Founder of Europe's leading content studio for startups. Full studio and team at your fingertips. Quality content on demand. Only at CoHo 🚀

I basically scale ambitious Danish brands with awesome content, while saving them sh*t tons of TIME + MONEY in the process.

The end result is they beat their competitors, see better results online and scale much faster.

But let me tell you how I got here: 

After 10 years shooting content for global brands, I noticed something STRANGE happening in the content world..

Brands believe in content. They want to build their brand. But they are often stuck in the same pattern:

⏳ Wasting time chasing freelancers who ghost or miss the mark

💰 Getting stuck in agency retainers that move slow and overcharge

🥵 Juggling in-house teams with no clear system, strategy, or output

I was seeing brands from B2B SaaS to B2C beauty, all hit the same wall.. They had big content ambitions, but no way to execute them consistently without burning out.

So I built CoHo.

Not an agency. Not a freelancer marketplace. Not a studio rental. 

A content system: unlimited production, creative partnership, and studio-grade output - for scale-up brands that want to look like leaders 🤌🏼

Today we work with 30+ high-growth brands across SaaS, F&B, health, and wellness - helping them turn content chaos into consistent creative firepower.

Our members are making serious moves: 

📌 Scandinavian Biolabs: Doubled MRR from 5M to 10M DKK in just 6 months. 

📌 Danish Endurance: Saved 200K DKK on production costs allowing them to hire / scale aggressively.

📌 Kintobe: Scaled their ROAS by 300% after just a couple of shoots. 

📌 EvenFounders: Built a whole content universe that attracted 300+ paying members to. 

📌 DecisionMakers: Launched and scaled a podcast that hit #1 on Apple two times!

These are real brands. You can find them online. 

We’ve become their creative unfair advantage.

If you’re a marketing lead or founder of a brand that’s ready to scale content without scaling chaos, let’s talk.

The system works.

Shoot me a DM.

Patrick Bates

Reaaally happy to finally share this!

We’ve picked the winner of our membership giveaway (worth 55.000 DKK) 🥳

The prize?

1️⃣ 3 months inside the CoHo membership
2️⃣ Onboarding + strategy sparring
3️⃣ Up to 6 productions + 30 hours of editing
4️⃣ A clear content direction going into 2026

We had a genuinely strong group of applicants.  

Over 120 Danish brands!
Real brands with thoughtful answers.

Honestly it was a good reminder how many teams are stuck with content 😅

A solid number of brands applied BUT there can only be one winner.

So please help me congratulate…

✨ Mette Hardie - NODA | not a soda ✨

Let’s goooooo 👏

WAIT… keep reading.

If you didn’t get selected, don’t just scroll past.

I’m a BIG believer in the idea everyone should get something for showing up properly.

So if you applied, keep an eye on your inbox today. 

We’ve got something coming your way 💙

We really enjoyed running this, a lotta fun! It won’t be the last time we do something like it.

More soon 🙂

Patrick Bates 💙

The content industry is broken - I’m rebuilding it. Helping Danish scaleups make consistent, quality content - without the usual chaos. 200+ brands grown | 150M+ DKK driven | 10M+ DKK saved | Join the next wave 👇🏼

I can’t wait to make a lot of money.
 
Not to flex,
not to shout about it,
and not because I think money is everything.
 
But simply because of what it unlocks.
 
Money buys time.  
It buys stability. 
It buys choices.
 
It means building without panic.

It means saying yes to what matters, and no to what drains you.
 
I wanna build something that gives me:

– control over my calendar
– long-term security for my family
– the ability to look after my parents
– space to think in years, not months
 
And yeah, I know where I live 😅
 
In Denmark there’s this quiet idea that wanting too much is distasteful.  That ambition should be modest.  That money is fine… as long as you don’t say you want it.
 
But let’s be honest..
 
Money makes life calmer.  It removes friction.

It gives you options when things go sideways.
 
Wanting that doesn’t make you greedy.  It makes you intentional.
 
I don’t want money for numbers.

