Building a portfolio of writing businesses to $10M, and sharing my frameworks along the way.

My name is Nicolas Cole, and I am one of the most-read writers on the Internet.

Over the past decade, I have written over 5,000 articles online, and ghostwritten for 300+ Founders, C-level executives, NYT best-selling authors, Grammy-winning musicians, and more. I have also broken records on various digital writing platforms, like becoming the fastest-growing user on Quora in 2014, and becoming the most-read writer on the entire platform (out of 200 million users) in 2015. I have amassed hundreds of millions of views on my writing, and the topics I cover include hard life advice, category design, and digital writing principles.

I have also written over a dozen books, including the best-selling The Art & Business of Online Writing.

I am passionate about paying it forward and sharing what I have learned writing online for more than decade with other writers, creators, and industry leaders.

Here's a quick breakdown of my portfolio of companies, and how to get in touch.

WANT TO GET STARTED WRITING ONLINE?

→ GO HERE: www.ship30for30.com

Ship 30 for 30 is a cohort-based community specifically for people who want to start writing online. In this 4-week program, we help you build your daily writing habit, launch your Social Blog, clarify your niche, and master the fundamentals of digital writing. To date, we have helped more than 3,000 people get started writing online.

WANT TO BECOME A PREMIUM GHOSTWRITER?

→ GO HERE: https://premiumghostwritingacademy.com

Freelance writers charge per word or per hour. As a result, they're underpaid and burned out. Premium Ghostwriters charge per project, work directly with founders, CEOs, and business owners, and are more like "business consultants who happen to know how to write." As a result, they can charge a premium. In PGA, our Premium Ghostwriting Academy, we train writers on how to become Premium Ghostwriters, and learn how to package & price their services in lucrative ways.

WANT TO STAY AT THE FOREFRONT OF WRITING WITH AI?

→ GO HERE: https://writewithai.substack.com

Write With AI is a bi-weekly paid newsletters for writers, giving you strategies and prompts to help you turn ChatGPT into your own personal Digital Writing Assistant. 

WANT TO GET IN TOUCH?

→ GO HERE: www.nicolascole.com

In addition to writing and building my own businesses, I am also an investor & advisor to a handful of media & digital publishing companies. If you'd like to get in touch, please feel free to shoot me an email.

Email: cole@nicolascole.com
Twitter: @Nicolascole77

Nicolas Cole 🚢👻

Last week, I spent 7+ hours building a set of Claude Skills to help you write viral LinkedIn posts faster.

The result?

A Claude Cowork plugin anyone can install to write publish-ready LinkedIn posts in minutes.

It's called the PGA LinkedIn Writing Coach.

And I'm giving it away for free.

Most LinkedIn creators and ghostwriters waste hours:

• Staring at a blank page
• Rewriting hooks 17 times
• Trying to come up with the "perfect" topic

Not because they're bad writers.

But because they don't have the right system.

This fixes that.

This Claude Cowork plugin is built with proven frameworks that have generated millions of views on my content.

Here's what you get inside:

• A Hook Generator that writes 11 hooks in 11 proven formats (so you have the best chances of going viral)

• A Post Writer that generates 15 post ideas and writes the strongest one for you

• A Voice Remixer that rewrites any text in 5 distinct Voice Archetypes (perfect for matching your client's voice)

• A full end-to-end workflow to take you from raw topic to published post in one guided session

Now, I originally built this to share with my team.

But I wanted to get it into the hands of more writers.

So for the next 48 hours, I'm sharing it for free.

Want access?

Comment "coach"

If we're not connected, then send me an invite with the word "coach", and I'll send it across ASAP.

I talk about digital writing, ghostwriting, and self-publishing | Co-Founder Ship 30, Typeshare, Write With AI, Premium Ghostwriting Academy | Author of 10 books | DM "👻" if you want to land high-paying writing clients

I'm a pro writer.

Over the last 10+ years, I have:

• Written 1 fiction book
• 10 Non-fiction books
• 2,000+ thought-leadership articles

And more.

Writing is how I've generated over $20M in the last 5 years.

And I've learned a simple truth:

Great writing doesn't come from "natural-born talent."

It comes from simple, repeatable techniques.

Use these 19 small (but powerful) tips to upgrade your writing in the next 5 minutes:

1. Volume wins

2. Prep the Page

3. Delete adverbs

4. Redraft from zero

5. Ignore word count

6. Don't use semicolons

7. Use "The Tequila Test"

8. Delete the word "that"

9. Use the 1/3/1 sequence

10. Cut all tiny word chunks

11. Delete opening "i" phrases

12. Match language to the audience

13. Write to change the reader's mind

14. Write (and edit) in different interfaces

15. Compress what you're saying into bullets

16. Make the last word the most important word

17. Before you start, do some unintentional writing

18. Increase engagement with the Rate of Revelation

19. Make your first sentence short, strong, & declarative

Get the full breakdown in the Carousel below:

—
📌 My self-published books have generated over $1,000,000.

But ghostwriting is how I got paid to write (while I worked on my first book).

So I created a free, 5-day email course to help you:

• Reposition yourself as a ghostwriter
• Charge premium prices for your services
• Land high-paying writing clients on LinkedIn

Get started here: https://lnkd.in/gzNHs2cH

19 Tips To Upgrade Your Writing (In 5 Minutes)

Over the last 5 years, my little business has generated $20,000,000.

The secret?

Email.

For all our digital product launches, we use a specific 20-email sequence.

And now I want to share it with you.

Why?

For 2 reasons:

1. So you can sell your own digital products with email

2. And (more importantly) so you can ghostwrite these launch emails for your clients (and get paid $$$ to do it!) 

Because high-ticket clients don't hire you to "write emails."

They hire you to sell their product.

And if you can show up with a proven launch sequence... you become irreplaceable.

That's exactly what this free playbook gives you.

Inside the Product Launch Playbook, you'll get:

• A 20-email launch sequence (pre-launch + launch, fully mapped out)
• Real examples + fill-in-the-blank templates for every single email
• A deep dive explaining exactly why each email works
• [BONUS] 3 AI prompts to write or ghostwrite the entire sequence 10x faster
• [BONUS] Sequence automations for Kit

Now, I originally built this for our internal team and writers inside our Premium Ghostwriting Academy.

