Founder of StrategyBreakdowns.com

TLDR: Worked in strategy consulting → Joined strategy team at Atlassian → Started writing strategy case studies → People liked them, so I left my job and went full-timeCheck it out → StrategyBreakdowns.comFor Partnerships Inquiries → passionfroot.me/strategybreakdowns

Tom Alder

This cheeky ad campaign is a masterclass in making people stop and laugh.

Airport billboards plastered with uncomfortably close faces and... features. 

Imagine touching down after 20hrs of international travel and seeing a 20ft nostril.

You'll probably chuckle, jump in an Uber, and remember that nose for weeks.

This is how you win the attention economy in 2026.

—

📌 P.S. I originally came across this campaign because it was going viral and came up on one of my ‘outlier trend’ dashboards. 

Lots of people asked me how I set this up, so I made a free tutorial teaching you exactly how I spot these trending topics / content / products in a few seconds (using free tools): https://lnkd.in/dnxsxJRm

In 2025 I went from $13k/mo to $24k/mo.

In 2026 I'm chasing $50k.

But honestly, my biggest wins were outside of work:

→ Packed up my cosy life in Australia
→ Donated/sold 90% of my physical possessions
→ One-way flight across the world

I've spent the last few months living in: Manhattan. Brooklyn. Barcelona. A tiny beach town called Torredembarra about an hour south of Barca. Valencia. Granada. Madrid. New York again. And now, East London.

2 years ago this was literally a dream I scribbled in a journal. 

Still feels totally surreal when I stop and think about it.

Thank you for reading this past year.

Let's win in 2026.

Anyone in London - hit me up!

—

👉 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my newsletter - a 3-minute breakdown of the strategy playbooks and growth hacks behind the world’s greatest companies.

Join 110,000+ strategy nerds from companies like Google, Meta, Atlassian, and Netflix: https://lnkd.in/g2FWfXGR

The Xbox website in 2004.

Bring back the weird and wonderful web.

—

👉 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my newsletter - a 3-minute breakdown of the strategy playbooks and growth hacks behind the world’s greatest companies.

Join 110,000+ strategy nerds from companies like Google, Meta, Atlassian, and Netflix: https://lnkd.in/g2FWfXGR

Summer 2009: Airbnb was stuck at $200 per week (!) in revenue… for 8 months straight.

Founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were running out of money and hope.

When they looked at their worst-performing listings, they all had something in common: "The photos sucked."

People were using flip phone cameras or blurry unedited photos. 

Properties were being undervalued because potential guests couldn't properly assess what they were getting.

The solution: doing something that seemed "unscalable".

The founders:

→ Flew from Mountain View to New York
→ Borrowed professional cameras  
→ Personally photographed 24 hosts' apartments

Result: Revenue doubled to $400 in one week.

This wasn't just about prettier pictures. It solved Airbnb's fundamental marketplace trust problem:

• Guests buying an experience they can't return
• From strangers they've never met
• With no way to verify quality beforehand

Professional photos provided instant credibility, visual proof, and increased perceived value.

The strategy didn’t stop there.

It sparked Airbnb's global Photography Program:
→ Network of 2,000+ freelance photographers
→ 35,000 listings shot across 5,000 cities
→ Listings with pro photos earn 2.5x more bookings

The lesson: Sometimes winning means stop coding and start knocking on doors.

—

💡 If you enjoyed this, it originally appeared in my free 3-minute newsletter, 'Strategy Breakdowns'.

Join 110,000+ strategy nerds from companies like Google, Meta, Atlassian, and Netflix: https://lnkd.in/g2FWfXGR

The value of $1,000 invested 10 years ago:

Amazon (AMZN) → $4,430
Netflix (NFLX) → $5,110
Apple (AAPL) → $8,170
Tesla (TSLA) → $33,630
AMD (AMD) → $123,010
Bitcoin (BTC) → $138,460
Nvidia (NVDA) → $157,870
XRP (Ripple) → $263,160
Dogecoin (DOGE) → $367,590
Ethereum (ETH) → $2,013,020

—

👉 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my newsletter - a 3-minute breakdown of the strategy playbooks and growth hacks behind the world’s greatest companies.

Join 110,000+ strategy nerds from companies like Google, Meta, Atlassian, and Netflix: https://lnkd.in/g2FWfXGR

undefined undefined

Founder of Strategy Breakdowns

I'm hiring a writer!

