Jake Summerhayes

Working with founders and business Leaders to craft powerful and authentic personal brands. 

Why? Because reputation matters. 

- 82% of customers trust a company when their senior management members are active on social media

- Brand messages are shared 24x more on personal accounts compared to company accounts

- Customers are willing to pay 13.5x more for elite industry experts

Yet only 1% of LinkedIn's 700 million users share weekly content. 

Our mission at Kurogo is to solve that.

Kurogo is derived from the Japanese ‘Kuroko’ referring to the black clad stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre.

The convention of wearing black implying the invisibility of the wearer on stage. 

We are your Kurogo. 

Directing, driving and delivering your personal brand from the background. 

Giving you the spotlight to excel in what you do best.

Head Of Client Services

Client: “Content approved, no changes”
Me (a nearly 30-year-old man ):

Client Services Director @ Kurogo | We create thought leaders through Personal Branding

“Who the fuck is Steven Bartlett?”

That was the response my Mrs had a few years ago when I said I wanted to watch Dragon's Den, because it was his first season.

This marketing bubble is much smaller than you think.

Go and touch some grass.

Just admit it, you’re never going to look at that saved post again…

I’m 29. I lead client services at a remote agency. 

My day: 

7:00am-1:00pm Work
1:00pm-3:00pm Break
3:00pm-4:30pm Work

Honestly any structure other than this would be bullshit, because it changes everyday.

My metrics for success are:
- Client Retention
- Team Happiness
- Team Performance

And whilst there is a list of tasks and responsibilities that fall under the pursuit of those, every day, week or month ends up being different. 

Things come up, priorities shift and I’m given the freedom to be flexible.

As long as we’re growing the business, and making progress towards those metrics, nothing else matters.

I am really not looking forward to 2026 

It's going to be an incredibly tough year for myself and Kurogo.

We're going to be dealing with a lot of consequences of 2025.

- Hitting Record MMR multiple times
- Crossing the £1,000,000 ARR mark
- Having our largest team yet 
- Having our biggest social ever
- Signing a record number of clients 
- Records across all client delivery metrics
- Record campaign performance metrics 

These are all huge problems because now we have to beat them again this year.

AND I need to hire a bunch of people to help us do it.

My steak is too juicy and my lobster is too buttery.

If you can be arsed being a part of it, keep an eye out on all personal and company socials.

We'll be releasing some roles soon...

I once fired a client during their onboarding call. 

They spent less than 15 minutes on the books.

What did the job was they were throwing around phrases like:
”What guarantees do I have after the contract ends?”
”This other agency offered me x, y and z”
”Can we add a refund if I’m not happy?”

(Bearing in mind they had already been back and forth with the sales team for over a month)

But these things weren’t the issue; they never are. 

Just symptoms of someone who’s jumped into something before they were ready. The reasons for which ultimately don’t matter. 

As soon as it becomes obvious we’re starting off on that foot, it’s best we end it before we both have a shit time and the regret spirals into resentment.

Like my first relationship
- I didn’t actually fire them, it was ‘mutual’ of course
- They went with someone else and came back a few months later
- We had a great time for 6-months and parted ways amicably 

Alls well that ends well.

When people say social media is cyclical this is what they mean…

4 years ago, I joined Kurogo as their 4th hire.

We’re now up to 20 of us with over £100k MRR.

In honour of that anniversary here’s my 4 biggest lessons beginning with f….

- Fucking focus: 1 thing done well is better than 10 things done poorly.
- Fuck Hustle Culture: Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, stop rushing
- Fucking Plan: It will never go the way you think, but it gives perspective.
- Fuck being scared of feedback: It’s never personal, but it is necessary.

4 years, 4 f’s, very fucking worth it. 

Here’s to another year of doing what we do. Sometimes wrong, mostly right, never boring.

Bonus For 2026: Fuck your shit AI content (still)

It’s so easy to feel like every other business has a perfect product or service.

Then you buy a toaster from a leading UK retailer that turns out not to be deep enough to fit a full slice of bread, so now all your toast comes with 2 inches of bread OR you flip it round to create an ombre that would have 2012 jealous. 

