You can sell anything with the combination of copywriting + storytelling + email. Join 15,000+ entrepreneurs, and I'll show you how every week at writeoncopy.co

The back of my baseball card:

Experienced customer retention marketer. Generated over $50,000,000 in revenue throughout my career through Email & SMS marketing.

What I'm working on:

By day, you'll find me at Beard Club, laser-focused on increasing retention rates and lifetime value (LTV) for our subscription business. If you want to grow the best beard of your life, hit us up!

By night, I'm building:

• A loyal twitter following - https://twitter.com/joe_portsmouth
• A newsletter to help you become a better copywriter - https://writeon.beehiiv.com/

DMs are always open!

Joe Portsmouth

I help founders of 5+ years build better systems that work for them - Not against them.

Hey, I'm Adam. 

I started my first company 17 years ago, overdrawn $350 in my bank account, in the middle of the 2008 recession. 

I never borrowed money or brought on partners. 

And that company was officially acquired on March 3, 2025! 

I've worked with companies like Goodwill Industries, Redbull, Bass Pro Shops, Tito's Handmade Vodka,
and Gibson Guitars.

I had what looked like success from the outside - 
Growing revenue, expanding team, industry recognition. 

But what's less visible on the balance sheet is that in year 6, after weeks of not sleeping, barely eating, and feeling completely isolated despite being surrounded by people who loved me and depended on me, I hit rock bottom. I found myself ready to end my life.

I’m here today because play pulled me out of the dark. 

And now I help entrepreneurs, leaders, and companies rediscover unstructured play as a catalyst for creativity, collaboration, and prioritizing mental wellbeing.

I do this 3 ways:  
1. Speaking engagements
2. The Creative Builder 1:1 advisory
3. My newsletter
 
Play isn't an action, it's an environment. 

Let's create yours!

Adam Tanaka

I want to take this Monday morning to shout out 3 people that have had a significant impact on my life.

If I can be even just half as kind, talented, creative, and brilliant as them, then I'd be well on my way….

Sam Davidson 
13 years ago, I went from screen printing on the floor of my studio apartment to a garage. Sam owned an apparel brand I wanted to work with, so as you would do back in 2012, I sent him a Facebook message. He showed up in my dingy, dark garage with barely any equipment and said "Let's do this."

That lit a fire, showing me that as long as I keep showing up, doing the work, and being myself, I'd be ok. A customer, turned mentor, turned dear friend.

Antonio Neves 
I found out about Tony through Sam, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I had built a successful company but felt like there was more to the work I was doing. Tony pushed me (in the best way), asked the hard questions, and gave me the space to think. He changed my life - reminded me that I’m in control and that the most powerful thing I can do is focus on today.

Jess Ekstrom 
I was connected to Jess through Antonio. The thing about Jess is that she is a straight up powerhouse human. I made the decision in late 2024 to focus on 3 core pieces of work moving forward, and one of those was speaking. Jess helped me develop a keynote around a topic that is personal for me - Permission to Play. Our work together gave me the confidence to really bring this talk to life. 

The work that all 3 of them are doing to this day are changing lives in big ways. 

You never know where one in-person interaction will lead. It could completely change your life…It did mine.

And each time, I wasn't overcomplicating or over-thinking. I left myself open to opportunity with no urgency attached. Just wanting to grow. 
And honestly, I couldn’t imagine life without those 3 people in it. 

Who is someone you'd tag that impacted your life in some pretty incredible ways?

Helping adults rediscover play | Disrupting burnout culture | TEDx Speaker | Redesigning the way kids are supported (not managed) at Cavehouse Supply

The only question I started asking at networking events to create meaningful relationships. 

And it wasn't - "What do you do?"

Early on when I stepped into a crowded room, I always felt out of place...
The scrawny dude in a black tshirt, beanie, jeans, and colorful shoes while everyone is looking awesome in sports coats, button downs, dress shoes, beautiful dresses, and everyone smells amazing.

