Actionable strategies to grow your audience, monetize your skills, and build leverage online. | Trusted by leaders at Google, Adobe, Meta

Hi, I’m Ryan. I help high performers become founders by using LinkedIn to build real, profitable businesses.

My career didn’t fall apart. I didn’t burn out. I finished every role cleanly - Director, VP - leading hundreds of engineers across the world and helping build multiple billion‑dollar companies.

And still, I knew I wanted to build on my own.

I’ve founded 5 companies and earned multiple exits while scaling teams behind $1B+ in outcomes. I loved the work, but I wanted a life where I could build big things and be present for my family. I wanted ownership. I wanted flexibility. I wanted proof I could do it on my terms.

LinkedIn became the path. I grew from 1,200 to 100,000+ followers in nine months, built a brand that opened doors I didn’t know existed, and stepped fully into my own business.

Since then, I’ve coached 50+ founders to design careers, income streams, and opportunities that match the life they actually want - not the life their company dictates.

Here’s how we work:

- Identify the opportunities you can’t see in your past experience.
- Build a clear, practical brand that attracts the right people.
- Turn your skills into simple offers, real customers, and predictable income.

Today, I own my time. I build, coach, and spend my days with my family - and help others do the same.

If you’re a high performer who wants a business that fits your life, DM me.
Partnerships, speaking, press: ryan@ryanyockey.com

Professional highlights:
• 5× Founder | Multiple exits
• Scaled teams responsible for $1B+ outcomes
• Grew to 100,000+ followers in 9 months
• Coached 50+ founders
• Trusted by leaders at Google, Adobe, Meta

Ryan Yockey

Change is scary. Starting over is scarier.

Most people avoid both.

And stay exactly where they are.

Here's what I've learned watching people build:

The caterpillar doesn't negotiate with the cocoon.
It surrenders to it completely.

That's the part nobody tells you about growth:

→ You don't transform by adding more.
→ You transform by letting go first.

The job that didn't work out wasn't a failure.
The idea that collapsed wasn't wasted.
The version of you that didn't make it — needed to go.

Most people want the butterfly.
They just want to skip the dissolving.

That's not how it works.

The discomfort you're avoiding right now?

That's the process.

That's what I write about every Saturday.

Want to know if your LinkedIn profile is holding back the next version of you?

I'll send you a free Loom walkthrough — I'll tell you exactly what's killing your growth.

Drop your profile link in the comments or grab a spot here: https://lnkd.in/gUMT6k_g

I help high performers build businesses on LinkedIn | From 1,200 → 140K followers in 12 months | Coaching + Newsletter for founders who want out

Most people dismiss their biggest dreams.

Not because they're impossible.

Because they sound crazy out loud.

I know the feeling.

I spent 12 years climbing someone else's ladder — VP titles, good salary, the whole picture.

On paper, it made sense.
Inside, it felt like I was disappearing.

The idea of walking away felt irrational to everyone around me.

To me, it felt like the only option.

That gap? That's where every real entrepreneur I know has lived.

Most people never cross it.

They wait for the idea to feel safer.
They wait for someone to tell them it's okay.
They wait until the timing is better.

The timing never gets better.

Here's what I've learned building a business 141,000+ entreprenuers:
→ The dream that embarrasses you in a room full of people is usually the one worth chasing
→ "Crazy" is just what conviction looks like before it has proof
→ The people who crossed that gap didn't wait for certainty — they decided the discomfort of staying was worse than the risk of going
→ Your idea doesn't need to make sense to everyone else — it only needs to make sense to you

The entire point of life is to take chances on dreams that seem crazy to most — but feel like destiny to you.

If your LinkedIn profile still reflects who you used to be — not who you're becoming —

I'll personally audit it on Loom and show you exactly what to fix.

https://lnkd.in/gUMT6k_g

Stay unreasonable.

Stay locked into your growth.

No time for noise.
No time for comparison.
No time for reacting to things that don’t matter.

Just you and what you’re building.

Most people don’t stall because they lack ability.
They stall because their attention is scattered.

Scrolling.
Second-guessing.
Watching other people play a different game.

The ones who make real progress?

They’re not louder.
They’re not busier.

They’re focused.

I learned this the hard way.

When my growth slowed, my attention was everywhere.
When things started compounding, my attention narrowed.

