Future Proof

At Future Proof, led the LinkedIn growth strategy across executive and brand accounts, transforming social presence into a powerful business development engine. Closed a $4M+ brand deal by building the full LinkedIn content strategy for a globally recognized entertainer, and negotiated a $1M+ partnership with a major Hollywood studio by using LinkedIn to drive narrative and relationship-building. Launched internal ambassador and employee advocacy programs to amplify executive visibility and scale thought leadership. Also spearheaded branded tech activations at Art Basel, SXSW, and Cannes, using LinkedIn as the core channel to generate buzz and land high-value partnerships.

Chief Operating Officer

The Future of Community

Author of "The Future of Community" (Wiley), a guide for brands and creators on using emerging tech like Web3, blockchain, crypto, and AI to build and grow powerful communities.

Author

LandVault (formerly Admix)

Director, Strategic Partnerships

NFT Heat

Hosted nearly 100 episodes of a tech interview series spotlighting top executives and thought leaders in Web3, blockchain, crypto, and AI.

Television Host

NFTGenius

Brian J. McCarthy, Inc.

Laurel & Wolf

Spearheaded growth for a venture-backed platform aiming to democratize interior design. Built and nurtured partnerships with hundreds of companies across the apartment and residential real estate sectors to expand user acquisition and market reach. Played a key role in shaping go-to-market strategy, identifying high-impact channels, and accelerating adoption within key verticals.

Director, Business Development

Michael Smith Inc. | Jasper

Chief Financial Officer

MBA in Entertainment, University of Southern California | Ex: Disney, JPMorganChase, KPMG, PwC

Fun fact: My LinkedIn isn't my resume. 

So don't come here looking to evaluate hiring me based on my LinkedIn. 

Or maybe you should look at my LinkedIn to realize I beautifully blend data and analytics with entertaining and educational storytelling. 

I always dreamed of being a television programmer. It never happened, so instead I live out my dream programming LinkedIn like my own TV channel. 

Over the past 5 years, I’ve logged 10,000+ hours on this platform. I’ve built a following of 100,000+ by programming my LinkedIn like my own TV channel. My content isn’t random. It’s strategic. Story-driven. Designed to drive real outcomes.

And it’s worked, generating $10M+ in deals for the companies I've worked. Read that one again. Not me, but my companies. The power of companies leveraging LinkedIn is the future of LinkedIn. 

In 2021, I launched a global  events company while working with a Mark Cuban and Ashton Kutcher startup, producing 40+ events in LA, NYC, Dubai, Paris, and London that drove millions of dollars in  revenue. I understand how to leverage LinkedIn so companies can drive real results. 

A few highlights:

-Closed a strategic partnership with CAA
-Raised $7M in funding for a Mark Cuban venture-backed startup
-Secured $4.13M in brand deals for one of the world’s top celebrities

My background spans banking (JPMorganChase), global advisory (PwC, KPMG), and a decade as CFO/COO in the luxury design world, managing 50+ people and overseeing $40M+ in ARR and $1B+ in real estate projects for icons like President Obama, George Clooney, and Cindy Crawford.

I’ve lived and worked in LA, NYC, and Dubai. I’ve built communities in tech, luxury, and now the creator economy. I’m obsessed with solving complex business problems through storytelling, partnerships, and scalable brand strategy.

Always open to meeting new and interesting people that love life, love to win, and love to make the world a better place.

Sandra Bullock is worth $250M.

But she almost quit acting.

Early 90s New York.
Bullock was bartending to pay rent.
Watching friends book roles she couldn't even audition for.

Casting directors literally called her "horrible."

Think about that.

The woman who would become Hollywood's highest-paid actress.
Pouring drinks.
Getting rejected.
Going nowhere.

Most people would have given up.
Gone home.
Found a real job.

But she stayed.

Then 1994 happened.

Speed.

A movie nobody wanted to make.
About a bus that can't slow down.
Studio executives thought it was ridiculous.

It made $350 million.