But not just a "writer."

A Superwriter.

Here's how to know if that's you:
→ You're subscribed to like 20+ newsletters
→ You compulsively screenshot great emails, ads, charts etc
→ You can write about complex business concepts in a simple and engaging way
→ You use Claude/Perplexity/Deep Research/Zapier/Notion better than anyone you know

The job: Produce the best strategy case studies on the internet.

Start with 1-2 breakdowns per week.

As a Superwriter, a core part of your role *from Day 1* is building systems, templates, automations, and agents for research, curation, creation, editing, visuals etc.

Note: This role is *not* for you if you don’t know how to (or don’t want to) work with AI/automation to improve your output (more engaging writing, more thorough research, faster graphics, etc)

What you'll get:
- Front-row seat to a fast-growing internet media business
- Work directly with me - I'll teach you everything I know about writing, audience building, sponsorships, and anything else you're interested in
- Freedom to follow your curiosity and shape the role over time
- Access to pro versions of best-in-class tools (Claude, ChatGPT, Notion, Canva, Wispr Flow etc)
- Write + build things that reach hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of people in tech
- Fully remote, work from anywhere in the world

If this sounds like you: Job Description + Application in the comments 👇
If this sounds like someone you know: Tag them!

110,803 people read my weekly strategy essays, but I have 2 HUGE problems:

1. They aren't good enough
2. Not enough people read them

So...
✏️ I'm hiring a writer to produce the best strategy case studies on the internet!

→ I don't care about your CV.
→ I care about your screenshots folder.
+ the newsletters / YouTubers / books in your content diet.
+ how many hours you've spent using Deep Research / Claude Code / Nano Banana.

Important note: this isn't an ordinary 'Writer' role.
I'm looking for a 'Superwriter'.

You won't just write. You'll build systems.
AI research workflows. Notion Templates. Infographics. Charts. Surveys.

Exceptionally high quality bar + thinks in leverage.

This starts at 1-2 articles per week. Will grow into much more.
Fully remote. Work from anywhere.
Reach millions of tech founders + leaders each month.

If this sounds like you: Job Description + Application in the comments 👇
If this sounds like someone you know: Tag them!

Steve Jobs tried his best to acquire Dropbox, but couldn’t (and ended up launching a competitor instead).

In 2009, he made them an offer most startups dream about:

9-figure acquisition.
Plug into Apple’s ecosystem.
Direct access to Apple’s users.
Validation from a Silicon Valley icon.

But Dropbox’s founders declined. 

Jobs doubled down, saying it was "a feature, not a product."
He threatened that if they didn’t agree to an acquisition, Apple would “kill” Dropbox by launching their own storage product:
→ iCloud

But he was wrong.

iCloud was a huge success, but wasn’t enough to stop Dropbox’s historic run:

In just 7 months, Dropbox had accumulated 100,000 users.
Within 18 months, 500,000.
By October 2009, they'd crossed 2 million users.

A single mechanism was driving over one-third of all new signups:
→ Their iconic referral program 
(”Invite your friend to receive an extra 10gb of free storage”)

It was so effective that within 6 months, it was generating 2.8 million referral invitations monthly.
1 invitation sent every single second (!)

The trajectory from there went exponential:
→ 50 million users by 2011
→ 100 million users by 2012
→ 500 million users by 2016

In 2017, Dropbox hit a milestone faster than any other software company in the past: $1 billion in ARR.
The referral architecture powering Dropbox's growth combined behavioural psychology, network effects, and incentive design.
There’s something every builder can learn from what is arguably the most successful customer acquisition program in SaaS history, so I've deconstructed the 3x underlying principles into a free guide. 

🎁 Here’s the guide → https://lnkd.in/gc9-ih8J

Happy Monday. I got in a heated debate over the weekend. Help me settle this:

I've been daydreaming about redesigning the Strategy Breakdowns website for at least a year. 

Picture this:
→ An infinite canvas. Every article as a card in a grid. 
→ A new interactive way for readers to explore the archive. 

But it’s always sat in the embarrassingly long “maybe one day” pile.

Recently I came across a tool that let me prototype it in an evening.

It only took about 2 minutes of "aha" moments and "oh damn that's cool" design decisions for me to realise i had to turn my rainy-night-in into a breakdown.

