Sam G. Winsbury

We Create Thought Leaders Through Personal Branding | 150+ Personal Brands Built | Founder & CEO Kurogo

-- DM for Speaking Enquiries --

We turn entrepreneurs into credible thought leaders through personal branding so they can scale their businesses, unlock untapped opportunities and outlast their competition.

If you’re anything like our clients, you’re an expert in your field. One of the best.

But you just don’t seem to have the reputation you deserve.

You want to be the go-to authority in your industry and become an opportunity magnet.

That way you could…

- Generate inbound leads consistently
- Win clients and customers with ease
- Attract media features
- Attract top talent
- Speak on stage

The list is endless.

We help our clients do just that through the power of personal branding, by:

1. Giving them clarity on their brand and positioning them as industry leaders.
2. Blowing up their social profiles and landing them high-profile media features.
3. Helping them convert their new-found reputation into meaningful opportunities and ROI

And having built 300+ personal brands, we’ve got quite good at it, achieving results like these in the process:

🚀 Jack generated 2.5M views and 6 figures in revenue in 90 days with us 
🚀 Joe and Olly generated millions of views and saw a record month
🚀 Guy added 5 figures of pipeline value in a matter of months
🚀 Shan Grew 24,000 followers and landed $200,000 in sales
🚀 Olie added £50K of inbound revenue to his pipeline
🚀 Sue generated over 8.3 million views in 4 months
🚀 Jemma increased her views by 51,347%
🚀 James became an Amazon Best Seller 
🚀 Tom generated 5M views in 3 months 
🚀 Anna doubled her followers in 1 year
🚀 Debbie generated 11M Views

Your reputation is your biggest asset. Take control of it! 

If you want to see how we could help you build your personal brand, shoot me a dm saying ‘Personal Brand’

If you're not quite ready yet, I post daily content on here showing you how to do it yourself.

Founder

Pret A Manger CEO Pano Christou's journey is incredible.

2000: Assistant Manager
2019: Became CEO

In a world that pushes you to start a new job every 6 months or build a 6 figure business in 3, it’s nice to see there's still a case for working your way up in one place.

Personal Brand Advisor To Leading Entrepreneurs & Execs | 350+ Brands Built | Speaker | Sky, Entrepreneur, Insider | Founder & CEO Kurogo

2020

- Struggling freelancer
- Constantly ignored
- Insecure

2021

- Started taking LinkedIn seriously
- Began building my personal brand
- Started signing more clients

2022

- Hired team members
- Signed loads of clients
- Was the ‘kid with potential’

2024

- Grew rather fast
- Got rather stressed
- Increased my prices

2026

- Run quite a good personal brand agency
- Helped 350+ people build their brands
- Happiest I’ve ever been

What changed? 

1. 6 years of trial and error 
2. Huge focus on authority over everything
3. Realising everything you want is the other side of reach and reputation

More people trusting you as an expert will never not be useful.

So start sharing your ideas/opinions/expertise online.

For 15 years, the growth playbook was “send & spend”.

Run ads → generate leads → sales grinds → numbers game → maths works.

And to be fair… it did work when buying was simple and linear.

2005 buying: see ad → click → buy.

But 2026 buying is not linear.

2026 buying: see you → ignore you → see you again → ask a friend → google you → check your LinkedIn → read comments → watch a video → forget → come back 3 weeks later → then enquire.

It’s not a funnel anymore. It’s a squiggly line.

Inside the chaos, only one thing matters:

Trust.

Because when buyers have unlimited choice and unlimited information, they don’t pick the “best” option on paper.

They pick the option that feels safest.
The one they trust most.

Here’s the truth:

If you still rely on “cheap leads + pushy sales” to do the heavy lifting,
you’re betting against how modern buyers behave.

They do the work before they ever speak to you:

- searching your name
- checking your LinkedIn
- looking for social proof
- scanning for authority
- testing if you’re credible

So if your marketing is only designed for volume

but not designed to create trust…
you’re just paying to enter the messy middle 
(where you’re judged, compared, and forgotten)

That’s why trust-based marketing is winning.

And the best way to collapse the timeline for trust? 

Personal brand.