And launched two A-list careers that night.
Hers....and launched Keanu from star to legend. 

Overnight, everything changed.

The bartender became America's sweetheart.
The "horrible" actress became box office gold.
The nobody became somebody.

By 2014, she was earning $20 million per film.
By 2020, she'd produced over 30 projects.
Her films have grossed nearly $5 billion worldwide.

But here's what matters:

Rock bottom isn't the end.
It's data.

It tells you how much you want something.
How much you're willing to endure.
Who you really are when nobody's watching.

Bullock didn't just survive those bartending years.
She used them.

Every rejection taught her resilience.
Every shift behind that bar built her work ethic.
Every "no" prepared her for the biggest "yes" of her life.

Success isn't about avoiding rock bottom.
It's about what you do when you're there.

Trust me and Keanu Reeves on this one.

John Kraski

The best introduction of my life just happened.

It was supposed to be 30 minutes.
It went over an hour.

Sean Akaks connected me with Talia Solomon ⚡.

The vibes.
The energy.
Everything was on point.

I told her about what we're building at Dhar Mann Studios.
How we're creating social content, brand integrations, and custom series for the world's biggest brands.

She told me about The Brand Economist.
How she's helped brands like Del Taco, Weight Watchers, and Papa Johns find millions in growth.

15+ years at Showtime, Bravo, Amazon, Pizza Hut.
Fractional CMO and brand advisor.

Her superpower?

She sees answers where others see ambiguity.

Think about that.

Most consultants see problems.
Most advisors see complexity.
Most CMOs see challenges.

Talia sees solutions.

We started discussing collaboration ideas.
Introductions we could make for each other.
Ways to create value together.

Here's what I've learned after hundreds of business meetings:

The best business relationships don't start with business.

They start with genuine connection.
Real conversation.
Actual chemistry.

The business stuff?
That happens organically when two people actually vibe.

You can't force it.
You can't fake it.
You can't rush it.

But when it's real?
Magic happens.

Follow Talia Solomon ⚡.
She's the real deal.

Trust me and Talia ⚡ on this one.

Entertainment & talent collabs for ambitious brands

The Brand Economist | ex Pizza Hut, Amazon, Weight Watchers, NBC | Bringing a behavioral science edge to grow brands & bottom lines

Dhar Mann Studios

The Brand Economist

Glen Powell is worth $12M.

A 20-year overnight success.

That's how long it took for him to break big. 

But he never gave up fighting for his dream life. 

In his twenties, back against the wall in LA, broke and at what he called “the point of famine,” he wrote Sylvester Stallone a letter.

He told Stallone how he grew up on a Texas ranch.
Gun range in the basement.
Learned to fight from his uncles.
Spent his childhood trying to cheat death.

It was not a vibe.
It was his real life.

And somehow, that desperate letter worked.
Stallone cast him in The Expendables 3.

But Hollywood still did not know what to do with him.

The industry wanted moody, fragile, Twilight era leading men.
Glen was a Texas high school football player in a world obsessed with pale vampires.

Casting directors saw him as the jock.
The frat guy.
The generic next door neighbor.

He did not fit any of the boxes.

People told him to hide his Texas roots.
“Dude, are you straight off a farm”

So he bought the leather jacket.
Tried to be someone else.

Until Stallone pulled him aside and basically told him to get back to what feels like him.

Then came Top Gun Maverick.

Glen wanted the bigger role.
The one that went to Miles Teller.
He almost walked away from the movie.

Tom Cruise convinced him to rethink it from every angle.

Cruise became a mentor and a friend.
He taught Glen how to train like a high performance athlete.
How to treat acting like a physical, brutal craft.

Glen took the “smaller” role.
Hangman.

That role blew the doors open.

When Edgar Wright was casting The Running Man, Glen did not wait for the process.
He texted him directly.

He told Edgar he had heard his name might be in the mix.
And said if he got the chance, he would work harder than any actor Edgar had ever worked with.