Every single morning, I'm reminded that the world is full of incompetence.

And you're probably doing better than you think.

I check one number every week: client churn. If it's high, nothing else matters.

Most agency owners obsess over new leads.

But if your clients keep leaving, you’re running on a treadmill.

Acquisition feeds your ego. Retention feeds your bank balance.

Every Monday, I review churn with my senior team. If that number’s not low, nothing else in the business works. You can pile on as many new clients as you want-it’s like running a bath with the plug out.

Here’s what moved our retention from “average” to “best-in-class” in the last 6 months:

1. Set real expectations.
Tempting to promise the world in sales calls. But if you do, you’ll deal with unhappy clients and refunds. Be clear about what they get and what they don’t.

2. Nail the first 30 days.
Onboarding sets the tone. Give them a win in the first 48 hours. Show progress, no matter how small. Always tell them what’s next. Uncertainty kills trust.

3. Over-communicate.
We send weekly roundups: what we did, results, stats, next steps. Monthly reports give the big picture. Never let a client wonder if you’re working for them.

4. Do what you say, when you say.
Missed deadlines are worse than missed features. I left an agency once, not because they failed to deliver, but because they never did it on time. Consistency > fireworks.

5. Incentivise your team on retention.
Forget fancy bonus schemes. Reward your team for keeping clients. Simple target, simple reward.

Retention is not just about service. It’s about trust, clarity, and doing the basics right every time.

Want to scale? Obsess over churn.

ps. Save this post for the week you feel like you’re losing clients faster than you gain them.

Every business has three core systems:

1️⃣ Acquisition (get attention and leads)
2️⃣ Value Delivery (give clients what you promised)
3️⃣ Infrastructure (everything behind the scenes)

Most people scale the first one too early. 
They pour fuel on the fire before fixing leaks.

Here’s my rule: Don’t scale until less than 10% of your clients have problems. 

If you ignore this, you only scale the headaches.

Client experience is the same. 

Call clients at key points. 
Ask where the process broke. 
Use their feedback to smooth the journey.

Acquisition feeds your ego. Retention feeds your bank balance.

Everyone loves chasing new clients. Feels good. Makes you look busy. But if you can’t keep them, you’re running a business with the plug out.

Here’s what I see all the time:

- People refuse to work for free, saying they’re “worth more.” They spend 6 months searching for that first paid client.
- Meanwhile, the ones willing to work for free land their first client in 30 days, get proof, and start charging real money within 60.
- The ego crowd is still arguing about their value. The others are building a real business.

You don’t need to quit your day job to start. Validate your offer. Get a few case studies. Then focus on what actually matters: keeping those clients.

Retaining clients is where the real game starts. Most people obsess over acquisition. But acquisition is vanity. Retention is sanity.

Here are 5 things that have doubled our retention rate in the last 6 months:

1️⃣ Set real expectations. Overpromise in sales and you’ll create unhappy clients who leave fast. Be honest about what you deliver.

2️⃣ Nail the first 30 days. Give your client a clear win within 48 hours. Remove uncertainty. Let them know what happens next. First impressions stick.

3️⃣ Weekly communication. Every Friday, we send clients a roundup: what we did, what worked, and what’s next. If you don’t remind clients of your value, they’ll forget it.

4️⃣ Do what you say, when you say it. I’ve left agencies-not because the work was bad, but because promises weren’t kept. Reliability beats over-delivery every time.

5️⃣ Incentivise your team for retention. Tie bonuses to client stickiness, not just acquisition. The team cares about what you measure.

If you can’t retain clients, you’ll never scale. It’s that simple.

Acquisition is loud. Retention is quiet-but it’s where the money is.

Save this for the days you’re tempted to chase shiny new leads.

Content @ Kurogo | LinkedIn Creator Accelerator

I just moved from Bangalore to London on a fully sponsored writing job. Here's my story so far:

Age 17: did 4 internships in a gap year before my undergrad
Age 18: started writing online on Instagram, Medium, and LinkedIn
Age 19: signed my first ghostwriting client
Age 20: graduated uni with first-class distinction
Age 21: one of the youngest members of LI's creator accelerator, got paid lakhs to write here (wild)
Age 22: beat 700+ people to get my dream job in personal branding
Age 23: dropped out of a Masters degree from KCL
Age 24: moved back to London for work

I've had quite the unconventional story. 