The difference wasn’t effort.
It wasn’t talent.

It was what I stopped giving energy to.

Discipline isn’t doing more.
It’s removing everything that doesn’t compound.

Your growth doesn’t need motivation.
It needs protection.

Everything else is distraction.

Every Saturday morning, I send one focused email to 134,000+ entrepreneurs.

One idea.
One system.
No fluff.

It takes 4 minutes to read.
It’s free.
And it’s designed to help you keep building while others drift.

Join here: https://lnkd.in/gfyweeTM

Stay locked in.
Keep building.

I turned down $250K because of what Charlie Munger taught me.

The offer was simple: consult for a company selling overpriced courses to desperate entrepreneurs. Easy money. I needed it.

But I kept thinking about Munger's rule: "Don't sell anything you wouldn't buy yourself."

Would I buy their $5K course? No.

Would I recommend it to a friend? Hell no.

So why would I help them sell it?

The internal war was brutal. I had payroll coming up. My savings were thin. This one deal would solve everything.

But every time I tried to justify it, I felt sick.

I said no.

The next month was terrifying. I scrambled. I took smaller projects. I ate ramen more than I'd like to admit.

Then something shifted.

When you stop chasing money that feels wrong, you create space for opportunities that feel right.

Six months later, I landed a client whose product I genuinely believed in. The work energized me. The money came anyway.

Now I use Munger's rule as my filter for everything:

Would I buy this?
Would I use this?
Would I recommend this to someone I care about?

If the answer is no, I walk.

It's the most expensive filter I've ever used.

And the most profitable.

Every Saturday morning, I send one focused email to 135,000+ entrepreneurs about doing exactly that. 

Designed to help you build more by doing less. 

It takes 4 minutes to read.
It’s free. 
Join here: https://lnkd.in/gfyweeTM

The dream is the proof.

Most people treat their idea like a problem.

Too risky. Too big. Too far from where they are now.

So they shrink it.

They find a more "realistic" version and call it wisdom.

But here's what I've watched happen over and over:

The people who can't stop thinking about something — even when it makes no sense — are the ones who were supposed to do it.

The obsession isn't random.

It's directional.

The dream didn't show up to torture you.

It showed up because you're one of the few people built to carry it.

Most people quiet that voice.

The ones who don't?

→ They stop needing other people's permission
→ They stop waiting until conditions are perfect
→ They stop treating the dream like a liability

The hardest part isn't the work.

It's deciding the dream deserves to be taken seriously.

141K people chose to take theirs seriously.

If you're ready to be taken seriously too — your LinkedIn profile is where that starts.

I'll tell you exactly what's holding it back: https://lnkd.in/gkDvugyj

What dream are you still sitting on?

Everyone you admire online looked ridiculous once.

Most of them will never tell you that.

14 months ago I had 1,200 connections from 10 years of doing nothing.

A resume for a profile.

Content so bad I cringe thinking about it.

I kept going anyway.

Today I have 141,000+ followers built almost entirely through that same profile.

The people who eventually look polished didn't skip the beginner phase.

They stayed in it longer than everyone else.

Most people quit right before the compounding kicks in.

Not because they lack talent.

Because they can't tolerate looking bad on the way to getting good.
→ The rep builds the skill
→ The skill builds the confidence
→ The confidence builds the result

You don't find your voice by waiting until it's perfect.

You find it by posting the imperfect thing anyway.

If your profile still looks like mine did 14 months ago — I'll show you exactly what to fix.

Free audit: https://lnkd.in/gkDvugyj

You’re not behind.

You’re just early in your timeline.

I’ve been:
→ Certain and wrong
→ Confident and broke
→ Successful and unfulfilled

None of it was wasted.

Most people panic because they think progress is linear.
It’s not.

It comes in chapters.

Long stretches where nothing makes sense.
Short windows where everything compounds.

I didn’t find real clarity in my 20s.
Or my early 30s.

I rebuilt in my 40s.

That’s when things finally clicked.

When I stopped racing imaginary deadlines.
Stopped copying paths that weren’t mine.
Stopped assuming I was late.

That patience paid off.

I built a brand that allowed be to
play the long game that most people quit too early.

No overnight breakthrough.
No perfect plan.

Just consistency through uncertainty.

That’s the part people don’t post about.

It takes time.
Alignment takes longer.
But when it hits, it compounds fast.