But I'm giving it away free for the next 48 hours.

Want access?

Just comment "launch" on this post.

And I'll DM it to you ASAP.

(If we're not connected, send me a connection request with the word "launch" and I'll send it across!)

Most LinkedIn creators use AI to write their content.

How do I know?

Because I see the same "AI Fingerprints" ruining what they're trying to say.

Here are the 10 biggest AI Red Flags to look out for:

1. Contrast Framing Overload
2. The Rule Of Three
3. Cringe Transition Questions
4. Present-ing Verbs
5. Vague Glazing Opinions
6. Formality First Language
7. Emoji Explosion
8. Extra Em Dashes
9. Everything Is "Symbolic"
10. The Mysterious "Sarah Chen"

Check out the rest of the carousel to learn how to edit these out of your LinkedIn content.

—
📌 Writers everywhere can use AI to make more money online.

And the fastest way is to become an AI-powered LinkedIn Ghostwriter.

So I created the LinkedIn Ghostwriter OS to help you get started.

Inside you'll find:

• Viral LinkedIn content templates (that anyone can use)
• 20+ AI prompts to help you make money writing on LinkedIn
• My "Leaks & Faucets" strategy for finding leads
• My $3M Sales Call script that closes high-ticket deals
• Voice matching prompt to write in anyone's style
• A step-by-step, 30-day implementation roadmap

Want access?

Click here to grab your FREE copy: https://lnkd.in/e4KkbZsH

10 AI Fingerprints That Make You Sound Like A Robot

I'm a 90s kid.

It's hard to overstate how much better life was with:

Pokémon on Gameboy Color + Dominos Pizza.

And most importantly?

NO cell phones or algorithms vying for your attention.

All this technology.

All these advancements.

And I think many of us miss the analog & lightly digital days more than we value the digital-first, AI-in-your-bloodstream reality we now live in.

Wild generation to have been born into.

Millennials are the last generation to know life with technology before it took over. 

But I'll never be that age again.

You blink, and it's over.

So yes, plow resources into mastering the newest technology and AI tools.

But you don't need them to make $20,000/month.

I didn't, and only spent ~20 hours per week working.

Plenty of money for "fun" and the time to enjoy it.

Which is why I recommend becoming a LinkedIn ghostwriter.

This platform has over 1 billion users who:

• Never post
• Know they should be
• Need help building their personal brand

Want a blueprint to help you start ghostwriting & land high-paying clients?

Get it here (for free): https://lnkd.in/giTAbyJT

Ghostwriting is how I went from being a broke freelancer to making $20k/month (in less than 60 days).

But it isn't all about the money.

Here are 7 reasons why I believe every writer should be a ghostwriter:

1. You Get Paid To Learn

2. You Get Paid To Practice

3. You Get Paid To Build Your Network

4. You Get Paid To Know About Trends Early

5. You Get Paid To Experience Different Lives

6. You Get Paid To Learn How To Write In Different Voices

7. You Get Paid To Write About Subjects You're Passionate About

Now, if you're interested in becoming a ghostwriter...

I recommend starting a ghostwriting side hustle.

Just 1 high-paying client can pay you anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000+ per month. 

That way, you can give this a try without worrying about “building a business” or replacing your 9-5 (while only writing a handful of hours per week).

If you want to scale your income from there, great.

You only need:

• 3 high-paying clients
• Paying you $2,700/month
• To make $100,000+ per year

And I have a FREE, 5-step blueprint that’s already helped over 10,000 writers start ghostwriting.

It has everything you need to start landing high-paying writing clients.

Click "Visit my website" at the top of this post to grab a FREE copy of my Premium Ghostwriting Blueprint.

Most people will never make money writing online.

But one skill makes it embarrassingly simple:

Copywriting.

It's how I've generated over $20,000,000 as a writer.

But the secret to writing great copy?

It has nothing to do with sales.

It's all about education.

Because when you successfully educate the customer, they sell themselves.

Here are 7 sales copy sentences my digital business uses to generate millions every single year (steal them for yourself):

1. "This small action will lead to a giant outcome."
2. "This massive problem can be fixed with this simple solution."
3. "The outcome you want isn't far away."
4. "It's not your fault."
5. "You've already done the hardest part."
6. "I couldn't do this either."
7. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret..."

Here's how to use them:

—
📌 The fastest way to make money on LinkedIn?

It's not copywriting.

It's becoming a LinkedIn Ghostwriter (using these 7 copy sentences in your clients' content).

Because right now, ghostwriting demand on this platform is exploding.

Want help landing high-paying clients as a ghostwriter?

I put together a free, 5-day email course to help you.

Click "Visit my website" at the top of this post to get instant access.

7 Sales Copy Sentences Worth $20,000,000

The most misunderstood, misused, yet highest-leverage writing skill:

Copywriting.

It's how I've generated over $20,000,000 as a writer.

And these 7 exercises will turn you into a top 1% copywriter:

——
📌 These are the writing techniques you need to start making money online.

But if you want to:

• Eliminate boring work
• Reclaim hours of your life
• Build your first AI employee

Then join me on February 23rd for my 2-week Claude Cowork Bootcamp.

Here's what we'll build across 6 LIVE sessions:

🤖 Week 1: Foundation & Voice Training

→ Build your Computer Organizer .skill that manages files automatically (so you never waste time hunting for receipts again)

→ Connect Claude Cowork to Notion and train it to write in YOUR voice (not generic AI slop)

→ Create a Meeting Prep .skill that scans your calendar, Slack, and Gmail to brief you before every call

⚙️ Week 2: Advanced Automation & Skill Chaining

→ Chain multiple .skills together for complex workflows (like building client proposals while you work on something else)

→ Deploy a working landing page to Vercel using your Digital Product .skill (and teach your AI to navigate websites on your behalf)

→ Learn to build custom .skills from scratch (so you can scale AI to your entire team)

🚀 The Result: Reclaim 10+ Hours Every Week

→ Stop re-explaining context to AI every single time

→ Build permanent leverage that compounds forever

→ Turn AI from "helpful chatbot" into "digital clone of you"

Click here to secure your spot (before enrollment closes on Sunday, February 22nd at midnight): https://lnkd.in/ghj8DHXr

7 Exercises To Become A Top 1% Copywriter

At 26, I quit my minimum-wage copywriting job.