Fast forward to now. 

Hit Man.
Twisters.
Top Gun Maverick. 
Anyone But You with Sydney Sweeney.
The Running Man.
Chad Powers.

He's building and stacking box office hits. 

The lesson? 

Never give up fighting for your dream life. 

Glen Powell did not quit after year 5.
Or year 10.
Or even year 15.

For almost two decades he was almost the guy. 
Almost right for the role.
Almost on the list.

20 years of rejection.
20 years of not fitting the trend.
20 years of finding ways to keep going when the industry said no.

Your dream life is probably 10 years away.
Maybe 20.

The question is not whether you are good enough.
The question is whether you will fight long enough to find out.

Keep going when you do not fit the boxes.
Keep going when the trends are against you.
Keep going when you are at your own point of famine.

Because every overnight success I know took at least a decade to build.

Trust me and Glen Powell on this one.

Sydney Sweeney is worth $40 million. 

At 28.

But 15 years ago, her family was living in a single hotel room.
Broke. 
Filing for bankruptcy.
Sleeping on pull-out couches.

She watched her parents lose everything for her dream.
Her dad lost his job.
They sold their house.
Her parents' marriage fell apart.

Sydney cleaned restaurant bathrooms to help pay bills.
Babysat for extra cash.
Gave Universal Studios tours.
A teenager carrying the weight of her family's sacrifice.

They moved to LA when she was 13.
She'd pitched her parents a business plan to become an actress.
They bet everything on their daughter.

For nine months, they crammed into one room at a Burbank hotel.
Sydney and her mom shared a bed.
Her dad and brother on the pull-out.

She felt responsible for destroying her family.

Fast forward to now.

$7.5M for The Housemaid.
$2.25M for Anyone But You.
$1M per episode for the TV series Euphoria.

But she didn't stop at acting.

She founded Fifty-Fifty Films. 
Produced Anyone But You which grossed $220M.
Secured deals with Armani, SKIMS, Miu Miu.
Built a real estate portfolio worth over $20M.

The American Eagle campaign alone added $400M to their market value in one day.

Now Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are investing in her lingerie line.
She's starring in Amazon MGM's Split Fiction.
Building businesses, not just a career.

From bankruptcy to $40 million.
From hotel rooms to oceanfront mansions.
From cleaning bathrooms to producing blockbusters.

Sydney Sweeney didn't just survive poverty.
She turned fear into fuel.

That terror of losing everything?
It built an empire.

Your biggest fear might be your greatest motivator.
Your lowest point might be your launching pad.

Trust me and Sydney Sweeney on this one.

A powerful reminder from Kim Kardashian:

Every day, full-grown adults DM me here like golden retrievers proudly dropping a stick at my feet begging me to comment on their post, help them ‘beat the algorithm,’ or even repost their content. Sweetie… I’m not ignoring you because I didn’t see it. I’m ignoring you because I saw it, thought about it, and decided it was embarrassing for both of us.

The best way to win on LinkedIn?

Celebrate great people.

One of those people is Julia Munslow.

She just moved to London, and we finally met in person.

One of my favorite conversations ever.

Senior Editor at The Wall Street Journal.
Adjunct professor teaching the next generation.

Smart.
Strategic.
Grounded.

Julia is helping journalists, executives, and employees at The Wall Street Journal create professional, impactful social videos.

She’s training them to become creator-journalists and building personal brands that convert.

Think about that.

In a world of layoffs, AI disruption, and constant uncertainty...

Your personal brand is your most valuable asset.

Julia Munslow gets it.

She’s teaching people to build something no algorithm can erase.
No restructuring can eliminate.
No title can define.

Something that follows you everywhere:

Your voice.
Your audience.
Your reputation.

Jobs change.
Companies fade.

But your personal brand?

That’s yours forever.

Follow Julia Munslow.
You’ll learn a lot.

Trust me on this one.

