Most "strategy" is bullsh*t.

Complicated.
Dense.
Timid.

And fundamentally incapable of doing the job it's meant to do: inspiring bold action that creates incredible results.

Great strategy is simple.

It's clear.
It's brave.
It's mischievous.

You can explain it to anyone, and they won't only "get it"; they'll be energised by it.

Follow me if you want to learn how to do strategy this way.

Here's how:

_________

1. Work with me

Each year, I work with 10 clients, and do a number of speaking engagements.

This is for brands who are ready to cut through complexity, and make waves in their market with confidence and clarity.

I’m with you every step.

If this might be you, drop me a DM or check out www.basicarts.org/work-with-alex/ 

_______

2. Get a new strategy technique every week

...by joining 25,000+ others  in the best strategic thinking community on the internet, The Hidden Path. You'll also get two free tools to sharpen and tidy your thinking. Just go here:

www.basicarts.org/template

_______

3. Master the basics for the price of a cocktail

...by reading my book, No Bullsh*t Strategy. It'll teach you everything you need to know in one 138 page hit.

Just search for it on Amazon, or wherever you like to buy books.

______

4. Subscribe to my YouTube for weekly masterclasses

You'll find it here: youtube.com/alexmhsmith

______

5. If you're a small business or strategy pro...

...then you can get my entire approach, ready to roll, in the Strategy Shortcut System. Use it on your own business, use it on your clients - either way it's the fastest and funnest way of getting competitive advantage on the planet.

www.strategyshortcutsystem.com

_________

Never forget, business should be an adventure.

And strategy?  It’s the map.

Let's set out.

Alex

Alex M H Smith

Are there more important strategy skills than these?

Sure. But that's the boring stuff.

Here, I wanted to create a list of less obvious things. The skills people don't tend to talk about, but which I think are pretty damn useful.

Here's a brief explanation of each.

1. Writing well

Writing is thinking that you can share. And this is pretty much the whole of what strategy is - thinking then sharing it - so honestly, you can't do without this.

2. Feeling comfortable generalising

Strategy is about zoomed-out, big-picture perspectives. And that means painting with a broad brush. Some people don't feel comfortable doing this, and so strategy isn't for them.

3. Being a teensy bit negative

If you're doing strategy, you're trying to improve something. Which must begin with noticing what's wrong with it. You can't be a cheerleader for something, and change its path.

4. An eye for aesthetics

Partially this is about pattern-spotting (a core strategy skill). But it's also about influence. If you want to persuade people, then make it pretty.

5. A sense of humour

Yes, it helps with rapport - but more importantly humour comes from observation and lateral thinking. I don't really see how you can be a good strategist without being kinda funny.

6. Being a PowerPoint master

Oh man do I love PowerPoint (or Keynote in my case). And you've got to. Knowing the art of pleasing rhythmic presentations is huge, since this is how you're probably going to sell your idea.

7. Kindness and warmth

People won't listen to you if they don't like you.

8. Radical simplification

My favourite strategy question to ask is "give me this gist". Being able to simplify to the gist shows understanding, and drives clarity.

9. Curiosity

You need to just be generally interested in random "stuff", and gather it in the library of your mind - since you never know when the most obscure thing might come in handy.

10. An authoritarian streak

Hey, you don't have to like it, but eventually you're going to need to tell people what to do. Many great thinkers have been undone by not having the confidence to do this.

11. A distaste for perfectionism

A great strategy is always a bit of a punt, that might not stand up to minute scrutiny. So sometimes it's best to just trust your gut, and see how it goes.

12. A touch of cynicism

You are trying to work with how the world is - not how you wish it would be. So you need to be a realist about human nature, and the darker side of the world.

13. The ability to touch-type

This means you can write as quick as you can think. Insanely underrated.

14. Understanding branding

Most strategy is not branding - but a bit of it is, and it's the less "rational" part. You can't truly understand market dynamics without it.

15. Storytelling

A strategy, in the end, is a story. And it will work to the extent people are captured by it.

___

Got any more? Put em in the comments.

Refine all these skills, for free, here: https://lnkd.in/eJSPsGUf

No Bullsh*t Strategy | Helping the world’s most iconic brands make smarter, braver decisions | Author | Advisor | Speaker

Chris Donnelly

Founder (Business Acquired by Croud)

Founder | Follow for posts on Business, Marketing & AI

Cofounder of Searchable: 

An Autonomous SEO & AEO Growth Engineer 
Analyse, fix, & scale your website to drive customers

Work out how to master AI Search here: searchable.com

The short life story 

I decided to skip the corporate job & start a digital marketing agency at 21. Here is the journey so far: 

Age 21: Bootstrapped Adjust Media at university making websites 
Age 22: Left Uni and rebranded to Verb Brands
Age 27: Acquired DBD Media Ltd, their 20 staff & expanded to digital marketing
Age 28: Won Bugatti & recognised as leading luxury agency
Age 30: Sell entirety of Verb Brands to Croud & LDC in an 8-figure deal
Age 31: Founded Lottie Org w/ Will Donnelly (Grow revenue to 8 figures, raise $35m & hire 100 people).
Age 32: Launch my Media, Education and Investment business
Age 33: Launched the Creator Accelerator and reached 8 figures in revenue
Age 34: Co Founded Searchable

It’s been a journey. 

Through Searchable.com I help founders and marketers to grow their organic traffic on auto pilot with our autonomous Seo and Aeo tool: searchable.com

Through my investment company, we support and invest into Entrepreneurs running incredible businesses, and with our experience as operators, help them scale. 

If you are a founder of a profitable and growing company with approximately $1m+ EBITDA, and you want to see if you can grow faster, reach out. 

If you are not at that level yet, I produce resources to help you get there. 

I run a podcast called Wake Up, and produce content on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram for free.

Commercial enquiries for speaking or brand deals: enquiries@chris-donnelly.co.uk

Co-Founder

Found CRM by Lottie 

A cloud-based care home operation software, mapped and built specifically to the care and retirement industries unique customer journey and supports care homes with CRM, Occupancy, Administration and Finance

Found results in a higher conversion rate, better attribution of marketing spend, saved time and ultimately high occupancy.

If you give level 1 prompts, you'll get level 1 results. 

Here's how to go from beginner to pro: 

Prompting AI is the same as any skill.  
Level 1 inputs give level 1 outputs...

And learning how to prompt well is a process. 

Most people are stuck at level 1, maybe level 2 if they're trying.
But the real power of LLMs is hidden in levels 3 and 4.

