have be neglected in the process. 

Consider these updates. 

1. Include AI related incidents 

- sensitive data exposure
- supply chain vulnerabilities 
- unauthorised model changes 

Don’t assume your plan is a catchall. 
AI asset owners don’t fully understand the security risks. 

2. Validate asset + contact list

- AI asset owners 
- data architects r crucial
- most of these folks r probably new

These AI gurus have been heads down focused on speed on implementation. They probably can’t spell cyber if u meet them for the first time on an incident call. 

3. AI specific containment

- understand the impacts 
- ask if traditional options will work

It’s going to get more complex as AI tools integrate across enterprise. It may soon become so entrenched that disabling it is a non option. 

4. Logs and investigation 

- review if current threshold is valid
- check on logs before/after go-live

You will learn to love “black boxes” and need to navigate round them. 


P.S what other areas to add?

2.

Incident response plans only play a small part in cyber resilience. 

“Do you have an IR plan?”

Is probably one of the most common question that consultants and experts use to gauge a company’s resilience. 

Many teams are happy to tick yes. 

But having a plan is merely the start. 

Here’s why:
- high turnover of staff
- fast pace of tech change
- lots of assumptions remain  
- plans get outdated due to new tech 
- teams don’t use the playbooks/plans
- primary teams hardly get trained
- secondary teams ignored 
- random cyber exercises 
- no training plan

There is barely any focus on training. 

7 men squads in the military get more training time and resources than multi-million dollar cyber defence teams protecting our financial ecosystem. 

Will having a plan alone save you?

And how long are you going to assumed your team is ready?

P.S the world is still a vulnerable place

Human skills training will unlock your career potential.

These are your advantages against AI... for now.

I interviewed Sarah to get her insights on human skills.

Sarah is a certified coach, facilitator, and founder of the Human Skills Leadership Lab, a unique and customizable program that helps professionals develop the human skills (or ‘soft skills’) required for effective leadership in the modern workplace. 


𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴

1. What are some of the key human skills that will unlock an individual’s potential in the workplace?
   
First: self-awareness, because awareness always precedes change. From there, the skills of emotional intelligence, listening and clear communication. These will help you improve your relationships and increase your influence and impact.


2. Were there pivotal moments from your own experience or from those that you coached that reaffirm that Human Skills Training is a vital part of career development?

I’m reminded of this everyday, given how easy it is to outsource one’s thinking, ideas, and voice to AI. We’re constantly pitched the benefits of efficiency, when really it’s our unique essence as a human that makes us compelling. Human skills will always be vital to professional and personal development.  


If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Sarah Lang (MA, PCC, CPCC). She is a human skills expert, a Leadership in Communication Skills Coach, and has trained leaders from leading corporations and brands.

P.S. Are you worried about AI impacting yr career?

5 LinkedIn posts that should be part of your pre-RSAC marketing plan. 

If your Head of Marketing is not bugging you to start posting on LinkedIn before RSAC, ask them why?

Even better if they tell u what to post. 

Here’s 5 posts that I will write. 

“Heading to RSAC next week. Here’s the one question I’m asking every CISO I meet.”

“One year ago, [Client Type] was struggling with [Specific Problem]. Here’s what changed.”

“Everyone’s talking about [Trending Topic] at RSA. Here’s what they’re missing.”

“We’re bringing [Specific Thing] to RSA. Here’s why we built it.”

“I have 8 meeting slots open during RSA. Here’s who I wld love to talk to.”

_____________

Here’s 3 reasons why you shld post. 


REASON 1: 
Conferences are chaotic. 

This gives you a chance to cut through the noise.  

REASON 2: 
Post-Conference follow-up success is built upon pre-conference interaction.  

Unless you are a magician and can engage random folks on the floor. 

REASON 3: 
Yr competitors are already doing so. 

Silence = Falling Behind

You don’t want to waste all that $$$$

———————

No time to write?
Overwhelmed by the preparation?
Rather spend time on client demos?

Let’s work together and take that off your plate.

LinkedIn posts can be complicated.  

I simplify it by 3-2-1 method. 

3 types of posts 
- authority 
- leads 
- trust

Cycle this through the week. 

2 content pillars
- cybersecurity exercises
- LinkedIn copywriting 

Alternate pillars per day. 

1 target audience per post

Focus on 1 reader. 


What’s your 3-2-1?
⬇️

People judge within 7 seconds of opening yr mouth.

