Sunny Bonnell

Founder & CEO, Motto® • Top Global Brand & Visionary Leadership Expert • Bestselling Author, Rare Breed • Co-Founder, VisionCamp® • GDUSA Top People to Watch • Top 30 GlobalGurus in Brand • High-Octane Keynote Speaker

Sunny Bonnell is the co-founder and CEO of Motto®, a strategy and innovation firm, and Thinkers50 Radar, which, in partnership with Deloitte, awards the brightest minds in the world. 

Named a ‘Visionary Brand Icon’ by SWAGGER, she is a Top 30 Global Gurus in Brand, GDUSA's Top 25 People to Watch, and a WEBBY Award winner. The WEBBY Awards described Sunny as “Setting the standard for innovation and creativity.”

Sunny works with executive leadership teams to set visions, create big ideas, and inspire their culture to take action on that vision. 

Clients include:

Minnesota Vikings
Virgin
Google
Microsoft
Klaviyo
NFL
Hershey’s
Legendary Digital
Disney
Twentieth Century Fox
Choice Hotels
NCM
Andela
Goodnotes

Sunny is an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker for organizations like MasterCard, Microsoft, Dale Carnegie, Fast Company Innovation Festival, Inc., and Inspiring Workplaces. 

She's been featured in every major publication, including Forbes, Entrepreneur, and The Wall Street Journal. She has appeared on Closing Bell on the NY Stock Exchange, The Breakfast Club, and Yahoo Finance. She writes a popular and provocative leadership column for Fast Company with her Co-founder and partner in crime, Ashleigh Hansberger.

Sunny and Ashleigh are the authors of Rare Breed: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous, and Different (Harper Collins, 2019) which flips the script on business as usual and carves a path for unconventional success.

“The top 5 career books of all time.” — New York Post
"Brazen and a ruckus to make things better.” — Seth Godin
“An entire windstorm of original thinking.” — USA Today

Sunny's work is focused on dismantling status-quo practices and inspiring others to do big things.

Founder, speaker, author, vision leader.

👉 wearemotto.com
👉 sunnybonnell.com

Co-Founder & CEO

Motto® is a vision-partner and strategic brand transformation company. We believe in the power of big ideas to clarify vision, rally people, and inspire action.

We guide CEOs, founders, and teams through times of growth and transition to unlock their Idea Worth Rallying Around®— the signature idea that sits at the heart of the business and makes it famous.

Internally: Our work drives the culture strategy for how you do things—by aligning leadership around vision and purpose, codifying values, creating plans to evolve, inspiring employees with a strategic narrative, and weaving brand-building behaviors and mindsets into your company DNA.

Externally: Our work drives the brand strategy for how you're positioned—by creating competitive difference, establishing key narratives, casting creative direction, and activating the brand across touchpoints.

Since 2005, we’ve collaborated with the brightest minds to solve their toughest strategic challenges. Leaders seek us out to clearly communicate what their company is about. Our unique advisory approach helps your brand and culture work together so your company thrives.

CLIENTS
Virgin
Google
Microsoft
Hershey
Andela
Goodnotes
Earnest
ServiceTitan
Brooklyn Brewery
Disney
Ninjas in Pyjamas

Founders. CEOs. Brand leaders. Creatives. 👋 How do you stay relevant when speed is messy, and sameness is a prompt away? 

Motto® Future of Brand Report 2026 is now LIVE.

And yes, it’s free.

We built it for leaders navigating the most accelerated era in modern business.

→ AI is turning output into a commodity. 
→ Culture is shifting faster than playbooks can keep up. 
→ Differentiation is harder to hold onto.
→ The brands that win will build meaning that scales and alignment that sticks.

Here’s what you’ll get:

→ Fieldnotes: sharp signals across tech, design, culture, and leadership
→ Forces: the big shifts reshaping how companies create value
→ Questions: prompts to pressure-test strategy and spark better decisions

This is a decision tool to help you think, build, and lead in the year ahead. 

Read it, share it, debate it.

Just don’t ignore it.

If you want to win at business and brand in 2026...

Like this post and drop FUTURE OF BRAND in the comments, and I’ll send it your way.

#brand

I make media (films, podcasts, newsletters) that I have the audacity to believe is worth your attention. Creating stories at the intersection of entrepreneurship, women’s sports, and community.