That's where you stop getting generic outputs, and start: 

- Creating higher quality outputs with fewer iterations
- Building reusable systems that scale with your business
- Working with a 24/7 digital assistant trained on your data

Here are the 4 levels of prompting broken down: 

Level 1: The Commander

“Write me a post.”

Goal: Get something fast.
Mindset: Task-first, no context.

This is where most people stay. 
You get quick answers but generic results. 

How to improve:
- Add a clear role and goal to every request.
- Ask AI to explain how it got to the answer.

Level 2: The Architect

“Act as a content strategist. 
Build a LinkedIn post using this brief, audience, and tone.”

Goal: Add structure and clarity.
Mindset: Context-first, single focus.

You’re starting to give direction. 
You define who the output is for, the purpose, and the format. 

How to improve:
- Use simple structure: Role → Task → Context → Output.
- Include examples of great work to show the standard you expect.

Level 3: The Strategist

“Here’s the audience, style, and examples. 
Build three options, critique them, and improve the best one.”

Goal: Create consistent, high-quality work.
Mindset: Iteration and reasoning.

This is where results compound. 
You build systems, test ideas, and refine based on feedback. 

How to improve:
- Use feedback loops: create → review → refine → finalise.
- Ask it to think through trade-offs or risks before giving the answer.

Level 4: The Master

“You are my Growth Engineer. 
Use context from Notion, Google Drive, 
and previous brand frameworks to draft this week’s content plan.”

Goal: Automation and leverage.
Mindset: Integration and systems thinking.

AI becomes part of your workflow. 
It understands your data, preferences, and strategy. 

How to improve:
- Layer context from your documents, briefs, and past results.
- Build reusable prompt systems that evolve over time.

My team and I use level 3 and 4 prompting every single day.

It's how we produce content at scale and save countless hours each week.

How much do you know about AI prompting? 
Drop a comment down below. 

If you want your business to be discovered inside LLMs like 
ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, you need to optimise for AI search.

That's exactly what we built Searchable for.

It's an autonomous SEO & AEO Growth Engineer, 
That can analyse, fix, and scale your website automatically...

Learn more here:
https://lnkd.in/epgXyFmi

--

📌 If you want a high-res PDF of this sheet:

1. Follow Chris Donnelly.
2. Like the post.
3. Repost to your network.
4. Subscribe to: https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb

Founder of Searchable.com | Follow for posts on Business, Marketing, Personal Brand & AI

100 days ago I had an idea.

An idea that I think could change marketing forever.

I have been obsessed with AI since ChatGPT came out and been obsessed with digital marketing since I was 16 when I built my first website.

I've Founded or Co Founded 5 of my own companies so far in my career.

- Two were small and faded but I learnt a lot
- Verb Brands was 10 years bootstrapped and I sold for 8 figures
- Lottie is a 9 figure business now, growing under Will Donnelly's leadership
- The Creator Accelerator generated nearly 8 figures of revenue in its 1st year

I went to work with Lovable and again just had my eyes opened even further to the possibilities of AI and technology.

Then this idea hit me and I knew I had to go all in.

100 days

I went to San Francisco and started networking. I knew I would need technical co-founders who were legitimately 0.01 engineers, who were hungry and who were passionate about the idea.

Met Sam Hogan & Arya Nagabhyru

They were both AI engineers building in the AI agent space at YC companies.

Decided to co found. Started building.

Jammed on the idea non stop and eventually landed on a massively improved version of what I had brought to them.

Day 90
- Changed the name from Clicker to Searchable
- YOLO'd it and bought searchable.com 

Day 80
- Decided that to be the company we wanted to be. We had to be in person and our culture had to compete with the fast paced cultures of San Francisco.

- Moved the guys over to the UK so we are shoulder to shoulder working every single day.

Day 70
- Tested our product with a closed list entrepreneurs
- Hired the incredible Nik Gospodinov as a founding engineer

Day 50
- Invested my own cash into the business
- Working with enterprises with our tool and supporting with white glove
- Brands receiving 200% increase in traffic from LLMs

Day 30
- Started a waitlist, reached 5000 people
- Opened a beta account and had 100 companies join
- Opened a community and had 800 people join

(the power of personal brand ay)

Day 10
- Hired a SEO expert product manager Ivan

Day... well today

I have always been a founder that has built in public.
Therefore I wanted to give it to you. Raw as we build.

Introducing Searchable 
Searchable.com

Your Autonomous SEO and AEO Growth Engineer.

It is deep analytics for AI Search.

However it isn't just analytics, it provides the actions required to drive growth. 

Automatically analyse, fix, and scale your website to drive customers.

I want your feedback, I want your thoughts. No idea is a bad one.

Use it to get your business and your products found in ChatGPT and other LLMs

To celebrate the launch, I am giving my audience free credits to use Searchable

📊 Deep Visibility & Analytics Report
⌨️ 100 prompt credits
🧹 5 site audit credits
💻 1 article credit

Plus free step-by-step guides on how to prepare for this shift.

Comment SEARCHABLE if you want to get the credits and try Searchable for free.

Spaces are limited.

No alternative text description for this image

These 3 C-Suite roles determine your company's fate.

But most people don't know the differences...

Fundamentally, this is what it looks like:

CEO: Strategy, Leadership, Vision.
CFO: Stability, Stewardship, Finance.
COO: Execution, Efficiency, Operations.

If you're a new founder, it's critical to get these hires right.

Here's what each role does, and why it's important:
(Check the sheet for expanded info)

👤 Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
↳ The visionary and ultimate decision-maker.

❓ What They Do:
↳ Set long-term strategy and protect the company’s overall direction.

☄️ Purpose In The Company:
↳ Drive growth and create shareholder value.

⚙️ How They Do It: 
- Translate vision into actionable strategy.
- Hire leaders who are better than them.
- Allocate resources across departments.
- Represent the company to investors and press.
- Make the final call when priorities conflict.

📊 Main KPIs:
- Revenue Growth Rate (% YoY)
- EBITDA or Net Profit Margin (%)
- Enterprise Value / Valuation Growth (£ or %)
- CAC to LTV Ratio
- Strategic Goal Achievement(% of OKRs hit)


👤 Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
↳ The financial architect of the business.

❓ What They Do:
↳ Control the company's financial health.

☄️ Purpose In The Company:
↳ Protect the company's runway/maximise capital efficiency.

⚙️ How They Do It: 
- Create financial forecasts and models.
- Oversee accounting, audits, and compliance.
- Manage investor relations and capital structure.
- Monitor cash flow, costs, and margins.
- Build frameworks for sustainable growth.

