🐶 Jacco van der Kooij

Do you know a large Midwest family? Well, if you do, then you know me.  I am the youngest of eight, raised in a small farmers'​ village in the Netherlands. If I picked an apple from the wrong tree on my way home from school, my parents would know about it before I got off my bike.

The family name is like a bank account, and my family has put their savings in it for over 50 years.  We are not rich, but the van der Kooij's are known for our hard work, and willingness to help others. So we never needed a lot of money. For my family, our reputation is the most valued asset and trust is the currency we trade in.  Every day.

Fast forward to today, a time where the subscription (SaaS) business model is impacting organizations big and small.   Why?  Because in the subscription business you MUST make a client successful!  You have to earn an honest word-of-mouth reference by exceeding a client's expectation. You have to work hard and build a reputation. I recognize this as these are the norms and values I was raised on, and I know exactly what to do.

Welcome to my village. Pop. 12,000. Established 2005.

Founder

Winning By Design helps customer to design, build and scale their sales efforts.  With offices in San Francisco, Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, Antwerp, Shanghai and Sydney we help clients big and small with a process driven approach to sales.  The right process executed by trained professional will help you earn more business from the right customers.

Jacco van der Kooij

OPEN LETTER TO LINKEDIN
The growing need for structure and attribution in the knowledge economy

LinkedIn you are the world’s largest professional knowledge network. You've democratized access, but in doing so, have flattened content, blurred provenance, and eroded trust.

Your algorithm appears optimized for engagement, which inadvertently subsidizes noise and punishes original content. You now operate a system that rewards what spreads rather than what stands up to scrutiny. Popularity passes for truth, and noise drowns out knowledge. The loudest ideas rise the fastest — even when they add the least.

Today, a researcher’s 18-month field study sits beside a pundit’s morning take, a recycled quote, and a viral meme, all formatted the same and indistinguishable as users scroll through their feeds. It feels like click-harvesting, and runs counter to your mission to make professionals more productive and successful.

Traditional media solved this long ago:
+ Harvard Business Review separates research from commentary.
+ The Economist distinguishes data from opinion.
+ Fast Company labels features and essays differently.

They did this for one reason, to help readers understand: What am I consuming, and why should I trust it?

On LinkedIn, there’s no way to tell who uncovered an idea, who interpreted it, or who simply repackaged it. Operating the world’s largest knowledge exchange without structure or attribution overlooks the responsibility that comes with shaping how the world learns and works.

How LinkedIn Can Steward a Layered Knowledge Economy?

1. Structure:  Not all creators serve the same function. 

LinkedIn can establish a taxonomy that helps audiences distinguish between research, reaction, analysis, and amplification. This would restore hierarchy and context to the feed — making expertise visible.

To illustrate what a structure could look like, I’ve drafted an outline of five functional archetypes of the Knowledge Economy— Originators, Pundits, Aggregators, Amplifiers, and Synthesizers — complete with examples from the SaaS and AI industry.

2. Attribution: Establish content-protection and attribution standards.

LinkedIn can establish standards that ensure original insights, data, and frameworks are instantly recognized, cited, and credited — not quietly copied or recycled for click harvesting. In a knowledge economy, provenance is protection.

YouTube was forced to do this by the music industry—introducing attribution systems that ultimately benefited podcasters and creators worldwide. LinkedIn now faces a similar crossroads. In a knowledge economy, provenance is protection.

Today, AI is uniquely suited to solve both of these challenges at scale.

IN CLOSING

LinkedIn’s mission has always been to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. What began as a place to find a role in business has become the place to do business. That evolution carries a new responsibility: to steward knowledge.

Working with customers opened my eyes and changed my life | Being kind and assuming positive intent will help you see the world from a different perspective

Taxonomy for the LinkedIn Knowledge Economy

Do you know the probability you will hit your growth target by the end of 2026?
When we ask Execs sitting on tens to hundreds of millions of funding (and revenue), most have no real answer.

In the past, this didn’t matter — all you needed to know was capacity needed to meet demand. But times have changed.

Good news, today we are able to scientifically instrument growth, not only to give an answer with precision to that question — but also to reveal the patterns underneath it. 

Check the dashboard!!!

The growth rate may still be exponential. Yet the growth state is already decelerating.

The system is adding revenue, but it’s no longer self-reinforcing, the second derivative — the compound rate — has gone negative.

GTM Efficiency is rising for all the wrong reasons. It is now spending $3.38 of commercial energy to produce every $1 of growth. Whoa! cost is compounding faster than growth. At that rate, it will take more than a decade to earn it back. 

Then reality sets in: Probability of hitting target: 22%!

Not because the target is wrong — but because the growth architecture underneath is leaking. Lead quality is dropping. Conversion is inconsistent.
But most of all Loop activation (k-factor) is weak, since most effort is spend on growth through inbound!

The internal physics of the system are fighting the goal, not supporting it.

Here’s the good news: the 3x3 GTM growth analysis shows exactly where to look.
• Enterprise Acquisition: massive untapped opportunity
• SMB Retention: underperforming
• Mid-Market Expansion: sub-optimal

“Yes, Jacco, but… it’s just a dashboard.”

Folks — this isn’t.  It’s a reflection of a new mindset, a multi-threaded model of the growth engine, built on a scientific growth architecture:
• S-curve behavior
• The compound rate
• Growth loop activation
• GTM efficiency
• Probability analysis to hit target 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 months out.
• And identify underutilized GTM motions

This is a different way of seeing growth — and a different way of designing it. Its been a missing layer, causing us to model growth against investor metrics instead! 

Richard Feynman once said: “What I cannot create, I do not understand.”

Thus, our job is to understand growth, so we may create it.

