Niall Cleaver

Documenting the journey of crafting a timeless coffee cup brand | CEO & Founder of Cupsly

My story isn’t about a polished entrepreneur. My journey hasn’t been traditional. I left school without an English qualification, uncertain of what the future held. 

That failure shaped me, it forced me to think differently, fall into business, and ultimately embrace creativity, resilience, and the belief that change is possible, even when doubted. Fast forward to today, I’m growing and scaling businesses while sharing the real lessons that come from it.

Founder

Are you struggling to grow an engaging community for your business or personal brand.

Stop right there, I think I have you covered ⬇️

This is me (Niall), I'm a 22-year-old who is fascinated by growing communities in the online space. Actual communities that have meaning and purpose. 

The services we provide at Social Library 

➡️ Personal Branding (LinkedIn)

➡️ Guidance & support consulting


Drop me a message to discuss your social media strategy, review how well your current socials/posts are doing, and research how we can build your community and gain you more followers and leads.

or you can email us @

hello@sociallibrary.co.uk

If you’re in your 20s, please listen...

Go and shoot your shot!!!

I hated people telling me how I should live my own life, you shouldn’t travel, you shouldn’t build a business, you should go and gain more experience first.

 This is what my life has been so far: 

Tried several businesses from the age of 14.
Left school without an English qualification.
Met other people on the same wavelength.
Started learning more about business.
Documenting my journey in real time.

That, to me, is living life

Do what feels right to you because you’ll soon find the people who are doing the same, and they’ll become friends like never before. 

People will always try to tell you don't do this do it this way but if you've got a really strong opinion about something give it ago because you can always go back through the same door but the opportunity might never happen again.

Growing @thistlescientific and sharing the lessons while I do

I just spent 2 hours yesterday in one of the best meetings of my life!!!

What about? How do we build further on our foundation?

Yesterday was a special day, do you know where you get the team together and you leave feeling excited for what's to come? That's what happened.

It's been a pretty wild couple of months for Thistle, but it always comes back to the same thing. How can we deepen the connection we can have with researchers?

The personal touch.
The real support they deserve.
The professionalism and trust they have in us.

This year, we’re looking at how we double down on that.

We’ve set some big objectives, and the whole team is ready for them. If yesterday was anything to go by, this next phase is going to be an exciting one.

We can't wait to share more on this very soon.

Excited to be back in the capital 🇬🇧

Yesterday,  we brought Thistle to London for this year's festival of genomics, but this year, bigger and way more special, as we share a closer look into our mission as an organisation.

London has always held a special place for me, as the capital of my home country. But more than that, it’s a city where we support, assist, and encourage researchers to continue their vital work in keeping the world safe. 

Today, we’re up ready for day two and the team and I can’t wait for even more incredible conversations.

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Building vs scaling a business. What's the difference?

A few years ago, I learned one of the most valuable lesson in business. I left school with qualifications that made it hard for me to get any sort of job.

Luckily, my family ran a business. I jumped in and started learning. And here’s what I learned: There’s a huge difference between building and scaling.

Building a business:

Proving the idea
Short-term survival
Doing everything yourself
Energy, speed & scrappiness

Scaling a business:

Letting go of control
Long-term decisions
Patience, systems & people
Making sure it works without you.
Alignment throughout the whole company.

Building feels exciting. Scaling feels uncomfortable. Both are essential. I didn’t realise how different they both were until I lived them.

But the one thing that never changes between both? 
The hard work that comes with it.

Just a 25-year-old from a small county called Warwickshire who decided to go all in on their family business. 

I was a typical teenager who went to school, left without the qualifications I needed to get "a decent job", kept playing a little bit of professional rugby, then left with nothing really lined up. 

This was such a crucial stage in my life...
It's where I started to learn more about business. 

At 21 years old, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, and from that moment, everything started to make sense for me. 

The way I learned looked different.
The way I took action looked different.
The way I proceeded things looked different.

Understanding this allowed me to lean into my strengths the creative side, but not just that. It led me to understand the details of running a business. 

It's been full of trial and error throughout my entire life, but that's something we all should be looking for. It's where we develop, and now I get to do what I love, helping to continue to scale Thistle with the incredible team.

I’m really enjoying sharing more of this side of my journey.
The raw, honest, unfiltered side.

We’re excited to announce our new collaboration.