📊 Main KPIs:
- Gross Margin (%)
- Operating Margin (%)
- Cash Conversion Cycle (Days)
- Burn Multiple (Net Burn / Net New ARR)
- Runway (months of cash on hand)


👤 Chief Operating Officer (COO)
↳ The execution engine of the company.

❓ What They Do:
↳ Oversee day-to-day operations and scale internal efficiency.

☄️ Purpose In The Company:
↳ Deliver operational excellence by turning everything into performance.

⚙️ How They Do It: 
- Design workflows, org structure, and more.
- Lead cross-functional execution.
- Implement systems and automation to improve output.
- Manage project delivery and quality control.
- Turn board-level strategy into daily accountability.

📊 Main KPIs:
- Operating Efficiency Ratio (Opex / Revenue %)
- Cost per Unit (£)
- Net Promoter Score (NPS)
- Employee Productivity (Revenue per FTE)
- Churn Rate (% of customers lost)

My idea is for this sheet to act as your compass.
Save it and refer back to it when you need !

(Or even better, download the high-res version at the bottom)

Once you have clarity on these roles... 
Everything else becomes easier.

Which role has been most pivotal to your business?
I'm curious to hear your thoughts in the comments ⬇️

--

📌 If you want a high-res PDF of this sheet:

1. Follow Chris Donnelly
2. Like the post
3. Repost to your network
4. Subscribe to: https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb

Founder of Searchable.com | Follow for posts on Business, Marketing & AI

The more powerful AI becomes...

The more valuable you are, if you adopt the right skills.

The rise of AI has proven it to be a powerful tool. 
Specifically for performing tasks that would normally take hours.  

But even at its most powerful, it's still not human. 

AI can handle technical tasks, but it can't replace human judgement. 
It cannot replace the ability to connect with others.
And it cannot replace adaptability.

The future belongs to those who take action and improve these 8 skills: 

1. Analytical Thinking
↳ The ability to break problems down and see what drives results.

Spend 15 minutes today working out why a result happened.
Review your last three business decisions and look for patterns. 

2. Emotional Intelligence
↳ Understanding your emotions and how you respond to others.

Before your next meeting, consider how each person might feel about the topic.
End the day by asking yourself: Did I listen more than I spoke?

3. Adaptability
↳ Adjusting quickly when things don't go to plan.

Do one thing this week that forces you out of your usual routine.
When plans alter, reframe the situation with: What's still in my control?

4. Social Influence
↳ Moving people towards a shared goal. 

Before every conversation, be clear on the outcome you want.
Influence through conviction and consistency rather than pressure.

5. Decision-Making
↳ Choosing quickly and standing by the result.

Give yourself a 1-minute limit for small decisions. 
When unsure, ask: What will future me thank me for doing today?

6. Discipline
↳ Doing the work long after motivation wears off.

Start your day with one task that moves your business forward.
Remove one thing from your schedule that adds no real value.

7. Curiosity
↳ Staying open, interested, and willing to learn from anyone.

Read something today outside your industry. 
Ask "why?" more often. Especially when things are going well.

8. Self-Awareness
↳ Knowing your strengths, limits, and blind spots.

Ask someone you trust what they think you could do better.
Reflect weekly: What strength can you lean into more?

Try some of these challenges to strengthen that skill.
One small step at a time.

AI has changed the way I hire and evaluate my team. 

For founders, I encourage you to seek hires with these skills. 
Employees with these will be more prepared as AI develops. 

For job seekers, ignoring these skills and chasing shortcuts will show.

Now is the time to understand where there's room for improvement. 
 
What's one skill that AI can't replace? 
Drop it down in the comments. 

I break down lessons like this every week in my newsletter, Step By Step.

Join 200k+ founders learning how to build better:

Subscribe here: 
https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb

♻️ Repost to share these skills with others in your network. 
And follow Chris Donnelly for more on building in the age of AI.

Failed change is rarely due to resistance.

It's because a proper framework wasn't used.

And a structured roadmap wasn't put in place.

That's where the ADKAR model by Jeff Hiatt comes into play.

It provides the structure and framework for effective change management.

Which, by the way, is critical to any business.
Without change, you don't evolve, and you get left in the dust.

This is how it works:

Awareness 👋
↳ Create an understanding of the objective.

Desire ✋
↳ Cultivate a personal drive to embrace change.

Knowledge 🧠
↳ Equip your team with the necessary understanding of a new system.

Ability 💪
↳ Empower individuals and teams with the capacity to enact change.

Reinforcement 🔄
↳ Strengthen the innovation introduced by the change process.

If you read the sheet, you'll find a breakdown of each stage.

And typically, the perceived value of the model is low to begin with.

But with time, people gain knowledge, ability, and they recognise the tangible value.

These are 3 best practices for ADKAR that I've picked up:

1. Lead from the front 🙋🏻‍♂️
Change doesn't start with a process.
It starts from the leader.

2. Make progress visible 🏔️
If people can see the impact...
That's what keeps them invested.

3. Reward behaviour, not outcomes 🏆
This builds a culture of genuine progressions.
Which leads to results !

And so, if you want change in a business, consider your approach.

The wrong one can cost time, money, and even relationships.
Now, my question to you:

Where will you apply this model to first in your business?

New software implementation?
An AI/Automation project?
Customer Experience transformation?

I'm curious to hear your responses.

If you want a structured roadmap for building your personal brand...

I'm running a free live masterclass on Tuesday, 25th November at 3 pm GMT. 

I'll be breaking down the exact system that's produced 100s of the world's fastest-growing LinkedIn creators.

You'll learn:

- How to optimise your profile like a landing page
- The perfect post timing formula based on data
- The content formats driving the most growth right now
- The new comment strategy LinkedIn changed a few months ago (no one's noticed)

Plus we'll have a live Q&A for any burning questions.  

We're also officially opening doors for The Creator Accelerator 6 during the call.

And we have a few additional surprises for people who sign up ! 

Save your spot here 👇
https://lnkd.in/eZncE8sN

♻️ Repost to share this framework with your network. 
And follow Chris Donnelly for more strategies like this.

SEO is not the full picture for businesses. 

In 2025, it's just a piece of the search puzzle. 

Ranking on Google is not the primary goal anymore.
The search volume inside LLMs is increasing day by day.

Which makes GEO/AEO/AIO/SXO an untapped goldmine for visibility.

I launched Searchable fully this week and hundreds of marketers have signed up.

People are already seeing incredible results, which is amazing to see.
(Like 200% increases in AI traffic in under a month)

So, if you want to dominate search in 2025 and beyond...
There's still plenty of time to be ahead of the curve.