I want it to build a life that actually works  💙

I’m not the founder who:

- always knows the numbers
- has a perfect 5-year plan
- makes every decision with confidence

I’m the founder who:

- sometimes checks Stripe before I brush my teeth
- rewrites the strategy every 2 months
- second-guesses myself daily

Not polished. 
And certainly not inspirational. 

But it’s the truth!

Don't be so hard on yourselves. 

We're only human after all 💙

www.coho.dk/aboutus

CRAZY WEEK.

We ran our first-ever CoHo giveaway last week.

Three months free membership. Simple idea.
 
But what I didn’t expect was the response.
 
120+ brands applied.
 
And on Monday, we announced the winner.  One very happy team starting with us in February!
 
But most of my day wasn’t about that.
 
It was spent talking to the brands that didn’t win.  

Listening to where content feels stuck. 

Where momentum slips.  

Where things feel heavier than they should.
 
By the end of the day, I’d booked almost 30 follow-up meetings.  And I was totally COOKED 😅
 
Not because it was hard.  But just cus it reminded me how much trust people place in you when they open up about their business.

And now I have an exciting few weeks of interesting conversations 💙
 
The giveaway mattered!  But these conversations matter more tbh.
 
Proud of how we handled it.  And very ready for a long nap 😅

Should we do another giveaway this year (at some point)??

Had a startup reach out recently.
 
They wanted an in-studio production.  The reference was a Polestar commercial. They had my attention 👀
 
A shoot that easily cost 500k.
 
But their budget?
 
10k.
 
You can’t.  You just can’t 😅
 
And it wasn’t awkward or negative.  No bad energy.
 
It was just one of those moments where you’re like:  “Okay… we need to talk about reality for a sec.”
 
I could have said yes.
 
I could’ve taken the project.  Handed it to the team.  Said “figure it out”.
 
But then what?
 
They’d end up with something they’re not happy with.

We’d burn a load of time. 
And we’d lose money.
 
That’s not a win for anyone.
 
So I set a boundary.
 
Calmly and honestly.
 
“This is what that level of quality actually costs”
“This is what your budget can realistically buy”
“And here’s where we could meet in the middle”
 
Sometimes people disagree.  

Sometimes expectations are a bit… optimistic.

And that’s totally fine.
 
But your job isn’t to say yes to protect the vibe.
Your job is to protect the outcome. That's it. 
 
For them.  And for you ☺️
 
Good studios don’t just make nice videos.
 
They set expectations before things get messy.

We're still learning this, but we've come a long way for sure.

Alright, quuuuick one.

A week ago, I decided to give away 3 months inside CoHo - normally 55.000 DKK - 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲.

And honestly…I was a little nervous 😅

We don’t really run giveaways. We haven’t spent much money on ads in over a year.

So part of me thought, this might just flop.

Buuut what’s been cool is that a bunch of solid brands have already applied over the last few days.

We’ve worked with around 50 brands last year, and we’ve seen things like:

• content is just shipping
• brands running multiple shoots without stress
• teams telling us they’ve stopped arguing about content entirely

Which is wild when ya think about it!

So yeah, I’m genuinely excited to give this to one brand that actually wants to fix their content system in 2026.

If that might be you, this weekend is your last chance to apply 💙

Dropping the link here: https://lnkd.in/eVnxg_7w

We’ll draw a winner on Monday.

Alright, see yaaaa.

Most people aren’t BAD on camera... 

They’re just uncomfortable.

“Just relax” is terrible advice 😂

That distinction gets missed all the time.

A lot of studios are technically excellent… but emotionally cold.

Bright lights. 
Crew whispering in corners. 
Stressed energy in the air. 
Cameras rolling before people are ready. 
That awkward silence that feels like judgment.

No wonder people freeze!

Here’s what we’ve learned the hard way:

When people feel safe, content performs better.

Not marginally. MASSIVELY.. 😄

Recently, we worked with senior stakeholders who:

- Don’t do content very often
- Felt exposed on live formats
- Were understandably nervous about being “on”

Instead of telling them to “be more confident,” we did something else.

We engineered the environment.

