Dan Murray-Serter 🧠

Girl Dad | Co-Founder of Heights I Angel Investor In 90 Startups I Follow For Daily Posts on Health, Business & Personal growth from UK's #1 ranked health creator (apparently)

Serial entrepreneur and Angel investor in 100+ startups with over 10 years experience starting, scaling and failing multiple startups.

Co Founder of Heights - Europe's leading brain and gut health company.

I also started and help run Foundrs - A not for profit community of the best, most ambitious and compassionate founders in UK.

I recently stepped away from Leaders Media - A media company making the top business podcasts in Europe, Secret Leaders - at the top of the charts, to focus on much more important things with my time - being a dad to 2 awesome daughters.

Angel/Advisor

Beam (www.beam.org)
ATAI Life Sciences (https://www.atai.life)
Allplants (www.allplants.com)
Humanity (https://humanity.health)
BYP (www.byp-network.com)
Goss (https://www.goss.media)
Tribe VR (www.tribevr.io)
Thrift (www.wearethrift.com)
THIS (www.this.co)
The Sports Edit (www.thesportsedit.com)
Faction (www.factionskis.com)
Runway East (http://runwayea.st/)
London Union/Dinerama (http://londonunion.com/)
Neardesk (https://www2.neardesk.com/)


Tailored.to (https://tailored.to/)
Motivii (http://motivii.com/)
Earlybird (https://earlybird.fm/)
Upshot (http://www.upshotapp.co/)
Togethera (www.togethera.com)
Repairly (www.repairly.co.uk)
Zaboo (www.zabooapp.com)
Lissom (www.lissom.com)
Bloom (www.hellobloom.io)

Dan Murray🧠

90% of jobs can be taught. Give people a chance.

The hiring world is full of contradictions.
We demand 3+ years of experience in tools that have only existed for 18 months.

We label entry-level jobs with requirements that look like mid-level careers.
We filter out people who could actually become the best hires-because they don’t “tick every box.”

Here’s the truth:

- Most skills can be learned on the job
- Most tools can be mastered in weeks
- Most experience is only gained once someone gives you a shot

What you can’t teach is character.
You can’t teach resilience.
You can’t teach curiosity.
You can’t teach integrity or grit.

Those are the things you should be hiring for.

Every “top performer” today started as someone who had no clue what they were doing. Someone once gave them a chance. That opportunity is what allowed them to become who they are now.

When companies gatekeep potential by clinging to outdated hiring criteria, they don’t just miss out on talent-they miss out on loyalty, fresh ideas, and long-term leaders.

If someone has the right values and the hunger to learn, invest in them. Train them. Mentor them. Watch how fast they rise.

Because the best teams aren’t built by finding unicorns. They’re built by betting on people’s potential.

Question is: are you hiring for perfection-or for possibility?

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Girl Dad | Co-Founder of Heights I Angel Investor In Over 100 Startups I Follow For Daily Posts on Health, Business & Personal growth from UK’s #1 ranked health creator (apparently)

One thing I’ve learned after building multiple teams: the most valuable people are rarely the loudest.

They’re the ones who quietly upskill when no one’s watching.

You can’t teach that level of internal drive.
You can’t force someone to care about their growth more than the company requires.

That has to come from within.

And from a neuroscience perspective, people who self-educate build something incredibly powerful:
a plastic brain.

Every new skill, every book, every online course, it all strengthens their neural pathways for adaptability, problem - solving, and creative thinking.

Those traits compound.

They become faster learners.
Better decision-makers.
More resourceful under pressure.
And over time, they outgrow people who rely only on formal training.

When I hire, I look for curiosity.
Not credentials.
Not polished answers.
Curiosity.

Because someone who reads, experiments, builds, tinkers, or studies on their own time will eventually outpace almost everyone else.
They don’t wait to be told what to learn.
They choose it.

And that choice is what makes them dangerous, in the best way possible.