The fact I'm the proudest of isn't any of the "achievements" but that I did it all my way.

I write mostly to my younger self. 

My journey is an example of how your life can change if you refuse to conform and earn the right to play your own game.

Today, the clients I work with at my job are multi-millionaires dominating their industries. I'm lucky I get paid to learn from them everyday.

If you'd like to get in touch with me, email me at varunkhadri@gmail.com.

Varun Khadri

Luxuries most people don’t realise they have:

1. Having your parents still alive
2. A partner who always backs you
3. A full belly
4. Clean water running through your taps
5. Enough in the bank to not worry about rent
6. Your limbs work flawlessly
7. Doing work you like
8. Paid time off

We’re all luckier than we realise.

3 simple rules I’ve set for myself for a good year:

- With a good habit you’re trying to adopt, never miss two days in a row. Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern, thrice is a new habit.

- Do what you say you’re going to do. Forget about other people, this is how you teach YOUR own mind that you’re someone worth talking seriously.

- If anything harms my health, I want no part of it. “You only live once” should never be an excuse for unhealthy coping mechanisms. You get one life, so take care of yourself.

What’s one rule you’ve set for yourself in 2026?

The older I get, the more I realise that my parents were right all along.

A good life to me today is:

- Eating more home-cooked food
- Reading/learning continually
- Playing every evening
- Using my phone less 
- Drinking less soda
- Going to bed early
- Working hard
- Being honest

All the things my parents tried to get me to do as a kid.

Funny how life comes full circle!

The superflu is no joke.

Last Tuesday, I proudly announced to Sam G. Winsbury  “I’m going to try to not take a single sick day in 2026”

Next day, I got the flu and had 104 degree fever for the whole week.

I couldn’t get out of bed for days.
I lost 4 kgs in 6 days.
I didn’t have enough strength to even stand in the shower.
I dissapeared from LinkedIn for the first time ever.

All this isn’t to say “wow pls cry for me”.

The point is that you can have the best of intentions but…

When your health breaks, when life comes for you, every plan goes out the window.

Then, you gotta adapt and readjust.

Life will never follow your script, but hey - isn’t that what makes it worth living?

14: Wrote my first words online (WordPress blog).
15: Quit my pursuit of professional Badminton in Bangalore.
16: Started making money for the first time, working for myself.
17: Did 35 model UNs in one year, won at some.
18: Took a gap year to do internships and get formal work-ex.

19: started writing on Instagram.
20: miserable in undergrad, being taught outdated stuff.
21: started writing on Medium and signed my first ghostwriting client.

22: somehow graduated with first-class distinction.
23: LinkedIn paid me $2500 to write on the platform, wild times.

24: got into King's College for post-grad and moved to London.
24: was disappointed at the calibre, dropped out, and moved back home.
24: ended a long-term relationship I knew was wrong for me.
24: started working my dream role at my dream company.

25: moved back to London for work on a sponsored visa.

29/01/26 - writing this post at 6 am before starting work in one of my all-time most hectic weeks.

Growing up, all I heard was:

"Writers are starving artists"
"Stop posting everything online"
"You'll never amount to anything if you don't study".

I begrudgingly listened for a few years.

Then I realised:
If I don't want their life, why am I taking their advice?

The takeaways from my journey:

1. Try lots of things, something is bound to stick.
2. You can have the best plan, but life will still surprise you.
3. You're capable of building the life you want - if you put in the work.

Tell me in the comments - what's the most interesting part of your story?

Every single positive outcome in my life was born out of a single decision I made.

From the job I work to the city I live in to the people I know, 

It was all shaped by one choice:
Building my personal brand.

Most people think a personal brand is about followers.
It’s not.
A personal brand is leverage.
And leverage touches every goal in your life.

