Inline Manual

Inline Manual provides a service to guide, support and engage prospects and customers right within an application. Easily create product walkthroughs, on-boarding guides, new features announcements, tooltips and manageable product documentation.

Used and loved by small and big companies to get customers up to speed in no time, available for any web based product. All this without any coding.

Some of the companies using Inline Manual: Pearson, pipedrive, eToro, Miovision, University of Michigan, iForex and many others from all around the world.

Founder

Eventhunt.io

Eventhunt is a Product Hunt like platform for tech/startup events in your city. It is for people who want to socialize, learn new things, get new opportunities (investors, free business advise) in the area they are in and also to help to get to know people when they move to a new location or want to get more involved while traveling.

Co-founder

Frontendunited

Organiser - travelling conference for designers, developers & drupalistas from all kinds of backgrounds - focused workshops, talks & sessions on design, frontend engineering & Drupal. (2010 Prague, 2011 Berlin, 2012 Amsterdam, 2013 UK)

Organiser

Atomic Ant Limited

Drupal developer, designer, themer, project manager

Owner

UBS Wealth Management

While being a senior Drupal developer, I started an initiative to bring into our workflow user centric design.

Senior developer, pushing User Centric Design

Drupal development, improving user experience/usability of an internal support portal. Improving processes when it comes to deployment and analysis.

Senior web developer

Drupal.org

Developer

Turner - Capgemini

Front-end and Drupal development for HLNTV.com

HLN TV

BrightTALK

Drupal developer

freelancer

Drupal developer, web designer

I'm the Founder of Inline Manual. I've worked directly with hundreds of clients serving millions of users each year. My experience working in front-end development and design lead me to user experience. Soon I realized what was missing: a way to allow the marketing and content teams to create in-app guidance on the fly. With Inline Manual, we help our clients improve onboarding and feature adoption, in a flexible and customizable way. Message me about how I can implement a better user-onboarding for your end-users with Inline Manual.

Marek Sotak

Venture Athlete & International Expansion Expert | Thriving as Generalist in a Specialized Economy

I’m Dominik, founder, athlete, & creator. A proud generalist. This is my story: 

For the last 7 years, I helped bootstrap one startup from 0 to 1M in revenue and built the international business from scratch for one of Europe’s fastest growing EdTech companies (50 -> 240 employees in my three years there).

All while competing at the highest level of the beautiful sport of Lacrosse, including an appearance for the German National Team at the 2022 World Games (the Olympics’ little brother).

While my professional achievements may seem more impressive on paper, representing Germany on an international stage is the feat that I’m most proud of.

I wasn’t very athletic up until my mid-twenties. Very little talent, but a lot of injuries to make up for it.

Until one day, I started working with a personal trainer. He helped me break down the fundamentals I needed to fix.

I worked hard, and I worked consistently. Showed up to every practice, every gym session. Did my recovery & mobility work daily.

4 years later, I made the national team roster.

The potential was in me. But it needed help unlocking.

Throughout my entire career, I’ve also helped humans unlock their potential, just in different ways:

- By teaching people in rural Rwanda and Brazilian homeless shelter how to make glasses for less than $1, and how to build a business around it
- By bringing unemployed nurses from Italy to Germany and teaching them German, opening a completely different career path for them
- By expanding the leading operating system for schools throughout Europe, so that education becomes more digital and thus accessible
- By writing about my experiences online and sharing them with the world

In late 2023, I made the decision to quit my cozy, well-paid, full-time job that fit my profile perfectly.

I'm on a mission to build my own portfolio career - and help others to unlock theirs. Join me on my journey towards building a portfolio of cashflow-positive, impact-driven businesses.

These businesses have one goal: help others unlock their potential. Just like my personal trainer did for me.

I wish that some of the best portfolio company owners turned creators had documented their journey from day 1, and not retrospectively.

So that’s what I’m doing.

I write for generalists like myself, who want to make a living in a specialized economy without specializing themselves. 

You can do more than one thing in your life. 
Let’s design that life together. 

Sign up for my newsletter here: www.dominiknitsch.com/newsletter

Dominik Nitsch

One year ago, I launched Generalyst. Seems like a good time to share a few learnings from bootstrapping a company as solo founder: 

1/ Rough beginnings

Starting out, I thought: “how hard could it be to match highly talented candidates with startups?”. 