That's why I still get nervous before every presentation.

I interviewed Sarah Lang to get her insights on public speaking and establishing leadership presence.

Sarah is a certified coach, facilitator, and founder of the Human Skills Leadership Lab, a unique and customizable program that helps professionals develop the human skills (or ‘soft skills’) required for effective leadership in the modern workplace. 


𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

1. How would you explain what leadership presence is for those looking to grow in their career?
   
Leadership presence is your ability to stay grounded and intentional in all moments - including when you’re under pressure. In a society driven by distraction and dopamine hits, leaders who embody this type of presence, steadiness and self-trust stand out.  


2. What are some ways to practice being more grounded and present?

• Spend time on analogue hobbies that anchor you to the physical world - art, books, gardening, cooking, etc.
• Practice mono-tasking on purpose.
• Try slowing down your communication - listening, speaking, pausing, saying less.
• Regulate your nervous system with breathwork, yoga or grounding activities.
• Carve out daily moments to pause and transition between meetings and events


3. Presenting to an audience is a real fear for many professionals. Do you have a couple of tips that you usually teach?
   
First, get crystal-clear on what you’re trying to say and why it matters to your audience. Then, practice your vocal and non-verbal delivery to make sure you sound like you care about what you’re saying! I also teach simple ways to work with nerves rather than fight them so speakers can stay connected to themselves and their audience.
 

If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Sarah Lang (MA, PCC, CPCC). She is a human skills expert, a Leadership in Communication Skills Coach, and has trained leaders from leading corporations and brands.

P.S. What's the best advice u received on public speaking?

Most Cyber CEOs post randomly and wonder why LinkedIn isn't working.
They write when inspiration strikes.
They share whatever feels right in the moment.
They post about the latest breach one day, their product the next, then go silent for weeks.

The result? Confusion. Zero traction. Wasted effort.

Here's what you should be doing instead:
Plan your content around 3 post types.

1. Authority posts
This is where you demonstrate expertise.
Share insights from client engagements. Dive deep into problems you're solving. Break down complex security concepts.

Examples:
"5 issues all enterprises face with AI governance"
"How we helped Company X reduce risk by 40%"
"The biggest misconception about Zero Trust"

These posts establish you as the expert in your niche.

2. Trust posts
This is where you build relationships.
Share your founder journey. Talk about team culture. Reveal the challenges you've overcome.

Examples:
"Why we started this company in 2019"
"The toughest decision I made as CEO"
"What our clients don't see behind the scenes"

These posts show the human behind the solution.

3. Lead posts
This is where you attract prospects.
Address pain points directly. Show transformation. Make your solution crystal clear.

Examples:
"Overwhelmed with compliance requirements?"
"How we saved a client 2000 hours per year"
"Is your board asking about AI risks?"

These posts turn readers into conversations.

Now here's the system:

Mon: Authority post
Wed: Trust post
Fri: Lead post

Repeat this for 6 months minimum.
Map out topics under each category. 
Populate your calendar. 

Never start from a blank page again.

Most cyber CEOs will read this and do nothing.

They'll keep posting randomly.
They'll keep getting zero results.
Don't be most CEOs.

Plan your content. Execute consistently. 
P.S. What type of post do you struggle with most?

Worried about the removal of your role?
Don't be a deer in headlights.
Do this immediately.

2025/2026 is the new 2020.

The trigger is different.
Lockdown vs AI.
The outcome is becoming the same.

And we shouldn't really be surprised...
If you are, stop living under a rock.

What did you think would happen?

Just look around the wider workforce, companies, tasks, processes, meetings, discussions, emails.....

Bots will be much better at most of that.

Thanks Sherlock, so is that the end for the human worker?

Maybe.... but not yet.

So, until we start serving robotic overloads, let's prepare and control what we can.

These are 5 things I'll immediately do to mitigate job risk.

1. Get better at your work

Thanks, Captain Obvious.
You are welcome, but I made Major.

The people who are most worried are probably the ones with the most areas to improve...so if there was a time to buck up, its now.

Say yes more than no.
Spend that extra hour.
Put in that additional effort.
Put yr hand up for that project.
Capture your achievements.
Socialize the wins w teams.
Help other teams win.


2. Restart your network

Your Rolodex is creaky, I know, but it is time to revisit.

It will be awkward at the start, but keep at it.
Better now than when you "need" a job.