Then one day you wake up and you've built a massive brand with over 100k followers and enough revenue to live comfortably off of.

If you feel lost right now, good.
You’re still in the process.

And the process isn’t late.
It’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.

Every Saturday morning, I send one focused email to 140,000+ entrepreneurs building for the long term.

It takes 4 minutes to read.
It’s free.
And it’s built for people who understand that real progress can’t be rushed.

Join here: https://lnkd.in/gfyweeTM

Trust the process.
Keep becoming.

Acquisition Entrepreneur | Escaped Investment Banker | Documenting the messy lessons on business, career, personal growth & building real freedom through systems and execution

Banking made the decision for me.
And it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened.

Because it forced me to ask: 
What does freedom actually look like for me?

Now I’m an Acquisition Entrepreneur (and an escaped Investment Banker).

I share the messy lessons I’m learning while buying a business and redesigning life around growth, systems, and freedom.

Here’s what you’ll find on my profile:

- Personal growth → the fears, shifts, and identity upgrades behind the scenes
- Career progression → what banking taught me about growth, promotions, and building influence
- Systems & execution → replacing hustle with structures that actually stick
- Entrepreneurship → practical frameworks for building something real, even with a 9-5

Beyond work and business, I’ve traveled to over 30 countries and speak 4 languages, all experiences that have shaped how I view growth, risk, and opportunity.

I don’t claim to have all the answers. 

But I believe in sharing the process: the wins, the setbacks, the struggles, and the lessons to help other ambitious professionals build their own version of freedom.

If you’re curious about the unfiltered journey from career plateau → entrepreneur → freedom (building the last piece in real time), follow along!

Youssef El Allame

The people who "made it fast" are lying about the timeline.

If it feels slow, you are right on schedule.

Four years in school.
One semester shakes you.

Two hundred job applications.
Weeks of silence.

"Should be further by now."
Time becomes proof you're not good enough.

Real progress happens in slow, boring layers.
Skills form in private before they pay in public.

This is where most people get stuck:

🔸 You know what you want, but the path looks foggy
🔸 You have goals, but days feel small and repetitive
🔸 You compare your chapter 3 to someone's chapter 12
🔸 You think delay means denial, so you stop trying

When you stop, months pass.
Confidence drops.
You stop applying, learning, and showing work.

The cost isn't just time.
It's your dream shrinking when you don't feed it.

Most timelines are built after the fact.
The middle always feels messy, even for capable people.

You will graduate.
You will find the job.
You will get that promotion.

But patience is not doing nothing.
Patience is doing the reps while results are still invisible.

The 3 moves that build your bridge:

🔹 Move 1: Borrow proof, not motivation
↳ Talk weekly to someone one step ahead
↳ Copy their process, not their pace

🔹 Move 2: Do the reps when you feel unsure
↳ Apply, study, build, follow up daily
↳ Boring effort beats rare bursts

🔹 Move 3: Track evidence, not feelings
↳ Keep a small wins list
↳ Confidence grows from receipts

The breakthrough is quiet.
You stop asking when it will happen.
You start asking what you can do today that future you will thank you for.

What goal are you staying with, even if it feels slow right now?

♻️ Repost to help someone stay patient with their progress
➕ Follow Youssef El Allame for career insights

Talent is overrated. 

Focus is what separates the people who finish.

We all know someone who was “gifted.”

Fast learner.
Quick thinker.
Always ahead.

Until they stopped pushing.
Because talent feels like enough.

It makes early wins easy.
It creates praise without pressure.
It builds identity without discipline.

But focus?
Focus is boring.

It shows up when no one is watching.
It repeats the same move until it’s sharp.
It keeps going after the applause fades.

This happens again and again.

The smartest person in the room stalls.
The consistent one compounds.

Here’s what most people miss.

Talent gives you a head start.
Focus gives you a finish line.

If you rely only on talent?
You stop when it gets hard.

If you build focus?
You get stronger when it gets hard.

3 reminders I come back to:

🔸 Protect your attention
↳ What you focus on shapes your future

🔸 Reduce your options
↳ Fewer priorities create deeper progress

🔸 Stay in the game longer
↳ Consistency beats intensity every time

The market doesn’t reward potential.
It rewards persistence.

And in the long run?
The focused beginner often outruns the distracted genius.