I'm genuinely proud of the impact we're creating in research at Thistle Scientific. It started with one clear objective to make research the best it can be, not only to impact our lives, but also to impact the lives of generations to come.

Last week was a big reminder of this as we announced our collaboration with arcorisbio AG, which will help accelerate the industrialisation and commercialisation of their breakthrough MUSE® platform.

A collaboration that will help keep the world safe.

Last Friday was a special day...



5 years ago, I stepped into my family business, not expecting much. My mindset back then was: “It’s just a job until I figure out what I really want to do.”

5 years later, more invested and interested than ever. It's incredible to watch the business grow year on year, and last Friday was a big reminder of this for us.

We started mapping out the growth opportunities we have as a brand and organisation, and it reminded us of why we do this.

It's easy to continue to do what feels safe, comfortable and familiar, but as a team, we've always looked at the bigger picture.

How can we push a little further?
How can we become something even greater?”

That often means taking a little risk. The kind where you ask yourself if this works, it's going to change everything for us. The safe option feels comfortable, but keeps you in a bubble.

On Friday, this was the reminder we all left with.

You've got to take that bet on yourself.

I used to panic hearing the word strategy in business.

It sounded complicated... but it wasn’t.

I would hear the word and be like that sounds proper technical. I'd just nod like I understood exactly what it meant, when I didn't but now I get it and it's simple.

It's just a plan.

What are the objectives?
What action will you take to hit them?
Which data tells you it's working or it isn't?

We love to make words sound more complicated than they are. 

It's easy to overcomplicate things when you hear all of the advice online but it's simpler than you think. If something isn't working don't wait, go and find the reason why.

Try something. Learn. Adapt. Evolve. Repeat.
Just enjoy the process of figuring out.

That's what business is!

One of the best mistakes I learned pretty quickly in business.

Thinking strategy comes first in business. But it doesn’t… 

Understanding who you’re building for is.

I’m nowhere near successful yet. But I’ve been lucky to spend time around people who definitely are. And one topic comes up over and over again: 

Strategy.

How did you come up with your strategy?
Why has your strategy been effective?
When do you adapt your strategy?

The answer usually sounds complicated.
But, it keeps coming back to one word: audience.

Before you can plan anything, you have to understand them. What do they care about? When do they need to hear from you? How do they feel when they see you show up?

This is where a lot of founders go wrong. No strategy is 100% correct. It’s custom‑made based on how well you understand the information your audience is giving you.

So copying what works in another company or industry rarely works. You’re playing a different game, with different people, at a different stage.

Strategy is an understanding game.

And that's a wrap for Festival of Genomics 2026. 

A full couple of days spent with our friends, team and partners. And this year felt extra special.

We finally started to share where we are going. We've got so much change happening behind the scenes, and soon we'll be able to announce it. We can't wait.

For us, these couple of days mean a lot. We get to meet so many different kinds of people. Well-established researchers & organisations who have spent decades doing incredible work, to students who are about to enter the industry.

But one thing never changes: it’s our chance to listen.

Listen to what researchers need, where they’re heading, and how we can continue developing and supporting their work even more. This still feels like the very beginning for us with so much more to give, and we can't wait to continue to work towards this.

Stop listening to too much advice.

Read that again... throughout my journey, I've fallen for many distractions. Stuff that didn't feel right personally, and so many of us are going through this.

There's advice here, there and everywhere.

And it's very hard to know which is the right or wrong advice, and you know what you'll never really know. The only way to find out is to...

Listen to your gut and try.

In a world full of advice after advice, trust yourself first. 
There's no right or wrong way to do anything.

If it works, it works!

P.S. Have a little day in the life vid

When I was younger, I hesitated on the idea of working for my family business.

Today, I’m 3 years in, working alongside nearly 50 incredible people.

It’s crazy how life works. Some days you’re completely against something before you’ve even tried it…then you try it and realise it was exactly what you were meant to do.

I always had this doubt in the back of my head:
That I had to prove myself somewhere else first.

That’s why:

- I started posting on LinkedIn.
- I kept looking for “my own thing”.
- I started learning more about business.

Now it feels like all of that happened so I could come back better and help continue to grow a business I genuinely care about. But this growth has hardly been me. It’s been the team I get to work with every single day.