TL:DR: I'm a film director, writer, and cyclist (for fun) creating visual storytelling projects that build and advocate for more equitable communities. 📸 🚲✍🏾

Thank you for visiting my corner of the internet. 👋🏾

I've spent 8+ years building visual storytelling brands and sharing everything that I know about creating without compromise. People reach out to me when:

→ They're looking to tell a story through film. I've worked with nonprofits, national brands, and social enterprises to tell stories for social media, web platforms, and in-person film screenings. 

→ They want to learn more about creative entrepreneurship. I write a 2x weekly newsletter, publish a 1x weekly podcast, and have a YouTube channel filled with free education. You can get all of these delivered directly to your inbox when you join Please Hustle Responsibly. 

→ They're looking for a speaker. I've spoken at podcast conferences, business conferences, colleges, high school scholarship banquets, and entrepreneurship accelerators. I'm happy to speak about all things related to storytelling, business, creativity, and community. I've also hosted panels, podcasts, and webinars.

→ They want to get in front of my audience. I would love to partner on a sponsored post here on Linkedin, my podcast, my newsletter, or my YouTube channel. Want to support my upcoming independent film and audio projects? Reach out below!

P.S. Ask me about my current short film, Trail Therapy!

You can find me in my DMs or online at https://www.angelahollowell.com

Angela Hollowell

I recorded an episode Honey and Hustle with our biggest guest yet - 9th Wonder. 

He's a legendary music producer who's worked alongside Jay-Z, Little Brother, and -

Hold up, you can Google this Grammy Award Winner, so I'll save my breath (for now).

We talked about North Carolina's music industry, the role colleges play for creatives, and his advice for those who want to pursue music outside major music markets. 

I needed to hear so much of this, and I think you'll enjoy it, too. Link to listen (and leave a review) in the comments!

I make media (films, podcasts, newsletters) that I have the audacity to believe is worth your attention. Creating things at the intersection of entrepreneurship, women's sports, and community.

No alternative text description for this image

1700 words hit inboxes this morning! 💌

🎉 I'm celebrating the 2nd anniversary of Please Hustle Responsibly, and I wrote about:

✅ our growth
✅ my unofficial rules for writing a newsletter
✅ what's coming in year 3

Read and subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/e6_gvNvE

written on beehiiv, as usual.

2 months ago, I released my first course, CommunityOS. This week, it's 50% off.

If you want to learn how to

✅ grow your network strategically
✅ turn a follower into a relationship
✅ turn an audience into a community that buys from you and refers your services

Check it out now (no code necessary) → https://lnkd.in/ek5qqc_g

Landing page on bolt.new

2025 was a good year for Honey and Hustle. 2026 will be even better. 

✅ February Daily Podcast Challenge: Book Club
✅ 2 new mini docs
✅ Elevator Pitch returns
✅ Honeypot Hotline (new series)
✅ tons of new ecosystems featured
✅ 3-city live show tour

Check out the show wherever you get your podcasts! 

www.honeyandhustle.co

2025 wrapped

You are likely getting a ton of emails this weekend, so what's the harm in reading one more?

This weekend marks my 1 year anniversary of writing Please Hustle Responsibly and Melanin MVP on beehiiv and I shared

✅ what's changed since I joined the platform
✅ why I'm staying with beehiiv
✅ my thoughts on their closest competitor, Kit 

Link where it usually is to read (in the comments)!

In two weeks, I'm co-hosting an event with the quirky man pictured below (also known as Matt Gilhooly🎙).

We'll be sharing our lived experiences as podcast hosts, navigating conversations about everything from life-changing situations to business epiphanies. 

It's free, live on Riverside, and we'll be answering all your questions about how to host deeper, engaging interviews. 

Register at the link in the comments!

I finally launched a referral program for my newsletter, Please Hustle Responsibly. 

Here's what readers get for sharing the newsletter with friends:

✅ Video podcast swipe file
✅ YouTube thumbnail swipe file
✅ Yearly Goal Setting Template
✅ How to get your first 1000 subscribers
✅ Crowdfunding Checklist
✅ Newsletter Monetization Playbook
✅ Free Access to CommunityOS

Want to join the party and get rewarded for being awesome?! Subscribe to the newsletter and get to yapping: https://lnkd.in/epqTUVPy

P.S. Thanks for making this possible beehiiv.

taplio

The Battle

Sunny Bonnell

Angela Hollowell

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreSunny Bonnell's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAngela Hollowell's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Sunny Bonnell

Angela Hollowell

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);}Sunny Bonnell's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAngela Hollowell's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreSunny Bonnell's LinkedIn Performance