Luke Tobin

Founder of Unusualgroup.com | Follow for posts on Business, Marketing, Investing & AI

Commercial and speaking: sponsorship@luketobin.com

3 exits, different industries, each one bigger than the last. Turned a £100 investment, into an eight-figure agency exit in 5 years. 

I help founders turn self-doubt into leverage, and leverage into exits.

My last business started with £100 and a lot of imposter syndrome. No funding. No safety net. Just a laptop, a tiny runway and lots of grit. Five years later, we sold for eight figures. It was one of the fastest growth-to-exit stories in the UK at that level.

That was exit number three. Before that, I built and sold a hospitality business and an e-commerce brand. Different industries, same scale-to-exit playbook. Build lean. Price for profit. Systemise delivery. Think like a buyer long before you ever meet one.

Now I back other founders and work on fixing what is broken in the agency world.

Current work:

Unusual Group (Founder)
We take minority stakes in agencies and plug them into the capital, infrastructure and operator support they need to grow margins and become exit-ready.

Tobin Capital (Owner) 
I invest in more than 25 brands, including SpaceX, Atom Bank, and Honest Mobile. When I invest, you do not just get capital. You get an operator in your corner on pricing, operations, hiring and exits.

A-Frame Venture Studio (Partner)
We build consumer brands from scratch. Our first brand, Mirth Water, is now live in the United States at drinkmirth.com.

The Success Method Newsletter
Every week, more than 100,000 founders get my breakdown of how to turn self-doubt into an advantage in their business. I share how I structure deals and exits, the pricing moves and margin levers that work in practice.

Book (Q2 2026)
My first book, on how founders can turn doubt into an asset rather than a drag on growth, is coming in Q2 2026 from a major publisher.

In total, I have started seven businesses. Two failed. Three exited. Two, I am still building. The failures taught me more than the exits. Self-doubt never went away. I learned how to use it as a filter to make better decisions in hiring, pricing, partners, and exits. That is what I teach and invest around now.

Today, I share what actually works with more than 800,000 founders across my channels. The playbooks, the red flags, the live deals and the parts of the mental game most people never talk about.

If you are an agency owner or founder who wants to raise, exit or fix your margins in the next 12 to 36 months, send me a DM.

Newsletter (100K plus subscribers): www.luketobin.com/newsletter

DM me about: investments, agency exits, speaking

Investor

The next‑generation personalization AI for e‑commerce.

Big goals = big discomfort.

Small goals = silent regret.

When you're around people chasing massive goals,
something shifts.

You start to believe bigger is possible.
You become more.

Do this to design your environment for maximum growth:

1. Audit your circle
↳ Who do you spend the most time with? Are they pushing limits or settling?
↳ Surround yourself with fire-starters who make you uncomfortable (in the best way).

2. Join high-aspiration spaces
↳ Masterminds, growth communities, where big thinkers gather, energy rises.
↳ Proximity breeds possibility.

3. Seek mentors with 10x vision
↳ Learn from those who’ve already gone where you want to go.
↳ Borrow their belief until you build your own.

4. Cut energy drainers
↳ Limit time with people who complain more than they create.
↳ You can’t soar while dragging anchors.

5. Normalise big conversations
↳ Make goal-setting, risk-taking, and growth the default in your daily dialogues.
↳ Big dreams feel more achievable when they’re spoken often.

Big goals aren’t just built, they’re caught.

And the right people make them contagious.

Remember:
The right room changes everything.

♻️Repost to help someone in your network.
🔔Follow Luke Tobin for more professional growth strategies.

cc Colby Kultgen (shout out for the image and powerful reminder!)

3x Exited Founder | Follow me for posts on Business, Marketing, Investing & Success Psychology

Every time you wait for "the perfect moment," someone with half your talent but twice your audacity is moving ahead of you.

The world doesn't always reward the most skilled or the most prepared. 

It rewards the people who show up, speak up, and take the risk of being told "no."

Let's address this..
Missed opportunities hurt more than rejections. 
A rejection is a data point; a missed opportunity is a "what if" that haunts you. 

If you’re waiting for permission to dream big or bet on yourself, this is it.

How to stop hesitating and start acting:

1. The 5-Second Rule: 
If you have an impulse to act on a goal, move physically within 5 seconds or your brain will kill the idea.

2. Audit Your "What-Ifs": Ask yourself: 
“What is the actual cost of a ‘No’?” Usually, it’s just a bruised ego. The cost of a "Never Tried" is a stalled career.

3. Lower the Stakes: 
Stop trying to make your first move a "grand slam." Just aim to get on base. Send the DM, post the rough draft, or book the meeting.

4. Embrace "Good Enough": 
Perfectionism is just procrastination in a fancy suit. Done is better than perfect when "perfect" never leaves your hard drive.

Stop letting your talent stay a secret. 

The gap between where you are and where you want to be is usually just a few moments of audacity.

What’s one thing you’ve been overthinking lately? 
Let’s commit to doing it this week.

♻️Repost to inspire others in your network.
🔔Follow Luke Tobin for more mindset and growth tips.

cc Dora Vanourek (shout out for the image and message)

We are our own worst critics.