- 89.4% are more likely to trust a company if a senior leader is seen as an expert
- 98.2% say leadership expertise affects purchasing decisions
- 85.9% would pay at least 2x more to work with a leader in their space

The top 1% in every industry are exploiting this.

Over the last few years, I’ve even used it to:

- help 350+ execs build their brands
- generate 100M+ views
- drive £10M+ in pipeline

And I’ve seen the same patterns again and again.

There are 5 trends the top 1% of industry leaders are using to dominate 2026.

I’m breaking all of them down in a new live training:

“The 2026 Personal Brand Playbook: How To Build A $1M Personal Brand.”

If you want your reputation to do more of the heavy lifting…

Join the live training here: https://lnkd.in/e6ZKYnmB

Ps. Everyone who attends will get our FULL LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Blueprint for free (usually £79)

For years, 'having a great product' was enough.

Your work would do the talking... That world is closing. Fast.

Here is what the data says:

→ 90% of executives think people trust them
→ 30% of customers actually do

Pwc call it 'The Trust Gap'.

That gap is where deals are won and lost.

Best way to close it? Personal branding.

When I look at the 350+ brands we have built, the ones who win treat personal branding as a tool, not an ego trip.

They follow a simple flow:

1️⃣ Position

You become “THE person for X”, not “Another option”.

→ Clear proof
→ Clear promise
→ Clear point of view

2️⃣ Amplify

You show up where your buyers already spend time.

→ Content that speaks to their pain
→ Opinion, frameworks, predictions
→ It acts like a 24/7 salesperson

3️⃣ Convert

You turn attention into pipeline.

→ Clear, low friction next steps
→ Nurturing focus, not chasing
→ Ecosystems, not funnels

We are in the reputation economy.

So today I'm breaking down the 5 trends that will separate the top 1% of leaders from everyone else in 2026:

→ The rise of the executive personal brand
→ The shift from posting to positioning
→ Fame vs authority
→ Ecosystem-driven growth
→ How AI will make or break your reputation

If you want your face to be the one people trust in 2026, now is the time to build it.

Join us for our workshop later where I have nothing to pitch to you:

https://lnkd.in/e6ZKYnmB

View company: Kurogo - Personal Branding Agency

In this session, Sam Winsbury (Founder of Kurogo) will walk through the 5 Trends That Will Separate the Top 1% of Thought Leaders From Everyone Else in 2026:

✅ The rise of the executive personal brand (and why people trust individuals far more than companies

✅ Why positioning beats posting (and how authority compounds)

✅ Why fame ≠ authority (and how ‘smaller’ brands are winning higher-value deals)

✅ The “ecosystem” strategy replacing funnels (how modern consumers really ‘buy before they pay’)

✅ How to use AI without damaging your reputation

Plus everyone who attends will get 3 exclusive bonuses:

🎁 Bonus 1: Our Complete Guide To Building A Personal Brand in 2026
🎁 Bonus 2: Our Profile Optimisation Checklist For Free (Worth £79)
🎁 Bonus 3: A Free 30 Day Trial To The Thought Leader’s Academy (Worth £97)

This session is designed for:

- Founders, CEOs, and marketing teams
- Consultants, coaches, and professional services
- Anyone whose business depends on trust, credibility, and reputation

If you feel like:

- opportunities are harder to come by
- sales cycles are getting longer
- competition feels louder but not better
- or you’re being overlooked despite having a great offer

This session will give you the roadmap to dominating your industry in 2026. 

🗓️ 5th February 2026
⏰ 18.00 GMT / 12.00 CST

View event: How To Build A $1M Personal Brand In 2026: 5 Trends You Must Know

How To Build A $1M Personal Brand In 2026: 5 Trends You Must Know

James Sweeney

AE @ Jargon Group 🧑‍💻 Founder of Sweeney’s Blogs 💬 Changemaker for The Youth Group 👐 Digital Storyteller 📚

Wondered what it feels like to jump out of a plane at 12,000 feet? 🪂

I’m James Sweeney, it’s lovely to meet you! 

Growing up in the Swansea valleys, I’m incredibly passionate about people - whether it’s our culture, background, passions or the ways in which we process and understand the world around us, it’s something that absolutely fascinates me 🌍

Having gone through life as somebody with a stutter, in addition to facing troubles with my physical and mental health, one of my biggest aspirations in life is to help shape a community in which I can help as many people as possible. 