Get going by learning these terms 👇

🧩 SEO: Search Engine Optimisation
↳ Ranking pages on Google through keywords and backlinks. 

✅ Pros: Proven traffic driver, builds long-term authority.
🚫 Cons: Competitive and slow to drive results.
🏆 Rank by targeting high-intent keywords clusters and refresh content.

🧩 GEO: Generative Engine Optimisation
↳ Optimising to be cited by AI engines like ChatGPT or Perplexity.

✅ Early-mover edge, builds trust, captures new channels.
🚫 Harder to measure a direct impact.
🏆 Rank with entity-rich content, forums, clear tables & FAQs.

🧩 AEO: Answer Engine Optimisation
↳ Optimising for zero-click answers (snippets, AI overviews).

✅ Instant authority, high CTR when clicks occur.
🚫 Fewer clicks, volatile snippet positions.
🏆 Rank by answering in 40–60 words, using schema & PAA topics.

🧩 AIO: AI Optimisation
↳ Ensuring your brand appears accurately in AI training data.

✅ Builds trust when AI tools surface your business.
🚫 Influence on training data can be limited.
🏆 Rank with structured, consistent content on trusted sources.

🧩 SXO: Search Experience Optimisation
↳ Optimising the full on-site experience so visitors convert.

✅ Turns traffic into revenue, boosts retention.
🚫 Needs CRO expertise, drops if SEO/AEO/GEO stall.
🏆 Rank with fast, mobile-friendly UX, aligned content, clear CTAs.

I've seen it firsthand. 
These determine if your brand is found or forgotten.

To have it done for you, autonomously, you need Searchable.👇
https://lnkd.in/epgXyFmi

It's the first tool that will optimise for all 5.

Which part of the puzzle are you missing?
I'm curious to know in the comments.

♻️ Repost to help your fellow founder & CEOs.
And follow Chris Donnelly for more.

My LinkedIn profile generates millions in revenue...

Now I'm giving you my full playbook for FREE:

Comment PROFILE, and I will personally send it to you.

Most LinkedIn profiles are glorified CVs. 

They list job titles, but do nothing to convert visitors into customers.

Even top entrepreneurs are losing leads because their profiles don't sell. 

I've strategically optimised my profile to achieve three goals:

- Waitlist for Searchable
- Subscriptions to my newsletter
- Sign-ups for The Creator Accelerator.

The results have been huge:

✅ 210,000+ subscribers to my email list
✅ 5000+ people on the Searchable waitlist 
✅ 5 fully sold out Creator Accelerator cohorts (with another incoming...)

And now, I want to share exactly how I did that with you, free of charge. 

This information could potentially be worth millions...

If you implement it as soon as possible. 

These are the exact steps I used to turn 1000s of profile views into leads. 

Inside, you'll learn how to: 

✅ Write About sections that convert using the TRUST method
✅ Transform your experience into outcome-based credibility
✅ Turn your banner into a digital billboard that drives traffic
✅ Use the positioning formula that turns headlines into micro-pitches
✅ Create instant trust with your profile picture and brand consistency
✅ Follow the complete 30-day implementation roadmap with weekly milestones
✅ Implement the monthly optimisation system that prevents performance decay
✅ Build a strategic funnel flow that guides visitors from awareness to action

Your LinkedIn profile is either making or losing you money. 

There's no in-between. 

This playbook turns it into a powerful landing page.

As a bonus, everyone who grabs the playbook will get a seat for my live webinar: 

"How to go from 0-10k Followers on LinkedIn"

You'll learn when to post, the foundations of a perfect post,
And the content formats working right now.

Plus we'll have a live Q&A and 2 surprises for those who attend. 

If you're ready to turn your profile into a revenue generator,
Comment PROFILE, and I'll send you the link to the playbook.

♻️ Repost to help your network make the most of their LinkedIn presence.

A concept everyone should know about...

The Paradox Of Knowledge.

Years ago, I thought knowledge was the barometer for success.

The more I knew, the better I would become, the more I would earn.

That wasn't necessarily true.
Today, I feel like I have more to learn than ever.

That's the Paradox Of Knowledge.

When you start, everything feels simple.
But the more we learn, the less we realise we know.

From the outside, expertise can look like clarity.
But inside, it's just navigating higher-quality confusion.

These are the mindset shifts you need to adopt:
(So you don't waste time rowing in the wrong direction)

Firstly, learning isn't about collecting information.

It's about repetition, refinement, and reflection.
Learning something truly in-depth.

Secondly, expertise looks boring up close.

It's built by making the same decisions, but better each time.
99% of people chase variety. The top 1% chase precision.

Finally, stay a student even when you're a teacher.

The moment you think you've mastered something...
You stop growing.

Ultimately, mastery is a fallacy.

The sooner you learn that, the better.

Here's the thing:

You HAVE to take action without full clarity sometimes.
That's the way the world works, fair or not.

But that doesn't mean you stop being a student. 

Learning is forever !

The more you learn, the less certain you feel...
But the more capable you become.

Happy learning, folks.

Have you heard of this concept before?
If not, what do you think of it?

For more frameworks for thinking like this,
Check out my weekly newsletter, Step by Step.

Join 200k+ builders reading on a regular basis:
https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb

♻️ Repost to help your network grow together.
And follow Chris Donnelly for more lessons like this.

The Paradox Of Knowledge by Chris Donnelly

Top businesses aren't just optimising for Google. 

They're already adapting to AI: 

Ranking for classic search engines used to be the goal. 

But now, answer engines (ChatGPT, Claude, etc) are on the rise... 
 
If you want your business to stay relevant, 
You need to start investing in AI-driven rankings (AEO, GEO). 

In 2025 and beyond, I'd be putting time into these 3 types of search:
(See the cheat sheet for more details 👇) 

💻 SEO: Search Engine Optimisation
↳ Ranking pages on Google. 

⚙️ How it works:

- Identify high-intent keywords
- Build backlinks and internal linking
- Optimise content, speed and mobile experience

✅ Pros:
↳ Consistent traffic driver
↳ Builds long-term authority
↳ Underpins AEO and GEO efforts

🚫 Cons:
↳ Competitive and slow to show results
↳ Vulnerable to algorithm updates
↳ Requires ongoing upkeep

📈 How to rank higher:
↳ Focus on fewer, high-intent keyword clusters
↳ Refresh content quarterly
↳ Run technical audits

🤖 AEO: Answer Engine Optimisation
↳ Optimising for zero-click answers (like voice search). 