18 months later?

I was generating $180k/month as a ghostwriter.

Writing for industry leaders like:

• Olympic athletes
• Silicon Valley founders
• New York Times best-selling authors

And more.

But if I was starting over in 2026, I'd become a LinkedIn Ghostwriter.

Why?

Because this platform has 1.15 billion users. And less than 1% are posting content consistently.

(Despite knowing they should be!)

Which means there is an *enormous* amount of opportunity for LinkedIn Ghostwriters right now.

Use these 5 steps to land your first LinkedIn ghostwriting client:

1. Say exactly what you do in your bio
2. Be your own case study
3. Make a list of "Leaks" & "Faucets"
4. Pitch In Public
5. Follow up (till they call the cops!)

Get the exacts steps in the infographic below:

—
📌 PS—I put together a roadmap to help anyone become a LinkedIn Ghostwriter:

• 20+ AI prompts to help you build a business
• My "Leaks & Faucets" strategy for finding leads
• Viral content LI templates (that anyone can use)
• My $3M Sales Call script that closes high-ticket deals
• Voice matching prompt to write in any client's style
• A step-by-step, 30-day implementation roadmap

Click here to get free, instant access: https://lnkd.in/e4KkbZsH

Terrible advice for writers:

(I wish I'd never done this)

Write "anything" for "anyone."

This is the FASTEST way to become an overworked and underpaid content writer.

Instead, to dramatically increase your income:

Niche Down.

This is how I went from charging $200 per article to ghostwriting thought-leadership articles for founders and executives for $2,000.

So, in this video, I explain:

• The 3 core benefits of specialization
• How to niche down (Service vs. Industry)
• Why niching down doesn’t limit opportunity
• Services I recommend writers should specialize in
• How to find your Information Advantage & niche down

And tons more!

Dive in here:

(Want to watch the video over on YouTube? Search "How To Find Your Niche In Content Writing" to find it.)

—
📌 Once you niche down, you need a proven technique to land new, high-paying clients every month.

Which is just 1 small part inside my FREE Premium Ghostwriting Blueprint.

Inside, you'll also learn how to:

• Charge a premium
• Land dream ghostwriting clients
• Find your own lucrative niche (like Sophia did!)

Want a copy of my free blueprint?

Click here to get instant access: https://lnkd.in/gU5WB3st

Last November, my little writing business crossed $20,000,000 in lifetime sales.

It took us over 5 years to reach this milestone.

But we could have gotten here a whole lot faster with everything we know now.

Here are 12 of the biggest lessons I wish I knew when we first started our 8-figure digital product business:

1. Operational complexity is the moat

2. Subjectivity doesn't scale

3. Customers want outcomes, not more content

4. Wanting something new is avoiding improving what works

5. Entrepreneurs live in max risk—so de-risk personal finances

6. Only pay commissions while reps are on the team

7. Paid ads is a way to pay down "ignorance debt"

8. What gets measured grows. What's "maintained" dies

9. Every new channel means a 1-year learning curve

10. "Fast and easy" = slow, hard, expensive

11. When high-performers hit a ceiling, create roles or incubate entrepreneurs

12. After ~$3M/year, video is one of your best investments

Check out the full breakdown here: 

—
📌 Do you want to quit your day job in 2026?

Then don't sell digital products.

Instead, become a LinkedIn Ghostwriter.

Ghostwriting is how I hit $20,000/month in less than 60 days.

I put together a blueprint that's helped 10,000+ people become Premium Ghostwriters in 5 days.

Want a FREE copy of my proven blueprint?

Click here to get instant access: https://lnkd.in/gTmQ872p

12 Lessons From $20,000,000 in Writing Course Sales

I paid Alex Hormozi's team $35,000 to help me scale to $1,000,000. 

And I just got back from their workshop in Vegas.

For the better part of 2 years now, we've been stuck trying to hit this goal.

But I emerged with extreme clarity on what to tackle this year.

Here are the 5 "Big Rocks" they said I should work on right now:

1. Clean up your org structure before it cleans you out

Our team nearly tripled in size this past year.

And it wasn't until the Hormozi team walked me through what a healthy org at our revenue level actually looks like that I realized how blurry our lines of ownership had gotten.

• Who's responsible for what?
• Who owns which outcomes?

When everyone's responsible, no one's responsible.

2. Crystal-clear clarity at every level of the business.

Move your biggest cash to the front end of the sale.

Right now, what we've been doing is:

• Sell a 16-week program
• Then, upsell continued coaching on the back end

But the Hormozi team recommended we flip it.

Instead, lead with the full year upfront.

And THEN downsell the 16 weeks if needed.

More cash upfront = more ad spend = more students, faster.

3. Build a media team that can actually scale your content

I'm making a significant investment in YouTube and media in 2026.

And I had a lot of unanswered questions about what that actually looks like:

• How many editors do you need?
• Do you separate short-form and long-form?
• Does one person own each platform?
• Does one person own each channel?

The Hormozi team helped me find the clarity I was looking for.

Basically, we have about 70% of the team we need.

And the move is to break out individual platforms and give each one a dedicated owner.

4. Follow up with leads in 15 minutes or less, every time

The Hormozi team made it very clear how much revenue we're leaving on the table every time we don't.

The big rock for my co-founder @dickiebush will be building the outbound infrastructure to make near-instant follow-up the default.

5. Stop asking "what's next?"

Instead, start asking:

"What's working and why aren't we doing more of it?"

This one hit hardest.

At the end of 2025, we ran our first paid 3-day challenge and it turned into our biggest revenue month of the year.