Pro Tip: Be genuinely interested in them

Your older connections are easier to rekindle than establishing new ones. 


3. Build your profile

Refresh and improve your LinkedIn profile + professional portfolio.

It's 2026, we go to your profile and website if we want to get a good sense of who you are.

How are you showing up?
• old dated profile pic
• high school quality about section
• boring as f experience description

Or are you invisible?
Makes sense if you are James Bond.


4. Grow your network

Do some research. 

Who are your peers?
Who is in your dream role?
Which are the interesting companies?

Some of the folks who reported to you may now be execs.

Don't wait till your need a network to build one.

The earlier you start the better.

What are you waiting for? The HR Call?



5. Think like an owner

This is the future of the worker.
Gone are the days of 40 year old career.
My mom celebrates 45 years at 1 company soon!

If you think like an owner, you stop waiting for permission.

You start taking action, owning the risks, and keep going.

What is one thing you think will change when there is this mindset shift from employee to "owner worker"?

AI + UX • Raising Pre-Seed for UXpilot.ai • Founder @ UX Design Studio: adamfard.com • SaaS | Fintech | AI

I've designed B2B products for over 10 years

And there are 5 issues I kept seeing:

1 - Unnecessarily complex experiences
2 - Little (or no) user understanding
3 - Bad information architectures
4 - Major usability problems
5 - Lack of consistency

Over and over again.

As a result, companies see:

- Low activation & adoption
- Low retention rates
- High churn rates

Fixing these problems needs a special team and B2B focused methodology

Different from designing for B2C user experiences.

B2B products have:
- Complex workflows
- Multiple user roles
- Intricate decision-making

Here's a simple comparison:
B2C e-commerce: One-click purchase for a single item
B2B inventory system: Multi-step process for bulk orders with approvals

Solution?

I tackled that by building a technical team of product designers and researchers with PhDs.

Our expertise helps you:

- Understand users through research
- Create data-driven concepts
- Design user-friendly interfaces
- Build scalable design systems
- Ensure smooth handoff to developers

Using this approach, we've helped B2B SaaS companies:

- Create MVPs from scratch and raise $5 to $20m in funding
- Scale and improve their complex platforms iteratively
- Increased conversion rate by 400%

To take things further, I'm building an AI product (UX Pilot AI) to streamline the UX process for (our) product- and design teams.

If you want to learn more, go to adamfard.com

Adam Fard

Figma AI is practically dead

In the meantime, with UX Pilot you can generate designs and components directly inside Figma

Unlike other AI tools:
- It's not limited to a few predefined styles
- It's not limited to a few components
- It's not limited to only mobile

Test it for free: https://lnkd.in/dm5NzPDz

Founder of UX Pilot AI (0 → 5mil ARR) | Building New Era of Product Design

200,000+ ‌Figma users are about to move faster than ever ⚡️

For years, you've had to export/import your designs, between UX Pilot AI and Figma

But everything has changed

Now you just have to:
1. Click on “Copy Design”
2. Head to Figma and paste it 

Yes, it’s that simple

Now a couple of clicks is all you need to go from idea to product design 😎

Try UX Pilot for free: https://lnkd.in/ecZ3GyzT

Stop presenting slides —> start showing clickable prototypes 📲

Visualizing your product just got way faster
And a whole lot more interactive too

Here’s all you need to do:
1. Write out the general flow of your app
2. Hit auto-flow to instantly generate prompts for each screen
3. Click “Generate” to build the whole app flow
4. Pick the screens you want to connect
5. And tap “Prototype” to start exploring your own product

No more PowerPoints or clunky presentations
Now you can literally demo your product right inside UX Pilot AI

Start creating your UX/UI designs in seconds
And share your idea clearer and faster than ever

Try UX Pilot for free here: https://lnkd.in/dEfGsTCB

Free trials don’t kill revenue, but bad products do

When we launched UX Pilot AI, we ignored the advice to hide everything behind a paywall

We were generous from day one
People could actually try the product
Use it how they please
Feel the difference

And something interesting happened

They didn’t stay free for long
Most upgraded right away
Others within a few hours

Not because of discounts
Not because of pressure
Because the value was obvious

Today, UX Pilot has grown to 14k paid users on that model

The lesson?
If your product solves a real problem
You don’t need to “convince” people to pay
You just need to let them experience it

Paywalls don’t create value
But products do

And free trials don’t kill revenue
They simply expose the truth

This is how top UX designers are 10x-ing their productivity in 2026

After interviewing hundreds of UX designers we discovered one thing

They don’t start by perfecting screens
They start by generating one wireframe
And then they just iterate from there

With UX Pilot AI, pros use Variations to instantly spin multiple layout options, and Blitz Mode to generate up to 4 wireframe variations in under 15 seconds

Buttons move, layouts shift, and structures evolve instantly

This lets designers see how different decisions change the experience 
Without rebuilding anything from scratch

The result?
> Faster iteration
> More exploration
> Less friction.

