Co-Founder @ Stan | building a $BN company 🚀

Hi, I’m Vitalii 👋🏻

Over the past 3 years, I’ve built a $30M ARR business with 30 people.

A $1M/employee company.

Now, we’re building a category-defining brand—with $100M ARR in sight.

To do that, I focus on Culture, People, and Product.

Everything that got me here is self-taught.

Born and raised in Russia, I started working at 13—packing parachutes and skydiving. 🪂
By 18, I had 800+ jumps and enough saved to pay for my first year of college.

Jumping out of planes redefined my relationship with fear.
Once you commit, you act. Without hesitation.

I learned English in one year to study abroad—still the hardest thing I’ve done.
That brought me to Canada, where I earned a degree in Chemical Engineering.

I never used it.

My side projects opened doors for me—first to Deloitte, then to eBay.
But the real work happened outside the job.

I made time to build:
9–5 for the paycheck,
5–9 (both morning and night) for what I actually cared about.

That’s where I proved to myself—nothing is impossible.

In 2021, I met my cofounder. We went all-in and started building Stan.

On my LinkedIn, I write about:

→ Founder war stories (unfiltered)
→ Building a $1M/employee startup
→ Creating top 1% culture

🎧 Follow me here if you're building—or want to build—something great.

People I work with would describe me as:

→ I make things happen
→ Zero tolerance for mediocrity
→ I build and run top 1% talent-density teams

🫂 DM me on LinkedIn if you'd like to work at Stan.

But know—it’s likely to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done.
And worth it. For the right person.

—

On LinkedIn, I share stories for founders building what’s next—
The ones who care about People, Culture, and Redefining what's possible.

If that’s you,
Follow me. Drop a comment. Or just say hi 👋🏻

Vitalii Dodonov

I spent $204,000 to take the whole team to Costa Rica.

→ Travel (Flights & Bus): $103,000 
→ Hotel & Food: $89,000 
→ Offsite Planner: $12,000

Total Investment: $204,000 
($4,163 per person)

That’s a lot of money to spend on "vibes" and gallop tours 🇨🇷

But here’s why we do it:
I treat offsite trips as a productivity accelerator.

By spending $204K to build deep trust and clear 6 months of roadmap debt in 4 days,
I'm catalyzing our execution speed.

If this offsite increased our efficiency by even 10% over the next year for every individual team member, our team-ROI is easily 10x+.

Offsites is one of the many vehicles we use to invest in our most valuable asset:
People.

I give Credit Cards to my team on Day 1.

"Isn't that risky?”

It’s risky. And frankly very expensive…
But here’s what’s more expensive:

→ An engineer losing flow state because they are hungry
→ A designer missing details because their screen is low-res
→ A PM waiting 48 hours for a $50 software license approval
→ A team member waiting for a bus in the snow after a late night grind

I remember working out of a shared WeWork.

Uncomfortable chairs. Fighting for meeting rooms. Fast food.

Scrappy and frugal is in our DNA.

Now:
✅ Standing desks (Health)
✅ Free lunch & dinner (Focus)
✅ Unlimited Bubbly & protein bars (Fuel)
✅ Discretionary spending (Autonomy)

We don't do this to be "cool."

We do this because top 1% performance requires top 1% support.

You can't expect Ferrari speed if you provide Corolla maintenance.

Invest in your team.

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Alina Antoniuk

I just gotta share this... I mean... Jonathan, what are you doing!?? And why is building security calling us… and you asked for 30 extra seconds? 🤦‍♂️

$20,000. 60 hackers. We hired 4 of them on the spot, and filmed the whole thing! LIVE 🟢 on YouTube:

https://lnkd.in/dtMd7sys

We went from $5M in the bank to under $1M in two years.

On purpose.

Every entrepreneur needs to get extremely comfortable with losing money.

For us, the lesson came after raising venture capital.

We made an uncompromising commitment to hire the top 1% and build a category-defining brand.

This meant watching our bank account shrink over a year and a half.

I still remember the day I pinged John: 

V: "Guess what - we're at $827K and didn't lose any cash this month!" 
J: "Years in the making. Upwards from here."

It takes a lot of belief and conviction to invest this way, as opposed to optimizing for safety.

The reality is, for you to have a disproportionate upside, you need to create disproportional value.

And that's expensive: technology, R&D, talent. 
80% of our costs were purely talent.

Losing money before you make money is the price of being in the game.

Having done it once, I have a lot more appreciation for the process. 
And significantly fewer worries.

What's the biggest bet you've made on your company?

Hanging out with Liz Nucci today who got us our beautiful office 🏡. If you’re looking for office space in Toronto, call Liz! 

Just saying 👀

No alternative text description for this image

I’m having a wonderful time at BrainStation tonight!

I waited 3 years for a top 1% mobile engineer.

Not because we couldn’t hire.

Because I refused to hire a “maybe” and call it progress.

For 3 years, we could’ve “just shipped something” on mobile. 

We passed on several candidates who were good on paper… but weren’t a clear yes.

I kept coming back to one filter:
If this person can’t take what we built and make it 10x better, they’re not going to change the company.

So we waited.

Then we met Johan.

He built the entire mobile app solo.

When we launched, we got 500 five-star reviews in 2 weeks.

That’s the part people see.

What they don’t see is what we avoided: months of “management work” disguised as building—

Rewriting specs, re-scoping tickets, adding layers of process so a hire can keep up.

That’s how teams get slow. 

Not from lack of effort—standards quietly dropping.

Lesson I keep relearning: talent density isn’t a vibe. It’s a strategy.

Where in your org are you accepting a “maybe” (role, project, decision) just to feel progress?

Yesterday, NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang made it free for any company to build AI agents. Here’s what that actually means:

He announced NemoClaw — the enterprise version of OpenClaw, the open-source operating system for AI agents.

He also named what’s coming: ASAAS. Agentic Software As A Service. OpenClaw won’t kill SaaS — it’ll create a new category.

The “A” in ASAAS is the hard part.

At Stan, we’ve been working on AI agents for over a year. The technology was never the bottleneck. Teaching the AI what “good” looks like in your business — that was the bottleneck.

NVIDIA just commoditized the easy part. The hard part is still hard.