So when the Hormozi team asked us:

"If one challenge did that, why are you only doing one a year?"

The answer was obvious.

Do more live webinars and challenges.

But all of this just makes one thing even clearer for me:

Our business is NOT the right type of business for 99% of people to go build.

If you're just getting started, the operational complexity is too high.

Instead, I'd recommend building a 1-person ghostwriting agency.

It's how I went from $0 to $20,000/month in less than 60 days.

Want a (FREE) copy of my proven blueprint?

Click here to get instant access: https://lnkd.in/gtF7dwNj

There are 2 ways to build a 6-figure digital business in 2026:

1. Digital Products
2. High-Ticket Service

So, which "path" should you choose?

Most people go the digital products route:

• Building a massive LinkedIn audience
• Understanding the problems of their followers
• Then creating a course to sell & solve these problems

And yes, this can get you to $100,000/year.

But this takes TIME.

No one wakes up one morning with:

• 30,000+ followers
• A finished digital product
• Or all the fulfillment systems humming

But there's a *faster* way to build a 6-figure digital business...

Sell a high-ticket service.

Specifically, become a Premium Ghostwriter.

Here are 5 reasons why everyone should try Premium Ghostwriting:

—
📌 If you take away nothing else from this post, remember this:

Don’t start building digital products if your goal is to quit your day job in 2026.

It takes 12+ months (at least) to get any traction.

Instead, become a Premium Ghostwriter.

It’s the fastest way for writers to make $10,000/month.

So I created a free, 5-step blueprint to help you:

• Reposition yourself as a ghostwriter
• Charge a premium for your work
• Land high-paying clients

Ready to start landing high-paying clients as a Premium Ghostwriter?

Click here to follow my proven ghostwriting blueprint (10,000+ writers have already used it to get started): https://lnkd.in/giFsec9H

Why Everyone Should Sell A Digital Service First

I can't believe how many people don't realize this:

Making money writing online is simple.

For context:

I have generated over $1M as a writer.

Not just once.

Not just twice.

But across 8 different writing business models:

1. SaaS
2. Services
3. Consulting
4. Self-Publishing
5. Paid newsletter
6. Group/High-Ticket
7. Low-Ticket products
8. Cohort-based courses

Here's the simplest path anyone can take to go from $0 to a 6-figure writer:

—
📌 The fastest way to hit $100,000/year as a writer?

Ghostwriting.

It's how I went from making $0 as a freelance writer to $10k/month in 60 days.

But if I was starting over in 2026, I'd become a LinkedIn Ghostwriter.

Why?

Because this platform has 1.15 billion users. And less than 1% are posting content consistently.

(Despite knowing they should be!)

Which means there is an *enormous* amount of opportunity for LinkedIn Ghostwriters right now.

So I wrote a free, crash course showing you how to land high-paying writing clients on LinkedIn.

Click here to get instant access (for FREE): https://lnkd.in/g6aJBDgP

Become A 6-Figure Writer In 5 Simple Steps

Over the last 10 days, Claude has been down 6 times:

• Feb 25 → 3 Hours 14 Minutes
• Feb 26 → 6 Hours 35 Minutes
• Feb 27 → 4 Hours 27 Minutes
• Feb 28 → 2 Hours 52 Minutes
• Mar 2 → 2 Hours 45 Minutes
• Mar 3 → 0 Hours 48 Minutes

20+ (!!!) hours in total.

This is another reminder:

You can't 100% rely on AI.

Instead, make sure you master the skills you need to do your work manually.

Using AI is then an added bonus and a way to increase your leverage.

This is why the top 1% ghostwriters don't need AI to deliver for their clients (although it makes them way more efficient).

Just like how they don't even need to write well to get paid 6-figures.

They've simply mastered these highly in-demand skills:

• Premium positioning
• Irresistible offer creation
• Consistent client acquisition

And more.

Which is how they're making $100,000+ per year with just a laptop.

The good news?

Right now, LinkedIn is the fastest-growing social media.

And many of the smartest people in the world have just realized they need to be on this platform.

So, I put together a 5-day blueprint to teach you how to:

• Charge premium prices
• Create your irresistible offer
• Find your lucrative ghostwriting niche
• Land new, high-paying clients every month

In other words...

Everything you need to start LinkedIn Ghostwriting in the next 5 days.

Click "Visit my website" at the top of this post to get instant access to my proven blueprint (for FREE).

The difference between you and a writer making:

• $10,000
• $20,000
• Or even $50,000...

Per month has NOTHING to do with writing talent.

They've just built other skills that allow them to:

• Earn a full-time income
• Work a part-time schedule
• Write for fascinating clients

All without needing to:

• Go back to school
• Get a fancy college degree
• Or have years of experience

And on Tuesday:

I will reveal my ENTIRE system that I've been using for over a decade to land high-paying writing clients during my 3-Day LIVE Challenge.

Here's what we'll cover in just 72 hours:

📍 Tuesday, February 17th: The "Category of One" Ghostwriter Playbook

→ Discover how to position yourself as a Premium Ghostwriter (even with zero ghostwriting experience)

→ Find a profitable niche based on your unique background and interests

→ Use AI to create crystal-clear positioning that attracts clients (so you don't have to chase them!)

📦 Wednesday, February 18th: The Irresistible Offer Formula

→ Turn your writing skills into high-value services clients actually want to buy

→ How to create a productized service (and why premium clients only hire writers who have one)

→ Learn how to charge $3,000-$10,000/month (without feeling like an impostor)

🎯 Thursday, February 19th: The Writing Client Attraction System

→ Master the "Free Consulting Method" that works even with zero experience or a portfolio

→ How to find & land premium clients using social platforms (outreach, messages, & more)

→ The exact sales script framework I used to close $3,700,000 in ghostwriting deals

But you can get a headstart TODAY.

How?

If you grab a ticket to my Get Writing Clients Challenge before midnight TONIGHT, I will give you a *free* digital copy of my brand new book:

Writer Career Paths: 9 Ways To Make $1,000,000 With Words

So, are you ready to become a top 1% writer in 2026?