The tool is called Alloy - it captures your existing product and lets you vibe on top of it

Most tools are fighting over hobbyists and side projects, so Alloy carved out its own niche: professional product teams prototyping on existing apps

Lots of clever product-led-growth mechanics and smart user psychology baked into this tool. 

✏️ Check out the full breakdown on your new favourite vibe-coding tool: https://lnkd.in/dudG8b6G  and here’s the interactive prototype I made: https://lnkd.in/dVy8zaX3

i can't stop thinking about how all software looks the same now

in the early 2000s, winamp let users completely redesign the interface

→ alien heads
→ video game themes
→ animated creations

it sparked one of the internet's first user-generated design communities

there's actually a museum preserving 100,000+ skins from that era (link below)

somewhere along the way, we lost something special:
→ the ability to add personality into the tools we use every day

my secret wish is that AI brings back the 'customisation layer'

software that feels yours

—

👉 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my newsletter - a 3-minute breakdown of the strategy playbooks and growth hacks behind the world’s greatest companies.

Join 110,000+ strategy nerds from companies like Google, Meta, Atlassian, and Netflix: https://lnkd.in/g2FWfXGR

Software looks the same 

40 years of enterprise software in one chart:

Ownership → subscription → consumption → autonomous 

We're entering an unrecognisable era.
The winners of the next decade will be defined by AI GTM, outcome-based pricing, and the merging of software and services.

We hear a lot about the ‘one-person unicorn’.
A single operator building a billion-dollar company with new business models unlocked by AI.

Im curious - what do you think that business actually *looks* like?
Whats the product? How is it marketed? How does the company operate?

Something I’ve been wondering a lot about lately. Keen to hear your thoughts 💭

—

👉 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my newsletter - a 3-minute breakdown of the strategy playbooks and growth hacks behind the world’s greatest companies.

Join 110,000+ strategy nerds from companies like Google, Meta, Atlassian, and Netflix: https://lnkd.in/g2FWfXGR

Launch your own recruiting business & get new clients without quitting your 9-5 (see my 50+ LinkedIn recommendations below)

Are you an agency recruiter, corporate recruiter, or industry expert who wants to build your own recruiting business, but don’t know where to start or how to get new clients?

Maybe you’re:

- Unsure which niche to focus on
- Struggling to find clients 
- Trying to avoid conflicts with your current 9 to 5
- Worried about job security and looking to create an extra income stream

I get it, the idea of going out on your own can feel overwhelming and even experienced recruiters often struggle with business development

I’ll work with you to:
✅ Refine your niche, launch your recruiting business, and run it in “incognito mode” if you have a day job
✅ Land your new clients using our proven automated client acquisition systems
✅ Make your first $20,000+ placement (often in under 90 days)
✅ Follow the same system that’s helped 300+ people launch and grow profitable agencies

If you’re ready to take control of your income, flexibility, and future:

Click on the link below to watch my training video:

www.recruitinglaunch.com

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐬 (𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦)
- 15+ years of experience in recruiting — built and sold my own recruiting agency
- Launched profitable recruiting business for clients across various industries, including tech, sales, healthcare, legal, finance, engineering, marketing, construction, and more
- 50+ client testimonials (check out my LinkedIn  recommendations at the bottom of my profile)

Jon Chintanaroad

You don’t need a “launch plan” to start a recruiting business.
You need momentum.

Most recruiters overthink this.
They wait weeks.
They research tools.
They talk to lawyers.

And nothing actually moves.

You can set this up in a weekend if you focus on the right things.

Here’s what actually matters:

1.⁠ ⁠Pick a tight niche
Think about restaurants.
An 8-page menu tells you nothing is great.
A one-page menu tells you they’ve mastered it.

Hiring managers think the same way.
When you focus on 4–6 specific roles, they assume you’re good at them.
Generalists stay stuck. Specialists get hired.

2.⁠ ⁠Keep the setup simple
Your LinkedIn profile matters more than your website.
When someone gets your message, they click your name first.

If your profile doesn’t clearly say who you help and how, the conversation ends there.

Build a clean, basic website if you want, but don’t obsess over it.
Most clients never look at it anyway.

3.⁠ ⁠Use a one-page agreement
Long contracts slow deals down.
Simple ones get signed.

All you need is:
– Fee percentage
– 90-day replacement guarantee
– Net 30 terms

One page. Clear. Done.

4.⁠ ⁠Automate your outreach
This is the real unlock.