The companies winning at ASAAS in 2027 won’t be the ones with the best plumbing.

They’ll be the ones who spent 2025-2026 doing the boring work of encoding domain expertise into their agents.

What was the first thing your company successfully taught AI? (or planning to?)

⚠️ ⚠️ If you're an engineer, now is the worst time to quit your job.

I know. Everyone's saying the opposite.

AI makes it so easy to build. Ship an app in a weekend. Be your own founder.

But here's what the "go build your own thing" crowd isn't thinking about:

Yes, you'll see success stories. 

But for every one that works, there are hundreds who shipped the same weekend. 

The barrier to entry dropped for everyone at the same time. 

More builders, more competition, lower odds for all of them.

And the question is still the same question it's always been: who has distribution?

Distribution, customer trust, brand — these are built over years of compounding. 

They live in the human relationship world that AI hasn't touched. 

Companies hold that. Your side project doesn't.

Sure, your app might launch well. 

Maybe you make a few thousand dollars. 

Then it gets duplicated by your friend over the weekend, and you're left without the job and without the revenue.

If you've been thinking about going out on your own — do it. 

Just not right now.

Don't be impulsive in the middle of a revolution.

"I'm sorry, I f*cked up" 

This was my opening line at our leadership offsite last March.

Standing in front of all 8 leaders at Stan, 

everyone paid attention.

If I was to rate my relationship with everyone in the room, 

these would be my scores:

🟢🟡🟠🔴🔴🟠🔴🟡
(relationship health check: you get the picture)

6 months earlier...

I took on 2x more responsibilities at the company. 

As a result of this crushing workload, I had to prioritize and remove everything that wasn't mission critical.

One of the things I sacrificed was weekly 1:1s with my direct reports,

delegating them to my Chiefs of Staff.

I reasoned that most people I'd been working with for years and we'd manage.

What a mistake it was.

What I failed to see at the time was that the company ran on shared context established in those 1:1s.

Leadership runs on two things:
• Trust
• Shared context

Remove either one, and it's a matter of time before everything breaks.

That's what happened to me.

It took me the following 1-3 months to rebuild what I'd lost — to rebuild the relationships and rescope my work.

Some scars are still itching.

If you're a leader at your busiest time, I'm sharing this story to remind you:

Your company is a group of people working toward a shared objective.

Prioritize people so they can prioritize the shared objective. 

It doesn’t work the other way around.

We took an AI product from $0 to $10,000 MRR in 14 days 📈

I documented our process in full, from the initial build to the specific growth tactics we used to hit that $10k milestone in two weeks.

Sharing the 19-page Playbook today.

Follow + comment “PLAYBOOK” below and I’ll DM you the complete breakdown.

You're probably working on the wrong things right now.

Does this sound like you?

100 emails sent.
5 meetings run.
1 new initiative started.

Every day feels full, but every week you go:
"What did I do?"

What's the difference between moving forward and running in circles?
Well — direction.

Motion without direction is just expensive wandering.

To help with that, I've adopted this habit:

Every morning, before opening Slack, I ask myself:

"What would I do if I could only work 2 hours today?"

"What moves us closer to $100M ARR?"

"Is this urgent, or just loud?"

I'm serious - I tend to ignore 8/10 of the inbound I get, (even from my teams).

Sorry y'all I know you're reading 😅

5 minutes of thinking saves 5 hours of wandering.

Now when I journal, it's not about what I did.

It's about whether what I did actually mattered.

Most founders act too much and think too little.

We confuse being busy with being productive.

The best talent I've hired all share this trait:
They pause before they sprint.

What would you stop doing if you could only work 2 hours?

Price isn't just revenue. 
It's a filter.

For customers. 
And for your team.

Early at Stan, we picked $29/month. 

No deep methodology. We just wanted to feel premium.

Then we had to live up to it.

That meant obsessing over the first 100 customers. 

Fixing bugs on the call. 
Shipping overnight.

Pricing sets expectations. 
Expectations force standards. 

And standards attract a certain type of person.

Builders lean into hard problems. 

Bargain hunters lean into discounts and exceptions.

Same principle applies to talent.

Last month, I ran a hackathon with a $20,000 grand prize. 

It got the top 1% of builders out of the house.

4 hires. 2 days. No resumes.

We don't price based on cost. 
We price based on value.

What's one thing you'd price differently today?

Headcount doesn't fix slow execution. 

Clarity does.

When execution slows, the reflex is: 
"We need to hire."

Most of the time, you don't have a people problem. 

You have a clarity problem.

Here's what I did:

I used to take meetings all day. Felt productive. Wasn't.

Now I auto-decline everything before lunch. 

7 hours of deep work. Zero interruptions.

One calendar rule deleted dozens of daily decisions.

Speed is subtraction.

List your recurring weekly decisions. 
For each one, choose:

→ Delete it. 
→ Delegate it. 
→ Automate it. 
→ Assign a DRI (directly responsible individual).

We used to debate tool purchases in Slack. 

Now everyone gets a $5K card. Decision deleted 🤷‍♂️

Less flexibility upfront. 
More speed downstream.

What decision could you delete this week?

In 1846, astronomers had a problem.

Uranus was wobbling in space.
And nobody could explain why.

Every calculation said it should move one way.
But it moved another.

Most scientists thought Newton's laws were breaking down at that distance.

But Urbain Le Verrier, a French mathematician, had a different idea:
"What if there's another planet pulling on it?"

He spent months calculating where this invisible planet would need to be.

Then wrote to Berlin Observatory:
"Point your telescope here. You'll find a new planet."

They thought he lost it...
But they looked 🔭

Neptune was sitting there.
Exactly where the math said it would be.

Le Verrier discovered a planet using only pencil and paper.
2.7 billion miles away.

I think about this whenever we're stuck at Stan.

When something doesn't make sense, we work backwards.
There's always a hidden force.

We just have to calculate where to look.

What's wobbling in your business that you can't explain?

ChatGPT says “Do NOT click the link below”.

Brand Partnerships / Speaking: hello@influencermoso.com

Charlie Hills

I've (already) replaced 12 tools in my workflow this year.