Then join us February 17th-19th for the Get Writing Clients Challenge.

Click the link to secure your spot now: https://lnkd.in/gQ_cFKVs

In 2012, my parents told me I should study journalism.

I didn't.

Instead, I majored in fiction writing in college because it was more interesting to me.

Everyone said I was lighting money on fire.

But since then?

Journalism has basically died.

And fiction & creative writing have made me a millionaire.

So, when I have kids of my own, I'm going to tell them:

"Study whatever is most interesting to you."

Every single industry is going to get affected by new technology/AI... so the game isn't "picking the perfect/most lucrative industry."

The game is picking an industry you:

• Won't give up on
• Love enough to sink your teeth into
• And will stick to for the next 5+ years

Despite all the headwinds and uncertainty.

So, you can ride the AI wave while your industry evolves.

Or you can get PAID to learn the most highly in-demand skill right now (job listings asking for any AI-related skill are up 650%).

How?

By becoming a LinkedIn Ghostwriter.

Ghostwriting is how I hit $20,000/month (in less than 60 days).

And it's the perfect way to learn the AI skills you need to future-proof your career.

So I put together a free blueprint to help you become a LinkedIn Ghostwriter in just 5 days.

Even if you:

• Suck at sales
• Don't have an audience
• Have never ghostwritten before

Want access to my proven blueprint that's helped 10,000+ start ghostwriting?

Click here to grab your free copy: https://lnkd.in/g2TEQtDi

This writer made $25,000 by working just 1-2 hours before work and on weekends.

In just 3 months, Torunn Jegleim ACA:

• Made about $25,000
• Writing for Fractional CFOs
• As their Premium LinkedIn Ghostwriter

Her secret?

She followed a proven blueprint and spent her limited hours focused on what would actually build a lucrative writing side hustle.

(Alongside her full-time 9 to 5.)

Because making money writing from a laptop has nothing to do with how many hours you work.

It's ALL about what you *actually* do during those hours.

(Even if all you have is 1-2 hours per day.)

I put together a blueprint that's helped 10,000+ Premium LinkedIn Ghostwriters get started in JUST 5 days.

Want a (FREE) copy of my proven blueprint?

Click "Visit my website" at the top of this post to get instant access.

This writer landed a LinkedIn Ghostwriting client paying him $3,000/month.

But the problem?

It almost didn't happen.

Mark had one MASSIVE faulty belief:

Getting paid this much is "absurd."

And you know what?

He's absolutely right.

When I was just a freelance writer, I thought it was wild to make more than $200-$300 per article.

But then I repositioned myself as a Premium Ghostwriter.

And *suddenly,* clients had no problem paying me $1,000+.

For the EXACT same work.

This completely broke my brain.

Which is why I love seeing wins like these every day inside our Premium Ghostwriting Academy.

And they all start from changing your Positioning.

So, I put together the Writer Positioning Playbook mini-course with 30+ minutes of training from me to help you:

• Nail your positioning as a ghostwriter
• Attract more ghostwriting opportunities in your niche
• Use AI to find 5 specific target clients that need your help

This is everything you need to start making more money as a writer.

Click here to get (FREE) instant access to my Writer Positioning Playbook mini-course: https://lnkd.in/gyq9kPwu

My business generates $600,000 per month.

But it runs on just $8,215.

These are my top 7 no-code tools in my tech stack:

1. Kit ($1,179/mo)

This handles all our email marketing.

2. Stripe (2.9% + $.30 per transaction)

Tons of transactions processed with 0 issues.

3. Carrd ($19/yr)

We scaled Ship 30 to $1M with this simple landing page software.

4. Airtable ($1,134/mo)

Every product, lead, and customer lives here.

5. Zapier (~$749/mo)

This automates 200k+ tasks/month & replaces at least 5+ full-time assistants.

6. ChatGPT ($20/mo)

We use ChatGPT to research, brainstorm, and outline.

7. Substack (Free or 10% of paid subs)

A simple platform, perfect for beginners & where we host our paid newsletter, Write With AI (currently doing $427,000 in ARR).

—

📌 But if I had to build a new writing business from scratch, I'd only use 3 tools:

• Kit for email
• Stripe for payments
• Carrd for landing pages

This is all you need to make your first $1.

And you can easily scale to $100,000/year by ghostwriting for high-paying clients.

(It's how I went from $0 to $20k/month in less than 60 days.)

Want a free blueprint to help you start ghostwriting & land high-paying clients?

Get it here: https://lnkd.in/dk_-ryX3

7 No-Code Tools Running My 7-Figure Writing Business

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

15 Feb 1942 - The day Singapore surrendered to Japan.
This day was chosen as a solemn commemoration.
"Never Again".

It wasn't until 1984, that the Total Defence concept was launched. The government saw the necessity for a whole-of-society approach that went beyond just the military.

• Civil Defence
• Social Defence
• Military Defence
• Economic Defence
• Psychological Defence

Digital Defence was added as the 6th Pillar, 35 years later in 2019. 

• fake news
• cyberattacks
• disinformation campaigns

There was a need to tackle these new challenges.

Additionally, a fourth Service of the SAF, the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), was stood up to underline the importance of this domain.

Would I have crossed over if I were still in active service...

Running naval wargames and designing cyber exercises at a bank are more similar than people expect.

It did help that the big boss at the bank was a former naval aviator. 

He knew with a fusion centre structure of managing security incidents across cyber, fraud, physical security, and crisis management, the teams needed a robust training program to drive operational excellence and achieve full operating capabilities. 

That was the first task. 

Get back to basics. 
Sort out the procedures. 
Drill the response teams. 

Do you run drills for your teams?

Or assume they will respond to your expectations?

No alternative text description for this image

You know Canada is on the up when Dad sends you a TikTok (no i dont have an account) about the upcoming increase in defence spending.

What about Canada do you appreciate?

I like the cold...... what about you?

undefined undefined

bootcamp

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

It is RSAC in a couple of weeks. 
Yet your meeting calendar is scarily empty.

Your VP Marketing has been urging you to post more on LinkedIn during the lead-up to RSAC.