Warm. Human. Unrushed.
That’s how we design our studios.

When you walk in, it feels like a place you actually want to be. That’s step one.

On this shoot, the crew wasn’t just technically sharp, they were good with people.

Eye contact. 
Calm energy. 
Reassurance.
Clear explanations. 
No pressure to perform.
And space for warming up.

The result?

Stakeholders who stayed present. 
Who stopped guarding themselves. 
Who actually relaxed on camera.

And yessss, the numbers followed ✌️

Better engagement. Stronger retention. 
Higher content performance.

Here’s the belief shift (took me a while to get):

Confidence isn’t coached. It’s often designed.

People don’t hate content. 
No, they hate unsafe production environments.

Warm environments make better work.

Always have 💙

Want a tour at our studios? https://lnkd.in/d5fVSb2d 🤗

Most founders chase the WRONG skill.

They chase motivation. Passion. Energy.

The problem tho?

That stuff disappears fastttt 😄

It comes and goes. 

There will be days where you won't be feeling it. 

And what actually matters is just boring old consistency.

- Processes you hate repeating.
- Meetings when you’re tired. 
- Metrics nobody claps for.

Early on, that’s all I had.

- No momentum.
- No real brand.
- Zero money / resources.

Plenty of days i didn't feel up to it. 

Didn't feel driven or motivated. 

I just kept showing up, even when nothing exciting was happening.

What i've learnt is that discipline outlasts energy!

That’s how things really compound 😇

Slowly.
Quietly.
Relentlessly.

Today’s the last day.

We’ll close applications for the 3-month CoHo membership giveaway tomorrow, and draw a winner on Monday!

Let me be clear: This isn’t for everyone.

It’s not for side projects. 
Not for “maybe laters”. 

And not for collecting assets that never get used.

It’s for one growing brand that wants content to stop being:

- debated
- delayed
- or quietly avoided

And instead, have content just work.

If that’s you, you will know 😉

Link’s here for the last time: → https://lnkd.in/eVnxg_7w

Winner announced Monday.

Either way, appreciate everyone who followed along!

Content is just ONE part of marketing.
 
And this is where a lot of companies get it wrong.
 
You can make great videos.  Post consistently.
Even work with a solid agency.
 
But if:

- the positioning is unclear
- the concept isn’t strong
- the brand promise is fuzzy
 
Content won’t save ya.
 
A lot of teams try to use content as a fix.  

For strategy gaps. 
For product confusion.
For internal misalignment.
 
And then agencies get blamed for things that were never in their hands to begin with.
 
That’s not a content problem.  That’s a fundamentals problem 👍
 
Good content amplifies what’s already there.  It doesn’t invent it.
 
Get the foundations right.  

Then content actually does what it’s supposed to do.

If your content is your bottleneck, then find me here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e6bhwtM5 😊

I’m increasingly convinced there’s 5 things that quietly break a growing company:

1. Too many priorities
 If everything matters, nothing really moves.

2. Undefined ownership
When “everyone” owns it, no one does.

3. Meetings replacing decisions
Alignment without action is just expensive talking.

4. Speed without standards
Moving fast only works if quality is non-negotiable.

5. Founders staying in the weeds too long
What got you here will choke ya later.

I’m saying this seriously:

Most scaleups don’t fail from lack of talent. 

I think they often fail from unclear thinking at the top.

It's certainly been the case with me in the past. 

So if things feel heavier than they should right now - more people, more noise, same output - 

Don’t motivate harder. SIMPLIFY harder.

That’s been a real unlock for me ✌️

One of the HARDEST balances I’m learning in business is leadership.
 
Specifically: 

How do you stay focused on your own performance / standards..  while also being a good leader to the people around you?
 
Cus the job pulls you in two directions at once.
 
On one side:
 
• You need to execute.
• You need to be sharp.
• You need to make decisions.
• You need to move the business forward.
 
On the other:
 
• You’re responsible for morale.
• You’re setting the emotional tone.
• You’re leading by example (even unconsciously)
• You’re someone your team should feel safe talking to.
 