LinkedIn

Journalist @ The Wall Street Journal | Content Creation, Social Video and Digital Strategy | Adjunct Lecturer | 30 under 30, International News Media Association

The Wall Street Journal

3 years ago, I almost blocked my favorite person on LinkedIn.

Now I cannot stop tagging him in everything.

Back in 2023, I was living in Dubai, filming videos with my iced oat milk lattes.

This guy, Thomas Woodhams, kept commenting about “the Oaty.”
Every. Single. Day.

Finally, I snapped.
“What the hell is an Oaty?”

He replied, “The oat milk latte, mate.”

He was not trolling me.
He was celebrating me.

Since then, we have made hundreds of videos, exchanged thousands of messages, and finally met in person last weekend.

It was magic.

The lesson?

The person annoying you in the comments might just become your best friend.

Stay curious. Stay kind. Stay Oaty.

Trust me and Thomas Woodhams on this one.

What is the best friendship you have made on LinkedIn?

Senior Talent Acquisition Partner @ Sony Sports Business - Hawk-Eye🏸 | Job Search & Careers Advice | 🧠 ADHD Advice & Tips | Guest Speaker |🎙Be You. Podcast Host

Jeff Bezos is worth $255 billion.

Kris Jenner is worth $170 million.

And they both just had the cops called on them. 

Bezos just paid for her 70th birthday party.
At his $165M Beverly Hills mansion.
Where the cops showed up.
Twice.

Picture this:

The world's third richest man.
Getting a noise complaint.
From Karen next door.

Bruno Mars is performing for billionaires.
Prince Harry is sipping champagne.
Bill Gates is eating caviar.

And some neighbor is calling 911 like it's a frat party.
"Hello, police? Jeff Bezos is raging again."

Think about that.

He can go to space for fun.
He can buy a $500 million yacht.
He can spend a $1 million a month on clothes for his wife. 

But he still gets the same noise complaint as the guy who threw a Super Bowl party with a karaoke machine.

Imagine Bezos nodding politely while Officer Johnson explains the 10pm noise rule. 

“Sir, I don't care if Bruno Mars is in there. It's 10:47. It’s sleepy time.”

The lesson? 

Money can buy you a lot of things.

But apparently not the right to play Bruno Mars at full blast past 10pm.

Trust me and the Beverly Hills Police Department on this one.

Jeff Bezos is worth $240B.

And he doesn't need to work again.

But retirement?
That's not in his vocabulary.

"I'm the least retired person in the world," he said recently in The Wall Street Journal.  

Think about that.

The man who could buy anything.
Go anywhere.
Do nothing forever.

Instead, he's becoming co-CEO of an AI startup.
Project Prometheus.
His first CEO title since stepping away from Amazon in 2021.

This isn't about money.
It's about mission.

Bezos sees himself as Prometheus.
The Greek Titan who stole fire from the gods.
Brought it down to humanity.
Changed everything.

Except the fire is AI.

99% of his time now?
Focused on artificial intelligence.
Wake him up at 3am, he's probably dreaming about neural networks.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk is worth $500B.

He is CEO of Tesla.
And SpaceX.
And xAI.
And whatever else he launched this morning.

Two approaches.
Same obsession.

Musk wants to run everything.
Bezos wants to invent everything.

Musk spreads wide.
Bezos goes deep.

But here's what they both understand:

The world doesn't change because you're rich.
It changes because you refuse to stop building.

Most people dream of retirement at 65.
These guys are worth hundreds of billions.
And working harder than ever.

Not for the money.
For the mission.

So here's my question:

What's your mission?

Not your job.
Not your title.
Not your five-year plan.

Your mission.

The thing that would make you the least retired person in the world.
Even if you had $240B or $500B. 

Because that's the difference between existing and building.
Between having money and having purpose.
Between watching and creating.

Bezos and Musk aren't competing for wealth.
They're competing to change the world.

Trust me and Lauren Sanchez on this one.

Some people you meet on LinkedIn and immediately click.

Like you've known them your whole life.

Monica Khan is one of those people.