In just 2 clicks
You get 4 variations

This is effortless ideation
And this is how wireframing becomes a creative accelerator

Want to win $262 worth of UX Pilot AI credits & pro features? 🙃

The last person to comment on this post
Wins 1 year of UX Pilot Pro, 100% FREE

If you want to speed up your product design process
Here’s how it works:
1. Leave a comment on this post
2. If no one else comments within 24 hours, you’re the winner
3. If someone comments before then, they become the new contender

It really is that simple, looking for the last man/woman standing
If there’s no winner until Feb 27th, the person with the most comments will receive a special prize 👀

PS: If this is your first time hearing about UX Pilot, you can give it a free trial for free.

Just drop a comment and let the games begin!

After analyzing how designers use UX Pilot, one thing became obvious:

The difference between “nice screens” and great UI/UX comes down to how you use the tool.

Here are the 7 UX Pilot AI performance hacks that change everything 👇

𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤 #1: 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐗 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭
Generate a design once. Then use section edits to tweak small parts. Change spacing. Adjust hierarchy. No more pixel dragging, just write down your instructions. This is where UX Pilot gets ridiculously fast.

𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤 #2: 𝐁𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞… 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞
There’s no single “right” prompt. Sometimes you want freedom: “Design a playful onboarding flow for a fintech app”. Sometimes you want control: “Onboarding screen, single column, progress indicator on top, primary CTA at the bottom”. Try both. Each shines in different moments.

𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤 #3: 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥
Upgrade your design language: Clean Minimalist. Modern SaaS. Corporate Modern. Premium Dark Mode. Luxury / High End. Glassmorphism. Digital Brutalism. Illustrative. The more precise your style vocabulary, the better UX Pilot can follow your direction

𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤 #4: 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲
Want consistency? Set brand colors. Choose fonts. Customize a theme. Upload brand guidelines. Sync UX Pilot with your Figma Design System. Do this once and every generation stays on brand. No more visual roulette.

𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤 #5: 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐳 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Designs generate in around 10 seconds with Blitz Mode. So use that speed. Test multiple prompts. Explore variations. Compare directions side by side. Take the best out of fast exploration.

𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤 #6: 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩
Quick idea or rough feedback? Turn Deep Design off. Complex flows, dashboards, or systems? Turn Deep Design and Max on. Depth is a lever, so use it intentionally.

𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤 #7: 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 → 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰 → 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩
Nail one screen first. Then click Autoflow. UX Pilot expands that screen into full flows while keeping layout, style, and brand consistent. This is how you scale design without losing coherence.

The truth? UX Pilot doesn’t replace designers. 

It rewards the ones who think in systems, intent, and direction.

Which hack are you stealing first? 👀

In a platform where most brag about success, it is good to remember:

The first Sam Altman project was Loopt. Not OpenAI.
The first Mark Zuckerberg project was ZuckNet. Not Facebook.
The first Steve Jobs project with Woz was the Blue Box. Not the Macintosh.
The first Elon Musk company was Zip2. Not Tesla.
The first Reed Hastings company was Pure Software. Not Netflix.
The first Marc Andreessen project was Mosaic. Not Netscape.
The first Evan Williams product was Blogger at Pyra Labs. Not Twitter.
The first Stewart Butterfield world was Game Neverending. Not Slack.
The first Daniel Ek company was Advertigo. Not Spotify.
The first Kevin Systrom app was Burbn. Not Instagram.
The first Reid Hoffman company was SocialNet. Not LinkedIn.
The first Patrick Collison company was Auctomatic. Not Stripe.
The first Vitalik Buterin project was Bitcoin Magazine. Not Ethereum.
The first Travis Kalanick startup was Scour. Not Uber.

Your first will not be your best.
But it is the only way to get there.

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taplio

The Battle

Lester Chng

Adam Fard

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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);}Lester Chng's LinkedIn Performance

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