And those 2 modes don’t always play nicely together 🤔
 
Something I’ve noticed about myself over the last year:
 
When I’m in 1:1s with my team and they’re talking through challenges, my brain immediately flips into problem-solving mode.
 
I start connecting dots. 
 I jump ahead. 

 I think: “Okay cool, here’s the fix, sorted.”
 
It comes from a good place. 

I wanna help.
I wanna be useful.
I wanna remove friction ASAP. 
 
But I’ve realised something over the last few months:
 
Sometimes people don’t need solutions (sounds weird right?).  

But often, they just need space.
 
They need to feel heard before anything gets fixed.
 
So I’ve been practising something that feels… surprisingly hard for me:
 
Shutting up 😂
 
Letting pauses sit.
 Resisting the urge to jump in with answers. 

 Listening all the way through without mentally drafting a response.
 
Not to be passive.  But to be present.
 
And what I’ve learned:
 
• Listening builds trust faster than solving.
• Being calm builds safety faster than being clever.
• People perform better when they feel understood.
 
Leadership isn’t about having the best answers in the room.

It’s about creating a room where people feel comfortable bringing the real stuff into it.
 
I’m still learning this, I must admit. 

I still catch myself slipping into “fix it now” mode.  But every time I slow down and just listen, the conversations get better 💙
 
And honestly, so does the work!
 
If you’re leading a growing team and feel this tension too - you’re not doing it wrong.
 
You’re just learning how to hold both sides at once.
 
Execution and empathy. 
Standards and space.  
Direction and listening.

It doesn't have to be complicated. 

That balance is the real work.

Hiring before you know what works is RISKY.
 
Testing content first with a partner isn’t.
 
Move fast. 
Learn quickly.

Shift in-house if / when it actually makes sense.

Q1 content plans don’t fail in Q1.. They fail in February.

Almost every time 😅

Jan often feels under control.
Chaotic, but hopeful.

New decks. 
Fresh strategies. 
Waaay too many meetings. Huge intentions.

Everyone’s aligned. Fantastic. 

This is the year we’re “on top of content”..

BUT THEN Feb creeps in..

A shoot that was meant to be “quick” needs another day. 
Edits slip from this week to next week. 
A freelancer replies: “sorry, slammed this week”.
Posting goes from scheduled to “we’ll see”.

Nothing dramatic happens.
No big mistake. Or no bad plan.

Just small delays stacking up until momentum quietly disappears.

The project you said you would get to, never actually happens. 

And the dream of winning in the brand / content space remains a dream, for one more year 🤐
 
I’ve seen this EXACT February play out again and again with growing teams.

The plan was solid. 

What wasn’t tested was whether production could actually keep up.

Planning content is EASY. 

Executing it every week, calmly, is where most teams get surprised.

And almost everyone realises that once February is already gone, ffs 🥴

How to grow fast and not LOSE your mind:

Stop letting decisions live in your head...

This week reminded me of something most founders don’t talk about.

It’s really not the long hours that drain you 🤔

It’s the invisible weight:

- Money decisions no one else sees
- “If this breaks, everything breaks” thinking
- Team expectations, group dynamics 
- Sales / targets uncertainty

What actually helped me wasn’t slowing down. 

It was making things explicit:

- Clear rules instead of vibes
- Deciding what not to worry about
- Budgets instead of awkward generosity
- One core growth engine instead of 6 half-baked ones

Once decisions are written down, i swear to you, something magical happens..

Your brain can let go.

Honestly feel growth doesn’t break founders.  Ambiguity does. 
 
Our brains have a max capacity. We gotta think about what takes up mental load, and dump what isn't needed. 

If you’re scaling and feeling mentally scattered, it’s usually not a motivation problem, BUT a systems problem. 

Just consider it 😜

andreas jonsson

CEO @Shield: Get all posts from all your people, all in one dashboard. Stats and analytics for LinkedIn. Learn what works. Get in touch 💬

@TheShieldIndex — LinkedIn benchmarks at www.theshieldindex.com ↗

@Shield — LinkedIn analytics for creators, team, and agencies at www.shieldapp.ai ↗

@bootstrap.university — for founders going from zero to ramen without investors at www.bootstrap.university ↗

CEO, Co-founder

Redefining LinkedIn analytics since 2019.