For a founder who navigates social anxiety, I mostly stuck around, mainly because there was always someone there I knew. (safety)

I'd fill out the name tag - "Adam Tanaka, founder of ____" and slap it on the left side of my chest and go. 

And every time, someone would squint at the name tag and asked "so what do you do?"

In order to get through each "level" of the same question, I turned it into a game to help me dial in my brand statement to just one clear sentence. It worked!

But I admit - One of the mistakes I made was never having a clear strategy before walking into these rooms. 

After attending tons of these events, I realized something...
If I wanted to work with someone and really get to know them, I don't want to know what they do. I want to know what they're working on right now that excites them. What fires them up. What does adventure mean to them...

From that point forward, the name tag changed - 
"Adam Tanaka, Adventurer"

They'd ask - "Adventurer? Is that the name of your company?" 
I responded - Nope. I like to be in the mountains, I like to hike and be buried in the trees...ride my bike, play music, write. 

From this, I got to know amazing humans on a deep level and hear their stories.

*The CEO said - "I'm building a treehouse for my daughter and she loves helping me. I'm learning how much I enjoy woodworking"
*The accountant said - "I'm working on a series of photographs around my neighborhood. I've always loved taking photos."
*The restaurant owner said - "I love painting model trains and have a full track set up in my attic."
*The SDR said - "I make sure to go to a different art show, exhibit, museum almost every weekend. That's where I find peace which helps me kick off a good tone for the week ahead." 

They opened up about what truly excites them as human beings and that created a safe space for real conversation. I learned their version of what it meant to give themselves permission to play.

“Just post about the things you actually care about.”

You read this kind of stuff on LinkedIn all of the time. 

Except this time, it hit different. 
(Probably because it was a post from Magali De Reu. She knows how to cut through the BS and get to the good stuff) 

I started writing on LI in late 2023. I felt like I had so much to share but not enough to write about at the same time. 
I stopped being consistent because it started feeling like a joke. But I never really knew what I wanted my outcome to be because my thoughts were in a million places. Showing up in the digital space to build, create, and connect felt foreign, especially as someone in their 40s. 

I’d been building businesses in real life since 2008 but reading about people 15 to 20 years younger than me crushing the online space, of course I became Captain Grumps. How could I connect the dots? How do I make this work? Does this matter? 👴🏼

The final answer for me was - It depends. 
And this was the best answer because it gave me confidence to know it can be whatever I want it to be...which reminded me of when I started my first business.
I had almost forgotten what it was like to give myself space to just create freely.

I realized that I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve from this platform because it’s the same thing I do offline. 

So, the stuff I actually care about? 

Empowering kids and supporting families. 
Helping long-time entrepreneurs take back control. 
Connecting with people on a deep level. 
And adventure. 

I didn’t know what that looked like until December 2024 and then it became: 
↳Speaking
↳Writing
↳Cavehouse Supply

I didn’t know how to put it into practice until July 2025, and by the end of last year:
→ 6 speaking engagements + my first TEDx talk (thanks for believing in me Amanda Banks) + cover story in one of Nashville's business publications (huge thanks to Nicole Childrey and Lucas Hendrickson)
→ Over 12 articles as a contributing writer (love working with you Cassie Green) + children’s picture book (final coming soon, thanks to my talented collab partner Leroy Dawson) + outline for something new
→ Launched a kids magazine + video series for families + kid-powered storytelling app prototype (close to V1!!)
And so much more that fell into those buckets. 

2026 is already blowing my mind and we’re only 3 weeks into the year!

What I've always carried around with me is that no one can achieve anything alone, but...

What probably took me way too long to learn: 
Outcomes get clearer and opportunities become greater when you stop over-complicating and just stay true to who you are and what you actually care about.

taplio

The Battle

Joe Portsmouth

Adam Tanaka

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Performance ScoreAdam Tanaka's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Joe Portsmouth

Adam Tanaka

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);}Adam Tanaka's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreAdam Tanaka's LinkedIn Performance