ML DIGITAL BRANDS

Brand Ambassador

STAYAHEAD AI

Content Creator

Global Retail Health and Personal Care Company

Information Security Audit Program Owner

Global CPG Company

Senior Advisor | GRC and Cybersecurity

addGRC - Governance, Risk, and Compliance

We add governance, risk, and compliance by providing businesses with experienced and accredited GRC professionals. 

Our mission is to help businesses stay safe, compliant, and successful by providing GRC and Cybersecurity guidance and solutions. 

We are a virtual consulting and recruitment company and we leverage our extensive network of experienced and accredited professionals within our area of expertise to handpick the right competence for our customers' needs.

🟠 Ready to take your cybersecurity and GRC career to the next level? Follow addGRC for expert advice, job postings, and consulting opportunities!

Founder and CEO

OKQ8

Markus led a team of skilled specialists in the creation of a security platform designed to aid OKQ8's journey towards a sustainable future. He was responsible for Information Security and IT security as well as the budget and resources (employees and consultants) for the department he was head of.

Head of Information and IT Security (CISO)

DigitalRoute

Markus was responsible for Security Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance. The assignment included preparing the organization for three upcoming audits (ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certification audits and a SOC 2 Type II audit).

CISO and Head of Compliance

AB Trav och Galopp

Markus was contracted to take the lead in an Information Security Management System (ISMS) implementation initiative. Where the first phase consisted of creating the Governing Documents that would form the foundation for the ISMS. After Senior Management approval of the documents, Markus delivered training and awareness sessions to the organization for the decided Information Security requirements as well as taking lead on the second phase of the initiative: implementing processes, controls, and technical security measures in order to achieve the objectives and adhere to the requirements stipulated in the governing documents. The implementation areas included Supplier Governance, Risk Management, Privacy, and Internal Control over financial reporting.

Cyber Security Consultant

Markus was contracted to make sure the client would be prepared for and pass the certification audit that is a part of obtaining and retaining a license to operate in the Swedish gambling market. The work consisted of cybersecurity governance, risk management, and IT compliance.

GRC Consultant

DeLaval

Markus was the Project Leader and Subject Matter Expert for the GDPR Compliance project. The project consisted of several streams including Data and Process Mapping, Privacy Risk Management, Personal Data Breach handling, and Data Protection Governance and Markus's role was making sure all relevant functions delivered as planned as well as providing expertise and guidance within the areas of privacy, risk, compliance, and information security.

Project Leader/Subject Matter Expert (SME)

Markus was the acting Data Protection Officer for a global manufacturing company with responsibility for privacy and data protection. The role consisted of legal and information security-related advice to employees and senior management and Markus was the single point of contact for privacy and data protection compliance during the assignment.

Data Protection Officer

Transcendent Group

Markus worked as a senior consultant within the department IT Governance and Security, making use of his knowledge and experience in areas such as:

• Design, implementation, testing and evaluation of Information Security
requirements
• Design, implementation, testing and evaluation of internal controls
• IT and Information Security Governance
• Project Management
• Regulatory compliance
• IT Audit

Senior Consultant

With 15 years of experience in Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) and cybersecurity, I'm now exploring my other passions in self-improvement and emerging technology.

As AI advancements continue to shape the future of work, I'm more convinced than ever that it's essential to focus on honing the distinctive human abilities that make us stand out. That's why I'm passionate about helping people succeed in this new landscape and redefine what success means in the age of AI.

Through personal development strategies and systems, I aim to empower people to excel in an automated, AI-driven world.

With a dual Master's degree in Business Administration and Information Technology, along with being a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), I bring a wealth of expertise in Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), cybersecurity, privacy, and IT audit. I am dedicated to providing ongoing support to my clients in these fields, while pursuing my other passions.

Markus Lannsjo

Thijs Kraan

Value Positioner

We turn your work and expertise into founder-led content that attracts a steady flow of high-value projects from the right clients. A partnership for design agencies that want growth without the heavy lifting.

Send me a message if you want to learn more.

Founder

Hatch Conference

Growth Partner

Soldep

Designed websites, brands, content strategies, and funnels for SMBs to turn more visitors into customers.