We connected earlier this year.

Yesterday I gave her a tour of Dhar Mann Studios.

She's worked with some of the biggest names in tech like YouTube and Facebook and some of the biggest names in the creator economy.

Fast Company named her one of the five most powerful creator economy executives.

But here's what those accolades don't tell you:

Monica doesn't just understand the creator economy.
She's been building it from the inside for over a decade.

Most executives talk about creators like they're metrics.
Monica talks about them like they're people.

Because she gets it.

The creator economy isn't about algorithms.
It's about authenticity.

Not about followers.
It's about impact.

Not about content.
It's about connection.

Monica Khan sees what others miss:

The future isn't about creating content.
It's about creating movements.

And she's not just watching it happen.
She's making it happen.

One creator at a time.
One partnership at a time.
One conversation at a time.

Follow Monica Khan.

She's not just shaping the creator economy.
She's defining what it means to succeed in it.

Trust me and Monica Khan on this one.

The easiest way to win on LinkedIn?

Shouting out amazing people.

Lana Ivory 🦋 posted about giving Starbucks gift cards to airport staff.

That was it.

That was the post that made me reach out.

Product Marketing at Meta.
Leading AI glasses adoption.
Former AWS, Alexa, Amazon.

But none of that mattered.

What mattered was this:

She gave $5 gift cards to TSA agents at 5am.
To check-in staff dealing with holiday chaos.
To flight attendants nobody thanks.

Not for likes.
Not for content.
Not for personal brand.

She just did it.

Think about that.

Most people here preach kindness.
Lana practices it.

Finally met her at Brandweek in Atlanta.

She's exactly who that post said she'd be.

The real deal.

No performance.
No pretense.
Just genuine.

Sometimes you can tell everything about someone from one post.

How they treat the people nobody sees.
What they do when nobody's watching.
Who they are when there's nothing to gain.

That's real influence.

One $5 Starbucks gift card at a time.

Follow Lana Ivory 🦋.

She gets what actually matters.

Trust me on this one.

Product Marketing @ Meta 😎 AI Glasses || Driving the Future of Wearable AI & AR Technology ⚡️|| 2025 Ad Age “Gen Z to Watch” || Startup Advisor || Ex- AWS, Alexa, Amazon || work in progress…

Starbucks

Brandweek

Everyone wants a personal brand.

Almost no one wants to put in the work.

The number 1 question I now get all the time: 
“How do I build a personal brand like yours?”

My answer is not sexy.
Because LinkedIn has never been sexy. 

5+ years.
4,000+ posts.
10,000+ hours.
500,000+ comments.

That is the playbook.
Feel free to steal it.

No cheating.
No shortcuts.
No secret hacks.

Just hard work, hustle, and consistency. 

The wildest part? 

The same executives who once believed corporate jobs were safe forever and thought LinkedIn was a complete waste of their time are now the ones reaching out asking how they build a personal brand like mine here. 

The world has changed my friends. 
Visibility is now the new job security.

Trust me and LinkedIn on this one.

Most people waste their time on superficial interactions.

Justin Johnson taught me the opposite.

5+ years ago, I started going with Justin to conferences.

London. Paris. New York. Miami. Austin. Atlanta. Las Vegas.

Not because he's the best speaker.
Not because he throws the biggest parties.
But because he understands something fundamental.

The few right relationships deliver the most success.

Think about that.

Most conference-goers?
They're sprinting between sessions.
Collecting stacks of business cards.
Drinking too much at the open bar.
Chasing every speaker for a selfie.

They leave exhausted with 200 LinkedIn connections they'll never message.

Meanwhile, I have one strategy:

Stay as close to Justin Johnson as possible.

Last week at Brandweek Atlanta proved it again.