But is has been crazy busy with client demos, contract negotiations, partner agreements, manpower turnover, investor updates, fund-raising, and just LIFE.

The start of the year flew by and you didn't realize RSAC is just around the corner. The conference that costs a pretty penny but you don't feel like you have good momentum going into the event.

Your last LinkedIn post was a report of a company announcement 3 weeks ago. Your DMs are all full of spam. And you ignored your VP Marketing's email to post more.

But where do you start? What do you post about?

I have 2 resources for you.
1. The Cybersecurity CEO’s Personal Brand Blueprint
2. 5 LinkedIn Posts Templates for Cyber CEOs

You have 1 week to catch up.

Don't waste another year at RSAC.

DM or comment "RSAC" and I'll send you both.

Building a cyber company is not for everyone.

Do you even have the commitment to do so?

I interviewed Eldon Sprickerhoff to get his insights for the next generation of founders. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and a mentor at Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University. 


𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 “𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱”

𝘘: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴?


I kept seeing the same patterns: some passionate and brilliant technical founders hitting predictable walls - raising capital without understanding dilution consequences, scaling teams without proper foundations, pursuing growth without sustainable unit economics, or worse: flailing in the market with a product/offering that didn’t have an obvious value or importance.

What frustrated me was that these weren't unsolvable problems. They were challenges we had faced and eventually figured out, often painfully. I realized this knowledge could help others avoid the same expensive mistakes.

The recurring theme was the gap between technical excellence and business fundamentals. Founders could build incredible technology but struggled with identifying their true “ideal client profile”, minimally viable offering, go-to-market strategy, fundraising dynamics, or organizational design. "Committed" became my way of sharing survival strategies that weren't readily available elsewhere.


𝘘: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴?

Right now, I'm focused on helping the next generation of cybersecurity founders build enduring companies. Through my consulting and advisory roles, I'm seeing exceptional technical talent that needs guidance on the business side.

The masterclass is a way to scale that impact. I can only mentor a handful of founders directly, but the principles I learned building eSentire are broadly applicable. I want to help founders avoid the mistakes that nearly killed our company early on and accelerate their path to product-market fit and sustainable growth.

What excites me most is seeing founders take these lessons and apply them in ways I never imagined - solving problems that didn't exist when we started eSentire. The cybersecurity landscape keeps evolving, and I want to help the best founders navigate it successfully.


If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Eldon and get his book at https://lnkd.in/gS2HNAnY


P.S. Have you read Committed? 
Get it already.

Having a brilliant idea is exciting.

But how you overcome uncertainty with conviction is key.

I interviewed Eldon Sprickerhoff to get his insights for the next generation of founders. Eldon is an active entrepreneur, investor, mentor, author, advisory and board member at the intersections of information security, computer science, machine learning, SaaS, and finance. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and a mentor at Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University. 

He is best known for founding eSentire, a leading global cybersecurity Managed Detection and Response company.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 ‘𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢’ 𝘵𝘰 ‘𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺’?

I suppose that the most uncertain part was whether organizations would actually pay for continuous security monitoring as a service. In 2001, companies were used to buying products or hiring consultants for projects - not ongoing security operations.

What gave me conviction was simple: I knew from my time in New York that security threats didn't take breaks, but most companies couldn't afford 24/7 security teams, even if they knew that the threats existed. The gap between the threat reality and what organizations could resource internally was massive and growing. That disconnect was the opportunity.


If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Eldon and get his book at https://lnkd.in/gS2HNAnY

He aims to be the Rick Rubin of Canadian cybersecurity startups: helping the right teams sharpen their edge, amplify their strengths, and scale faster.

P.S. What is the current opportunity in Cyber?

Scaling Cybersecurity Companies: Strategic Advisor & Growth Architect

Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University

eSentire

Dear LinkedIn,
Here is what it is like using the app. 

Suggested

Suggested

Suggested

Sponsored

Suggested

Sponsored 

Suggested

Sponsored


What’s up with this feed?

Did you even consider the experience?

Pls bring my connections’ posts. 

Sincerely,
Everyone.

LinkedIn

When I first moved to Canada, I remember reading about their Navy and Air Force capabilities (don’t ask me why I didn’t bother abt the Army). 

12 Halifax frigates. Ageing, 1990s
4 Victoria subs. Second hand. 
6 OPVs. Still coming online. 
12 Patrol crafts. 

F18s - started from 1982….


And to defend coast to coast….
to the True North

Was an impossible task. 

This Defence budget and Strategy is long overdue and may be the silver lining in this rocky new world. 

We are all pulling in the same direction. 

Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University will offer every company in every Catalyst program strategic insights to help them explore and pursue opportunities in Canada’s growing defence sector.

Stay connected and pull together.

The reason your posts fall flat? 
They read like press releases.

Most posts I see on LinkedIn read like they were written by a corporate communications team.

They’re clean. Safe. 
Approved by six people.
And boring as hell. 

Here are a few lessons that I gained after writing >1000+ posts. 
⸻

Lesson 1: Write as you would speak. 
You don’t need big words or long sentences.
Short. Direct. Clear.
If you wouldn’t say it in a conversation, don’t write it in a post.

⸻

Lesson 2: Share what it means, not just what happened.
Describe what you learned from it.
What changed for you? 
For your clients?
That’s the part people care about.

⸻

Lesson 3: Write to one person.
Think of someone specific — a client, a peer, a younger version of yourself.
Write as if you’re speaking to them.
That’s what makes people stop scrolling.

⸻

LinkedIn isn’t a press room.
It’s a coffee chat. 

Incorporate these lessons and the posts will start landing.

Whose posts do you enjoy reading?

Every company begins by solving a problem.

Do you have clarity of exactly what that is?

I interviewed Eldon Sprickerhoff to get his insights for the next generation of founders. Eldon is an active entrepreneur, investor, mentor, author, advisory and board member at the intersections of information security, computer science, machine learning, SaaS, and finance. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and a mentor at Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University. 

He is best known for founding eSentire, a leading global cybersecurity Managed Detection and Response company.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥?

