Luke Shalom

CEO @ Grow Solo I help the C-suite turn industry expertise into predictable pipeline

There are two ways agency founders try to turn LinkedIn into a reliable source of clients.

One is by guessing. Posting when there is time. Relying on referrals and hoping the next month is a good one.

The other is by building a system that creates steady conversations, even when client work gets busy.

Our clients choose the second.

→ Joya Dass (Founder, Women’s Leadership Lab)

The problem:

- She spent hours in the DMs to book a few calls.
- Content happened on weekends.
- When delivery picked up, sales stopped.

Some months were strong. Others were quiet.

Even in good months, there was stress about where the next client would come from.

What we did:

We built a simple LinkedIn content system she could run in house. No ghostwriter or agency retainer dependency.

We shifted her content from generic how to posts to insight driven thinking.

That changed the conversations. People in her network showed up aligned and ready to buy.

We added a content led outbound system powered by a setter we hited and trained. The system kept working while she focused on delivery.

Results:

- Revenue grew from $150k to $300k.
- Sales became predictable.
- The pressure eased.

→ Jonathan Crowder (Founder, Founders Ally)

The problem:

- No time for content.
- Unpredictable sales calls.
- Leads with no budget.
- No sales background. A 10 percent close rate.

What we did:

We removed Jonathan as the bottleneck. 

We built a content system using AI supported by his real thinking. It sounded like him, not software.

Trust was built before the call. Outbound went from 10% to 40% response rates.

We focused prospecting on real buying moments, like recent funding to catch buyers at the right time.

We simplified his sales process. Clear outcomes. Clear cost of inaction was communicated to his buyers.

Results:

- Meetings went from 3-5 a month to 10-15 sales qualifed leads a month.
- A visible pipeline. Increase to a 25 percent close rate.
- $300k in pipeline in 60 days.
- $30k in new revenue closed.

→ Brian Dukes (COO, Exit Wise)

The problem

- Ovelry dependent on referrals.
- No LinkedIn playbook.
- No time to write.

What we did

- We clarified positioning.
- Simplified the offer.
- Built a content engine.

Then we added outbound from the founder profile.

Everything was owned and run internally.

Results:

- Consistent posting machine.
- 500 to 6500 ICP followers.
- $740,000 in LinkedIn-driven revenue over two years.

We have helped 100+ founder led agencies replace unpredictable growth with systems they understand and control.

If this feels familiar, we should talk.

Founder

We help executives to build and monetize their brand on linkedin by scaling your content and turning it into leads, authority and thought leadership.

How?

Engagement + DM flows = Qualified meetings. 

Done with you. Done for you.

2022: I wanted 100,000 LinkedIn followers.

2026: Now I want 10 people who trust me enough to wire me $100,000.

This shift didn’t happen because I stopped wanting influence.

It happened because after 4 years on LinkedIn, I learned one simple truth.

It’s the difference between creators with under 5,000 followers making 7 figures a year from agencies or coaching…

And creators with 100,000 followers who struggle to break $100k.

I call it being "Known Well".

On LinkedIn, there are two paths.

First, the "Well Known" crowd.

Think Justin Welsh.
Broad content.
Viral posts.
Big complex funnels.

Courses for everyone.

Nothing wrong with that.

They are playing their game.

But that game only works with massive distribution.
Most creators chase this path.

They chase 100,000 followers.
They think it will change everything.

It won’t.

The real leverage is being "Known Well" by the right people.

You become niche-famous.

A small group knows you for one thing.
They trust you deeply.
Even 10-30 people like that will pay you well.

That’s how small accounts make $100k a month on LinkedIn.

They play the Known Well Game.

And it’s simpler than you think:


1) Comments

They build a list of the right accounts... people they want to be known well to (ICPs, influencers with their buyers).

They show up every day, pay attention to posting times, and leave insightful comments.

These look like mini-posts, because their aim is to make impact and become known to the right people.

2) They have an indoctrination content ladder

They don’t create for mass appeal.

They understand what’s required to take their specific ICP from skeptic to ready-to-buy ... and they focus on that ruthlessly.

These posts might get less than 10 likes… but the DMs are on fire.

3) They have an outbound motion that feels like inbound

They may not get the turbo reach of big accounts, but dialled-in content lets LinkedIn bring the right people to them.

They leverage profile views, engagement, and followers to start conversations with members of their small but mighty Known Well audience.

Using AI tools, they automate the top of this conversation and only jump in when people are interested and responding.