If you’re that person, keep going.
Even if no one notices right now.
Your effort is compounding quietly.
You’ll feel the gap before anyone else sees it.

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♻️ Repost this if you think it can help someone in your network!

🖐️ P.S Join my newsletter The Science Of Success where I break down stories and studies of success to teach you how to turn it from probability to predictability here: https://lnkd.in/ecuRJtrr

20 Pieces of Advice I Wish I Knew at 20
For career. And for life.

If I could go back, I wouldn’t tell myself to “work harder” or “dream bigger.”
I’d tell myself the truth no one around me was saying.

That *discipline beats talent*.
That *mental health is strategy*.
That *freedom doesn’t come from money. it comes from control of time.*

At 20, I thought success was about acceleration.
Now I know it’s about direction.

I’ve learned that no one really knows what they’re doing. we’re all figuring it out in real time.
And that the people who seem furthest ahead are usually just the ones who started earlier and stuck with it longer.

Here’s what I wish I’d known sooner:

- No one’s coming to save you
- Most people mistake busyness for progress
- Your environment shapes your ambition
- Hard work matters less than clarity
- Being respected will take you further than being liked
- Your health is your leverage
- Money amplifies who you already are. not who you wish to be
- Systems beat motivation
- Learning to sell changes everything
- Your 20s are not a waiting room, they’re the gym for your future self

If you can internalise that early, you’ll spend less time doubting and more time building.

Because the truth is - your 20s aren’t a test run.
They’re the foundation.

Lay it with intention.

To better mistakes,
Dan

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Follow me Dan Murray🧠 for more on habits and leadership.

♻️ Repost this if you think it can help someone in your network!

🖐️ P.S Join my newsletter The Science Of Success where I break down stories and studies of success to teach you how to turn it from probability to predictability here: https://lnkd.in/ecuRJtrr

20 Pieces of Advice I Wish I Knew at 20

Every week people DM me asking, “How did you do X?” or “Can you help me with Y?”

I genuinely want to help, but with a full schedule, I can’t say yes as often as I’d like.

So here’s the solution…

I’m excited to share that I'm in the Launch Creator cohort of Skillstore, a new learning platform built for actionable skills taught by real creators, entrepreneurs, and educators. 

I’m creating short, practical lessons you can learn in minutes, and you can even request a personalised custom video for specific advice you may have. 

If you want direct, actionable skills from me, you can now get it all in one place on Skillstore.

(Oh, and you can also share your skills too, just click the link on my profile)

Head to www.skill.store/danmurrays to get started ♥️ 

PS congrats to Aydan Al-Saad 👊🏽 on a slick launch 👏

Jolyon Varley

I’m Jolyon, Co-Founder at OK COOL— (very) creative strategy and production partners to brands. I genuinely believe that we are the most energised, culturally astute agency in the world right now.

We turn subcultures into content and humanise some of the world’s most renowned, tier-1 brands such as Nike, Gucci and Disney. We are official strategic and creative partners to TikTok and Meta.

I'm interested in what happens at the margins: counter culture + youth energy and the fault lines where high and low collide.

Whether you’re someone who wants to learn more about the marketing space and what it takes to run a business within it, you’re a brand looking to take your strategy and content to the next level, or you’re a creative looking to join an agency that delivers best in class work — stick around. My content may just be of interest.

And if it is, feel free to drop me a line ✌️

Co-Founder

Ok COOL is a (very) creative  content studio. Official partners to TikTok,Twitch, Instagram and tier-1 brands, globally.

Find us @OKCOOL.IO & www.OKCOOL.io

Timothée Chalamet’s 18-minute Zoom call just outperformed most six-figure marketing campaigns.

He dropped what looks like a leaked virtual meeting with the A24 team. 
All to build heat for Marty Supreme.

It’s the perfect reminder that real virality comes from understanding internet-native formats, not blowing the budget on production.