Before starting eSentire, I was providing information security consulting at a prime broker in New York, supporting both the brokerage itself and the hedge funds they hosted. I was building out defensive processes and systems to protect their Internet-connected infrastructure from increasingly sophisticated threats.

What I kept noticing was the gap between what organizations needed and what they could actually sustain. Security didn't operate on business hours - threats were 24/7 - but very few organizations could afford dedicated security operations teams. Even well-funded financial institutions struggled to staff and maintain continuous monitoring. Smaller firms had no chance.

I also saw that traditional consulting wasn't solving the core problem. Companies would hire us for projects, we'd implement solutions, then leave. But security isn't a project - it's an ongoing operational challenge. The defensive systems I built needed constant attention, tuning, and response capabilities.

This experience became the foundation for eSentire. I realized that if sophisticated financial firms couldn't solve this problem internally, there had to be a better model - one where security expertise and continuous operations could be delivered as a service rather than a one-time project or expensive internal build-out. That insight, combined with the operational knowledge I gained in New York, gave me the platform to build something fundamentally different.


If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Eldon and get his book at https://lnkd.in/gS2HNAnY

He aims to be the Rick Rubin of Canadian cybersecurity startups: helping the right teams sharpen their edge, amplify their strengths, and scale faster.

P.S. What other qns would you ask him?

4 types of people in tabletop exercises.

And how to deal with them.

It is every facilitator's nightmare. You spend hours designing and scheduling a tabletop exercise and you practice and envision every conversation, pushback, scenario.

Yet you still feel unprepared because you don't fully know who the audience is, what they are like, and whether they will chew you up and spit you out.

Here are the 4 archetypes and how to manage these characters.

1. The Know-it-all

If we all conduct a blind survey in the room and ask everyone to close their eyes and point to the person who "Knows-it-all", they will all point to the same person.

How to tell who this person is?

Don't worry. When the exercise reaches the first discussion point, this person will start talking about Step A to Z on what he or his team will do. He knows his plans, critical processes, who to call, what to ask, what to investigate, how long it takes, priorities etc

How do you handle the "Know-it-all"?

This is a good thing.
Don't discourage the sharing. Instead leverage what the person is sharing and post some of the things he raised to other teams.

Example:
Know-it-all: For this particular incident, we will triage and send out the initial report within 30 mins

You: That is excellent. Operations team (or any other team that should receive the report), is the information within the initial report sufficient or what other types of info will help your team's processes?

Know-it-alls are good for keeping the flow of the exercise. Leverage them well.

2. The Forever-Skeptic (FS for short)

Signs of the FS.
- This will never happen
- We have implemented tools for this
- This inject is not applicable for our env

I know. 
You may find yourself sweating at this point. But don't worry, leverage your exercise design partner to help expand on the inject to make it relevant.

OR if all else fails. 
This is one trick that works.

Ask the FS straight up. 
"Is there a similar inject or scenario where in your experience and expertise, you know will triggers an event/incident that needs your team's response?"

1. This strokes FS's ego.
2. You have trapped FS. He can't say there is no such scenario.
3. Smile and pivot from FS's suggestion.
4. Rem to tie it back to the overall scenario.

3. The Conversation Hogger

Signs of the Hogger
- This is a no brainer. If you record the whole, the hogger probably took up 70% of the air time.

It is likely that the hogger has gone too far down a rabbit hole. 

Acknowledge the hogger's contribution and bring others in the convo.

4. The silent ones

No sound. No inputs. No involvement.
Ask them directly what they think or they would do. 
Do it with every inject.

What other characters are there and how do you deal w them?

Running the Naval Wargaming & Simulation Centre provided a strong foundation for running cyber exercises.

Here was what a typical week looked like.

• detailing injects
• designing exercise scenarios
• preparing exercise with instructors
• running exercises for warfare teams
• keeping up to date with naval tactics
• tracking and assessing performances
• planning out future exercise schedules
• conducting pre and post-exercise briefs
• discussing the ship's exercise objectives
• ensuring teams are up to date on Red Team tactics

Now you can understand the transferable skills in Cybersecurity exercises.

The best way to avoid mistakes is to learn from others who have trodden a similar path. 

I interviewed Eldon Sprickerhoff to get his insights for the next generation of founders. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and a mentor at Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Toronto Metropolitan University. 

He is best known for founding eSentire, a leading global cybersecurity Managed Detection and Response company.

𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲

𝘘: 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮?

Three lessons stand out:

First, product-market fit isn't a one-time achievement - it's continuous. What worked for early customers often needed to evolve as we scaled. This came from painful experience watching our initial approach struggle as we tried to expand.

Second, in security, trust is everything but takes years to build. This lesson came from losing deals early on simply because we were unknown, regardless of our technical capabilities. We had to earn credibility one customer at a time.

Third, technical founders need to learn business fundamentals or find partners who have them. We learned this through trial and error - understanding unit economics, founder-led sales processes, and operational scaling didn't come naturally but became critical to our survival.


𝘘: 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴?

A few moments were definitive:

The decision to focus on MDR as its own category rather than trying to be a general security consultancy. This came from recognizing we needed to own a specific problem rather than compete in a commoditized services market.

Choosing to build certain technology components rather than resell others' tools - and this changed throughout the life of the company. This was risky and capital-intensive, but it became our moat. We decided based on the belief that you can't deliver differentiated outcomes with commoditized tools; we made the choice to build on well-established frameworks (enterprise-level plumbing) and then build our own solutions on top.


The choice to pursue enterprise clients over SMB at a certain stage. This shift required completely rethinking our go-to-market, but the economics and retention made it necessary. We made this call when customer acquisition costs versus lifetime value forced us to evolve.


P.S. Are you capturing these moments in your journey?

Most cyber CEOs ask:

What shld I write about on LinkedIn?

Here’s a simple filter I give clients 

Write about this:
- Reason for product pivots
- Questions boards asks
- Insights from clients 
- Investor concerns 
- Tough decisions

Avoid writing this:

- Repost cyber news
- Random infographics 
- Vague “AI is risky” takes
- Generic breach commentary

If another cyber CEO could copy-paste your post and it still works, it’s probably not helping your positioning.