My new 2026 AI tool stack across 12 categories:

---

✦ Search

2025: Google
2026: Gemini

Gemini gives answers. Google gives links.

✦ Spreadsheets

2025: Excel
2026: Claude in Excel

Natural language queries replace formula memorisation.

✦ Browser

2025: Chrome
2026: Perplexity Comet

AI-native browsing built for research, not ads.

✦ Image Editing

2025: Photoshop
2026: Nano Banana
One prompt replaces 47 clicks.

✦ Video Editing

2025: Premiere Pro
2026: Kling

Text-to-video cuts production time by 90%.

✦ Writing

2025: ChatGPT
2026: Claude

Better tone, longer context, fewer hallucinations.

✦ Note-taking

2025: Fireflies
2026: Granola

Structured meeting notes without the AI meeting bots.

✦ Presentations

2025: PowerPoint
2026: Gamma

Describe it once. Get a full deck.

✦ Design

2025: Canva
2026: Vislo

AI-first design for data and diagrams.

Try Vislo AI → https://lnkd.in/eKMKrbnv

✦ Email

2025: Gmail
2026: Google Workspace Studio

Agentic email management, not inbox zero.

✦ Research

2025: Google
2026: Perplexity

Cited answers beat blue links.

✦ Image Gen

2025: Midjourney
2026: Imagen 3

Faster, cheaper, native to Google ecosystem.

---

The pattern is clear.

General-purpose tools are losing to specialised AI.

The question isn't whether to switch.

It's how fast you adapt.

Which swap surprised you most?

Repost ♻️ to help your network upgrade their stack.

P.S. Every Sunday, I break down one AI content strategy.

Join 45k+ readers: https://lnkd.in/egsC99qy

Charlie Hills 🦩

I help you (actually) use AI for content.

This is getting ridiculous. Nano Banana 2 just dropped.

Look at the bottom image. This is AI-generated.

Nano Banana has come a long way since the original.
I ran the exact same prompt on both models.

The difference is insane...

There are 184 days between these two images.
Imagine where we are 184 days from now.

Here's the exact prompt I used:

"Photo of a 30-year-old woman sitting at an outdoor table at Café de Flore in Paris on a cold evening. She is wearing a camel overcoat and a burgundy scarf, holding a small white espresso cup in her right hand, mid-sip. The iconic green and white Café de Flore awning is visible above her. The classic rattan bistro chairs and round marble tables are accurate to the real location. Across the street, the Boulevard Saint-Germain shopfronts are slightly blurred. Her skin has visible pores, natural redness on her cheeks from the cold, no smoothing. Warm golden light spilling from inside the café. Cool ambient streetlight from above. Condensation on the espresso cup. Shot on iPhone 15 Pro, slight natural grain."

Try it yourself. You'll see.

Repost ♻️ to help your network.

Anthropic is giving away $10,000 of AI education.

(13 free courses with certificates)

ANTHROPIC ACADEMY:

01 / Claude 101
✦ Get started with Claude
✦ https://lnkd.in/ebGCZtUY

02 / Building with the Claude API
✦ Full API fundamentals course
✦ https://lnkd.in/ePshzt_D

03 / Claude Code in Action
✦ 21 lessons, free certificate
✦ https://lnkd.in/ePYZXdWz

04 / Intro to Model Context Protocol
✦ Build MCP servers from scratch
✦ https://lnkd.in/eqJ-Z2ej

05 / MCP: Advanced Topics
✦ Production patterns and transport
✦ https://lnkd.in/e_-YGFDS

06 / Introduction to Agent Skills
✦ Build and share reusable Skills
✦ https://lnkd.in/eaKinHnJ

07 / Claude with Amazon Bedrock
✦ Deploy Claude inside AWS
✦ https://lnkd.in/eJwPfPrH

08 / Claude with Google Vertex AI
✦ Deploy Claude via Google Cloud
✦ https://lnkd.in/erQZ6H2P

09 / AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations
✦ Core AI concepts and responsible use
✦ https://lnkd.in/ey7XZ_3s

10 / AI Fluency for Students
✦ AI skills for academic success
✦ https://lnkd.in/eaqirKKq

11 / AI Fluency for Educators
✦ Apply AI Fluency in teaching
✦ https://lnkd.in/eM8dAbnz

12 / AI Fluency for Nonprofits
✦ AI skills for mission-driven teams
✦ https://lnkd.in/ewSD3_yX

13 / Teaching AI Fluency
✦ Teach and assess AI Fluency
✦ https://lnkd.in/eg9r5RmS

DOCUMENTATION:

✦ docs.claude.com (developer docs)
✦ support.claude.com (help center)
✦ anthropic.com/learn (learning hub)

Want to see how I use all of this?

I wrote a free guide on my newsletter.

Click here → https://lnkd.in/eNC5QsJp

These resources have existed for months.
Most people are still Googling "how to use Claude."

Now you have no excuse.

Repost ♻️ so others find it too.

I replaced ChatGPT with Claude 4.6.

Here's exactly how to get the most out of it:

Still on ChatGPT?

Full transfer guide → https://lnkd.in/e--fakyi
 
THE MODELS

1 - Claude Opus 4.6
↳ What: Most capable model for complex reasoning
↳ Use: Advanced code, research, strategic analysis
↳ Best for: Hardest problems requiring deep thinking

2 - Claude Sonnet 4.6
↳ What: Balanced model for everyday tasks
↳ Use: Writing, editing, summarising, Q&A
↳ Best for: Fast performance with strong output

3 - Claude Haiku 4.5
↳ What: Fastest model for simple tasks
↳ Use: Quick answers, high-volume work
↳ Best for: Speed and saving credits

THE TOOLS

4 - Artifacts
↳ What: Interactive editor inside chat
↳ Use: Build apps, dashboards, documents live
↳ Best for: Real-time collaboration and iteration

5 - Web Search
↳ What: Live internet search with citations
↳ Use: News, pricing, trends, fact-checking
↳ Best for: Current events and real-time info

6 - Analysis Tool
↳ What: JavaScript code execution for data
↳ Use: Process CSVs, create charts, run calculations
↳ Best for: Complex data analysis

7 - File Upload
↳ What: Accepts PDFs, CSVs, images, docs
↳ Use: Review, extract, summarise, analyse
↳ Best for: Multi-format document support