Turns out, pretty f**king hard. Getting startups to pitch wasn’t the problem; getting candidates to apply even less so. But making the match … highly complex. 

It took six months to make the first paid placement. I was seriously questioning whether what I was doing is right, whether I should abandon the business and just join one of those incredibly cool companies I saw on a weekly basis. 

Today, things look bright: a few candidates find a job via Generalyst every month, I managed to hire a fantastic Founder’s Associate in Cesca Centini, startups pitch on a weekly basis. 

As with everything, good things take time. 
Year 1 was about creating a job. 
Year 2 will be about creating a proper business. 

2/ Trust the professionals

Recruiters have a terrible reputation. “We don’t work with recruiters” is the most common objection I hear while prospecting. 

Luckily, I thought, I’m not a recruiter. I’m an entrepreneur – I solve problems for people and tell others that I do that. So I figured I’d just do things my way, screw the industry expertise. 

Couldn’t have been more wrong. While some things in the recruitment industry definitely aren’t right, the guys who have been doing it for a long time know a thing or two – and it’s worth listening. 

The business took a steep turn upward after I started talking to professionals and picked their brain about processes. (Hint: it’s mostly about following up more intensely.) 

3/ Content works better when you do something that matters

Throughout 2024, I was struggling to create content that resonated with people. I was on sabbatical, not really doing anything meaningful (or so it felt). Now, it’s much easier: the company gives me stories to tell on a daily basis. 

Those stories resonate. 

Being a content creator without doing anything else is pointless. Sooner or later, you’ll just end up creating content about creating content. You might create an online course about creating content. And then teach others how to make money creating an online course about creating content. 

Instead, do something meaningful, then write about it. 

--

Man, I could continue endlessly … but LinkedIn has this pesky character limit. (Learnings 4 and 5 in the comments due to character limit.)

Let me close with a few thank yous: 
→ if you’ve applied to Generalyst in the past year – thank you. 
→ if you’ve pitched your company – thank you. 
→ if you’ve subscribed to my newsletter and/or stuck around to read my content here – thank you. 
→ if you’ve supported me in by listening, making intros, or providing feedback – thank you. 

Especially as solo founder, you can’t build meaningful stuff on your own. 

To the next 12 months. Gonna be fun.

Founder @ Generalyst | building talent infrastructure for early-stage startups | 1,006 generalists read my newsletter to future-proof their career

No alternative text description for this image

Over the past four weeks, I’ve received 93 applications to Generalyst. Here’s what to avoid if you’re currently applying to jobs: 

(1) Using ChatGPT-generated answers to free-text questions. 

We smell this from a mile away. It sounds good and professional, but tells me absolutely nothing about YOU. I want to see how you, not your AI, think and write. If you’re going to use AI, get so good at prompting that it doesn’t read like generic fluff. Don’t be a politician; be someone with edges. This ain't corporate. 

(2) Say: "I'm a results-driven professional with cross-functional expertise that spearheaded expansion". 

My brother in Christ, I have no idea what you're trying to tell me (besides that you're good at bullshit bingo). What's a "results-driven professional"? Like, would anyone ever describe themselves as an "activity-driven professional"? Why say "spearheading" when you could use a word that one actually uses in their day-to-day life? 

(3) Say: “I’m looking to do strategic work.” 

Instant no. In a startup, even the founder does like 97% operational work. Building a company is about, well, building. Not planning. In order to produce prime strategic work, you have to get your hands dirty first. (If you want to do strategic work, maybe strategy consultancies are your jam.) 

(4) Straight up lie in an interview. 

I never would’ve thought I’d have to say this, but this happened twice now: candidates claimed to have done something that was very easy to invalidate with a few Google searches. 

What else grinds your gears as hiring manager/recruiter?

Founder @ Generalyst | building talent infrastructure for early-stage startups | 1,022 generalists read my newsletter to future-proof their career

Our educational system is (still) broken. Because it conveys THIS as the perfect career: 

- pick a degree that you wanna specialize in
- get a master's that drives you further down specialization 
- start your first job 
- specialize further in one thing 
- do that thing for the next 40 years 

I have two problems with this. 