We now teach this scientific approach to growth through an online class (6 hours) better yet, opt for an annual subscription to the Growth Institute that includes quarterly case-studies.

Let's Grow!

Ayhan K. Isaacs

Founder Institute

I lead global partnerships at the Founder Institute, where I design and deliver customized startup accelerator programs for governments, universities, and corporations. My work focuses on driving innovation, economic growth, and entrepreneurial ecosystems through scalable, impact-driven initiatives. If you're looking to launch ventures, upskill talent, or position your region or organization as a startup hub—we should talk.

Head of Strategic Partnerships & Economic Development

The Founder Institute is the world's largest pre-seed accelerator and startup network. I joined the HQ team to lead various growth initiatives.

Head of Growth

I interview individuals in the startup world who built (or are building) venture-funded companies. They share their stories and talk about their craft. I hosted over a hundred online events. See the media section for examples!

Online Event Producer & Host

SANDBOX by Oraseya Capital

I run workshops and host office hours for the startups enrolled in the Sandbox startup program. The topics I cover are specific to getting early-stage traction and scaling out those efforts. I worked with more than 100 companies (as of Apr 2025). 

Workshop topics include:
- The Fundamentals of Scaling 
- Growth Marketing Techniques
- Automating Sales Funnels
- Positioning & Copywriting
- Time to Value Mapping & Product Launches
- Customer Acquisition 
- Building Retargeting & Email Nurturing Programs
- Retention, Referral Marketing & Growth Loops
- Conversion Research & Using Data to Drive Decisions in Marketing & Product
- How to Scale Marketing Channels  
- Building a Growth Team
- Geographic Expansion Strategies

Mentor & Workshop Instructor [Commercial Pillar - Growth, GTM, Sales, Marketing, etc]

Growth Rhino

Outbound agency that helps B2B companies build a system to book meetings with their ideal prospects using cold outreach. We've worked with 100+ companies to date.

Hustle Fund

✍️ small cheques to startups with other angels at Hustle Fund

Angel Squad Member

Pavilion

Pavilion is an exclusive global community for revenue growth leaders.

Executive Member

Velocity Growth

Taught some startup founders about cold outreach. Content included: list-building tactics, outreach strategy, copywriting principles, technical setup, and campaign management.

Workshop Instructor

Unstack

Unstack helps you build websites and landing pages to drive traffic, leads, and sales without coding or complex design tools.

Learn more at unstack.com

Angel Investor in Seed Round

Crowdlinker

[Services - Agency - SMB/MidMarket] 

Crowdlinker is a Product Studio that partners with high growth & venture-funded technology companies to produce innovative digital products.  Clients include Shopify, Freshbooks, League, and Top Hat.

Rebuilt their whole revenue engine from demand generation to building a sales process.

AirborneApp

[SaaS - Seed - SalesTech - SMB]

Airborne is a sales engagement product purpose built for sales agencies. 
Led all inbound and outbound initiatives.

Airborne was acquired by Demand Science in Jul 2021.

Reply

[SaaS - Series A - SalesTech - Self service & SMB]

Reply is a sales engagement platform that automates your personal cold email outreach so you can focus on closing deals.

I worked with each team lead (business development, sales, customer success & marketing) to drive revenue by launching new initiatives & optimizing existing campaigns/processes.

Growth & Conversion Optimization

“In the startup world, growth isn’t just about scaling fast—it’s about building sustainable systems that drive long-term success. Over the past decade, I’ve learned that successful startups don’t just find product-market fit; they master growth-market fit.”

With 10+ years of experience in entrepreneurship, GTM, startup acceleration, and economic development, I’ve helped companies build scalable growth engines that deliver measurable results. My focus has expanded to driving innovation and economic growth through customized accelerator programs, empowering governments, universities, and corporations to foster entrepreneurial ecosystems that create jobs, attract investment, and spark sustainable business development.

My biggest insight from a decade in this space? Growth isn’t just about numbers—it’s about understanding your audience, leveraging the right data, and executing with clarity and purpose. The future of startup success lies at the intersection of creativity, technology, and relentless experimentation.

As Head of Strategic Partnerships & Economic Development at Founder Institute, I lead global initiatives that transform how our startup accelerators operate across diverse markets, working closely with partners to deliver high-impact, tailored programs.

At Growth Rhino, I specialize in building outbound sales systems and refining GTM strategies for SaaS companies. Our work has helped startups generate millions in revenue by focusing on precision, personalization, and scalable growth tactics.

If you’re a founder, entrepreneur, or partner looking to accelerate growth, drive economic development, or exchange insights on startup acceleration—let’s connect!

Investor

Radar is a chrome extension that helps you keep track of your contacts. 
If a contact posts on Linkedin or switches their job.
Radar sends you an email. 
Keep your network warm & never miss an opportunity again.

I’m honoured to be part of an exceptional international network of industry mentors for Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy Create Apps
Championship, the UAE’s flagship global competition for mobile app innovation.
As part of the #CreateAppsInDubai initiative, this year’s cohort will compete for a share of $720,000 to turn their concepts into market-ready Mobile Apps and
establish their businesses in Dubai.

Have an idea with the potential to make an impact? Sign Up now at
https://linkly.link/2GRYg 

Special thanks to Carmen Mateos Moreno for the invite!

At the Intersection of Global Startup Hubs & Local Economies | Ecosystem Development, Accelerators & SMB Growth 🌎

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The Battle

Jacco van der Kooij

Ayhan K. Isaacs

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Performance ScoreJacco van der Kooij's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAyhan K. Isaacs's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Jacco van der Kooij

Ayhan K. Isaacs

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jacco van der Kooij's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAyhan K. Isaacs's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJacco van der Kooij's LinkedIn Performance