I’m a very keen writer, starting my own blog page in 2018, called Sweeney’s Blogs, where I shine a spotlight on the topics that genuinely mean something to each and every one of us as people. The page has become a key part of my life, and is one of the reasons how I found out about LinkedIn too, as it goes ✍️

I run a weekly series here called Sweeney’s Song of the Week. For these posts, I shout out some incredible people, mixing in my love for music and making the world a better place at the same time. 

In October 2018, I jumped out of a plane at 12,000 feet raising over £900 for The Alzheimer’s Society, which has to be one of the best (and scariest!) experiences of my life 🪂

Do you want to join me on my journey! Be sure to drop me a request and a message, I’d love a chat. 

Thanks for checking out my profile and I hope you have a cracking day 👋

Changemaker

A Sweeney in Gloucester...

Last weekend, 25 of us from the undefinable community travelled over to Gloucester for our Winter 2026 Retreat ☃️

Wonderfully organised by Cat, Jamie and Robert, this trip was focused on our shared value of Emotional Bravery. 

Here are some of my highlights from the trip ⤵️

🎧 Dan and Sanya ran us through a fab session all about music, and how it can trigger emotions that a lot of people aren't even conscious of at first. 

😊 Running the Saturday evening activity, all about the emotion of joy, with my fantastic co-host Emanuele Maccotta. 

Bringing people together and being intentional in talking about what brings us genuine happiness in life was so much fun to do - it's definitely something I'll be doing a lot more moving forward!

👐 Seeing the range of emotions covered was fascinating to me, with sessions on surprise, fear, sadness, joy, anger, love and a whole load more. 

Plus, seeing how everyone made space for one another, regardless of how they were feeling, was so wonderful to see. 

Emotional bravery, for me, is all about embracing conversations and experiences with honesty, connection and growth, even when staying guarded or perfectly polished may seem easier.

This was my ninth retreat with the Undefinables, and boy, what a journey these last three years have been. I wouldn't have it any other way 🩵

As Head of the Cleaning team too, very happy with how everyone got stuck in and helped out. Solid work team 🫡

Let's see what retreat number ten has in store, then! 

What does emotional bravery mean to you?

How's your week going so far?

I'd love to hear what you think 😁

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!

PR and Comms Professional 🧑‍💻 Founder of Sweeney’s Blogs 💬 Mentor at One Million Mentors 👐 Digital Storyteller 📚

Want to know one of the most underrated parts of LinkedIn?

Connecting with and getting to know people from all over the world 🌍

I've been posting triweekly here for around seven years now, and in that time, I've had the pleasure of speaking to people from so many countries. 

Whether it's:

🇺🇸 Aidan, Carson, Manny, Sarah, and so many more from the US of A
🇩🇰 andreas and the Shield team out in Denmark
🇳🇿 Hamish, Lachie and the guys over in New Zealand

This is without even mentioning people originally from the UK who have moved overseas, like Ashley and Zack (Dubai), Joe (Thailand), Karla (Bali), and Joe (Florida). 

I could add way more names to the list, but I think you get where I'm coming from here 😂

Every person has their own stories, perspectives and cultures, and every conversation teaches you something new.

Content creation isn’t just about broadcasting your thoughts out into the world. It’s the listening, learning, and understanding experiences beyond your own that helps you become a better storyteller 🤝

One post from a small village in South Wales can reach people in Auckland, Copenhagen and even Texas.

It's crazy when you think about it 🤯

I get to be in the position where I can travel the world, and because of LinkedIn, meet up with so many fantastic people - it's such a cool thing to do. 

I am forever incredibly grateful for all the amazing people I have met and will go on to meet through this platform. 

Here's to loads more meet-ups, conversations and good times to come 😎

Who’s someone you’ve met through LinkedIn that you never would have crossed paths with otherwise?

I'd love to hear your thoughts 😊

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!

What we say, and how we say it, matters more than we realise. 