If your future self could speak today, it wouldn’t ask for more talent.
It would ask for more focus.

What are you focusing on right now?

♻️ Repost to help others focus on what matters
➕ Follow Youssef El Allame for more insights

Imposter syndrome sounds humble.

But a lot of the time, it’s not humility.

It’s self-protection.

It’s your ego trying to avoid one thing:
Being seen trying… and not being perfect.

So you call it “imposter syndrome.”

Because that sounds noble.
Responsible.
Even relatable.

But watch what it actually does.

It convinces you to delay.

To stay quiet until you’re 110% sure.
To over-prepare so nobody can question you.
To “wait for clarity” so you don’t have to risk being wrong.

You deliver excellent work…
And then hide from visibility.

Not because you’re incapable.

Because if you show up fully and it still doesn’t work…
There’s nowhere left to hide.

The provocative truth:

Imposter syndrome is often a control strategy.
A way to keep your identity safe.

If you keep doubting yourself? 

You never test the version of you that actually leads.
You never discover what happens when you take up space.
You never risk outgrowing the version of you that people are comfortable with.

And the cost isn’t your confidence.

It’s your trajectory.

Because the opportunity in front of you isn’t asking:
“Are you flawless?”

It’s asking:
“Are you willing to expand?”

So let’s flip the script.

Stop asking “Am I ready?”
That question is a trap.

Ask: what would someone who belongs here do next?

They would:
▪️Speak early, not perfectly.
▪️Bring a recommendation, not just an update.
▪️Share their thinking before it’s fully polished.
▪️Take ownership of ambiguity instead of complaining.
▪️Ask sharper questions instead of waiting for instructions. 
▪️Make themselves visible enough to be evaluated.

Confidence isn’t something you find.
It’s something you build through evidence.

And evidence only gets created when you take action.

So this week, don’t aim to feel ready.

Say the thing you’ve been rehearsing in your head.
Volunteer for the stretch you’ve been pretending you don’t want.

You weren’t chosen by accident.

Now the only question left is:

Will you step into it or keep listening to fear?

♻️ Repost to challenge someone who’s playing small
➕ Follow Youssef El Allame for practical insights

Playing it safe isn't safe.

It's the most expensive thing you'll ever do.

I spent years calculating risk in investment banking.

Modeling scenarios.
Teaching others to measure uncertainty.

But here's what the models never captured:
The hidden cost of staying comfortable.

I know because I made the calculation wrong myself.
Chose the "secure" path when I should have bet bigger.

The bill came later.

And it was higher than any risk I avoided.

What people miss about comfort:

1. Energy drain
↳ Wondering "what if" every day costs more than taking action once
↳ Regret is heavier than failure

2. Confidence erosion
↳ Each time you don't bet on yourself, you trust yourself less
↳ Your decisions get smaller, not safer

3. Identity lock
↳ You are blocking yourself from becoming better
↳ Comfort doesn't preserve you. It calcifies you.

4. Compound missed opportunities
↳ It's not just what you don't gain
↳ It's who you never become

The real math?
Short-term discomfort vs. long-term regret.

Most people calculate the risk of moving.
Few calculate the risk of staying still.

Your comfort zone has a price.
You just pay it in installments you don't notice.

What "safe" choice is quietly bankrupting your potential?

♻️ Repost to help someone recalculate their risks
➕ Follow Youssef El Allame for more

The new reality: record revenue = layoffs. 

Morgan Stanley is cutting 2,500 jobs…
After hitting record annual revenues in 2025. 

Imagine receiving the layoff notice. 
Imagine losing everything you have worked for.

Layoffs aren’t just logistics.
They’re a rupture.

In confidence.
In identity. 
In safety.

People tell you to get moving.
But here’s what they miss.
You’re grieving.

Here’s how to begin again with care:

1. Let yourself grieve
↳ Take a day to binge-watch, be sad, then get moving

2. Write a breakup letter to your old job
↳ Don’t send it, just get it out of your system

3. Don’t sign anything immediately
↳ Take time to review severance and benefits

4. Send a farewell email to your network
↳ Let people know you’re open to new opportunities

5. Offer to help someone else in your network
↳ Giving often leads to receiving

6. Apply for jobs you feel underqualified for
↳ Let others decide if you are qualified

7. Celebrate the small wins
↳ Every application, interview, or connection is progress

This is not the end.
This is a reset.