While everyone else was networking frantically, we went deep:

-VIP dinner with 3C Ventures
-Atlanta Hawks game with incredible founders
-Real conversations with people like Matt Kerbel, Lana Ivory 🦋, Chris 🫶 Adamo, Beau Juda, Alexis Boerger Prideaux, Aaliyah Taylor, Crystal Jeong, XiaoHwa Sydney Ng, Greg Holtzman, Silvana Moretti, Kathi Sharpe-Ross, Jessica Nuremberg, Jaime Levitt Corry, Sean Akaks, Benjamin Diedering, Matty Beckerman and so many others. 

Not 50 surface-level handshakes.
Just meaningful connections with the right people.

Here's what Justin Johnson taught me:

Quality time beats quantity of networking.

You don't need to meet everyone.
You need to meet the right ones.
And stay close to the person who knows the difference.

After 5 years of conferences together, our results speak for themselves.

Every trip gets better.
Every connection goes deeper.
Every opportunity compounds.

Your next conference?

Find your Justin Johnson.
Then never let them out of your sight.
It will be time well spent. 

Remember:
Focusing on the 1% of relationships that matter most is how 99% of success in life happens. 

Trust me and Justin Johnson on this one.

Global marketing and partnerships expert

3C Ventures

Atlanta Hawks

LinkedIn Top Voice | WSJ Marketer To Watch | Marketing leader, disruptor, and advisor | Building the world’s most loved car sharing marketplace @Turo 🚘

Investor, Advisor, Co-founder and Conduit

Principal at 3C Ventures

Communications Architect & Brand Strategist

Helping brands build culture, community, and clout.

Vice President of Affiliate & Strategy at Paul Street

SVP, Creative & Content at ADMERASIA

Brand Partnerships & Communications Leader | Experiential Marketing and Events Strategist | Culture-Driven Storyteller

Head of Brand Partnerships l 11:11 Media founded by Paris Hilton

CEO & President at THE SHARPE ALLIANCE

Business Development at Maximum Effort | Former Highsnobiety VP Partnerships | Co-Founder The Marketer's Collective | CHIEF Member

Founder @ JLevCo. | Strategic B2B Comms + Marketing Leader for Advertising/Ad Tech/Creative Companies

Enabling Love Brands™ worldwide | German Entrepreneur in LA | Host NEW TREND SOCIETY Podcast

IRCODE CEO / Founder

I know nothing about soccer.

Zero.

Then Duncan Murray changed my entire perspective.

We met right here on LinkedIn in early 2022. 

Former Microsoft executive.
Former Manchester United executive.
Current Aston Villa Football Club executive.

When I told him I was heading to London, he said we needed to host you for a match.

I'd never been to a professional soccer game.
Didn't know the rules.
Couldn't name a single player.

But Duncan Murray doesn't just host.
He transforms experiences.

Trophy suite at Villa Park.
Custom jerseys with our names.
Teaching me and Lewis Hall about splitting the Guinness G.

Then the education started.

Prince William sits in these stands.
The future King of England.
Same team. Same passion.

Ozzy Osbourne grew up down the street.
Had his final concert at this stadium.
A week before he died.

British people don't watch soccer.
They live it. Breathe it. Build their entire weeks around it.

Think about that.

In America, we treat sports as entertainment.
In England, it's identity.

Duncan Murray showed me something profound:

Sports isn't about the game.
It's about the stories.

The generational loyalty.
The community pride.
The shared history.

And that's when it clicked.

English soccer doesn't need to sell Americans on tactics and rules.
It needs to sell them on stories.

Stories of working-class clubs beating billionaire teams.
Stories of families passing down season tickets like heirlooms.
Stories of entire cities rising and falling with 90 minutes on a pitch.

Duncan understands this at his core.

He builds commercial partnerships.
But really, he builds bridges between worlds.

Just like we do at Dhar Mann Studios.

We don't just create content.
We create stories that connect.
Stories that convert.
Stories that build communities of 145M+ followers generating 10B+ views a year.

The best partnerships aren't transactions.
They're translations.

Taking what matters in one world and making it matter in another.

Duncan Murray gets it.
Aston Villa Football Club gets it.

Follow Duncan Murray.