That’s how you get 10 people to wire you $100k.

That’s the game I want to play.

Build deep trust with people you can truly help.

Everything else on LinkedIn is noise.

Remember that.

I share weekly strategies on how to become known well in your niche and get clients from LinkedIn for your agency. Go read it here: https://lnkd.in/ezZpkchD

CEO @ Atticus | AI sales systems for founders | 5–10 deals/month from LinkedIn in <​ 30 mins/day I $125M+ pipeline generated for 100+ clients

There’s a new breed of agency founder emerging in 2026.

They don’t chase likes.
They don’t live in the DMs.
They don’t grind comments.

They’re called Leveraged Operators.

I’ve spent the last 4 years building LinkedIn sales systems for 100+ lean founders, and the pattern is clear: most are stuck in the activity trap.

AI didn’t just “help.”
It rewired the entire game.

That same ChatGPT agent everyone’s playing with can now map a full demand gen strategy in minutes. 

Meanwhile, founders still hope referrals and a “good name in the space” will carry them.

It won’t.

LinkedIn reach is down ~70%.
Referrals are lumpy.
Cold outbound without trust feels pointless and never leads to clients.

The symptoms are familiar:

- No time to sell
- Prospects treat you like a vendor
- Pipeline dies when you stop posting

I’ve lived it. It’s exhausting.

The founders pulling ahead are doing something different.

Leveraged Operators use AI, assets, and workflows so effort compounds.
They build 80–90% margin consulting layers on top of services using:

- Founder-led demand gen on LinkedIn
- AI agents that create and distribute content
- Content-led outbound that feels like inbound

Two years ago, I hit $60k in revenue in a month.

Profit? $4k.

More revenue. Less freedom.

Thats what building your business the old way gets you. 
Bigger numbers and little take home.

I burned that model down.

In 2025:

$250k profit
21,000 new LinkedIn followers
30–50 leads a month with AI doing the heavy lifting

Founder results mirrored it:

- Joya (Women’s Leadership Lab) doubled ARR to $350k and generates ~$540k in pipeline monthly.

- Jonathan (Founders Ally) went from 5–6 meetings a month to one a day in 60 days.

- Brian (M&A firm) closed $750k in pipeline with inbound-driven positioning.
That’s the Leveraged Operator model.

Not more content.
Not more DMs.
Not more headcount.

System > activity.

Want the exact strategy I’m using in 2026 to add 5–10 deals a month from LinkedIn in under 30 minutes a day?

DM me “Leverage.”

(Or you know you could spend another year on the struggle bus and watch your competitors apply the above model and eat your lunch...)

P.S I took these photos on my 4th holiday of last year with my Colombiana. It was the 3rd time I went to the Carribean. And it was only made possible by having a agency with the right systems to replace me as the bottle neck. You can do it too.

Yesterday I had a call with two guys who’ve built outbound DM workflows for some of the biggest 7-figure agencies and 7-figure creators.

What they said to me made my blood go cold about client acquisition on LinkedIn.

Here’s what happened:

Me: “What have your other clients been seeing on LinkedIn? I’ve seen a drop-off in inbound leads. If we didn’t do warm outbound, we would be broke tomorrow.”

Consultant: “We’ve definitely seen clients getting less engagement across the board, and that’s meant less intent to contact from posts.”

Me: “**** I know it feels tough out there right now. We’re booking calls, but it really feels like the bar has gone way up… In your opinion, do you think it’s all going to ZERO?!”

Consultant: “Not at all. We’ve seen teams equipped with the right processes and systems booking 1–2 meetings every day.”

He paused for a moment and followed up with:

“The bar is set so low on how to progress prospect conversations, it’s never been easier to stand out.”

Here’s what I took from that convo:

There is one hell of an opportunity right now on LinkedIn for agencies who approach and invest real time and focus into their LinkedIn warm outbound.

If you’re willing to figure it out yourself or leverage an expert backed by the right technology, you can gain an insane advantage.

Because here’s the truth…

Your competition still thinks a no-context “pitch slap” message on connect is lead gen.

My advice?

Go deep on creating your founder-led brand with actual insight that’s unique to you. 

Don’t rip your posts straight from AI. 

Use it to scale your ideas and edit the output. Don’t lose the human.

The inevitable outcome of becoming an actual creator is that it’s going to bring you niche authority over time so the algorithm puts your content in front of buyers.