Yesterday morning, Jessie Yendel appeared on Good Morning Britain to raise awareness of stammering, and to call for better support for people who stutter across the UK 🙏

If you haven't heard of Jessie before, she's a Welsh influencer who shares about her life and journey of living with a stutter online. 

After her appearance, the GMB team uploaded a video of her segment to their socials, which I've seen shared by numerous sources across socials. 

Reading some of the comments really disheartened me, and, to be honest, they were pretty frustrating to read at first.

While many people commented on how much they related to Jessie’s story, others took the opportunity to mock her stutter, question whether it was real, and dismiss her experience altogether.

As someone with a stutter, I genuinely thought it was brilliant to see Jessie go on national TV again and continue to raise awareness of the condition.

Having her speak to Ed Balls, who himself has a stutter, was a bonus 😎

Think of the difference their speaking can make to so many people who stutter, especially those who might not yet feel like they have a voice.

Let's use this as a good reminder for all of us to pause before hitting “post”, "comment," or “send”.

To think about the person on the other side of the screen 🤝

And remember that for some people, being visible, speaking up, or sharing their story already takes an enormous amount of courage.

Who's one person who's helped you find your voice in life? 

How's your week going so far?

I'd love to hear your thoughts ⤵️

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!

When you wake up knowing it's Pancake Day... 🥞

Happy birthday Sweeney’s Blogs 🥳 

Tomorrow, Tuesday 3th February 2026, my lovely blog page, Sweeney’s Blogs officially turns seven years old. 

Starting the page back in 2019, I couldn’t be prouder of how ar the page has come over the last couple of years 😊

We recently passed over 76,000 views, gaining views from over 130 countries across the last seven years - now mad is that?! 

Creating Sweeney’s Blogs is part of what started me off posting here, and what a crazy ride that’s been 😎

Over 750 blogs and 900 LinkedIn posts later, I’ve learnt so much, but boy have I got a long way left to go. 

A huge thank you to everyone who’s helped the page along its journey, your support never goes unnoticed 🫶

To my team of writers, Giles, Isha, Matthew and Tom, thank you so much for all of your help!! 

Here’s to the next seven years, let’s see where they take us 🥳 

How’s your week ahead looking? 

What’s a piece of good news you’ve heard or celebrated lately? 

I’d love to know what you think ⤵️

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a lovely day!

Time for Sweeney’s Song of the Week 🎵 🎶 

Every week, I pick a “Song of the Week”, which I feel perfectly reflects the news and events of the last seven days.

This week’s song: You’re Gonna Miss This - Trace Adkins

What’s in this week’s Sweeney Summary?

👉 Alex announced the rebrand of his business, from Truenorth to Rumbo - it’s been fab following along with this journey for you so far, Alex, can’t wait to see what’s coming next 🕺🏼 

👉 Chi announced that she has joined beehiiv as a Global Social Lead - huge congratulations Chi, hope you’re settling in okay 💃

👉 Freddie shared that he and the team at Ingrained Digital have just signed on their first fixed HQ in London. 

This sounds like a super exciting time for you all, Freddie!! Congratulations🥳

👉 I had a lovely introductory call with Matthew this week - so good to get a chat in Matt, here’s to loads more to come 🤝 
 
👉 Jack and the Tank team helped run a session, encouraging students at Nottingham to enter into a career in PR. 

Watching how this industry is evolving and how we can help improve the entryways for future generations is such a fascinating thing to chat about to me 🙌

Comms/ PR Tip of the Week: When working with freelancers, particularly remotely, how we phrase emails (on both sides!) really matters.

It’s easy for tone to get lost — whether that’s around a brief, constructive feedback, or a quick question that’s been typed in a rush. 

Taking a moment to reread a message and think, “How else could this land?” can make a huge difference to morale and trust. Thanks a lot to James for getting me thinking about this! 

Quote of the Week: “Don’t worry about the failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t try” - Jack Canfield

How’s your week been? What’s your song of the week? 

I’d love to hear your thoughts ⤵️

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!

taplio

The Battle

Sam G. Winsbury

James Sweeney

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreSam G. Winsbury's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJames Sweeney's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Sam G. Winsbury

James Sweeney

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);}Sam G. Winsbury's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJames Sweeney's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreSam G. Winsbury's LinkedIn Performance