⚙️ How it works:

- Provide concise, direct answers
- Use schema mark-up (FAQ, How-to) 
- Format content bullets and headings

✅ Pros:
↳ Instant authority and visibility
↳ Strong for mobile and voice queries
↳ High CTR when clicks happen

🚫 Cons:
↳ Some users get the answer without clicking
↳ Snippet positions change frequently
↳ Requires constant content monitoring

📈 How to rank higher:
↳ Answer questions in 40–60 words
↳ Optimise for “People Also Ask” queries
↳ Add schema markup to FAQ and How-To pages

🎯 GEO: Generative Engine Optimisation
↳ Optimising content pulled by AI-driven search engines

⚙️ How it works:

- Publish clear, well-structured content 
- Build presence on credible sources (Reddit, Quora)
- Use AI-readable formatting

✅ Pros:
↳ Early mover advantage in AI search
↳ Positions brand as a trusted source
↳ Captures future-facing traffic streams

🚫 Cons:
↳ Hard to attribute direct traffic
↳ AI citation rules are still evolving
↳ Requires off-site presence, not just on your domain

📈 How to rank higher:
↳ Use entity-rich, fact-checked content 
↳ Get cited on known AI training sources
↳ Prioritise clarity with FAQs, tables, lists

Don’t get buried by brands already adapting.

It's not about just ranking on Google anymore. 

You're content is being cited by machines people trust for knowledge. 

Have you started optimising for AI search? 
I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments. 👇 

To prepare for this massive change in how we purchase... 
I'm publicly launching a new AI business, Searchable, very soon.

It's an Autonomous SEO & AEO Growth Engineer that will analyse, fix, and scale your website to drive customers automatically.

No leg work required from you. 
Just provide context, and the tool does the work for you.

Get started for free today: 
https://lnkd.in/epgXyFmi

♻️ Repost to help your network optimise their SEO.
And follow Chris Donnelly for more.

SEO has changed more in the past 2 years than in the last 20.

It's an entirely new game with new rules...

And most businesses have no idea it's happening.  

Ranking on Google page 1 used to guarantee visibility.

In 2025, that's no longer enough.

Your potential customers are searching in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.

If AI engines can't find and cite your content, you're invisible.

Here's what's shifting in search right now:

📺 Old SEO → Google or nothing
↳ If you didn’t rank page one, your brand didn’t exist.

💻 New SEO → AI search is here
↳ You must appear in AI answers and citations to stay discoverable.

📺 Old SEO → E-E-A-T optional
↳ Thin keyword blogs could rank.

💻 New SEO → E-E-A-T mandatory
↳ Proof, examples, and lived experience are now required.

📺 Old SEO → Keywords ran the show
↳ Stuffed headlines, tags, and paragraphs.

💻 New SEO → Intent runs the show
↳ Content must serve why the user is searching.

📺 Old SEO → Volume over depth
↳ Publish as many posts as possible.

💻 New SEO → Authority over volume
↳ Depth, interlinked clusters, and niche expertise win.

📺 Old SEO → Write for crawlers
↳ Meta tags and keyword stuffing ruled.

💻 New SEO → Write for AI engines
↳ Direct, structured answers that ChatGPT and Gemini can cite.

📺 Old SEO → Any backlink will do
↳ Even irrelevant links moved the needle.

💻 New SEO → Backlinks that count
↳ Trusted sources, PR, podcasts, and partnerships drive authority.

📺 Old SEO → Ranking was the finish line
↳ Page one meant you’d “won.”

💻 New SEO → Discovery never stops
↳ AI summaries, snippets, and citations keep visibility alive.

The rules of SEO are evolving faster than I ever imagined. 

Staying flexible, adaptable, and open to new ideas is non-negotiable. 

This is exactly why we built Searchable. 

It’s designed to:

- Show where your brand is visible (Google + AI search)
- Automatically optimise for SEO, AEO, and GEO
- Turn visibility into clicks and revenue

So you can prepare for the new era of search, without burning yourself out. 

Learn more here 👇
https://lnkd.in/epgXyFmi

Have you started optimising for AI search? 
Let me know in the comments. 

♻️ Repost to keep your network informed of SEO updates.
And follow Chris Donnelly for more on the new era of search.

Old SEO vs New SEO

If you're not using AI on LinkedIn... you're falling behind. 

This sheet will keep you ahead of the pack:

It still surprises me that some people still actively avoid using AI on LI.

Either that or they are using it, but terribly.

Much of that comes down to confusion.
On what the tool is and what it can be used for.

AI doesn’t just help you "write content faster."
It can help you think, plan, and produce at a higher level. 

That’s why I created this sheet, 
So you can use AI to dominate LinkedIn in 2025 👇

(It's what we've taught to hundreds of Creator Accelerator students !)

1️⃣ Audience Research

👥 You are able to quickly identify your ICP using AI. 
📜 Then, create an authentic positioning statement. 
📣 Finally, use ChatGPT to nail your brand messaging. 

2️⃣ Content Ideation

☑️ Identify pain points using Collab. 
☑️ Search for relevant topics and ideas with Saywhat. 
☑️ Visualise the ideas using Saywhat's Infogrpahic Generator. 

3️⃣ Content Creation With ChatGPT

☑️ Create and train a custom content writing GPT. 
☑️ Take the ideas from Saywhat and develop them with GPT.
☑️ GPT takes you 90% there, then you tweak it.

4️⃣ Creating Your Own IP

Step 1: Turn your process into IP.
Step 2: Create 2-3 CustomGPTs for key roles.
Step 3: Give the GPTs more info to become smarter. 

5️⃣ AI Do's And Don'ts

✅ Train with your actual voice.
✅ Give AI clear context before asking anything.
✅ Edit AI output to achieve perfection.
✅ Feed AI real audience pain points.

🚫 Publish raw AI output.
🚫 Copy others' outputs blindly. 
🚫 Use vague prompts. 
🚫 Make false assumptions about understanding.

Ignoring AI for content creation at this stage would be like refusing to learn how to drive because you can ride a horse.

Get off the horse and find your car keys.

It's your most competitive advantage as a creator.

Not knowing it will be your biggest blunder.

If you're feeling lost or confused...
I have good news for you !

This Thursday, December 4th, we are hosting:

"How To Save 100+ Hours Using AI On LinkedIn"

We'll explain exactly how AI can help you: 

✅ Generate ideas and turn them into content in minutes. 
✅ Conduct audience research, positioning, and storytelling. 
✅ Create a BTS co-founder to help you build and scale without burning out. 

Sign up here to join us 👇
https://lnkd.in/egCF25-c

The webinar we ran last week had THOUSANDS of sign-ups...
We had to turn many away. So sign up soon !