➡️ Career?
Your brand speaks before you enter the room.
Opportunities find you - jobs, clients, partnerships, because people already trust your thinking.

➡️ Money?
When people know what you stand for, they’re willing to pay for your perspective.
They’re more willing to pay not just for your time.
But also your point of view.

➡️ Freedom?
A strong personal brand gives you options.
You choose who you work with, what you say yes to, and where you spend your energy.

➡️ Confidence?
When you articulate your ideas publicly, you stop second-guessing yourself privately.
And clarity creates confidence.

➡️ Impact?
Your experiences don’t just stay experiences.
They become lessons that help other people move faster, avoid mistakes, and believe in themselves.

But here’s the real truth most people miss:
You already have a personal brand.

The only question is - 
are you shaping it intentionally…
or letting others define it for you?

So build your personal brand.

Not for attention.

But for everything else - better career, higher income, more freedom, and deeper relationships, that visibility unlocks.

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As a young person, you have two choices.

Live it up in your 20s.
Travel. Party. Say yes to everything.
Stretch adolescence a little longer.

Or put your head down early.
Work when others are playing.
Build skills, discipline, and direction while you still have the most energy to do so.

Neither path is WRONG.
But they do compound very differently.

One optimises for memories now, and optionality later - often with more pressure, more catching up, more trade-offs in your 30s.

The other delays gratification.
It looks boring from the outside.
But it buys leverage: confidence, competence, and freedom that most people only start chasing a decade later.

What people don’t say enough is this:

You don’t magically “figure it out” with age.
You inherit the consequences of how you spent your time.

The real question isn’t fun vs grind.

It’s: WHEN do you want life to feel lighter?

I’m choosing to build early, so future me doesn’t have to sprint forever.

What are you choosing?

You trust the bartender to not spit in your drink.

You trust the pilot to not crash the plane.

You trust the doctor operating on you to not be a fraud.

You trust your barber to not mess up your hair.

You trust the barista to make your coffee properly.

Then tell me, my friend, why do you refuse to trust that you're capable of more?

Why do you refuse to believe you can achieve your wildest goals?

If you can trust strangers blindly, you can back yourself to build the life you want!

♻️ Share this with a friend to remind them to believe in themselves.

A day in my life as a 25-year-old in London (21/01/26) 👇🏻

- Up at 7 am, usually an early riser but it’s my first winter here and it’s been harder to wake up early lately.

- Coffee, quick meditation, and at my desk by 8.30 am

- Start my day by writing my LinkedIn content before anything else and commenting on the team’s posts

- Leave from home as we’re having a co-working day in Paddington, 35 mins on the tube door to door

- Get to the coffee shop at 10 am and meet a couple of colleagues, we work remotely, but it’s always nice to catch up in person, the vibes are good, plus working in person pushes me to work harder

- I’m nervous to take a client call at 11.30 because it’s a new client and I usually avoid doing meetings when I’m working out of public spaces, thankfully the cafe wasn’t too noisy so the call went well

- Break at 12.30 for lunch with my colleagues, over lunch we talk about workout routines, the company's 2026 strategy, a few problem clients, and where we see the industry heading - we’re all obsessed with what we do

- Back to work at the restaurant we were lunching at, it’s a nice quiet spot and we were the only ones there, so it was the perfect spot to work from

- Around 4.30 pm we wind up for the day to avoid the rush hour on our way back home, on my way back I do a food shop because the nice supermarket I like getting my groceries from is closeby. I also grab a quick pain au chocolat as a pre-workout snack

- Back home an hour later, quick call to catch up with family and then it’s time to get a lift in with my friends, it’s super convenient having a gym in my building so no excuses of “I’m too tired to get out of the house”.

- Dinner at 8 pm, my friend made curry so I shamelessly steal some from her and heat up frozen naans

- 9 pm: I do the dishes, watch a little bit of Netflix (just finished a show called Run Away), and in bed for 10 pm

📷 On days that I feel a little homesick, happening days like these make me glad I took the leap of moving away from my hometown. Still hard being away from my loved ones though.

But that’s a day in my life, what do your days look like?

A perk of my job is I get to pick the brains of the top 1% performers daily.