8 - Connectors
↳ What: MCP integrations for Slack, Google Drive, Notion, Figma
↳ Use: Pull live data from your tools into the chat
↳ Best for: Working with external apps without leaving Claude

9 - Projects
↳ What: Organise multiple chats and files
↳ Use: Manage long-term projects, track context
↳ Best for: Multi-session goal tracking

10 - Research
↳ What: Deep web research with synthesis
↳ Use: Market research, competitor analysis
↳ Best for: Research-heavy topics

11 - Claude Code
↳ What: Terminal agent for coding with Agent Teams
↳ Use: Build, debug, refactor entire repos in parallel
↳ Best for: Developers (Pro or Max plan)

12 - Claude Cowork
↳ What: Agentic assistant for non-technical users
↳ Use: Build decks, workbooks, automate browsers
↳ Best for: Knowledge workers (Pro or Max plan)

13 - Skills
↳ What: Reusable instructions that auto-trigger
↳ Use: Brand guidelines, templates, workflows
↳ Best for: Consistent output without re-prompting

14 - Memory
↳ What: Remembers context across conversations
↳ Use: Picks up where you left off
↳ Best for: Ongoing projects and preferences

PROMPT PATTERNS

☑︎ Files: Upload + "Summarise this"
☑︎ Search: "Latest on [Tesla stock]?"
☑︎ Code Help: "Help me [task] in [Python]"
☑︎ Analysis: "Analyze this [CSV]" + upload
☑︎ Cowork: "Organise [folder] by [file type]"
☑︎ Projects: "I'm working on [new strategy]"
☑︎ Artifacts: "Create a [budget tracker app]"
☑︎ Skills: "Create a skill for [my brand style]"
☑︎ Research: "Research [topic] comprehensively"
☑︎ Claude Code: "Refactor this API to use async/await"
☑︎ Connectors: "Summarise my unread Slack messages"
☑︎ Memory: "Based on what we discussed, update the plan"

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

I moved to Claude without losing a single memory.

Here's how I did it (4 steps + prompts):

People's biggest excuse for not switching AI tools is starting from scratch.

It does not have to be:

I built 72 Custom GPTs.
I had 29,000+ messages stored.
I had years of preferences saved.

All of it came with me.

Here's the 4-step process:

1. Save your Custom Instructions

- Go to ChatGPT Settings → Personalization.
- Paste into Claude's personal preferences

These are your tone rules, format preferences, and behaviour flags.

2. Export your memories

Paste this prompt into ChatGPT:

--START OF PROMPT--

Export all of my stored memories and any context you've learned about me from past conversations. Preserve my words verbatim where possible, especially for instructions and preferences.

## Categories (output in this order):

1. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Rules I've explicitly asked you to follow going forward — tone, format, style, "always do X", "never do Y", and corrections to your behavior. Only include rules from stored memories, not from conversations.

2. 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆: Name, age, location, education, family, relationships, languages, and personal interests.

3. 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿: Current and past roles, companies, and general skill areas.

4. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀: Projects I meaningfully built or committed to. Ideally ONE entry per project. Include what it does, current status, and any key decisions. Use the project name or a short descriptor as the first words of the entry.

5. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀: Opinions, tastes, and working-style preferences that apply broadly.

## Format:

Use section headers for each category. Within each category, list one entry per line, sorted by oldest date first. Format each line as:

[YYYY-MM-DD] - Entry content here.

If no date is known, use [unknown] instead.

## Output:
- Wrap the entire export in a single code block for easy copying.
- After the code block, state whether this is the complete set or if more remain.

--END OF PROMPT--

It dumps every memory it has on you into a single code block.

Names, projects, tools, corrections.
Everything it learned over time.

Copy the entire code block

3. Import into Claude

- Go to Settings, then Capabilities.
- Find "Memory" and click "Start import."
- Paste the export and hit "Add to memory."

Claude now knows what ChatGPT knew.

4. Bring your Custom GPTs

- Open each GPT you built.
- Copy the system instructions.
- Download the attached files.

Then ask Claude:

"I'm going to give you the instructions from a Custom GPT I've built. Reformat this as a Claude Skill. Keep all the logic, rules, and behaviour intact. Then list every file I should attach so the skill has the same context the GPT had."

I moved 200+ memories, 72 GPTs worth of instructions, and two years of preferences.

Took me 20 minutes.

Your AI should work for you.
Not the other way around.

Save this. Try it this week.

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

How to Quit ChatGPT for Claude

My 2026 AI tool tier list just dropped.

If you don't like it, @ in the comments:

S-TIER (Essential)
↳ Claude - my daily thinking partner
↳ Notion - runs my entire second brain
↳ Canva - still the best for quick visuals
↳ Wispr Flow - voice-to-text that works
↳ Gemini - AI designs and multi-modality 

A-TIER (Excellent)
↳ Zapier - automation backbone
↳ Stanley - writes posts in my voice
↳ Gamma - presentations in minutes
↳ Higgsfield - AI video that looks real
↳ ElevenLabs - voice cloning done right
↳ Synthesia - talking head videos at scale
↳ VEED - video editing without the learning curve

B-TIER (Useful)
↳ Runway - creative video effects
↳ Kling - video generation alternative
↳ OpusClip - auto clips for repurposing
↳ Midjourney - best image quality, clunky UX
↳ Veo 3.1 - Google's video model improving fast
↳ Perplexity Comet - browser AI assistant
↳ Lovable - builds apps from prompts
↳ Perplexity - research with sources

C-TIER (Occasional)
↳ Grok - X integration only
↳ Clay - sales data enrichment
↳ Apollo - outreach when needed
↳ Relevance AI - agent workflows
↳ ChatGPT Atlas - operator features
↳ ChatGPT -  RIP used to be number one 

D-TIER (Dropped)
↳ LinkedIn AI - still not ready
↳ CoPilot - never clicked for me
↳ KREA AI - cool demos, limited use
↳ Ideogram - text generation got worse
↳ Leonardo AI - Midjourney does it better
↳ Apple Intelligence - underwhelming launch
↳ Adobe Firefly - too slow, too corporate
↳ Pika Labs - fell behind competitors
↳ Sora 2 - hype didn't match reality
↳ Deepseek - privacy concerns

This is MY list. For MY workflow.