Designer

UMC Utrecht

UMC Utrecht is an academic hospital. Designed a mobile app for nurses to streamline internal communication, documentation, and automation, so they had more time to take care of patients. Estimated workload decrease of 2 to 10%.

Product Designer

Essense

My graduation internship at Essense focused on understanding service design, customer experience, journey mapping, and customer research. I worked on a project (which I acquired myself) for UMC Utrecht.

Ahold Delhaize

Worked for Albert Heijn, the largest Dutch supermarket chain. Designed 2 products, including all marketing materials that led to a launch with 35k+ users in one week. Both MVPs were scaled into the larger product eco-system and now saves around 4.5M kilograms in annual food waste

I help designers sell their expertise through writing content.

Before 2023, 100% of my design clients came from referrals.

→ I had zero control over when my next project arrived

Today, 88% of my clients come through LinkedIn – inbound.

Learning “how” took me 1065+ days of sharing expertise:

- Positioning & articulating the value of my expertise
- Experimenting with writing high-performing hooks
- Converting attention into inbound business leads
- Talking to 1000s of designers and design leaders
- Finetuning my profile for the highest conversion

I was a poor design student, so I self-studied:

- I consumed 1000s of posts & 100s of videos
- I read 100s of books & 100s of articles
- I wrote more than 1200+ posts

Obsessed with mastering the nitty-gritty of content.

And that meant making countless mistakes:

- I tried appealing to everyone, so I never got to stand out
- I wasted 100s of hours on meaningless content iteration
- I pivoted direction 50+ times so nothing compounded
- I got 3M+ impressions without winning a single client
- I ignored 1000s of hand-raisers right in front of me

To this day, I still learn new things every day.

Even after investing 3 years in learning:

€10k+ on courses/coaches
1000+ hours on reading
2500+ hours on writing

But now, I've turned everything into one framework to:

- Share your unique expertise more effectively
- Become the go-to expert for your audience
- Start getting inbound leads (on auto-pilot)

My LinkedIn Growth Framework. 

After 10+ iterations, I'm confident it works:

- A design founder added €100k+ in revenue (in 6 months)
- A design leader landed a new €150k+ job (in 3 weeks)
- And many designers won new 5-figure project deals

All from sharing their unique expertise (on LinkedIn)

So, if you want to learn from my biggest mistakes.

Take my free 5-day LinkedIn Growth Strategy:

growexpertise.com/linkedin-growth-strategy
(or click my LinkedIn profile buttons above)

PS. For 1:1 help, DM me or visit valuepositioner.com

Design Content Consultant

I help design leaders, founders, and freelancers do 4 things:

1. Understand & position your unique value
2. Create your design content strategy
3. Systematize content creation
4. Start creating habitually

By:

1. Analyzing your existing customers, content & data
2. Strategizing toward your ideal future positioning
3. Producing content for authority, talent & leads
4. Upgrading your content, profiles & funnels

Together, this will help you:

- Get inbound leads
- Attract new talent
- Build authority

Want to learn how? 

Send me a message.

I met the design founder behind Polarsteps, a travel app with 18M+ users. 
 
From day one, Job Harmsen was the Head of Design:
 
He didn’t invent a new category, he made it beautiful
He bet on great experiences over growth hacks
He built for 11+ years alognside 3 co-founders
 
A design founder at heart. 
 
Short-film coming soon.
 
Made by Luc, Lars, and me. 
 
PS. Job is hiring a Senior Product Designer. If you're interested, reach out to him!

Back from a week in Paris:

- Visited nearly all the historic places
- Took the crown jewels from Louvre
- Drank a bunch of coffees in cafés
- Endulged in the French cuisine
- Quality time with my partner
- Loved the city's architecture
- Enjoyed some great wines

My favorite city trip so far.

It's what I love about having my own business.

I have full control over how I spent my time.

Not always easy, but definitely rewarding.

Now, it's time to get back to work:

- Kicked off a new big project
- Starting a 30-person cohort
- Finishing a few projects

A few busy last months.

All ready for 2026.

Let's go!

I hate to see great designers waste their potential.

- Working a less-than-ideal 9 to 5
- With people you don’t love
- On a vision not yours

A shame.