He's building something special.
And teaching the rest of us what real connection looks like.

Trust me and Duncan Murray on this one.

Commercial Partnerships Aston Villa | Ex Microsoft, TEAM, Manchester United, Rackspace

Microsoft

Manchester United

Aston Villa Football Club

Specialized in Worldwide Projects

I cringe every time someone does this:

They call me a LinkedIn influencer.

It makes me question everything.

If this is the vibe I've created, I've failed miserably.

I don't want to be associated with any of these people.

Here's what they don't understand:

I didn't come here to influence.
I came here to work.

Drive revenues.
Build relationships.
Make impact.

Not followers.
Not vanity metrics.
Not digital ego strokes.

Real results.
Real business.
Real connections.

Think about that.

Most "influencers" chase virality like it's currency.
They build audiences instead of businesses.
They optimize for likes instead of value.

Meanwhile, I'm over here closing deals.
Building life-changing relationships.
Connecting founders with funding.
Helping companies build empires.

You know what real influence looks like?

When Dhar Mann builds a profitable media empire without VC money.
When Justin Johnson teaches you relationships beat reach every time.
When Ryan Redmond flies 3,000 miles because of a LinkedIn connection.

That's not influencing.
That's working.

The best part?

Every meaningful connection I've made here started with value, not vanity.
Every opportunity came from helping, not hustling for followers.
Every win happened because I focused on impact over image.

So call me whatever you want.

Just don't call me an influencer.

Because I'm too busy trying to build real businesses. 

Trust me and the Erewhon Hailey Bieber smoothie on this one.

Founder @ Dhar Mann Studios | #1 Digital Scripted Storyteller in the World | 145M+ Followers Across Platforms | 10 Billion Views per Year Globally | Spreading Positivity and Inspiration

Turn income into actual progress | Financial Services Professional for Attorneys @ Vista Wealth Solutions | Former Division I Student-Athlete

Erewhon

Ashton Kutcher is worth $200M.

But most of his wealth is not from acting. 
It’s from investing.

Here's the story: 

He did not come from money.

He was a blue collar kid from Iowa. 

His parents worked as a meat packer and a teacher.
At 13, he worked nights and weekends for a year just to afford a snowmobile.
He washed dishes. Mowed lawns. Cleaned buildings as a janitor.

He then went to college at University of Iowa.
There he was studying biochemical engineering.

Then everything changed.

He got scouted as a model.

That led to That 70s Show.
Then Dude Where’s My Car?
Then Punk’d where he famously made Justin Timberlake cry.

But here is the part most people do not know.

In 2009, he invested $1M into Skype.
Microsoft later acquired it for $8.5B.

That one bet turned Mr. Hollywood into Mr. Silicon Valley.

In 2010, he launched A-Grade Investments with Guy Oseary and Ron Burkle.
They turned $30M into $250M in six years.

He was early in the companies everyone now wishes they had bought:

Uber
Airbnb
Spotify
Warby Parker

Then he launched Sound Ventures and became even more dangerous.

More than 60 investments.
More than $1B under management.
Just launched a new $240M AI fund. 

Hollywood treated him like an actor.
Silicon Valley treated him like a shark.

That is why he does not chase acting jobs anymore.

When you build real wealth you do not chase money.
You chase purpose.

He now only chooses the acting jobs that fit into his lifestyle. 

Most actors dream of winning an Oscar. 
Ashton dreamed of owning equity.

Acting made him famous.
But investing made him free. 

Trust me and Ashton Kutcher on this one.

General Partner at Sound Ventures

University of Iowa

A-Grade Investments

Founder at Maverick Management

Uber

Airbnb

Spotify

Warby Parker

Sound Ventures

The biggest lesson I've learned in life?

Relationships drive success.

Being in the right rooms.
With the right people.
At the right time.

This is how magic happens.
Personally and professionally. 

Next Sunday, Dhar Mann Studios is hosting a small group of brand leaders and executives at the Rams vs Seahawks game in Los Angeles.