You are not broken.
You are not starting over.
You are starting from experience.

You are still you. 
Still capable. 
Still valuable.

What’s one win you’re proud of this week?

♻️ Repost to support your network survive layoffs
➕ Follow Youssef El Allame for career insights

The most powerful people never say this word.

"Sorry".

Not because they're arrogant.
Not because they don't care.

Because they've learned something you probably haven't yet.

Over-apologizing doesn't make you polite.
It makes you weak.

Think about how often you say it.

→ "Sorry to bother you."
→ "Sorry, I'm late."
→ "Sorry for the mistake."
→ "Sorry, I need help."

Every sentence starts with an apology.
Every apology chips away at your presence.

You're not being respectful.
You're shrinking yourself.

Now imagine replacing sorry with intention.

→ "Sorry to bother you" becomes:
 "Do you have a moment to talk?"

→ "Sorry, I'm late" becomes: 
"Thank you for waiting."

→ "Sorry for the mistake" becomes: 
"Thanks for catching that. I'll fix it now."

→ "Sorry, I need help" becomes:
"I could use your input on this."

Same situations. 
Completely different energy.

Here's what will happen when you change your language:

People will listen more.
Your ideas will land harder.
You'll feel more confident in every room.

Not because you become someone new.
Because you stop erasing yourself.

This isn't about removing accountability.

Own your mistakes fully.
Take responsibility always.

But know the difference between accountability and self-erasure.

"Sorry" often signals fear.
Reframing signals confidence.

You earned your seat at the table.
Stop apologizing for sitting in it.

Start this week with one small swap.
Watch how differently people respond to you.

What phrase are you working on reframing?

♻️ Repost if someone needs to hear this
➕ Follow Youssef El Allame for more

Managers are more miserable than ever.

Only 27% of managers are enthusiastic about their work.
(Gallup study 2024)

We’ve all been there. 

Too much work. 
Endless meetings.
Not enough support. 

The real reasons are stranger and harder to spot.

12 forces draining managers at every level.

1. Boreout
↳ Managers aren’t burned out, they’re bored out
↳ Monotonous work without meaning kills motivation

2. Talent control
↳ Leaders cling to top performers to hit short-term goals
↳ Holding them back hurts the team’s long-term health

3. Quiet cracking
↳ Ambiguous roles erode drive over time
↳ Instead of “quiet quitting,” managers slowly lose their motivation

4. Role conflict
↳ Managing up and down means pleasing two audiences
↳ The pressure to serve both often leaves neither satisfied

5. Technostress
↳ Every new platform promises efficiency but adds complexity
↳ Notifications, updates, and tool fatigue drain mental bandwidth

6. Mid-career malaise
↳ The leadership role they worked for isn’t the one they got
↳ Unmet expectations turn into quiet disillusionment

7. Hybrid burn blur 
↳ Leading hybrid teams without proper training is draining
↳ Isolation grows, and connection feels harder to sustain

8. Rising workload & structural pressure
↳ Teams shrink, goals expand, and support disappears
↳ Managers feel they’re holding a bridge with their bare hands

9. Lack of development support
↳ Many managers are promoted for performance, not leadership skill
↳ Without training, they’re left to figure it out alone

10. Layoffs & micromanagement stress
↳ They have to deliver bad news and enforce unpopular rules
↳ That’s a recipe for losing trust from both directions

11. Too many meetings, too many hats
↳ They switch from being the boss to following orders hourly
↳ The mental whiplash leaves little energy for actual leadership

12. Lack of recognition
↳ Managers need to recognize others but rarely get recognition
↳ The absence of feedback or appreciation makes the role feel thankless

These challenges aren’t a sign of weakness.
They’re proof that the role is far more complex than most people see.

If any of these points hit close to home, know this. 
You’re not broken.

You’re operating in a system that needs to change.

And change starts with conversations like this one.

If you could fix one of these tomorrow, which would it be?

♻️ Repost to help all the managers in your network
➕ Follow Youssef El Allame for career insights

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The Battle

Ryan Yockey

Youssef El Allame

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Performance ScoreRyan Yockey's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreYoussef El Allame's LinkedIn Performance

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The Battle

Ryan Yockey

Youssef El Allame

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);}Ryan Yockey's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreRyan Yockey's LinkedIn Performance