Truly understand the talk tracks that lead to buyers responding, answering, and moving to calls from your LinkedIn profile.

Have a human element responding in your DMs. Founder preferred, but once the process is dialled, a setter can handle it.

You just ned to have meaningful conversations with your customers.

PS… This is your competition... the bar is LOW.

Founder at Atticus | Predictable LinkedIn pipeline using a founder-led sales system I 100+ clients scaled | Be the next 👉 atticusagency.com

My client Joya Dass fired us after we doubled her business.

Then rehired us to build her in-house Atticus Predictable LinkedIn Sales system.

Phase 1 - October 2024 - August 2025

When we started with Joya Dass, Women’s Leadership Lab sat at 5 sales calls a week.

We took her to 10-20 qualified calls a week.

All from people who had already seen or engaged with her content.

Over that year:

→ Her rates went up by $10,000 from better fit prospects
→ She closed $130,000 from the Atticus Done-for-you system
→ ROI was 4.5x on what she paid us

We did not flood her calendar.

We filtered hard so she only spoke with senior women leaders from places like Harvard, Berkeley, high level firms.

Then we paused the done-for-you work after we sunsetted the done for you SDR service.

I counted that as fired.

Phase 2 - September 2025 - December 2025)

On a later call, I was about to refer her to another vendor.

Then I walked her through our new Atticus Predictable LinkedIn Sales system.

How she could bring all her client acquisition in-house in under 30 minutes a day...

We started again.

Different model. 

First 10 days:

→ Built a content bank in her exact voice with our content engineer 
→ Structured posts to shift beliefs and drive demand
→ Trained an agent in ChatGPT so she could write expert content herself
→ Mapped a 6 month content calendar tied to real sales conversations

Next 20 days, we built outbound:

→ Deep GTM research on her ideal client
→ Lead list playbook so she could find the right people on demand
→ AI sales rep trained on her offer, her tone, her dos and donts
→ Workflows triggered by real intent signals like job changes and thought leadership pushes
→ A/B tests on talk tracks until we hit message market fit (what she needed to send to get responses)
→ Plugged in and trained a setter once the machine booked meetings on repeat

Result in the last 2 months of the year:

→ $70,000 closed
→ Women’s Leadership Lab went from $150,000 to $300,000
→ Agency spend dropped from $4,000 a month to $400 a month
→ Her LinkedIn system now drives $510,000 in qualified pipeline every month

What you do not see:

We blew up campaigns that stopped working.
We rebuilt whole flows from scratch.
We had dead weeks where nothing landed.

Joya did not blame the system.
She co-created the result.

That is what my best clients understand.

You are not buying magic.

You are building a machine together. 

I recorded a step by step video on Joya’s whole strategy that doubled her business using LinkedIn, showing:

→ Why we did not fix her problem with content or outbound first
→ Why her content never generated inbound before, but did in 10 days with the new system
→ How we took her from 2–6 hours in the DMs a day to 30 minutes then to zero
→ Why she now only talks to people who already like, know and trust her

Comment "System" below and DM me “System” if you want the video.

P.S Proud of you Joya Dass and can't wait to see your growth this year.

Director Clear-Investments | Build to Rent | Specialised In Dealing With High Net Worth Individuals In UK & Internationally

I help investors secure genuine off-market London property with speed, discretion, and clean title — not recycled listings.

Trusted by family offices, HNWIs, and private investors, I specialise in sourcing prime residential and BTR opportunities across Zones 1–3 — from Chelsea to Hampstead — through direct-to-vendor relationships that others rarely access.

My approach is simple: deliver real access and real execution. Every deal is structured with clarity, legal integrity, and investor pace — working closely with trusted lawyers, finance brokers, and planners to make decisions happen fast.

Clients work with me because I value trust over transaction and precision over pressure. Whether it’s a single apartment or a multi-unit block, I’m focused on long-term partnerships, not one-off deals.

Outside of property, I’m a competitive cyclist — and that mindset of discipline, endurance, and focus shapes how I operate in business too.

If you’re allocating capital in London residential property or want boots-on-the-ground sourcing with genuine access, let’s connect.

Iftikhar Ahmed

I’m back after a two-month break from LinkedIn.

And a few things changed while I was away.

First, LinkedIn feels louder than before.
More opinions. More noise. Less depth.

Second, everyone seems to be in a rush to sell something.

Faster pitches. 
Shorter attention. 
Quicker judgments.

And third, genuine conversations feel rarer.
But when they happen, they matter more than ever.