Are you using AI to create content right now? 
Let's discuss in the comments. ⬇️

--

📌 If you want a high-res PDF of this sheet:

1. Follow Chris Donnelly
2. Like the post
3. Repost to your network
4. Subscribe to: https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb

"It's only 30 minutes."

The world's most dangerous excuse. 

You might think that 30 minutes is a drop in the bucket. 

But when you take the long view, it's more than you think. 

If used well, 30 minutes could change your trajectory. 

Because small habits and actions truly add up over time. 

The major differentiator between an average achiever and the top 1% is how they use their time. 

They know that real success depends on increasing their baseline level. 

So, if you work to operate at a higher level than others, 
It is guaranteed to stack up over months, years and decades. 

Think of it this way: 

30 minutes a day is 182 hours a year.
That's over 7 full days.

If you spent 7 days reading, you'd gain knowledge and motivation.  
If you spent 7 days watching Netflix, you'd be completely depleted.  

7 days of learning to use AI properly would be transformational. 
7 days of sitting around and complaining would be... awful. 

Yet, the majority of people spend (at least) 30 minutes consuming, complaining...

Or doing things that don't move them forward every day.

Truly successful people spend it differently.

They don't spend 30 minutes on:

→ Endless scrolling through social media
→ Watching content that doesn't teach them anything
→ Spending more time tucked up in bed
→ Eating junk food to simply fill the time
→ Perfectionism that delays launching

Instead, they use those 30 minutes to:

→ Read something that challenges their thinking
→ Write down their schedule/action plan for the week
→ Put in time at the gym for their health
→ Learn a skill that will pay off for years
→ Spend quality time with the family

How you use your time is everything. 

And it's entirely up to you.

Success isn't a sprint; it's a life-long pursuit. 

And those who commit to making the most of their time, 
Will be the ones who get the most out of life. 

What's one bad habit you're dropping? And what are you replacing it with? 
Drop a comment below with your thoughts.  

If you want to spend two 30 minute time periods to best serve yourself in 2026, 
I’m hosting a free LinkedIn masterclass. 

I'll show you the fastest way to reach 10K followers, 
And sustain that growth to go even further...

Click here to save your seat: 
https://lnkd.in/eZncE8sN

♻️ Repost to share this wake-up call with your network. 
And follow Chris Donnelly for more insights like this.

It's just 30 minutes by Chris Donnelly.

No founder is too good for the fundamentals.

The top 1% always go back to basics: 

From experience, a lot of founders tend to overlook the fundamentals. 

They jump straight into execution without learning the language of business.

I would know... I was one of them. 

When I launched my first proper business,
I was clueless about the importance of these business terms. 

I thought I didn't need to learn them to succeed. 
That line of thinking cost me countless hours I won't get back. 

Don’t make the same mistake. 

Learn these 7 terms like the back of your own hand:  

1. EBITDA

Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation Amortisation

It allows investors to see how much your business really makes. 

It’s one of the key numbers used to value a company.

2. Product-Market Fit

When your idea solves a problem that customers want to pay for. 

It ensures your business is actually addressing a customer need.

3. Working Capital

This is a simple equation: Current Assets - Current Liabilities

It’s the cash you’ve actually got available to keep things moving day to day. 

No working capital means no real business. 

4. Assets

Assets are everything your business owns that makes you money or holds value.

Such as: Cash in the bank, Equipment, Property, Your brand + IP

The stronger your assets, the stronger your foundation.

5. Leveraged Buyout (LBO)

LBO is basically buying a company with borrowed money.

You can use the company’s cash flow and assets to back that loan. 

If it works, you get the reward without risking all your own cash.

6. Amortisation

Spreading the cost of something you can't touch over the time you use it.

These are invisible assets that give your business real value.

Examples: Patent, Trademark, Licence 

7. Liabilities

Liabilities are what your business owes rather than what it owns.

This comes in a few forms: Wages, Loans, Mortgage, Tax

Knowing assets and liabilities is how you stay in control of your business.

If you don't know the parts of your business and how they function, 
You will waste time and resources trying to muddle through. 

Now I know these terms inside out, 
It's making it much easier to build my AI tech company. 

The process to build Searchable is different from building Verb. 

But this time I have the tools and knowledge to scale 10x faster. 

If you want the easiest way to prepare for AI search,
Searchable is the only tool you need. 

It analyses and optimises your content for SEO, AEO, and GEO, automatically.  

Learn more here:
https://lnkd.in/epgXyFmi

And if you want more free business building guidance,
Join 200k+ founders reading my weekly newsletter, Step By Step:

https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb

♻️ Repost to share these terms with your network. 
And follow Chris Donnelly for more business advice like this.

7 Business Terms Everyone Needs To Know

SEO has changed more this year than in the last 10. 

This is the new glossary you need for 2025/26: 

The SEO blueprint you were taught in 2022 is already outdated. 

The terms, strategies, and metrics that matter are different now. 

You don't need to know every SEO term by heart. 

But if you want your business to be visible in 2025/26, 
You need to know these 24 terms at the very least. 

Save this glossary to stay on top of AI search: 

1. SEO: Search Engine Optimisation
Improving visibility across Google and AI-driven platforms.

2. AEO: Answer Engine Optimisation
Designing content that appears in AI-generated results.

3. GEO: Generative Engine Optimisation
Ensuring your brand appears inside AI summaries.

4. AI Visibility: 
How often your brand is cited in AI-generated responses.

5. SERP: Search Engine Results Page
Where SEO and AI Overviews now coexist.

6. Zero-Click Results: 
When users get answers directly from AI without clicking through.

7. LLMO: Large Language Model Optimisation
Optimising for models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.

8. Semantic Search: 
AI's ability to understand context and intent.

9. Entity Recognition: 
How AI connects people, brands, and concepts in your content.

10. Embeddings: 
The way AI encodes meaning to determine content relevance and citations.

11. Chunking: 
Breaking content into sections AI can easily index and cite.

12. Passage Ranking: 
Google's ability to rank individual passages within a page.

(See the cheat sheet for the full list of terms 👇) 

The world is splitting between businesses who know these terms,  
And those who have no idea this shift is happening. 

It's your job to land on the right side of history...

Have you started optimising for AI search yet? 
Leave a comment below with your thoughts. 

If you want the easiest possible way to prepare for AI search, 
Searchable is the ultimate tool. 

It's an autonomous SEO & AEO Growth Engineer that 
Analyses, fixes, and scales your website to drive customers. 