LinkedIn  isn’t rocket science. 
10 things you can do today that will take less than 1 min. 

Forget the polished profile. 
Funnel content tactics. 
Funky AI graphics. 

Keep it simple. 

Do one of these (or all) and make LinkedIn work for you. 

1. Send a DM to refer someone
2. Send a DM to encourage someone
3. Comment on a stranger’s post
4. Reconnect w an ex colleague
5. Congratulate an achievement
6. Say hi to a stranger in your field
7. Say hi to a stranger not in your field
8. Ask for insights from an expert
9. Ask someone for that referral
10. Ask someone if they need help

Try it out. 
Let me know how many you hit today.

P.S when was the last time you did any of the above?

Sick of tabletop exercises?

Here are other training tools to use. 

Picture this. 
You designed and planned for your tabletop exercise for months. 

The date is decided and you sent out the calendar hold. 

“Urghh”. The synchronized groans echo across the office space. 


Johnny Smarty Pants: “I bet it’s an AI or ransomware scenario again”. 

Jimmy Old Timer: “Time to dust off the old playbook”. 


How do you think the exercise will go?
Probably the same as the last 5..

Even MSPs know that this is a problem. 
“Our clients are bored of TTXs”.


Here’s how to shake things up. 

1. Use short drills instead
2. Execute unalerted exercises
3. Ask delegates to be the primary 
4. Allocate budget for a simulation ex

You can and should incorporate some variety and creativity in your training. 

Otherwise it’s a bloody snooze fest. 

Everyone know it and just goes through the motion at your tabletop. 

Depressing stuff. 

P.S any other bright training ideas?

It’s 2026 and it’s still a VUCA world. 

Volatilite
Uncertain
Complex
Ambiguous 

No wonder there is a continued demand for crisis mgmt professionals. 

VUCA was introduced in 90s to describe the post Cold War period. 
Still as relevant today. 


In fact, things may escalate. 

BANI is added to the frame with pandemics, AI, and whatever’s next. 

Brittle
Anxious
Nonlinear 
Incomprehensible


Stay safe out there. 

P.S Just saw the missile attack on the base in Bahrain where I was stationed back in the day.

One simple reason to keep showing up on LinkedIn that we always forget. 

It takes repetition. Alot of it. 

It is simply not good enough to just post once every 2 months and expecting people to notice you, much less remember your name. 

To make matters worst, you write about random topics. 

One day it’s National Cyber Strategy. 
The next is how Moltbook is the next catalyst for the end of the world as we know it. 

But yr company’s solution is AI SOC. 

How do you expect to form an impression, an association, and god forbid ….. get inbound leads?

People have short term memory. 
People are extremely busy. 
People are distracted. 

Stick to 1-2 topics. 
Post 1-2 per week. 
Keep at it.


P.S have you given it a good go before concluding this channel doesn’t work?

A Mag 7 acquires your Cyber company for Billions.

No wonder everyone is now a cyber founder... BUT

I interviewed Eldon Sprickerhoff to get his insights for the next generation of founders. He is best known for founding eSentire, a leading global cybersecurity Managed Detection and Response company.

𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀

𝘘: 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘺𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴?


The biggest difference is that the market now better understands the category. When we started, we had to explain why continuous monitoring mattered, let alone explaining what we meant by “Embedded Incident Response” or “Collaborative Threat Management” (two early terms we used to describe what benefit we were bringing to the market).

Today, MDR is established - founders don't need to educate the market on the concept, but they face different challenges.

The bar for differentiation is much higher. Buyers are more sophisticated and have many options. You can't win just by being "better" - you need to solve a problem fundamentally differently or serve an underserved segment.

Capital availability has changed dramatically. In the early 2000s, cybersecurity funding was extremely scarce. Today, capital is somewhat more abundant (especially when addressing the market from the perspective of AI), which means you can scale faster but also face better-funded competition earlier. The pressure to grow quickly can actually hurt companies that haven't found true product-market fit.


𝘘: 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘺𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦-𝘶𝘱𝘴, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩?

I look for a few signals:

Do they have deep conviction about a specific problem, or are they chasing a market opportunity? The best founders I meet can articulate exactly why their solution needs to exist based on real experience, not market sizing slides.

Are their customers renewing and expanding? Revenue growth matters, but retention and expansion tell you if you're actually solving the problem. Churn hides in early-stage metrics.

Can the founder articulate their unit economics clearly? If they can't explain their CAC, LTV, and path to profitability, they're likely building on quicksand regardless of how impressive the top-line growth looks.

Finally, are they learning and adapting? The founders who succeed aren't the ones who execute their original plan perfectly - they're the ones who recognize when something isn't working and adjust intelligently. This has been coined as a new flavour of MVP: Minimally eVolveable Product.



If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Eldon and get his book at https://lnkd.in/gS2HNAnY

Imagine exercising the exact scenario a couple of weeks before an incident. 

This is how some teams would have managed the lead up to this weekend. 

The sharpest teams would have tracked the escalation and highlighted the threat scenarios weeks ago. This can only happen if your threat intel teams covers beyond just cyber. 

The risk teams would be pulled in and have a quick reassessment. This can only happen if your intel and risk teams know how to work together. 

The exercise and security teams collaborate to rapidly design and develop exercise scenarios. This can only happen if leaders carve out time. 

The leadership team prepare briefs to the executive leadership and board. This can only happen if there is trust. 

Can you predict when something kicks off? Nope but you can certainly prep for it in advance. 

And when you run the exact scenario weeks before it actually happens. 

Imagine the credibility your team gains. This doesn’t happen by chance but by an intricate and established machinery. 

P.S 
how are you actively managing risks?

If the message is still unclear, do this. 
- review last few major incidents 
- identify the most relevant scenarios
- refresh or recirculate response plans
- stand up a quick incident drill 
- plan for a near term exercise 
- run the exercise and note lessons
- update leadership on readiness


Write a quick doc on this process. 
That is your response playbook. 
Don’t fumble the next crisis.

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