It looks exactly like a marketing meeting.

18 minutes of Chalamet pitching increasingly unhinged ideas to “promote” the film.

An orange blimp.
Painting the Statue of Liberty orange.
The lot.

It’s a parody, obviously.

But it’s acted and shot so straight that anyone who’s sat through a corporate brainstorm surrounded by yes-people and mad ideas can feel the accuracy.

That’s why it hits.
They built it for social.

Trailers are expected, but they’re not naturally shareable.

A Zoom meeting is different.
Everyone knows the format.

Instant recognition. Instant circulation. Instant group chat material.

More than 10 million views on Instagram from something that clearly didn’t cost much to make. 

Smart, culturally aware marketing that gets the channel, the audience and the joke.

Nailed it!

#1 Culture Marketing Voice on LinkedIn | Co-founder @ OK COOL

This is the 1969 swimwear photoshoot that accidentally created the Kappa logo.

During the swimwear shoot for Beatrix, two models sat back-to-back.

When photographer Sergio Druetto pressed the shutter, the flash jammed and created a clean, perfect silhouette. 

A complete shape by accident. 

A moment that wasn’t planned but instantly felt iconic.

Kappa recognised what they were looking at. 

The outline of a man and woman in equal posture had a sense of balance that didn’t need words. They adopted the silhouette exactly as it appeared. 

A quiet statement about equality that ended up travelling farther than anyone expected.

The logo moved from a swimwear catalogue to football pitches, running tracks, streetwear, and eventually the runway, without ever losing the character it had in that first shadow photograph.

Wild that a single mistimed flash can shape 50 years of culture.

Jaden Smith opened a restaurant where paying is optional.

If you’re broke, you eat for free.
If you can afford it, you pay for others.
It’s a radical idea and it’s working.

The 𝗜 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 Restaurant started as a food truck on the streets of Los Angeles.

Just free, healthy, plant-based meals handed out to people who needed them most.

What began as a pop-up became a permanent spot in West Hollywood, where every paying customer covers someone else’s meal. 

One-for-one. Simple. Sustainable.

It sits in the same spirit as Jon Bon Jovi’s 𝗝𝗕𝗝 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗞𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 in New Jersey, a “pay it forward” restaurant where guests who can’t afford a meal can volunteer their time instead. 

Brilliant and beautiful.

🫶💚

Perplexity nailed this one. Lewis Hamilton & Eric André. Pure Comedy.

Produced by London-based Sata Studios, it follows André trying to impress his neighbour, Hamilton. 

He freezes, turns to Perplexity for help, and it all unravels.

Simple idea. Great writing. Real chemistry. 

It’s their second short after the Lee Jung-jae one. 

They’re building a convincing lane around culture, sport, and personality.

Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude… who’s winning the marketing game?

Icelandair running its ‘𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗔𝗜’ campaign is genius on multiple levels.


They started seeing people online questioning whether real photos of Iceland were AI-generated. 

Perfectly ordinary photos of their country accused of being fabrications. 

A volcanic eruption under the Northern Lights? Surely fake.

They launched OOH in 13 cities calling out the guy who keeps generating fake Iceland pics. 

And they’ve dropped this new film that plays the whole situation back as a conspiracy thriller. 

Two travellers convinced Iceland must be fabricated because nothing this beautiful could possibly be real.

That paranoia says less about Iceland and more about the culture. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 ‘𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹’.

And when almost half of travellers say reviews that look “too good to be true” are automatic no-go’s, the industry’s gloss problem becomes a trust problem.

Are we really at a point where the real needs proof?

Burberry are on generational creative form right now.

The “Rainy Weather Warnings” series with Lucky Blue Smith sits inside their “It’s Always Burberry Weather” campaign. 

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿.

→ The hero films with Olivia Colman celebrate British weather through cinematic storytelling.

→ The social spin-offs, like Lucky and Amelia Gray’s spoof weather reports, translate that same idea for internet culture.