One, it's incredibly f**king boring. 
Two, it's a terrible way to prepare for the future. 

We don't know what the future holds. Had you told me six years ago that today that in 2025, I'd be able to run any research using a chat interface and get better results than most interns would produce within ten minutes at the price of $20/month, I'd have told you you're insane ... yet here we are. 

However, there's one skill I know is gonna be important: 

Adaptability. 

New technologies emerge daily. You can either fight them, or adapt to their existence, learn how to use them, and move forward. 

The best way to build out this skill: becoming a generalist. 

→ build out your set of meta skills
→ then, build a broad foundation in your field.
→ once you have this, go deeper on a few topics

I believe the future belongs to generalist. 
To the ones that adapt, learn new things, see intersections between different technologies. 

The days where being a "jack-of-all-trades" was a disadvantage are over.

Applicants, I hate to break it to you, but: 

Nobody reads your CV in full. 

If you take a look at the number of applications for any given job here on LinkedIn, you get a feeling for how many CVs hiring managers sift through on a daily basis. 

Given that they also have other things to do, you can't assume they'll spend >5min reading your CV. So while it may be tempting to put EVERYTHING on there ... please don't. 

When I screen CVs for Generalyst, I look at it for 20-30 secs before forming a snap judgment. Pretty sure others operate similarly. 

Use this to your advantage: 
→ make your CV as short and concise as possible, less is more
→ outline the most important factors that make you stand out
→ write a brief 2-3 sentence summary (and for the love of God, DON'T let AI write it)

The job of a CV isn't to get you a job, it's to get you a first interview.

After asking 150+ candidates "What have you achieved that others couldn't have?", I've noticed something fascinating:

Senior executives with 25-year careers, who've managed 8-figure budgets and quadrupled company revenues, beam with pride about... building their own camper van or DIY home renovations.

Intriguing. 
No matter what they've achieved professionally, the things they're truly proud of are things they've created. 

Which makes sense: Creation is the ultimate form of human achievement. 

1) Creation trumps consumption
→ When basic needs are met, humans naturally gravitate toward making things with their own hands
→ The most successful people (Naval Ravikant, Rick Rubin, Marcus Aurelius) all pivot to creation once they've "made it"

2) Creation passes the "earned-status test"
→ Could the richest person in the world have this tomorrow? No.
→ A billionaire can buy a pool, but can't experience the pride of building one themselves

3) Creation requires intentional time allocation
→ Most people fall into the "when-trap" ("when I retire, when I have more time")
→ Work and chores will always expand to fill available time unless you specifically carve out creation time

4) Creation builds lasting fulfillment
→ It expresses autonomy, legacy, and identity
→ It provides purpose that money alone cannot buy

This resonates. Right now, I sit down every day at 8am and write first thing in the morning. 

Does it make me money? No. 
But it gives me something no salary increase could: purpose.

Right now, if you asked me what my proudest achievement is, it'd probably related to sports. 

Ten years from now, I project that it'll be related to creation: the business building and/or writing that I've done. 

What will you create this week? 

PS: Creation is also a powerful antidote to hedonism - it's much harder to party every night when you have something meaningful to wake up for.

PPS: If this resonates with you, I'd love to hear what you're creating. Leave a comment below!

Last week was busy (for me): 

- 2 speed/cardio workouts 
- Interviewed 19 candidates
- Went to the beach 7/7 days 
- Grilled approx. 2kg of steak 
- Dropped the ball on ~20 tasks
- Surfed once (need more of that) 
- Watched 4h of NFL RedZone (and that)
- Recorded 2 long-form + 3 short-form videos 
- Saw 14 startups pitch to Generalyst candidates
- Did a terrible job staying in touch with my friends 
- Evaluated 2 new software tools (s**t’s expensive)
- Wrote out job descriptions to map out my next hires 
- Published a newsletter (and crossed 1k subscribers)
- Ran 3 discovery calls with companies looking to hire 
- Coached one candidate through an offer that she received
- Read up on the history of Al-Qaeda (book’s called “The Looming Tower”)
- 5 strength workouts at the gym (injury-proofing the body for Lacrosse season)

And yet, the week felt … calm, despite all the hectic. 