A few things this has taught me:

- Don’t write something off until you’ve actually tried it.
- You can prove yourself elsewhere, but always bring the knowledge back

So don't resist an opportunity just because it didn't fit your picture in that specific moment of your life. It might be worth taking a closer look.

Yesterday, we moved closer to finalising the next chapter of Thistle.

And it's actually getting proper real now...

I've been very lucky to work on this project from the beginning. From the first idea all the way through the execution, but this project is more than that to us. It's not just another project; it's the next chapter in how we support even more researchers around the world.

But for many businesses, change can feel uncomfortable. It brings uncertainty and a little risk, but this is what we should be looking for. As you grow and develop as a business you brand evolves with you.

You become clearer with two questions:

Who you serve as a business?
How can you better support them?

That’s why it’s so important to bring the right people into the room.

People who debate, people who aren't scared of having hard conversations and people who keep it real. For us, that’s been the case since day one with Jo and Harry.

Both have been part of this journey from the start, helping shape, question, and build where Thistle is heading next. And it's one we're all excited for...

Remember, change is a good thing. Sitting still never is.

Last week, we shared changes to Thistle Scientific that will reflect the ambition we have as a company and a team.

It will bring us closer to researchers and allow us to be clear about what we're building together. We will also have the opportunity to display some of this next week at the Festival of Genomics.

We feel energised and ready to share what we've been working on for several months. As we enter this next phase, we're ready to help keep the world even safer, standing side by side with all researchers and organisations around the world.

Lara Acosta

Entrepreneur and investor building businesses online | Featured on Forbes, Kajabi + Semrush | Helped 3,000+ people build their personal brand.

Everyone wants to build a personal brand, and I figured out how.

With over 20M+ impressions, 300,000 followers across socials, and multiple 6 figures made, I can show you how you can build one too (without spending years figuring out how)

In 2022: I was unemployed and trying to get into a master's degree - downloaded LinkedIn
In 2023: I became #1 female creator on LinkedIn by building my personal brand and agency
In 2024: I'm building the best education platform to teach people exactly how to do it

Helped, coached and worked with 500+ build contents systems, increase engagement, improve their writing and beyond using proven strategies that worked for me. 

Here's how I can help you:

1. Subscribe to my YouTube (It's free, and better than people's paid courses!)
2. Join 15,100+ amazing people and subscribe to my newsletter. 
3. Join 500+ members inside Literallyacademy.com

And if you're not ready for either! Welcome to my profile anyway, I talk about writing, storytelling,  personal branding and tell a lot of stories.

See you on the feed 💖

Sponsorships + booking : mary@ladigitalmx.com

This is a very special moment for me.

To my female and immigrant followers, this is for you too.

I just spoke at one of the biggest events in the UK.
Next to legendary and legacy names, everyone knows.

And for some reason, I made it into the list too.

Even with a stutter and an accent.
Even with crazy imposter syndrome.
Even without being a Forbes 30u30...

When I started this journey, I felt like all odds were stacked against me. 

I got rejected 100s of times because of my grades.
I didn't get taken seriously enough because I was a girl.
I had to work twice as hard to get seen and heard too.

But I never let that stop me. I ignored it instead.

This moment right here is proof that ANYONE can win. 

All you need to do is to stop waiting to be chosen.

Choose yourself. The right people will choose you too.

And open doors you never thought you'd get to open.

Repost ♻️ this to inspire others so we can win together!

Catch the LIVE replay here: https://lnkd.in/eGBM3Puw

PS: This was all because I built a personal brand, and I just put together the exact blueprint I followed.

Grab it for free here: https://lnkd.in/eKqAcXZB

Entrepreneur and investor building businesses online | Featured on Forbes, Kajabi + Semrush | Helped 3,000+ people grow their personal brand and scale their businesses.

I spent the last 90 days testing every LinkedIn hack. 

Here's what actually works in 2026 (for any niche):

Everyone is talking about the "new" LinkedIn algorithm.
But I just see it as more of the same, but 10x more specific.

I've grown brands from 0-100,000 followers here.
Grown my own to 300,000+ in the same time.

Mastered every format here, and helped others too.

And there are 3 core elements you need to implement:

1. Hyper-specific content (3x a week)

• Solve one exact problem per post
• Use industry language your clients use
• Speak directly to one person

Jake Ward mastered this for "boring" SEO.
Built kleo.so to $60kmrr  as a result of exactly that 

Alex Vacca mastered this for GTM.
Scaled his business to $6M ARR too

Their content is hyper-specific but simple.