To be culturally fluent in 2025, it’s not enough to be a luxury brand saying luxury things. 

𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁.

They’ve taken something as British as rain and turned it into content people actually want to watch without undermining the luxury story. 

→ Same world, different tones.
→ Heritage meets internet culture.
→ Creator-style delivery. ‘Unscripted’ vibes. Meme energy.

Hella nice work :)

The Nike x Jacquemus Après Ski Collection is a whole mood.

An 18-piece range that feels modern but nods back to vintage ’80s ski wear. At the centre are the triple-layer GORE-TEX jackets and pants 🔥

Skiing has always been Jacquemus’ favourite winter escape. He collects vintage ’80s pieces. You can feel that influence everywhere.

Everything is cut with Jacquemus’ signature minimalism but built with Nike’s technical engineering. 

After stepping in to sponsor his hometown football club, you can feel Jacquemus’ sporty streak coming through. And it fits.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻! 

Jacquemus brings fashion-house credibility to the slopes for the first time, while Nike pushes deeper into alpine gear at a moment when outdoors-meets-luxury is one of the strongest trends in fashion.

Simon Porte Jacquemus said it best: “Working with technical fabrics, learning from the best, and bringing forward a minimal and modern execution was a super interesting process for me.” 

And the ad is iconic 🫶

Nike and Wu-Tang 25 years later was pure creativity done right.

The Hive film featured nearly a million live bees with help from New York’s legendary beekeeper Andrew Cote.

The 2024 Nike x Wu-Tang Clan Dunk campaign “The Hive” marked the return of a cultural icon.

25 years after the original 1999 release, they reunited to bring back one of the most iconic sneaker collaborations of all time.

Creative Directed by Ben Solomon (of IRAK) and produced by Afterhrs, this campaign was a perfect collision of story, heritage, and craft.

New York is the connective tissue.
Hip-hop, basketball, graffiti, streetwear.
The language of the city that raised both Nike and Wu-Tang.

Nike bee suits, and Knicks cameos tie the whole mythology together.

👏👏👏

Apple spent weeks building a two-second ident out of real glass instead of using AI or CGI.

With feeds drowning in fully synthetic creativity, Apple went the other way.

There’s something satisfying about knowing a human had to sweat over this.

Just real glass, real light, a production crew.

Weeks of physical work.

No shortcuts.

There’s an honesty to physical materials that AI can’t replicate.

And more brands are quietly leaning in.

Because choosing a process that takes longer, costs more and needs actual human hands is the message.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗜𝗦 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆!

And the result is beautiful.

Also feels like the biggest 🖕 to Coca Cola.

Timothée Chalamet’s $250 Marty Supreme jacket is now selling for $4,000. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱.

And the wild part… It’s attached to a film no one has even seen yet.

Timothée Chalamet is a cultural marketing powerhouse.

Someone who understands that movies aren’t just “released” anymore. They’re constructed in the streets, the feeds, the queues, the group chats.

And the Marty Supreme windbreaker has already lapped the movie it’s meant to promote.

→ A $250 jacket reselling for $4,000.
→ NYU kids wrapping around SoHo for a pop-up that looked more like an album drop than a film campaign.
→ GOATs like Tom Brady, Misty Copeland, Bill Nye and Michael Phelps wearing the jacket.
→ A box truck full of ping-pong balls parked outside.
→ A film that doesn’t hit theatres until Christmas.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.

A24, Doni Nahmias and Chalamet are doing something studios used to stumble into by accident. They’re creating 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 that make people feel part of the story before the story begins.

And the jacket works because it feels like it belongs to a world we haven’t entered yet.

That’s the magic of it.

This is the evolution of the A24 playbook.

It’s the sportsification of film marketing… drops, scarcity, athletes, hype cycles, streetwear logic applied to cinema.

𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰. Chalamet has cracked that meta-game.

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