Yours will be different.

The pattern?

Tools that save time daily = essential.
Tools that impress but slow me down = dropped.

What's in your S-tier?

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

How to create (good) content with AI in 5 minutes.

This is the 7-step Claude Cowork workflow I run daily:

Step 1: Load Your Context

- Click "Work in a folder" in the desktop app.
- Claude reads every file inside it.

I use three files:

✦ about-me.md covers who I am and what I do.
✦ brand-voice.md covers how I write.
✦ working-style.md sets how Claude behaves.

Prompt: "Read all the files in this folder completely. Then give me a summary of what you know about me, how I work, and what context you have access to."

Type /memory-management to verify what Claude has loaded before you start.

I wrote a full guide on migrating your ChatGPT context into Claude here → https://lnkd.in/eMRDhZYJ

Step 2: Set Your Rules

- Go to Settings → Cowork → Edit.
- Write your global instructions once.
- They load at the start of every session.

Prompt: "Before we start any work, tell me what you know about me, how I like to work, and any standing preferences you are aware of."

Step 3: Pull Your Data

Connect Apify in Settings → Connectors.

"Use Apify to scrape my last 30 posts. Rank them by engagement. Give me a full breakdown. Then scrape [competitor 1], [competitor 2], [competitor 3] and compare."

Step 4: Align the Brief

- Tell Claude what you want to create.
- It asks structured questions first.

Prompt: "I want to create content based on the engagement data and competitor analysis. Ask me clarifying questions first. Only begin once we have aligned."

Step 5: Execute with a Plugin

Install the Marketing plugin from the library.

Prompt: "/marketing:draft-content Write about [TOPIC]. Match the voice from my brand-voice.md file. Target [AUDIENCE]. Goal: [OUTCOME]."

Step 6: Deliver to Your Team

In the same session, run this prompt:

"Connect to Notion. Create a design brief based on this content. Include a full breakdown and save it as a new page in my content calendar."

Claude produces a slide-by-slide carousel breakdown with your caption. Your design team picks it up directly.

Step 7: Automate the Research

- Go to Scheduled Tasks → New Task.
- Schedule Step 3 to run at 7am daily.

Prompt: "Run all my pre-configured Apify scrapers. Collect the most recent 5 posts per account. Compile a daily briefing ranked by engagement rate."

Tomorrow morning the briefing is waiting in your folder before you sit down.

☑︎ Step 7 runs while you sleep.
☑︎ Steps 1-6 take five minutes.

I wrote the full setup guide this week.
Every prompt and every step is explained.

Free to read → https://lnkd.in/eZJJGGVR

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

I have 200K+ LinkedIn followers.

Here's the 9-step system behind it:

Step 1: Extract your voice.

- Sign-up for Stanley: https://lnkd.in/eDh9YRNc
- It learns your style, goals, and vocabulary.
- Stanley writes 99% of my first drafts this way.

More context = sharper output. Always.

Step 2: Research your niche.

- Use Apify to analyse LinkedIn, X, and Reddit.
- Find what your audience shares and saves.
- Rank by engagement and spot patterns.

I never guess before posting content.

Step 3: Follow the CHEF Framework.

✦ C = Curate Context (research first)
✦ H = Heat with AI (generate first drafts)
✦ E = Enhance with Flavour (add your voice)
✦ F = Feed the Community (publish and engage)

AI multiplies your voice, but you bring the flavour.

Step 4: Use the 70-20-10 content mix.

- 70% teaching (frameworks, tips, how-tos)
- 20% proof (case studies, results, stories)
- 10% selling (signups, offers, launches)

I open with value and never lead with a sell.

Step 5: Build your content system.

- Pick 3-5 themes you stand for.
- Test each with different formats.
- Map them to a weekly calendar.

When this is clear, posting stops feeling random.

Step 6: Write hooks that stop the scroll.

- 40 characters max. No questions.
- Use a bold claim first with numbers first.
- Follow with contrast or clear payoff second.

This decides if anyone reads the rest.

Step 7: Score every post before publishing.

- Prompt Stanley to score your post.
- If you score below 80, rewrite the post.
- If a stranger could have posted it, delete it.

"Score this post out of 100. Compare it to top LinkedIn performers in my niche. What should I improve?"

Step 8: Create scroll-stopping visuals.

- Generate graphics in Stanley.
- Or drop your post into Vislo.
- Always use 1080x1350.

This makes or breaks your post.

Step 9: Engage, measure, repeat.

✦ 50% similar creators (build relationships)
✦ 30% your target audience (build trust)
✦ 20% big accounts (build visibility)

Comment 1 hour before posting. 1 hour after.
Repost your winners every 60 days.

The data tells you what to create next.

This took me 2 years of daily posting.
You don't need 2 years. You need the system.

Try Stanley free → https://lnkd.in/eDh9YRNc
(My exclusive link gives you 14 days free)

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

P.S. Which step changed your content the most?

#StanleyPartner

How I never run out of LinkedIn content ideas.

This prompt generates 32 personalised ideas:

Shoutout to Justin Welsh for this one.

The prompt works like a table:

X-axis = 8 content types
Y-axis = your core topics

The 8 content types:

1. X vs Y → compare two things
2. Contrarian → challenge common beliefs
3. Listicle → curate resources, tips, or tools
4. Motivational → share extraordinary stories
5. Actionable → teach HOW to do something
6. Present vs Future → predict what's coming
7. Analytical → explain WHY something works
8. Observation → reveal hidden trends in your industry

How to use it:

1. Open ChatGPT or Gemini
2. Enable the "Canvas" feature
3. Paste the Content Matrix prompt
4. Describe who you are and what you do
5. Add the 4 topics you want to talk about
6. Receive 32 content ideas (8 types × 4 topics)

You now have a month of content in 5 minutes.

Want the full prompt template + 8 more like it?

I broke it all down here → https://lnkd.in/eZtrXBra

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

Perplexity is your $200/month social media manager.

Here's exactly how to hire it in 3-steps:

I tested Perplexity Computer with one YouTube link.
It produced content for 7 platforms automatically.