But more than all of that, something else happened.

When I opened LinkedIn after those two months, I saw hundreds of unread messages.

Messages saying:

“Ifti, are you okay?”
“Where did you disappear?”
“Hope everything is fine on your end.”
“LinkedIn doesn’t feel the same without your insights.”

I didn’t expect that.

And that’s when it hit me.

Over the last year, without being loud or trying to impress, I had built something real.

Not just content.
Not just visibility.

A small, loyal community of people who cared beyond the post.

And that means a lot to me.

So yes, I’m back.
But things will be different this time.

This profile won’t be about surface-level updates or chasing attention.

I’ll be sharing what I’ve learned from 25 years on the ground in Central London property,
the realities people don’t talk about,
the decisions that protect reputations,
and the thinking that helps trusted advisors serve their clients better.

I want this space to be about meaningful conversations,

with people who value discretion, long-term thinking, and doing things the right way, even when it’s not the easiest way.

If you believe relationships matter more than transactions, and clarity matters more than noise,

we’ll get along just fine.

Good to be back.

P.S. - How has the new year been treating you so far?

Director Clear-Investments| Scaling London Property Portfolios | Bulk Acquisitions & Bespoke Sourcing for Global HNWIs |

One thing I’ve never negotiated with in my life is my health.

Not when work gets busy.
Not when travel gets hectic.
Not even when the days get long.

For me, staying fit isn’t about looking a certain way. 

It’s about clarity, stamina, and showing up fully, year after year.

Cycling has always helped me with that. 

Some days it’s the only time my mind slows down. 

Over the years, I’ve realised that if you want to stay sharp in your career, especially over decades, your body has to keep up with your responsibilities.

If you don’t take care of it, everything else eventually pays the price, focus, decision-making, even temperament.

I’ve seen many talented people burn out not because they lacked skill, but because they ignored the basics for too long.

For me, fitness is not a break from work.

It’s part of how I stay sharp, grounded, and dependable.

And In my opinion long careers aren’t built on intensity alone.

They’re built on sustainability.

And that starts with taking responsibility for your own health, before anything else.

A few years ago, a senior advisor called me late one evening.

He wasn’t asking for a deal.
He wasn’t asking for numbers.

He said, “Iftikhar, I have a long-standing client. 

Very particular, Very private. I can’t afford to get this wrong.”

I knew exactly what he meant.

When you sit in that position, private banker, wealth manager, family office principal, the risk isn’t just financial.

It’s reputational.

You’re not judged on effort.
You’re judged on outcomes.

And the truth is, most advisors don’t lose clients because they lack intent or intelligence.

They lose them because they were forced to rely on the wrong execution partner at the wrong moment.

-Generic agents.
-Over-promised access.
-Or someone who understood the price but not the responsibility.

In Central London, that margin for error is razor thin.

This is why, over the years, I stopped thinking in terms of “transactions” and started thinking in terms of protection.

-> Protecting the client from bad decisions.
-> Protecting the advisor from uncomfortable explanations.
-> Protecting trust that took decades to build.

That evening, I didn’t show listings.
I didn’t pitch.

I asked questions.
I explained what was realistic, what wasn’t, and where patience mattered more than speed.

That client eventually invested. Quietly and Correctly.

And the advisor kept his relationship intact.

This is the part of the business that rarely gets discussed publicly.
But it’s the part that matters most.

If you’re in a position where your name is attached to every recommendation you make, you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about.

Because in the end, access is important.

But judgement is everything.

What’s the biggest risk you try to protect your clients from, a bad deal or a bad experience?

After all these years, one thing still surprises me.

The most difficult part of this work is not finding opportunities.

It’s knowing when not to act.

Early in my career, I believed speed was an advantage.

Respond quickly. Move fast. Close efficiently.

With time, I learned something different.

The best decisions often come from restraint.

From saying, “Not yet.”
From walking away when something doesn’t feel right, even if it looks good on paper.

When you’re advising people who’ve taken decades to build wealth, haste becomes a liability.

And patience becomes a form of respect.

Some of the strongest relationships I’ve built didn’t start with a transaction.

They started with an honest conversation where the answer was no.

No pressure.
No urgency.
Just clarity.

This approach doesn’t make noise.
But it builds something far more valuable over time, trust.

And trust, in this world, compounds quietly.

There’s something about working with very successful people that no one really tells you.

The money isn’t the hard part.
The emotions are.