Life’s good. The next months are gonna be intense, and that’s great. Life without intensity would be boring. 

PS: Post inspired by Harrison McIntyre-Miller . Great way to add personal touch to a platform so focused on “the grind”. 

PPS: Zero beach photos unfortunately, I never bring my phone.

I'm currently building my second service business. Success comes down to 3 things (imo): 

Strong branding, relentless execution, and aligned incentives. 

A brand only becomes strong when external perception matches internal intention. If at Generalyst, we say we have top candidates for early-stage startups, but founders disagree, the brand breaks. When founders consistently confirm that our candidates are exceptional, the brand compounds.

That external pressure forces us to deliver every time.

I learned this during my first startup, Linguedo. We taught Italian nurses German in-house and put in far more effort than was strictly necessary. The course was so intense it would've become prohibitively expensive for most people. 

Once they passed their German exam, we placed them in local hospitals. 

The result: every single hospital was a (or at least, wanted to) become a repeat customers. Turns out, we did a much better job teaching German than any other language school. 

Underneath it all is one principle: value creation and value capture must live in the same place.

- We only earn money when a candidate signs.
- Candidates never pay.
- Companies pay for a successful hire.

Everyone wins when the match is right.

Building a great service business isn’t art. It’s just a craft. 

Do the basics better than most, do them longer than most, and let people talk about it.
That's it.

One hour from now, my 100th newsletter is gonna go out to 1,031 subscribers. Inside: 

→ how a single email I sent out on Dec 31st, 2022 lead to a fledgling portfolio career
→ how I'm currently designing said portfolio career
→ what the plan for the future is 

You can still subscribe to get those insights delivered into your inbox. Click the link below my name and it's gonna take you there. :)

(and to everyone reading all these newsletters – thank you!)

No one: 

People on LinkedIn: "after raising 120M, finally got that corner office" 

(just kidding, this is a WeWork - views are nice though)

A misconception that drives me nuts: young employees work harder than old employees. 

Dude yeah, of course a 20-year old needs to work harder than a 40-year old:
- they haven't figured out yet how to be ridiculously productive
- they lack the experience to understand what's important 
- they don't have the tools yet to get stuff done quickly 

I'm 100% convinced that: the candidate with ten years of experience will generate more output in six hours than the recent graduate will in twelve. 

Case in point: the most productive people I've ever seen are parents with several children. 

If they gotta go pick up the kids at 15:00, you can rest assured that whatever they needed to get done WILL be done by 15:00. They might say no to useless meetings, maybe skip lunch break, not respond to low-priority emails. 

But they will get it done. 

And isn't that what you want in an employee? 

We don't need more "productivity porn" where people simply sit at their desk all day. 

Output is what matters.

“The difference between greatness and mediocrity isn’t in the spectacular moments but rather in avoiding critical errors.” — Shane Parrish

Warren Buffett's first rule of investing? Never lose money. His second rule? Never forget rule one. 

This isn't clever wordplay - it's the mathematics of success. A 50% loss demands a 100% gain to break even. Or look at elite athletes: while average quarterbacks mix brilliant throws with costly interceptions, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes protect the ball first.

For Lacrosse defenders, fans look for the hard hits, fancy takeaway checks, and high-risk double teams. 

Coaches look for: 
→ accurate positioning
→ loud, constant communication
→ rock-solid footwork 
→ proper passing & groundball technique 

The best defense is the one that makes no critical mistakes, not the one that makes fancy plays. 

In business, most people look for high funding rounds, quick hacks, and eccentric founders.

Whereas most successful businesses have: 
→ solid profit margins
→ a legitimate problem that they solve well 
→ people who genuinely enjoy going to work 
→ a hiring process that avoids mis-hires 

Let’s wrap it up with another quote from Shane: 

“Excellence isn’t about occasional brilliance – it’s about consistent execution.”

Photo cred: Rebecca Fällenbacher

taplio

The Battle

Marek Sotak

Dominik Nitsch

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDominik Nitsch's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Marek Sotak

Dominik Nitsch

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);}Dominik Nitsch's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDominik Nitsch's LinkedIn Performance