Step 1: Load your brand identity

Upload a markdown file with your brand rules.
This includes colours, fonts, voice, and banned words.

Use this prompt:

“This is my brand identity file. Load it and apply every rule to all content and visuals you create for me. Every visual uses my exact hex colors, typography, and branding. Every piece of writing follows my voice rules and formatting. Confirm you’ve loaded it.”

☑︎ Computer saves this to memory permanently.

You only do this once.

Step 2: Feed it one piece of long-form content

Paste a YouTube link, blog post, or podcast episode.
Tell Computer which formats you need.

Use a prompt like this:

"Download this video: [YouTube URL]. Extract 3-5 vertical clips with captions. Then repurpose into all 7 formats from my brand file:

- Three Substack Notes
- LinkedIn post + carousel PDF
- X/Twitter thread + hook image
- Instagram Reel script + cover image
- Substack newsletter section + header image
- Five short-form hooks + thumbnails paired with clips."

Step 3: Let Computer orchestrate

It spawns multiple AI models working in parallel.

☑︎ Opus 4.6 builds carousels and PDFs.
☑︎ Nano Banana generates branded images.
☑︎ Sonnet 4.6 writes all the copy simultaneously.
☑︎ Gemini Flash handles research and transcripts.

Perplexity Computer has 400+ app connectors.
Gmail, Notion, Slack, Google Drive, Salesforce.

The strategy is simple:

1. Create one piece of long-form content.
2. Let Computer repurpose it for every channel.

Different angle per platform.
Different format per audience.

You are not creating 7 pieces of content.
You are creating 1 and letting AI handle the rest.

$200/month on the Perplexity Max plan.
If you repurpose weekly, the time savings add up.

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

P.S. Have you tried Perplexity Computer?

Anthropic just built their answer to OpenClaw.

(It executes tasks while you sleep)

Step 1: Download the desktop app.

- Go to claude .com/download.
- You need a paid plan. Pro starts at $20/month.
- Open the app and find the Cowork tab at the top.

Step 2: Connect your tools.

- Go to Settings → Connectors.
- Click a connector and authenticate it.
- Claude now pulls live data from your tools.

Over 50 integrations are available: Slack, Gmail, Figma, Asana, Notion, Google Drive, and more.

Step 3: Set up a Scheduled Task.

- Go to Scheduled Tasks → New.
- Write your instructions as a prompt.
- Set the schedule (daily, weekly, monthly).

Cowork executes the task on your schedule.

It reads your connected tools, runs the work, and saves the output to a folder on your machine.

I use it for a daily content briefing at 7am.
Cowork scrapes 200+ profiles across platforms.

The full prompt is here → https://lnkd.in/eeHWHJ49

Other scheduled tasks I run:

✦ Weekly competitor analysis from connected sources.
✦ Monthly performance summaries from Google Drive.
✦ Morning task priorities from Slack and Notion.
✦ Daily inbox triage from Gmail.

Anything with a repeating pattern works.
Write the instructions once and let it run.

The full setup guide is here → https://lnkd.in/eeHWHJ49 

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

P.S. What would you automate first?

There's been 20 major AI releases in 2026.

I rated every single one on hype vs usefulness:

Full breakdown → https://lnkd.in/d9e5qH7a

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

P.S. We're 16.4% of the way through 2026 🤯

Claude Code has 3 levels.

Most people never get past the first.

We wrote a 5,000+ word newsletter breaking down all three. Read it free here → https://lnkd.in/ezABSgRT

Level 1: Beginner (Charlie Hills 🦩)

- Install from your terminal in under 2 minutes.
- Write a CLAUDE.md that loads every session.
- Learn 4 modes from safe to full bypass.
- Start every build in Plan Mode first.
- Master /plan, /context, /compact, /clear.

This is where 90% of users stop.

Level 2: Intermediate (Sabahudin Murtić)

- Build skills that run workflows in one command.
- Spawn parallel agents for batch processing.
- Automate lead scraping, proposals, and video.
- Connect MCP servers for live integrations.
- Ship workflows to clients as ZIP plugins.

Level 3: Advanced ( Walid Boulanouar)

- Build a second brain with the PARA framework.
- Run 48 skills replacing $600-1,000/mo in SaaS.
- Wire 7 MCP servers across your full stack.
- Run LinkedIn from your terminal. No browser.
- Handle sales, content, and proposals from the CLI.

The winners in 2026 are not writing better prompts.

They are building better systems.

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

P.S. Which level are you at right now?

LinkedIn experts charge $500+ for profile optimisation.

Google Gemini does it for free:

Step 1: Download your profile

- Go to your LinkedIn profile.
- Click More → Save to PDF.

Step 2: Set up Gemini

- Open Google Gemini Pro.
- Enable Canvas and "Thinking".

Step 3: Upload and prompt

- Upload your profile PDF.
- Paste this prompt → https://lnkd.in/eZtrXBra
- Answer the 6 questions provided.

Step 4: Get your strategy brief

- Gemini rewrites your entire profile.
- New headline, about, and experience.

Step 5: Refine in Canvas

- Delete what you don't like.
- Select sections and click Extend.

Step 6: Generate your visuals

The prompt generates 4 image prompts:

- Banner (1584 x 396)
- Profile picture (400 x 400)
- Featured tile 1 (552 x 368)
- Featured tile 2 (552 x 368)

Click "Create image" and paste them in.
Upload your headshot as reference.

- Scroll down to the 4 prompts.
- Copy the banner instructions.

Step 7: Apply to your profile

- Download the images generated.
- Upload them to your LinkedIn.

Full profile rebuild with zero design skills.

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

P.S. Which part of your profile needs the most work?

Claude now has 3 layers.

Each one does a different job:

1. Claude Chat (browser/app)

Use it when the work is thinking in words. It turns vague ideas into structure fast: drafts, summaries, plans, decisions. You get clarity and high-quality writing, but you still execute the work elsewhere.

✦ Rewrite a draft in your voice, cut it by 30%
✦ Create a decision memo with trade-offs
✦ Simulate customer objections, draft responses

2. Claude Code (terminal agent)

Use it when the work lives in a repo. It navigates your codebase, edits files, and runs commands autonomously. You describe the goal, it ships the code. But you review everything before it merges.