Take the messages you’d send manually and load them into a daily sequence.
That way, new conversations start even when you’re busy working job orders.

No guesswork.
No waiting.
No “someday.”

Just the basics, done properly.

If you want the full breakdown, I walk through this step by step in the video.
Link in the comments.

Recruiters: It's the first full work week of 2026. How do you feel?

If you jumped out of bed this morning genuinely excited about what's ahead, good for you. That's awesome.

But if you're not feeling that way, maybe it's worth asking yourself why.

If you're a corporate recruiter:

Maybe you're dreading another year of overwhelming req loads, shrinking teams, and wondering if you'll be the next one impacted by layoffs. You know you're a rockstar and can fill almost any role. But you also know the path you're on won't get you to your financial goals or give you the freedom to pick your own clients.

If you're an agency recruiter:

Maybe you're looking at another year giving up the lion's share of the fees you earn while making the agency owner wealthier. You already know the real money comes from keeping 100% of what you bill. And you're doing pretty much all the work already.

Regardless of what type of recruiting you do, if today wasn't the day you jumped out of bed with a sparkle in your eye, this might be the year to start building your exit plan.

Not by quitting your job tomorrow. But by spinning something up quietly on the side.

Here's where most people get tripped up when starting their own recruiting business:

They pick too broad of a niche. They don't know how to brand themselves to attract clients without raising red flags with their employer. And they get stuck on business development and setting up LinkedIn automation.

That's why at Recruiting Launch, we take that off your plate.

My team and I build your recruiting business with you over 14 days. We meet with you one-on-one to optimize your niche, design your branding, write your messaging, and set up your entire automated client acquisition system.

We deploy our proven best practices that have helped over 400 recruiters over the last 5 years successfully branch out on their own.

And we support you until you make your first placement. That way, it's not a matter of if you'll be successful. It's a matter of when.

Two weeks from now, you won't be thinking about "going off on your own someday." You'd be fully operational and already generating conversations with hiring managers.

And you'd be running your business part-time using our Incognito Mode process. That means you keep your 9-5, do this ethically and under the radar. Over five years, we've never had a single incident of someone's employer finding out.

Build your getaway car quietly. Sign a few private clients. Keep $20,000 to $30,000 or more for every role you fill on the side.

Give it a try. Who knows. You might like it.

Follow the link on my profile to watch our 4-step process video and learn how to get your first recruiting client without quitting your day job.

Most independent recruiters prepare too much for sales calls.

They walk in with proposals ready, fee structures memorized, and three different contract options in their back pocket.

And then they wonder why the conversation feels forced.

Here's what I tell the recruiters I work with:

Think like a doctor, not a salesperson.

A doctor asks questions before prescribing treatment. They don't walk in with medication already in hand.

Same with sales calls with hiring managers. 

Your only job in the first conversation is to learn. Where are they at with the search? What have they tried? What's getting in the way? When do they need someone by?

The more you understand, the better you can prescribe a solution that actually fits.

Now, if you’re meeting with an early stage start-up, one question every recruiter needs to ask but feels awkward asking:

"Do you have a budget for this?"

Here's how to ask it without sounding like you're interrogating them:

"I imagine when I start reaching out to candidates, they're going to ask about your company, your funding situation, the stability, etc. So when they ask, what should I tell them?"

Same question. Softer delivery. And now they're answering it in a way that feels helpful to them, not intrusive.

One more thing.

Sometimes you'll talk to a hiring manager who genuinely needs help but has no money to pay you.

Most recruiters walk away from that conversation.

I don't.

Here's what I say instead:

"Based on your current situation, my standard engagement and fee probably wouldn't make sense for you right now. But I'd still love to help. How about this…let me send you five profiles of people I think could be a strong fit that you’re welcome to reach out to about your opportunity. If you like what you see, would you be open to writing me a LinkedIn recommendation about the quality of candidates I brought to you?"

Now you didn't get paid. But you got social proof.

And social proof compounds.

Three to five LinkedIn recommendations from hiring managers and suddenly new clients stop asking if you know what you're doing. They already see it.

That's how you turn a "no budget" conversation into a future client magnet.

taplio

The Battle

Tom Alder

Jon Chintanaroad

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreTom Alder's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJon Chintanaroad's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Tom Alder

Jon Chintanaroad

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);}Tom Alder's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJon Chintanaroad's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreTom Alder's LinkedIn Performance