Learn more here: 
https://lnkd.in/epgXyFmi

♻️ Repost to help your network master these terms. 
Follow Searchable for more practical lessons in AI search.

Yesterday we launched Searchable

The first Visibility Platform that gets your brand ranked No 1 by AI Search

Founders, SEO’s, marketing teams. The feedback has been crazy, 100s of people signing up. 

Some people even writing things like “Vibe Marketing” and “Vibe SEO” which makes me so happy ! 

So why are we launching? 

60 days ago Google changed how SEO worked forever. 

You used to see hundreds of results per page, now you only see 10. 

Search Engine Land have said over 88% of sites saw a massive drop in traffic from Google. 

ChatGPT looks like it's driving 2-4x higher purchase intent with Seer and Search Engine Land stating up to 9x higher. 

This is a huge opportunity for brands to move fast. If you move fast right now, the dividends will be enormous for you and your business. 

So how does Searchable help?!

1. Identify & Track the RIGHT prompts
Our prompt suggestions are the best in the space at giving you commercial and educational prompts for your target audience

Our prompt research will analyse your site, analytics and search console and suggest prompts to gain qualified traffic. 

2. Content & Technical Optimisation
Our content and technical audits are performed against LLMs requirements to identify which parts of your sites are being read and understood and therefore used in answers. 

We then use this information to advise you on how to fix and improve your site. 

3. Agent Co Pilot 
Your agent will be automatically trained on your brand context and you can connect your Analytics and Search Console. 

The agent is trained on the data, reports and insight of the leading AI Search Experts. 

Imagine being able to ask your agent (a few examples!): 

What are my most commercial prompts? 
What content is going to drive the most LLM traffic?
What prompts should I track and optimise for to win my customers?
What prompts are my competitors ranking for and how do I beat them?

The brands who we have been working with have seen 200-300% increase in their traffic from AI Search over the last 2 months. 

Companies like Heights, Lottie, Thrive and dozens of agency partners using Searchable for their clients. 

To celebrate the launch, I am giving my audience FREE credits to use Searchable

📊 Deep Visibility & Analytics Report
⌨️ 100 prompt credits
🧹 5 site audit credits
💻 1 article credit

Plus free step-by-step guides on how to prepare for this shift.

Comment AI SEARCH if you want to get the credits and try Searchable for free.

Spaces are limited !

84% of executives say AI is critical to success.

Only 19% say they’re confident in their AI strategy.

This is due to the sheer size of the AI spectrum...

I've seen entrepreneurs and founders create 8-figure AI businesses in weeks. 
 
And I've seen others struggle to prompt a GPT correctly. 

That's why I made this pyramid. 

It will help you assess your AI fluency, 
And reveal the skills you need to brush up on. 

This is not just for business owners. 
It's for anyone hoping to stay ahead of the curve. 

Whether you're a GPT novice or already building with AI... 

See where you stand: 

🥉 Beginner

1️⃣ AI Foundations
↳ Understand what AI is, its origins, and where it’s going.

2️⃣ Prompt Engineering
↳ Improve your inputs for better outputs. 

3️⃣ Using LLMs For Work
↳ Speed up your research, writing and analysis.

🥈 Intermediate

4️⃣ Multimodal AI
↳ Use tools that combine text, image, audio, and video.

5️⃣ Workflow Automation
↳ Use AI for tasks like sorting email and cleaning data. 

6️⃣ Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
↳ Feed the AI custom data so it knows your business. 

🥇 Advanced

7️⃣ Agentic AI & Tool Use
↳ Build autonomous agents using tools, APIs, and logic.

8️⃣ AI In Decision-Making
↳ Model outcomes, simulate markets and forecast risks.

9️⃣ AI Product Integration
↳ Embed AI into your product or service.

And if you want to start now, follow these 3 key AI learning tips: 

✅ Build while you browse.
↳ Don’t just read articles or watch videos.
↳ Open the tool, try the use case and break something!

✅ Learn one tool, end-to-end.
↳ Stop sampling 10 and go deeper on 1.
↳ Understand the inputs, limits, and integrations. 

✅ Test it in your workflow.
↳ Reading does not equal learning.
↳ Run one real task through AI and analyse the result. 

I urge everyone to spend at least 10 minutes a day studying this. 

It's the key to future-proofing your career, 
And will be your ultimate competitive advantage as an operator. 

Which stage of AI mastery have you reached? 
Comment below. I'd be interested to see who's already committed... 

- - - -

📌 If you want a high-res PDF of this sheet:

1. Follow Chris Donnelly.
2. Like the post.
3. Repost to your network.
4. Subscribe to: https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb

Utilising ChatGPT properly has made me millions on LinkedIn...

And I'm giving you 4 of my CustomGPTs for FREE:

Comment CUSTOM, and I will personally send them all to you.

Most people see AI as a time saver - an efficiency tool.
While it does help with that... it's a bit of a reductive description.

What it can really do is level up your entire content workflow.

I've spent a ton of time and resource into improving these GPTs.
They've now been responsible for 100M+ views on LinkedIn this year.

As well as a hefty amount of revenue !

The 4 GPTs are:

🪝 The Scroll Stopping Hook Generator
💡 The Viral LinkedIn Idea Generator
💰 The High-Converting Lead Gen Generator
📊 The LinkedIn Algorithm Expert

With all of these, you can essentially:

1. Generate hooks that are proven to drive incredible engagement.

2. Use less brain power to come up with viral post ideas.
(Trained on posts that have generated 100s of millions of views this year alone)

3. Come up with angles for posts that generate dozens of leads per post.

4. Ensure every single post is optimised for the latest algorithm updates.
(Based on a database of 200k+ posts in the last quarter)

You essentially have a 4-man LinkedIn content team at your dispsoal. 

Again, I repeat, for free.

Us Founders are busy, busy people. 
I couldn't stay consistent without these, that's for sure.

Start using them, I promise you won't regret it.

As a bonus, everyone who grabs the GPTs will get a seat for my live webinar:

"How To Save 100+ Hours Using AI On LinkedIn"

You'll learn how to leverage AI into your all-in-one content assistant.

Saving you hours and improving your quality of content in the process.

Plus we have a live Q&A and 2 surprises for those who attend.

So if you're ready to start using GPT properly for LinkedIn,
Comment CUSTOM and I'll send you the link to the 4 GPTs.

♻️ Repost to help your network start growing rapidly on LinkedIn.

Your LinkedIn profile is your landing page.

But only if you know how to set it up: 

↳ Comment “PROFILE”, and I’ll DM you The LinkedIn Conversion Playbook. 
(More details below)

LinkedIn is still the best social platform for growing your audience, 
And generating high-quality leads simultaneously... 