✦ Scaffold a full app with auth, database, API routes
✦ Refactor a legacy module across 40 files
✦ Run a security scan, patch vulnerabilities

3. Claude Cowork (desktop agent)

Use it when the work is workflows, not thinking. It handles the repetitive operations you do manually: organising, extracting, filling, moving. No coding needed. Runs in a sandboxed VM on your desktop.

✦ Extract tables from 50 PDFs into one spreadsheet
✦ Rename and sort hundreds of files by type and date
✦ Pull data from Gmail, update a report in Google Drive

The decision rule:

✦ Thinking and content → Chat
✦ Code and systems → Code
✦ Files and app workflows → Cowork

The advantage isn't "using AI."
It's knowing which layer to reach for.

I wrote the complete setup guide for all three.

Free to read (drops Sunday) → https://lnkd.in/e--fakyi

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

Building AI agents used to be hard.

How I build them in 5 mins (no coding required):

Step 1: Go to https://bit.ly/3M3UVYJ
Step 2: Click "Get started free"
Step 3: Select "New agent"

Now describe your workflow in plain English.

(Zero coding required)

Zapier Copilot builds an entire agent for you.

The 6 core components you need to know:

1. Trigger

When does your agent run?

☑︎ Pick a schedule: every morning at 8am.
☑︎ Or an app event: when a new email arrives.
☑︎ Or a webhook: any external signal from any app.

2. Instructions

This is your agent's brain.

☑︎ Write the goal in plain English.
☑︎ Add rules and filters to follow.
☑︎ Define how to structure the output.

Example: "Find the 5 most important AI news stories and summarise each in 2 sentences."

3. Tools

These are the apps your agent uses.

☑︎ Web search and site visits are built in.
☑︎ Add Gmail, Slack, Sheets, HubSpot.
☑︎ Or connect any of 8,000+ apps.

4. Knowledge

Context that makes your agent smarter.

☑︎ Upload brand guidelines, SOPs, or product docs.
☑︎ Add FAQs, support answers, or objection handling.
☑︎ Drop in spreadsheets, reports, or contact lists.

5. Copilot

Your AI expert inside the builder.

☑︎ Describe what you want in one sentence.
☑︎ Copilot picks the trigger, tools, and instructions.
☑︎ No prompting or technical setup required.

6. Agent Preview

Once it's ready:

☑︎ Run it with real data.
☑︎ See what it does at each step.
☑︎ Fix issues before it goes live.

Build yours → https://bit.ly/3M3UVYJ

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

#ZapierPartner

"Should I use Claude Chat, Cowork, or Code?"

One subscription gives you three products.
Most people never open two of them.

Here is how all three work.

(save this infographic)

✦ Claude Chat

You type a message and Claude answers.
There is no setup needed to get going.

- Chat handles research with cited sources
- It analyses images and uploaded PDFs
- It creates files like Word, Excel, and PPT
- Memory learns your preferences over time
- Projects give you a persistent workspace

☑︎ Chat is the fastest way to get answers.
☑︎ Context resets unless you use Projects.
☑︎ Projects keep your files and rules saved.

Full Chat setup guide → lnkd.in/e--fakyi

✦ Claude Cowork

You delegate the task and Claude executes it.
Cowork reads your local folders directly.

- It creates real files inside your folders
- 11 plugins cover Sales, Marketing, and Legal
- 50+ connectors link Slack, Drive, and Notion
- Scheduled tasks run while you sleep
- It controls Chrome for browser automation

☑︎ Write one .md file about yourself.
☑︎ Tone, rules, and examples included inside it.
☑︎ Claude matches your voice from that single file.

You describe the outcome and walk away.
You come back to finished work every time.

Full Cowork setup guide → https://lnkd.in/eeHWHJ49

✦ Claude Code

You describe what you need and Claude builds it.
This is not a developer tool anymore.

Marketers, founders, and agency owners are running entire businesses from the terminal.

- It reads your CLAUDE.md before every session
- Your context compounds across every session
- It builds skills that replace SaaS tools
- It runs parallel agents on batch tasks
- It scrapes leads and generates proposals
- It publishes content from one command

☑︎ The rule is simple for Claude Code.
☑︎ Anything you repeat more than twice.
☑︎ One CLAUDE.md file teaches it everything.

Full Code setup guide → https://lnkd.in/ezABSgRT

The decision rule:

✦ Quick answers and research go to Chat
✦ Files, documents, and workflows go to Cowork
✦ Full automation and systems go to Code

The real advantage is not about picking one.

It is knowing which one to reach for and when to switch between all three of them.

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

P.S. Which of the three are you using most?

How to quit ChatGPT forever (advanced guide).
 
Here's the exact process with Claude Cowork:
 
I had 2,992 conversations in ChatGPT. My tone, my clients, my workflows. All of it felt impossible to leave behind. It took me 20 minutes to transfer all of it.
 
Step 1: Export your context from ChatGPT.
 
✦ Go to Settings → Data Controls → Export.
✦ You will receive a zip file by email.
 
Step 2: Open Claude Cowork

✦ Click "Work in a folder" and select "Downloads"
✦ Run this exact prompt → https://lnkd.in/e--fakyi

Cowork writes a Python script, parses the entire file, and produces a structured summary automatically.

Step 3: Import it into Claude.

Feed that summary into Claude's memory and your new assistant knows everything your old one did.

You have three ways to use your summary:

1. Create a new Project.

✦ Upload the file as project knowledge.
✦ Claude references it in every conversation.

2. Import it into Memory.

✦ Go to Settings → Capabilities → Memory.
✦ Click "Start import" and paste your export

3. Save it as an MD file in your Cowork folder.

✦ Claude reads it at the start of each session.
✦ Your rules, context, and workflows load automatically

The sunk cost argument is gone.

Full migration guide → https://lnkd.in/e--fakyi
 
Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.
 
P.S. The Cowork step takes 20 minutes and needs the desktop app. If you have 2+ years of ChatGPT history, it is worth every minute.

I tested every feature in Claude Cowork.