I spent years thinking I wasn't doing enough. 

I compared my "behind-the-scenes" to everyone else’s "highlight reel."

But here is the truth: 

While you’re worrying about your mistakes... 
Others are inspired by your progress.

While you’re doubting your worth... 
Others are studying your work ethic.

The "mess" you see in your head? 
To someone else, that looks like a masterclass in resilience.

If you’re stuck in a cycle of overthinking, here are 5 ways to get out of your head and back into the game:

1. Audit your evidence, not your emotions. 
- Your brain will tell you that you’re failing because you feel tired. 
- Feelings aren't facts. Look at your "Done" list for the week. 
- The data usually proves your anxiety wrong.

2. Focus on "B-" work to start. 
- Perfectionism is just procrastination in a suit. 
- Aim for "good enough" to get the momentum moving. 
- You can’t steer a parked car, but you can optimise a moving one.

3. Stop comparing your "Input" to their "Output." 
- You see the 4:00 AM struggles, the deleted drafts, and the coffee-stained notes. 
- You only see their polished final product. 
- It’s an unfair comparison.

4. Change your "Who." 
- Instead of asking "Who am I to do this?", ask "Who am I helping by doing this?" 
- Shifting the focus from your ego to your impact kills imposter syndrome instantly.

5. Embrace the "Spotlight Effect." 
- We think everyone is judging our mistakes. 
- Truth? Everyone is too busy worrying about their own mistakes to notice yours. 
- You have more freedom than you think.

The bottom line: 
While you’re wondering if you’re "good enough," someone else is looking at you for inspiration.

Don't let them down by quitting.

♻️Found this helpful? Share it with your network.
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cc Justin Welsh (shout out for the inspirational message and image)

A hard truth:

Regret = The price of comfort

You don't need more time.

You need more courage.

Most people don’t fail from trying. 
They fail from waiting too long.

Here’s how to build the courage to jump.
(Even when it’s scary):

1. Make the fear visible
↳ Write it down. Name it. You can’t fight what you won’t face.

2. Shrink the leap
↳ Break it into one bold step. You don’t need a plan, just a start.

3. Take action within 24 hours
↳ Delay kills momentum. Movement builds belief.

4. Surround yourself with risk-takers
↳ Bravery is contagious. So is settling.

5. Track your jumps
↳ Keep a “courage log.” Let your past bravery fuel the next one.

6. Rehearse your bold move
↳ Visualise the conversation. Confidence builds in repetition.

7. Limit input, increase output
↳ Too much advice leads to paralysis. Make a move then adjust.

8. Set a “no turning back” trigger
↳ Commit with a consequence.

9. Anchor to your future self
↳ Ask: “What would the future me thank me for doing today?”

10. Celebrate courage, not outcomes
↳ Reward the jump, not just the landing. That rewires your risk muscle.

Reminder:
Courage isn’t loud.
It’s quiet decisions made in uncomfortable moments,
that change your life.

You don’t need to be ready. 
You just need to go.

If you wait for certainty,
you’ll miss everything worth having.

♻️Repost to help someone take a leap of faith.
🔔Follow Luke Tobin for more personal growth tips.

cc Eric Partaker (shout out for the image and powerful message)

The way you speak to yourself in private sets the ceiling on your results.

Not motivation.
Not discipline.

But your internal narrative.

Your brain doesn’t argue with your self-talk.
It goes looking for proof that it's true.

Do this to rewire your mindset architecture:

1. Tune your filter (RAS)
- Your brain searches for evidence to proof what you already believe. Feed it better signals.

2. Swap “I can’t” for “How can I?”
- Statements close doors. Questions open search mode in your brain.

3. Add “yet”
- Most limits aren’t permanent. They’re unfinished.

4. Use identity-based language
- You act in line with who you think you are. Choose the identity that serves the outcome you want.

5. Audit your inner critic
- If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, it doesn’t belong in your head.

6. Use the observer technique
- Create distance from the thought. Regain objectivity and reduce the emotional spike.

7. Remove “should”
- Replace shame with agency. “Choose” is a different operating system.

8. Reframe anxiety as excitement
- Same body signal, but a different story. You get to decide the label.

9. Let confidence compound
- Small daily narrative shifts build self-trust over time. Track your proof.

10. Protect your mental environment
- Your inputs become your inner voice. Curate what you consume and who you listen to.

This isn’t self-help.
It’s mindset architecture.

Rewrite the script and the behaviour follows.

Which one do you need most right now?

♻️Found this helpful? Share it with your network.
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Your self-talk sets the ceiling for your growth 

"Service businesses are dead. Why invest in them?"

Three months ago, everyone said I was crazy.

Today, we're proving them wrong.

We launched Unusual Group in October with a clear mission: 

Build the ecosystem of support, founders need to scale-to-sale successfully. 

The industry has been struggling and it's no surprise. 

Traditional rollup groups and network agency models are broken.

So we built something different. 

An industry first membership model that gives founders and their teams the strength and resources of a business 10x their size. 