But only if your profile is set up to do so. 

You have about 60 seconds to make your offer and expertise clear. 
Otherwise, you'll be losing leads to competitors who do. 

I've optimised my profile to achieve three goals: 

🖥️ Customers for my AI business, Searchable.
📧 Subscriptions to my Step by Step newsletter. 
👤 Sign-ups to the waitlist for The Creator Accelerator.

The results have been huge: 

📈 250,000+ subscribers to my email list.
✅ 4,125+ people using Searchable to optimise for AEO/SEO/GEO.
📊 5 fully sold out Creator Accelerator cohorts. 

If you want a profile like mine that generates and converts leads, 
Follow these steps to turn it into a landing page:

👤 Profile Picture
↳ Make it clear, high-quality, and on-brand (400x400px works best).

🔲 Banner
↳ State your offer and direct people where you want them to go.

⛓️‍💥 Headline & Link
↳ Share what you do, what makes you different, and why people should trust you.

🖱️ Featured Section
↳ Highlight your main offer. Make it visual, clear, and actionable.

✍🏻 Content
↳ Lead with value to push people towards your profile. 

👴🏻 Experience
↳ Include your formative roles and a description to build credibility.

☄️ Skills
↳ Prioritise the top 2 skills you want to be known (or hired) for.

✅ Call to Action
↳ There's no point upgrading your profile if people aren't directed towards it.

Optimising your profile will take a few hours out of your week, 
But it will change the course of your business for good. 

Right now, you have a choice: 

Stick with a low-revenue LinkedIn profile that repels potential leads. 
Or create a highly profitable one that generates them while you sleep. 

I know which one I'd pick every time. 

What part of your profile needs the most attention? 
Drop a comment below. 

P.S. I've made a 15-page in-depth resource.
On how to turn your profile into a revenue-generating machine...

It's called The LinkedIn Conversion Playbook.

Comment “PROFILE”, and I will DM it to you. 
(If we are not connected, I will reply asking to send the keyword with the connection request) 

♻️ Repost this to help others in your network land more clients.

Whether you're using GPT, Claude or Perplexity,

Weak prompts = Weak outputs 

The quality of your prompts determines your results.  

People tend to prompt each LLM the same, and that’s not always wise. 

But in case you don’t want to learn EVERY tool in detail, 
There are universal rules that can be applied to get good results.  

These will ensure 10x better results from most LLMs: 

(See the cheat sheet for more details 👇) 

1. Keep The Base Prompt Short

Pick one role, goal, or definition of success. 
The base prompt controls how the model thinks.

2. Add Context In Layers

Your prompt is the headline.
Your supporting files and data do the heavy lifting.

3. Multi-shot > One-shot

Show the model good vs bad examples.
These act like micro-training.

4. Give The Model A Thinking Path

AI doesn’t assume priorities.
Tell it the order: analyse → extract → prioritise → recommend → format.

5. Use Constraints Deliberately

Constraints reduce hallucinations, and ambiguity.
Word count, style, and format create clarity.

Context Stacking 

A modern prompt works like a modular system.
It’s almost like you’re assembling it.

Layer A: Role & Goal
Layer B: Memory
Layer C: Examples (Multi-Shot)
Layer D: Documents
Layer E: Parameters

Connectors & MCP 

This is where the next generation of prompting is going.

Use connectors to link AI to:

- Google Drive → briefs, scripts, docs
- Notion → wiki, strategy hubs
- Slack → decisions, updates, support
- AirTable → CRM data, ICP profiles

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

A technical way to tell the model:

- Which tools it can call
- What data it can fetch
- What the output format must be

If your prompts aren’t working, check for these mistakes: 

❌ Mixing tone, goals, and tasks
❌ Asking for everything at once
❌ Giving no examples
❌ Giving too many examples
❌ Forgetting constraints
❌ Zero logic or sequencing
❌ Five different prompts doing the job of one system

After months of building Searchable that uses agentic AI, 
I've learned that prompting is not just writing good instructions. 

It's about engineering a system that produces strong results, consistently. 

What's your formula for a good prompt? 
Drop it down below. 

AI is changing the way people search and discover brands. 
Searchable is the easiest way to prepare for that shift.  

It's an autonomous SEO & AEO Growth Engineer that 
Analyses, fixes, and scales your website to drive customers. 

Learn more here: 
https://lnkd.in/epgXyFmi

----

📌 If you want a high-res PDF of this sheet:

1. Follow Chris Donnelly.
2. Like the post.
3. Repost to your network.
4. Subscribe to: https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb

After building an AI Startup in 2025

Anyone who says AI is “the magic bullet is lying”

AI isn’t the reason for success.

The reality is, you have to run a great business, design incredible product, have a razor focus on product led growth, run highly personalised marketing and sales, create funnels and customer funnels for acquisition and retention. 

AI will allow you to do it fastest, more efficiently, with a smaller team, at greater scale for less cost than it used to.

Take it from me, I have built and sold or exited three large businesses before from 2011 - 2024.

If I wanted to go from nothing to $1m ARR as fast as humanly possible...

These are the tools I'd use:
(And the purpose they serve)


1. Lovable 

The best tool for product prototyping. This is your breeding ground for an MVP.

2. Searchable

Shameless plug, but this is your go-to Autonomous SEO/AEO/GEO Growth Engineer.

It is now low-level analytics. It is deep analytics for AI Search that you can implement.

3. Cursor

Cursor will accelerate the speed and efficiency of your engineering team by 10x.

4. Zapier

Use Zapier for connectivity for CRM, as well as automated retention and upsell campaigns.

5. ChatGPT or Claude

Use these specifically for custom training for all team members, but also as your day-to-day brainstorming partners.

6. Clay

To enrich contact details at scale, give you the power to stitch together social media activity, marketing activity and intent. 

Therefore you can market far more accurately and efficiently. 

7. Claude Code

You can use Claude Code to plug into all operations of your business to spot trends, analyse churn, create automated communication, reporting and insight on how your customers are using your business.

You don’t need every AI tool.

The tool isn’t the answer.

Good strategy is and the tools enable speed, efficiency and scale.

Happy building folks.

Which tools are you and aren't you using?
Curious to know in the comments.

And let me know if I missed any in the comments as well.

♻️ Repost to give your network the right tools to build.
And follow Chris Donnelly for more AI startup tips.

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The Battle

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Chris Donnelly

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The Battle

Alex M H Smith

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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);}Alex M H Smith's LinkedIn Performance

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