Thijs Kraan

I help designers sell their expertise through writing content.

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

→ I had zero control over when my next project arrived

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

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

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

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

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

Obsessed with mastering the nitty-gritty of content.

And that meant making countless mistakes:

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

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

Even after investing 3 years in learning:

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

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

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

My LinkedIn Growth Framework. 

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

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

All from sharing their unique expertise (on LinkedIn)

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

Take my free 5-day LinkedIn Growth Strategy:

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

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

Design Content Consultant

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

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

By:

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

Together, this will help you:

- Get inbound leads
- Attract new talent
- Build authority

Want to learn how? 

Send me a message.

If you need inspiration on how to approach LinkedIn as a studio founder:
 
1. Greg Isenberg – co-founder of Late Checkout
2. Max Ottignon – co-founder of Ragged Edge
3. Roman Stikkelorum – co-founder of Verve
4. Tobias van Schneider – founder of HOVS
5. Simon Dixon – co-founder of DixonBaxi
6. Sunny Bonnell – co-founder of Motto®
7. Soren Iverson – founder of Iverson
8. Nick Pattison – founder of Primary
9. Fons Mans – founder of Offgrid
 
Top-tier work, insights, or stories. 
 
All with a distinct angle.

Who did I miss?

Founder-led growth partner for design studios

I’ve seen your design system. It looks great in Figma, but does it work in code? 🥲

𝑯𝒊, 𝑰'𝒎 𝑨𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂 👋🏻

Staff-level Product Designer, System Architect, and tamer of complex data interfaces.

After 15 years bridging the gap between design and engineering (System73, IMT... yep, I’ve seen every type of "broken" hand-off process), I swapped corporate life to become a Solopreneur shipping high-performance systems.

Right now, I'm offering:

🛠️ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻: I'm currently redesigning multi-surface industrial SaaS for wineries and breweries worldwide. I define the logic for customizable grids, table presets, and data viz layers.

🎨 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺: I don't just make pretty buttons. I build token hierarchies and component libraries that ensure code parity and accessibility. I build systems developers actually use.

🤝 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 & 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰: I speak both "Creative" and "Front-end." I evolve underlying systems to increase velocity, not just aesthetics.

⚡ 𝗔𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗰 & 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸: I thrive in environments where clarity and bias for action matter more than meetings.

If you're ready to stop talking about "perfect" systems and start shipping cohesive products that scale, let's connect.

Design is never done, and that’s exactly why I love it. 🚀

Anelia Stoyanova

The designer hiring process is broken.
And I'm tired of pretending it's my fault.

You apply.
You prove you're a wizard just to get past level one.
You prepare. You dress up. You show your best work.
You promise to do even better.

Then the email arrives:
"We've decided to move forward with someone else."

Heartbreaking. Every single time.

I've been through this more times than I can count.
Made it to the final round. Almost in.
Then -> nothing.

And here's what makes it worse:

The endless newsletters.
"Fix your portfolio."
"Optimize for ATS."
"Here's what you're doing wrong."

Every day, a new tip from the hiring advice of someone who's not going to hire you.

All of it implying the same thing:
You didn't get the job because YOU failed.

It's exhausting.
It's gaslighting.
And it's not true.

I have friends on both sides <> hiring and job-seeking.
They're all frustrated.
Hiring managers drowning in applications.
Designers burning out from rejection loops.

And now? AI-generated candidates are showing up at interviews.
Fake people. Real interviews.
Because of course that's where this was heading.

The system is broken.
Not the designers.

---
P.S. Where is this all going? 
Genuinely asking (for a friend 🫣)

P.P.S. If you've been through this, 
you're not alone. 🖤

B2B SaaS designer | For the people who actually use it | EU remote

Undisclosed salaries are a power play.
And we all know it.

You spend hours preparing.
You nail the interview.
You get to the final round.
Then they ask: "What are your salary expectations?"

And suddenly you're playing poker blindfolded.

Say too high? You're out.
Say too low? You just underpaid yourself for the next 3 years.

This isn't a negotiation. It's a trap.

Here's what would actually fix it:

𝟭. 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁.
Not "competitive." Not "depending on experience."
A real range. €50-65k. Done.

𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀.
A UX designer in Berlin ≠ a UX designer in San Francisco.
Let people filter by role + location and see what's realistic.

𝟯. 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱.
Instead of "What are your expectations?" → 
Give candidates a range selector: €40-50k / €50-60k / €60-70k.
Both sides save time. No one lowballs themselves by accident.

Some companies already do this.
Most don't.

The ones who hide salaries aren't protecting themselves.
They're protecting their ability to underpay you.

---
P.S. Would you apply to a job that doesn't show the salary? 
Or do you skip those now?

P.P.S. Image generated with Nano Banana 🍌

I struck a nerve.
Now what?

I usually post things and they go to LinkedIn to die.
This one didn't.

28,000 impressions.
17,000 people reached.
1,000% up from last week.

I had no idea my frustration was this close to home for so many.

I didn't expect the comments.
The stories. The pain. 
The "this happened to me too."
Some of them genuinely broke my heart.

I also didn't expect the DMs.
People reaching out. Wishing me luck. Sharing their own battles.
Strangers becoming real conversations.

So here's what I need to say:

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 🖤

To everyone who commented, shared, or sent a message — I see you.

And I want to be clear about something:
I'm okay.
I'm not in a desperate situation.
I'm actually in a good place — and that's exactly why I felt I could speak up.

Not everyone can.
Some people are too deep in it to risk saying anything.

So if my post gave words to something you've been feeling but couldn't say — good.
That's the point.

The system is still broken.
But we're not alone in seeing it.

---
P.S. I hope everyone going through this finds their way out. You will. 🖤

taplio

The Battle

Thijs Kraan

Anelia Stoyanova

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreThijs Kraan's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAnelia Stoyanova's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Thijs Kraan

Anelia Stoyanova

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Thijs Kraan's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAnelia Stoyanova's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreThijs Kraan's LinkedIn Performance