Here's the complete breakdown:

Full guide → https://lnkd.in/eZJJGGVR

CORE FEATURES

1 - File System Access
↳ What: Reads, edits, creates local files
↳ Use: Organising, renaming, building reports
↳ Best for: Working with your real files

2 - Sub-Agents
↳ What: Splits work into parallel tasks
↳ Use: Multi-doc research, batch processing
↳ Best for: Faster completion on big jobs

3 - Pro Outputs
↳ What: Creates Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF
↳ Use: Expense reports, slide decks, data analysis
↳ Best for: Production-ready deliverables

4 - Cross-App Context
↳ What: Passes data between file types
↳ Use: Spreadsheet findings into a presentation
↳ Best for: One continuous workflow

5 - Long Tasks
↳ What: No timeouts or context limits
↳ Use: Hundreds of files, deep research
↳ Best for: Walk away, come back to finished work

6 - Deletion Protection
↳ What: Asks before permanently deleting
↳ Use: Any file cleanup or reorganisation
↳ Best for: Zero accidental data loss

CAPABILITIES

7 - Global Instructions
↳ What: Preferences load every session
↳ Use: Set tone, format, role context once
↳ Need: Settings > Cowork

8 - Folder Instructions
↳ What: Rules trigger when you open a folder
↳ Use: Client naming conventions, project context
↳ Need: Settings > Cowork

9 - Connectors
↳ What: Links to Slack, Drive, Notion, Gmail
↳ Use: Pull live data without copy-pasting
↳ Need: Free on all plans

10 - Plugins
↳ What: Bundles of skills and commands
↳ Use: Install a Marketing or Sales toolkit
↳ Need: Any paid plan

11 - Skills
↳ What: Reusable workflows that auto-trigger
↳ Use: Proposals, reports, briefs from one line
↳ Need: Plugin or manual markdown file

12 - Claude in Chrome
↳ What: Browser extension for web tasks
↳ Use: Email triage, form filling, competitor analysis
↳ Need: Free Chrome extension

13 - Scheduled Tasks
↳ What: Runs prompts on a set cadence
↳ Use: Monday briefs, weekly reports, file cleanup
↳ Need: Any paid plan

14 - Plugin Create
↳ What: Build custom plugins from scratch
↳ Use: Weekly client reporting, recurring workflows
↳ Need: Any paid plan

USE CASES (BY PLUGIN)

☑ Design: Meeting notes into design briefs
☑ HR: Policy notes into handbook sections
☑ Marketing: Transcripts into content briefs
☑ Legal: Flag non-standard contract clauses
☑ Sales: CRM prep, Slack thread summaries
☑ Engineering: Codebases into technical docs
☑ Data Analysis: CSVs into reports with charts
☑ Productivity: Organise folders, batch rename
☑ Finance: Receipts into expense spreadsheets
☑ Operations: Batch process docs, status reports
☑ Product Management: Strategy docs, quarterly reports

Want the high-res PDF?

1. Repost ♻️ this to your network
2. DM me the word "Claude"

I'll personally send it to you.

Perplexity Computer runs 19+ AI models.

They run your tasks while you sleep:

THE MODELS

✦ Claude Opus 4.6

- Primary orchestrator and reasoning engine.
- Decomposes your goals into task graphs.

✦ Gemini 3.1 Pro

- Deep research across multiple sources.
- Spawns its own sub-agents.

✦ GPT-5.4

- Long-context recall and coding.
- Broad generalist tasks.

✦ Grok

- xAI's speed model.
- Fast-turnaround subtasks.

✦ Nano Banana

- Image generation within workflows.

✦ Veo 3.1

- Google's video model.
- Produces video as part of multi-step projects.

✦ Model Council

- Runs GPT, Claude, and Gemini in parallel.
- Synthesises a cross-validated answer.

✦ 13+ additional models

- Dynamically assigned based on complexity and latency.

THE FEATURES

✦ Multi-Model Orchestration

- Routes each subtask to the best-fit model among 19+ options automatically.

✦ Sub-Agent Architecture

- Spawns specialised sub-agents for research, code, and analysis in parallel.

✦ Background Execution

- Tasks run in the cloud for hours, days, or months. No need to stay online.

✦ Persistent Memory

- Remembers past work, preferences, and files across sessions.

✦ App Connectors

- Links Gmail, Calendar, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Jira, Salesforce, and HubSpot.

✦ Code Execution

- Writes, tests, and deploys full web apps in an isolated sandbox.

✦ Document Generation

- Creates reports, spreadsheets, presentations, and structured files.

✦ Image and Video Generation

- Produces visuals with Nano Banana and video with Veo 3.1.

✦ Model Council

- Sends queries to three frontier models and shows where they agree and disagree.

✦ Scheduling and Tasks

- Sets recurring tasks and condition-based triggers that run autonomously.

✦ Credit System

- Usage-based. 10,000 credits per month on Max. Costs vary by model and task.

✦ Parallel Research

- Runs 7 search types at once: web, academic, people, image, video, shopping, social.

✦ Custom Skills

- Saves reusable workflows you trigger repeatedly.

✦ Secure Sandbox

- Every task runs in an isolated environment with a real filesystem and browser.

HOW IT WORKS (6 STEPS)

1. Describe your outcome.

- Write a plain-language goal. No prompt engineering needed.

2. Computer builds a task graph.

- Claude Opus 4.6 breaks the goal into subtasks with dependencies.

3. Models get assigned.

- The orchestrator routes each subtask to the best model.

4. Sub-agents execute in parallel.

- Tasks run asynchronously in isolated cloud environments.

5. Self-healing on errors.

- If something fails, new sub-agents spawn to fix it.

6. Deliverables arrive.

- Finished outputs: code, files, reports, deployed apps, emails, or data.

Perplexity Computer turns a plain-language goal into finished work across every format.

Repost ♻️ to help someone in your network.

Want the high-res PDF?

1. Repost ♻️ this to your network
2. DM me the word "Perplexity"

I'll personally send it to you.

taplio

The Battle

Vitalii Dodonov

Charlie Hills

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreVitalii Dodonov's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCharlie Hills's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Vitalii Dodonov

Charlie Hills

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);}Vitalii Dodonov's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCharlie Hills's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreVitalii Dodonov's LinkedIn Performance