#shieldapp #weareshield

typical impressions per post on LinkedIn:

0–1,000 followers = 167 impressions
1,000–5,000 followers = 466 impressions
5,000–10,000 followers = 733 impressions
10,000–25,000 followers = 1,121 impressions
25,000–50,000 followers = 2,392 impressions
50,000–100,000 followers = 4,484 impressions

what feels weak may in fact just be normal.

TheShieldIndex

andreas jonsson 🛠

CEO @Shield, @TheShieldIndex (LinkedIn follower benchmarks and more @ theshieldindex.com)

LinkedIn profiles with fewer than 500 followers produced the biggest reach outliers in November.

Small accounts. Biggest outliers. That's right.

When we normalized reach vs follower count, this bracket showed 10,000%+ reach rates. By far the most volatile and most viral distribution across any follower group.

My read: No account is "too small" to produce elite-level reach. Small accounts aren't neglected by the algorithm. If anything, the opposite seems true.

I wonder if smaller accounts are where LinkedIn tests viral distribution mechanics? 

I don't know - what do you think?

www.theshieldindex.com

CEO @Shield, @TheShieldIndex (LinkedIn reach & format benchmarks @ theshieldindex.com) | Founder @bootstrap.university

January 2026 edition live: www.theshieldindex.com

LinkedIn reach benchmarks by The Shield Index

One thing does keep increasing as LinkedIn accounts grow.

Baseline reach.

November and December data shows that while reach rates compress, typical (absolute) reach continues to rise with follower count.

Bigger audience → Higher floor.

My personal view: “More followers” shouldn’t be the goal. It should be the byproduct.

Of consistently good work. 
Done in public. 
Over time.

Across ~100,000 posts in November and December, images quietly dominated LinkedIn distribution.

Not on viral spikes, but on baseline reach.

Images consistently led on typical and strong reach. Nothing flashy, just predictable distribution. Maybe that's why the feed is half-full of them.

Sometimes the system doesn't reward what's exciting, it rewards what it can reliably score.

And right now that seems to be posts with images.

You seeing this?

Big LinkedIn accounts don't lose reach. They lose volatility. 

November & December data show that once profiles crossed roughly 25k followers, typical reach settled around 5-7% and breakout upside narrowed (fewer true viral outliers).

Compare that to sub-500 follower accounts which continued to show multi-thousand % breakout reach. 

My read for larger accounts: Fewer extremes. More predictability. 

Which might explain why LinkedIn growth feels different at scale.

Why are we building TheShieldIndex?

Because "consistency" isn't a strategy. And "post more" is vague AF. You need more than that. And we're bringing it.

1. Real benchmarks
Is your reach actually good for your follower range? Or just coping?

2. Content format momentum
What's gaining traction right now? And what is LinkedIn quietly dialing down?

3. Reach drivers
What is actually moving distribution? Likes? Comments? Reposts? Something else?

No guru takes. Just patterns from real data.

Next Index: Jan 14, 2026. 
Based on 50,000 posts from December.

www.theshieldindex.com ↗

i have not been talking bootstrapping much lately
mostly because i've been bootstrapping
build ship sell, the full thing, end to end
yeah it went well, thanks for asking
despite all the improvements we didn't ship
once more i learned the valuable lesson of creative restraint: what's most valuable is not what you add, but what you take away - especially for day one. the rest comes later.

In December, most people in the 5k-50k follower range saw reach drop.

There was only one follower bracket in December that gained a broad lift in reach, meaning reach was up across typical (median), strong (top 25%), top (top 10%) and breakout (top 1%) reach tiers.

Guess which one.

PS this is what we track in TheShieldIndex: not what to post but what the system is doing

taplio

The Battle

Patrick Bates

andreas jonsson

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taplio

The Battle

Patrick Bates

andreas jonsson

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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);}Patrick Bates's LinkedIn Performance

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