When someone has spent decades building wealth, every decision carries history. 

Past wins. 
Past losses. 
Family expectations.
Fear of making a mistake.
Regret. 
Pride. 

And all of that walks into the room with them.

As advisors, we’re often expected to be calm, confident, and certain. 

But behind that, there’s a lot of listening that needs to happen before anything sensible can move forward.

I’ve learned over time that the most important thing you can offer in those moments isn’t a solution.

It’s composure.

The ability to slow things down, to read what isn’t being said, and to know when reassurance matters more than action.

This part of the work doesn’t show up in numbers or reports.

But it’s where trust is either built or quietly lost.

If you’ve ever sat across from someone who had everything to gain and everything to lose, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

One thing that surprises people outside this market is this:

Most Central London deals don’t fall apart at the start.
They fall apart after everyone thinks it’s done.

Price agreed.
Hands shaken.
Client excited.

And then the real work begins.

This is where assumptions surface, expectations clash, timelines stretch, and small misunderstandings quietly turn into big problems.

At this stage, it’s no longer about negotiation skills.

It’s about judgement, patience, and knowing how these situations usually unravel if not handled carefully.

Over the years, I’ve learned that closing a deal is rarely the hardest part.

Protecting it through the final stretch is.

That’s why experience matters most when things slow down, not when they move fast.

Because in this market, confidence is built not on how quickly you agree, but on how calmly you handle what comes after.

P.S- Where do you see deals break down most often, early excitement or late execution?

Everyone talks about off-market property.

Very few understand what it actually means.

In Central London, off-market is not about secrecy or special listings. 

It’s about trust, timing, and long-standing relationships.

Developers don’t “release” inventory quietly by accident. 

They do it because they know 

-> Who can execute
-> Who won’t waste time
-> Who understands the responsibility that comes with introducing the right buyer.

After 25 years on the ground, I’ve learned this:

Access is built long before a deal ever exists.

That’s why relying on generic agents or last-minute sourcing often puts advisors in uncomfortable positions with their best clients.

The real work happens much earlier.

In conversations, credibility, and consistency.

P.S- Do you think off-market is about information, or relationships?

Most difficult conversations in my work don’t start with numbers.

They start when someone says,
“My client wants this… but I’m not sure the market will allow it.”

That gap is where things usually get uncomfortable.

Over the years, I’ve learned that my real role isn’t to push ambition or defend the market. 

It’s to sit calmly in the middle and make sure neither side loses trust in the process.

Clients don’t mind hearing no.
They mind being surprised later.

Advisors don’t mind slowing down.
They mind having to explain things after the fact.

When expectations and reality are aligned early, decisions age well.

They make sense today, and they’re still easy to stand by years later.

That’s the kind of outcome I care about.

Reposting because this one made me smile (and reminded me how many hills I’ve suffered on 😂).

Proof that some of the best professional relationships don’t start in boardrooms — they start in lycra, bad weather, and long conversations halfway up a climb.

Really grateful for the friendship, the miles, the laughs, and the trust that came long before any “business chat” ever did. 🚴‍♂️🤝

Some of the strongest professional relationships start nowhere near an office. 

Mine with Iftikhar Ahmed started on a bike.

We got to know each other through riding for Mearns Cycling Club, where Iftikhar is the club captain, and spending long hours together on the roads. 

What followed was cycling trips overseas, plenty of shared miles, conversations, challenges and laughs.

Over time, that shared passion for cycling and property turned into a genuine friendship. Anyone who cycles knows it has a way of breaking down barriers quickly, you learn a lot about people when you’re suffering on hills together!

At the time, there was no thought of business. But that foundation of trust, respect and shared values eventually made it natural for our paths to cross professionally.

Photo credit: Akbar Mufti 📸

Most of the work I do never shows up in a headline or a listing.

It happens in quiet conversations, usually when someone says,
“I need to get this right.”

At this level, the pressure isn’t about finding something quickly.

It’s about knowing that one wrong move can change how a client looks at you forever.

That’s why I’ve learned to value judgement over speed, and discretion over visibility.

The people I work with aren’t chasing opportunities.

They’re protecting relationships.

And when trust is the real currency, how you move matters just as much as what you deliver.

If you’ve ever felt that weight, you’ll understand exactly why this process exists.

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The Battle

Luke Shalom

Iftikhar Ahmed

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taplio

The Battle

Luke Shalom

Iftikhar Ahmed

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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);}Luke Shalom's LinkedIn Performance

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