Clients want to work with them because they get it.
Users want to engage with them because they simplify it.

2. Proof-First Content

80% tactical step-by-step frameworks and screenshots.
20% stories on how you're doing it (use stories)

The 80% builds trust, the 20% engages them more. 

Educate and storytell. Always both. 

3. LinkedIn Video (let me explain...)

Video reach might be down right now.
But it's the fastest way to prove authority. 

LinkedIn video is ok.
Linkedin Lives? They're a goldmine.

We had a LinkedIn live with 200 people.
Made $10,000 from it. 

People buy from people they trust. Video accelerates this! 

I'd limit these to 2 a month, though, no pressure. 

I left a checklist for you in the image below for you to script your first Linkedin video too btw.

This is the no-bs blueprint for entrepreneurs. 

It's not about more volume, it's about more insights.

Dominating LinkedIn isn't just about virality right now.
It's about building a brand that earns trust.

Keep your focus on your 1 thing. 

The rest will follow.

PS: Who is your favorite "expert-led" creator right now? I want to follow more people! Tag them below! 

PPS: Jan 22nd, I'm walking you through the best way to master these 3 elements in 2026!

join us for free LIVE on the 22nd of January here: https://lnkd.in/eC5sm4cP

We're already at 4,000 sign ups! Come join us! 

See you thursday, love - Lara x

pov: you stopped spending 10+ hrs writing content and started building $1M+ businesses with content. 

not long ago, 90% of my time was spent writing content. 

scrolling through my feed looking for ideas.
stressing about the hook, re-hook and content. 
trying to find the most popular format for 2025...

today i spend 10% on content and 90% on business.

built the best strategy to drive engagement to my content, but also manage different teams daily.

mastered growth content to get new followers.
mastered lead gen content to convert them into clients.

and if you're tired of feeling like you're stuck.
or if you're tired of rushing to write today's post. 

i spent the last week dissecting exactly how i did it. 

created a 200+ page long masterclass i'll deliver live. 

documented every step of the process for you to use.

join 4,000+ entrepreneurs and catch me tomorrow at 7pm LIVE: https://lnkd.in/eC5sm4cP

ps: what is the most time-consuming part of your content creation process? writing? ideas? engagement?

In November, my small business hit 200k/mo. 
If I had to start all over again from 0, here's what I'd do:

For content I'd focus on:

1. Educational content that is highly applicable 
2. Storytelling content that is highly relatable 

Too many people here just do one, but it isn't enough. 

You need to get attention by storytelling.
You need to get trust via specific breakdowns. 

Two hooks you can steal for each.

"9-Step SEO Content Strategy (Steal my 1M strategy)"
"pov: i just quit my 9-5 tech job to build a business"

For conversion, i'd focus on:

1. Building an email list as fast as possible
2. Sending weekly emails to my readers. 

Having attention is not enough if you don't convert it.

Post 4x a week. 1 lead magnet to move people to email.

This simple strategy is worth $1M. But no one does it.
It's boring, I know... but it works. 

Look, my friends... 

"Giving value" is no longer enough to grow your business or personal brand. 

The millionaires on this platform are shifting to email.
But getting traffic from LinkedIn. 

Build your brand, sell out your business.

Masterclass, over 🫳🏼🎤... wait not really. 

Jan 22nd, we're revealing exactly how you can do it too.

From content to lead magnets to conversion, I'll show you everything I've ever done live so you can use it this year.

join us for free LIVE on the 22nd of January here: https://lnkd.in/eNRvSRR7

the first 1,000 people get 4 playbooks to use for content and business!

pov: you're about to launch a tech startup in London with friends in your 20s (bts of a $1M biz).

there's something so surreal about this business. 

it wouldn't even be a reality without linkedin.

jake and i met on linkedin.
broke into the top 0.1% in less than a year.

we built businesses all through organic content.
made millions of dollars along the way. 

today we're running the same playbook for our startup. 

getting leads without spending a single dollar on ads. 
converting customers through our personal brands.
getting insane opportunities because we do it publicly. 

most people overcomplicate growth - we didn’t.

to build a profitable business you need 3 things:

1. a single platform (linkedin)
2. a skill you're good at
3. writing outstanding content daily (with kleo).

we're revealing exactly how we do it step by step in 2 weeks. 

the entire content to lead gen strategy we've used for our 3 businesses over the last 2 years to hit $1M+.

join us for free LIVE on the 22nd of January here: https://lnkd.in/eNRvSRR7

the first 1,000 people get 4 playbooks to use for content and business!

pov: you're in your 20s, building a business people love

(people traveled across the world to tell us this!)

today, Kleo has helped people gain over 1,233,394 views. 