A surprising pattern I’ve noticed in them is:

They have ridiculously boring habits.

They do the same things over and over again,
Longer than would be considered reasonable by most others.

The top 1% prioritise the simple things like being up early, reading, exercising consistently, and so on.

From the outside, it’s easy to assume your idols live a super happening, exciting life.

And maybe they do - at times.

But most of their days, and how they got where they were in the first place, is by doing the boring things right consistently.

Excitement is overrated in the pursuit of excellence.

I’ve never been told by someone more successful than me to have more work life balance and take it easy.

I’ve never been told by someone fitter than me that I need to let loose and eat out more and drink more with them.

I’ve never been told by someone wealthier than me that I need to buy more designer brands and spend more than I make.

Coincidence? I doubt it.

I can’t believe I’ll log into work on Monday and not see a familiar face.

We’ve never agreed on everything but we’ve never had to.

I’m going to miss us bickering so much!!! 🫣😆

We’re sad to be losing you Megan Bishop but also so happy for you as you head off on your next adventure. You’re doing something equal parts terrifying and exciting. We know some days are sh!t and chaotic but we’re so proud of you - now and always ❤️

This isn’t goodbye but an “until next time” 🥂

The fastest hack for behaviour change is controlling your environment.

If you don’t get liquor home, you’re less likely to drink.

If your friends work out, you’re more likely to go to the gym.

If you hang around smokers, you’re more likely to smoke.

Control who and what you allow around yourself.

Behaviour change is downstream from the right environment.

I’ve been so much better with my habits once I got clear on what my bare minimum looks like.

When I’m sick and can’t get to the gym, I try going on just a short walk after a meal.

When I’m unmotivated and don’t feel like creating content, I fire off a quick tweet and I’m done for the day.

When I’m tired and don’t feel like doing my skincare routine, I just put moisturiser and call it.

When I’m lazy and don’t feel like working, I do the tasks that HAVE to get done that day and finish up.

The goal isn’t perfect consistency.

It’s to have no zero days.

What version of the habit can you manage to do even on your worst days? 

That’s what you’ve to figure out to make a habit stick.

📷 - is it socially acceptable to still use Christmas pics?

Sunday reminder: do hard things to feel good about yourself.

My 2026 motto: say yes more.

Last year was a lot - I moved countries, juggled a demanding job with hobbies like sports and content creation, as well as maintained my existing close relationships.

As a consequence, however, I said no to most other things.

Going to events, meeting new people, travelling more, new interests - everything took a backseat.

And I’m glad I did that and narrowed my focus to prioritise the most essential.

But saying no to everything won’t serve me well in this next phase.

I didn’t move to London to be in a shell.

So I’m saying “yes” more this year.

I’m realistic though, as an introvert, most things still don’t appeal to me.

I like my own little world and simple daily routine.

But every now and then, I’m pushing myself to do new things, meet new people, and have new experiences.

I’m more open to widening my perspective and changing my opinion on things.

Let’s see how it works out.

What are you saying yes to more this year?

January was the longest 6 months of my life.

Being healthy is actually really simple: 

Sleep enough, drink less and don’t smoke, eat nutritious food, do work that fulfils you, and stay away from toxic people. 

Doing just these basics right will already put you ahead of 99% of the crowd. 

Don’t overcomplicate it.

📷 - having an active Sunday here in London, what are you doing today?

I start every week by studying virality on LinkedIn.

Every Monday on our team standup, Bruce Martinus and I break down a high-performing post for the rest of the team.

We do this because:

- It teaches the rest of the team at the agency how to reverse engineer viral content, even if that might not be their core role.

- It keeps us sharp and helps us keep our ears close to the ground.

- Social platforms are constantly evolving, what worked last week might not work this week, so if you're not keeping up with the platforms, you'll get left behind.

I've been in the personal branding space for years and have written thousands of posts, hundreds of viral ones.

Yet I still learn new things about LinkedIn every single day.

Always a student of the game :)

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The Battle

Jake Summerhayes

Varun Khadri

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The Battle

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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);}Jake Summerhayes's LinkedIn Performance

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