If you would like to learn more about one of the world’s most watched storytelling studios and how we collaborate with some of the most iconic brands, drop a comment or send me a DM.

And if you can’t make it, tag someone who should be there.

cc: JUSTIN Hochberg

$500M+ Brand Integrations ⁞ Creator Economy ⁞ 30+ Global TV Formats ⁞ Roblox & Gaming Strategist ⁞ X-MSFT

Laid off! What now?

I had to answer this question earlier this year.

I was lost. 
I was confused.
I wasn't sure what to do.

Traditional job finding methods didn't work for me.
I needed to think outside the box. 

But then I remembered something:
I had the most valuable asset in the world.
My LinkedIn. My resume in real time. 

I leveraged the power of LinkedIn to find my dream job.

7 months ago, I was looking for a new job.
6 months ago, I noticed Dhar Mann was posting here.
5 months ago, I saw he was hiring a Chief of Staff.

I just wanted to get my foot in the door.
Wasn’t sure if it was the perfect fit.
But I didn’t care.
I just wanted to work for him.

I DM’d him. No response.
I emailed him. No response.

So I made a post about him.

It went kind of viral.

The next day he DM’d me.
“Beautiful post. Would love to find a way to work together.”

A week later we met.
Walked around his studio for 30 minutes.
He said, “Send me a proposal.”

4 days later, we were working together.

This, my friends, is the power of LinkedIn.
And how I got my dream job in 2025. 

Trust me on this one.

The best marketers in the world are storytellers.

Marisa Thalberg is one of those people.

Marisa Thalberg is the Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at Catalyst Brands LLC which has a portfolio that includes JCPenney, Eddie Bauer, Brooks Brothers, and Aéropostale.

I witnessed a marketing masterclass this past week with her and Ken Ohashi, Brand CEO at Eddie Bauer/Brooks Brothers at Brandweek.

In this video, Marisa breaks down how she discovered her "aha moment" to tell a new kind of story for JCPenney that allows the customer to discover the brand in a new, fun, and organic way.

Chief Customer and Marketing Officer / Forbes CMO Hall of Fame / Most Influential CMOs in the World. Pioneering leader across industries (Lowe’s, Taco Bell, Estée Lauder Companies) and now the new Catalyst Brands

Catalyst Brands LLC

JCPenney

Eddie Bauer

Brooks Brothers

Aéropostale

Brand CEO at Brooks Brothers/Eddie Bauer

The best follow on LinkedIn?

Sean Atkins. 

CEO of Dhar Mann Studios.
Former President of MTV.
Built five 100M+ businesses.

But here is what his resume will not tell you:
Two days before Christmas, his ad tech startup collapsed.
Funding gone.
One month of severance left.

Then his team came to collect their final paychecks and said:
I still believe in your vision. I will work without pay.

So Sean emptied his savings.
Cashed out retirement.
Moved back to his childhood bedroom at 30.

Broke. But not beaten.

Because that failure taught him the lesson Hollywood and Silicon Valley never could.

Leadership is not about titles.
It is about who still trusts you when you have nothing left.

Fast forward.
While Amazon cuts 14,000 jobs and Warner Bros sells assets, Sean is building something different.

Not Hollywood 2.0.
Something new.

Where creators are not metrics. They are movements.
Where layers of approval do not matter. Obsession does.

His path to Dhar Mann Studios?
He advised a startup for free.
He built trust for a year.
Now he runs a studio reaching 145M+ followers.

Most executives chase prestige.
Sean chases learning.

Most talk about creators.
Sean builds with them.

Follow Sean Atkins.

He is not just predicting the future of media.
He is building it.

Trust me and Dhar Mann on this one.

CEO @ Dhar Mann Studios | Former President @ MTV, Divisional CEO @ Bertelsmann, Chief Digital Officer @ Discovery, President @ Jellysmack | Managed $1B+ P&Ls and Launched 5 $100M+ Businesses

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