• landed our exec clients 5/6 fig deals through linkedin. 
• helped many get new sponsors for their businesses.
• got them dms filled with speaking opps! 

i've always said that linkedin changed my life.
but it feels 10x better seeing it happen for others. 

this is your reminder that perfection is overrated. 

messy, consistent and public action is better.

and honestly you never know... your next post could change your entire career. it happens every day here. 

we're in the golden era of linkedin.

who's in? 

to celebrate, come to my free live class on the 22nd: https://lnkd.in/eC5sm4cP

we're giving away FREE access to Literally Academy to people who join kleo during launch week too...

(don't tell my team please)

PS: repost ♻️ this to get a FREE gift from me, with love.

I went on my dream podcast, but nearly canceled it.

Felt like an imposter the entire day; I was nervous.
Self-doubt was loud in my head, and I was scared. 

Almost as though I hadn't built anything ever. 

But going on a podcast with 754k subscribers is something I've never done before. What if I failed?

Imposter syndrome doesn't pick favorites, I guess.
But you can always decide how much it affects you.

And I didn't let it. I showed up (nervous, but showed up).

No matter how many followers I have or businesses I build, sometimes all I see are failures and rejections. 

If you relate, let me leave you with my favorite lesson:

You're not bad at things, just new at them. 

From LinkedIn, to work, to a stage... keep going. 

Watch the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/e_Er4XCq

PS: What podcast would YOU love to be on?

I'm putting together a FREE class showing you exactly how we built an organic content engine that brings us opportunities like these! 

If you're ready to make 2026 your best year ever...

RSVP your spot on January 22nd at 7PM GMT. 

Comment "CLASS" and we'll send you the link. 

or just click here: https://lnkd.in/eC5sm4cP

pov: you locked yourself in a room until your new tech business made $100,000 (without vc funding or ads).

but before i tell you what happened my room.

let me remind you of 1 thing. 

ideas mean nothing without execution. 

stop planning.
stop going to events.
stop trying to find investors.

do the thing first, fill the gaps later.

hope this inspires you to take imperfect action.

watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/emZvizBi

ps: kleo is indeed, live forever. try it today https://lnkd.in/eY7cPYSn

I just built my co-founder's LinkedIn Strategy LIVE.

Results so far? 213,833 impressions in 30 days.
392 sign-ups for our software in under 10 days.

This is the copy-paste strategy every founder can use. 

I included 3 key elements no one talks about. 

1. How to stand out from day 1
2. The 4-3-2-1 Content Framework I built
3. How to use AI to write better content, faster 
4. Turning ideas into highly educational content
5. Turning stories into engaging viral pieces 

If you've been looking for a high-level strategy. This is it. 

Most people pay me $2k/hr for this.
Today you get it for FREE. 

Watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/eTX2Qtrk

But whatever you do, don't share this.
I might get in trouble for giving so much away for free..

Shoutout Cam Trew for locking in so hard... 

PS: I want to do more of these LIVE, if you're a founder/creator in London, comment below and maybe you can be next! Repost ♻️ so we find you faster:)

The best entrepreneurs I know don't believe in work-life balance. This advice is flawed in many ways. 

Most spent YEARS in seasons of imbalance.

Which is what helps them have balance today. 

Personally, I don't have work-life balance. 
It's not that I don't believe in balance. It’s just unrealistic.

What I DO believe in is knowing that it is a privilege to be tired in the pursuit of challenge of your own choosing.

Pressure is a privilege, which I remind myself of daily.

Shoutout to the tired entrepreneurs building right now, I see you and root for you ♥️.

taplio

The Battle

Niall Cleaver

Lara Acosta

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Performance ScoreNiall Cleaver's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreLara Acosta's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Niall Cleaver

Lara Acosta

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);}Niall Cleaver's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreLara Acosta's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreNiall Cleaver's LinkedIn Performance