If you can’t wait for the weekend
If you lack energy in the evening
If you struggle with consistency
If you hate starting on Mondays
If you rush home after 5 PM
If you fail to stay focused

You’re doing the wrong work.

Keep searching until you:

- Do work you love doing on your schedule
- With the people you love working with
- On a vision you truly align with

Aim for at least 80% of that.

100% is rarely achieved.

Most times:

→ This work is designed

Because I strongly believe:

Personalities don't fit a standardized job. 

You need to design a job unique to you.

And iteratively make this job a reality.

Just like you design new products.

Don't dread your 90.000 hours.

Start designing your work.

I’m a slow starter.

I didn’t start hitting the gym 5x a week
I started hitting the gym once a week

I didn’t start publishing 7x a week
I started publishing once a week

I didn't start reading 7x a week
I started reading once a week

Every habit had a few failed attempts.

But I know they're habits for life.

Don’t always be in a rush.

Start slow, finish faster.

I got my 1st client with luck.

I got my 2nd client with luck.

I got my 3rd client with luck.

All local businesses.

Over 7+ years, we did 10+ projects.

I was lucky to *accidentally* start a business:

- Learned to manage my clients and projects
- Learned to charge for outcomes, not hours
- Learned the basics of business by doing

But my 4th client came from intentional effort.

I published consistently for more than a year.

And then, I shared my 1st post with an offer:

→ That resulted in 20+ leads and 2 clients

That’s when growth finally felt in control.

By sharing my expertise on LinkedIn:

I built an invaluable network from scratch
I attracted many inbound opportunities
I won 88% of my current client base

All while I was a design student.

That’s the power of LinkedIn.

Take control of your luck.

You don’t need the perfect strategy.

You don’t need the perfect website.

You don’t need the perfect brand.

You don’t need the perfect plan.

You don’t need the perfect idea.

Perfection doesn't exist. 

Waiting for it is a trap.

All you need is:

- A specific customer
- A painful problem
- A good solution
- An action bias

We overcomplicate everything. 

Just do “simple” things well. 

Start small and iterate.

We're lucky. 
 
Being alive means we already won the lottery.
 
That's blind luck. Luck we didn't work for. 
 
Other types of luck come from:
 
1. Hustling
2. Preparation
3. Authenticity
 
When you share what you know, luck compounds: 
 
- You learn about what interests you
- You get inbound project requests
- You meet like-minded designers
- You open doors you didn't see
- You find experts to mentor you
- You gain free audience insight
- You can test & validate ideas
- You build a referral network
- You develop your character
- You iterate upon your ideas
 
That's why you should: 
 
Share consistently.
Prepare deeply.
Be authentic.
 
It's how we create our “luck.”

I made a mistake 4 years ago.

Not sticking with what worked:

→ Building websites

I sold websites for €5k to €17.5k/each and I built each one in 30 to ~90 hours.

That's when I faced a few wrong beliefs:

- Web design is a race to the bottom
- Tools will replace website-building
- Websites are often not important
- Building websites isn't leveraged
- Too many people build websites

So, I decided to do a hard pivot, and I tried finding a new:

- Audience = ICs → leaders → founders → businesses
- Market = design industry (only worked with designers)
- Offering = program → growth sprint → growth retainer

Took 2-3 years to find what worked, and I still iterate every day. 

Sure, I make more than I need, but if I wouldn't have pivoted:

→ I would've made at least 5x to 10x more, easily

How do I know? A few friends sell websites for €20k - 80k+

And I'm confident I delivered similar quality 4 years ago.

But I wasn't willing to double down on “boring” work:

- Prioritize one market and audience
- Build a predictable growth engine
- Systematize for higher efficiency
- Learn to hire → delegate → scale
- Do more work and do it better

So, if you're thinking about pivoting. Please think twice. 

When something works → Don't pivot, just do more. 

The grass is always greener on the other side.

taplio

The Battle

Markus Lannsjo

Thijs Kraan

Followers

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Performance ScoreThijs Kraan's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Markus Lannsjo

Thijs Kraan

Followers

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);}Thijs Kraan's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreThijs Kraan's LinkedIn Performance