Support with;

- Strategy
- Operations 
- Sales & Marketing
- Productisation & IP
- Finance, Legal, HR & IT
- AI & Technology
- Exit Planning & Positioning 
- Optional Capital Investment 

After three months, here's how its going;

• 100+ applications received 
• 7 agency partners onboarded (5% acceptance rate) 
• Group valuation approaching £10m 
• 90 pieces of press coverage 
• £400k ARR 

An ecosystem that supports founders in ways the market has never seen.

This isn't about rolling up agencies or stripping identity.

It's about creating the infrastructure that lets great founders do what they do best, without the ceiling that comes with going it alone.

If you're running an agency and you've been watching from the sidelines, 
now's the time to get involved. 

Our next cohort goes live in February.

Apply via our waitlist: https://lnkd.in/exReKAKu

Follow me, Luke Tobin for more building in public content.

3x Exited Founder | Follow me for posts on Business, Marketing, M&A & Success Psychology

Product Insights for Emerging Technology

20 years in emerging tech — ex-Head of Product at Palantir, now founder of two ventures.

At Common Sense, we’re building modern agentic AI systems for local government — 100x increases in productivity across critical workflows that simplify civil service and delight citizens.

At First Principles, we help emerging tech companies generate massive value, ship faster, align teams, and unlock product-market fit or hypergrowth — through fractional product leadership and expert product coaching.

Whether it serves 10,000 users or 10 million residents, the system has to work — and keep working.

Sound like I can help you? Get in touch:

adam@firstprinciples.la or adam@commonsensetech.ai

Adam Judelson

A city once invited us in for an in-person working session.

We aligned the agenda, booked the flights, and landed.

Minutes before the meeting while we prepared in a nearby coffee shop, they cancelled due to an emergency.

Most teams would have stepped back and waited for a new date.

We didn’t.

We went to the building anyway, stood in the lobby, and said, “We’re here. We know the timing shifted. We’ll stay as long as you need.” Turns out, the opportunity to get ahead outweighed the crisis.

This should be the bare minimum when working with public institutions.

Show up. Make it easy. Remove friction. Respect their time.

The difference between us and the incumbents is simple. 

We want to have a conversation. 

We want to understand the work. 

We want to sit with the people responsible for keeping the city running.

And we believe that if the government is going to get faster and more effective, it starts with partners who are willing to be in the room, see the real constraints, and prove what they can do.

Building Common Sense (govtech) | Founder, First Principles | Product Insights for Emerging Tech | Ex-Palantir | 4x Venture-Backed Exec

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I just finished one of the most talked-about books in government right now, “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future,” and it made me rethink something we see every day inside cities.

Wang’s core argument is that China became an engineering state, one that builds at speed and scale, while America became a lawyerly society that regulates, litigates, and creates veto points that block building.

The American “lawyerly” model has crucial advantages in protecting individual rights, constraining state overreach, and fostering a flexible, innovative society, even though it often slows physical building. He sees these legal and institutional strengths as exactly what China most needs to import, just as the U.S. should import some of China’s engineering spirit.

Local government sits right at the collision point of these two mindsets – cities need to build (housing, infrastructure, services) but operate inside a thicket of legal constraints and procedural requirements.

Most of the people I meet in government, across agencies, roles, and floors, genuinely care. They want things to work. They want residents to feel the difference.

Both types of thinking and action are crucial to progress, and the lack of understanding from these opposite optics causes the work to drag on, because every decision becomes defensive or about optics instead of outcomes.

Individuals start protecting themselves instead of the mission.

Wang’s point isn’t just about internal dysfunction – it’s about what happens when a society only optimizes for preventing bad outcomes rather than producing good ones. Local government has become very good at avoiding mistakes and needs work building things and taking bold, calculated risks. 

The question is whether we can recover some of that engineering ethos without losing the legal protections that matter to the world’s most important democratic republic.

Every city leader I meet wants faster service delivery with AI. And increasingly, the teams running those services want to deliver it.

But there’s a gap between enthusiasm and implementation.

The same AI doomerism questions come up in almost every conversation: “What if the AI makes a mistake?” “What if the AI misses something?” “What if the work or answer is incomplete?”

These are the right questions to ask. Public sector teams are accountable to their communities in ways that private companies aren’t, with a litigious public ready to pounce on mistakes. Every strong AI company must be able to explain how accuracy and quality are measured, for sure.

But it’s also worth asking: what’s the error rate in your current workflow? How much work is left entirely undone right now? How long are people waiting for answers or approvals under the status quo?

Because in most cases, the baseline isn’t perfection. It’s human staff working through hundreds of repetitive tasks under time pressure, applying convoluted legal frameworks, with inconsistent results.

The challenge isn’t that teams are being too careful. It’s that we’re measuring AI against an impossible standard while accepting a much higher error rate and set of delays from manual processes.

Government operations are excellent at managing long-tail risk.

But managing opportunity requires a different muscle to be flexed, one that involves controlled testing rather than comprehensive policy first.

AI won’t move in the public sector through white papers or policies alone. It will move through small, measured pilots that prove value in real-world conditions.

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