Stealth Startup

Building the only software platform that helps brands exit the ROAS hamster wheel and get to 50% of budgets going to brand, which is the proven mix, but a faaaar cry from the 0-3% of budgets most brands are putting towards brand / top of funnel. 

The growth of your dreams lies in the gap between how you currently measure ROI and how you could be measuring it.

Co-Founder

Chubbies Shorts

Board Member

Loop

With a bunch of other people smarter than me, helped shape the initial product based on our needs and vision for what should exist.

Drata

Investor

Odeko

CaaStle

Cents

My own

Real Estate Investment and Development

Blend

Rutherford Investments

Private Equity

Cofounder of Chubbies + Loop Returns | Now, Marathon: A managed technology platform + bespoke services offering helping you exit the short-term direct-response hamster wheel to find your balance of Brand and performance

I cofounded Chubbies. $100M exit. 40% growth at 25% EBITDA margins.

But 5 years in, we almost died.

Why? We were addicted to short-term ROAS. Only investing where we could measure immediate returns. It worked until it didn't. Growth stalled. Nothing we tried moved the needle.

The problem: We'd stopped building our brand. We'd lost what made people love us because we couldn't measure its impact.

So we built our own measurement system. What we discovered changed everything:

Moving from 3% to 50% brand investment unlocked growth we hadn't seen since year one.

That shift saved our business and drove our acquisition.

Now I'm building Marathon - the software platform that finally measures top-of-funnel ROI. Because every brand deserves to escape the performance marketing hamster wheel that almost killed us.

Here's what Marathon does:

1. Quantifies future revenue from brand investments
2. Proves the ROI your CFO needs to see
3. Shows you the optimal brand/performance split (hint: it's not 97/3)

If you're stuck refreshing ROAS dashboards while growth flatlines, you're exactly where we were.

The difference? You don't have to guess your way out.

Apply for early access: marathondataco.com

Preston 🩳 Rutherford

CEO: I can't approve "brand marketing" spend in 2026 if I can't measure the return, even if it's needed to get out of stage 3

New CMO: i agree. i think brand marketing is bullsh*t

CEO: what?

CMO: when CFOs and CEOs hear "brand marketing", they think: unaccountable, expensive, and money wasting. the vocab's gotta change

CEO: you're not wrong

CMO: it's a classic story...team gets approval to do a "brand campaign". they go off, find an agency, create an expensive ad, and run it on tv. then they wait. ultimately, everyone ends up asking: so...what happened?

CEO: happening as we speak

CMO: then, that one-off attempt gets chalked up as a loss, and future attempts get rejected because of the sour taste left in everyone's mouths

CEO: just did that 10 minutes ago

CMO: let's fix that by orienting the brand conversation around the specific business outcomes we want

CEO: yas queen slay

CMO: your 3 associations with traditional, Mad Men style advertising has truth to it, so you're not off base

CEO: might be why we've adhered to short term revenue as the key definition of success for so long. the trauma from that show is real

CMO: same - was shooketh

CEO: i'm accountable to the board for delivering financial results, so everything this company does has to ladder up to that

CMO: and that's how we have to frame marketing

CEO: great. the main goal for 2026 is sustainable profitability

CMO: so let's drill down on the 3 business results that best accomplish that goal. first, do you agree that being able to discount less and not lose customers helps us get more profitable?

CEO: obvi

CMO: second, since you know how much higher the revenue-per-session of branded organic search traffic is, would you agree we want to increase it as much as we can?

CEO: lowkey getting interrogation vibes, but yes

CMO: and third, we want to be able to expand into wholesale and show up the way we want, right?

CEO: just spoke with another founder. it's their most profitable channel

CMO: finally, do you think the "product, discount, offer, and urgency-driven" creative we use accomplishes these goals?

CEO: you sly dog. i see what you did there. no, definitely not

CMO: now that we're on the same page, let's talk execu...

CEO: (interrupting) it's finally clicking. lemme freestyle on the mic for a sec

CMO: great (starts beatboxing)

CEO: like every goal we've accomplished as a brand, the tactics were never immediately obvious. we committed to a feedback loop and tried things to reach that goal. our approach was simple: do more of what works. for "brand", we were never clear on the specific financial results we aimed to drive, so we didn't have a feedback loop. attempts fell flat and were viewed as a failure. while specific tactics aren't immediately obvious here either, we're used to that. we'll apply the same process we've applied throughout our history

CMO: (happy tears) that. was. beautiful. didn't rhyme, and you didn't rap at all, but you got a grammy in my heart

Cofounder of Chubbies, Loop Returns, and now MarathonDataCo.com (AKA everything you need to transition to a balance Brand and Performance)

Chubbies Shorts did > $100M & > 20% EBITDA for the 9 months ended Sept 30, 2025. 

Rainer and the whole team is crushing it!!

New CMO: We're moving 50% of the budget to brand / top of funnel in 2026.  

VP Growth: Hell no. My ROAS will drop, and my bonus depends on hitting a ROAS target.  

New CMO: Not anymore. Your bonus is tied to two metrics:  
1. Total contribution dollars generated by the business (at 35% contribution margin).  
2. Contribution dollar lifetime value (rolling 30, 60, 180, and 365 days) for our owned business.  

VP Growth: wtf?! How can I own this?  

New CMO: Metrics aren't about individual ownership—they're team-driven. The real challenge is choosing the right ones.  

VP Growth: How do we know these are the right metrics? 

New CMO: The right metrics grow business health and fundamental enterprise value. If we increase these metrics, while keeping fixed costs flat, we become more profitable. Are they perfect? Maybe not. But they're miles better than short-term ROAS or new customers acquired, which have far less of a direct connection to fundamental business health when we increase those numbers.

VP Growth: How can you say that? 

New CMO: For ROAS, you can hit any number by:  

1. Spending less.  
2. Doubling down on branded keywords, existing customers, or retargeting.  
3. Running more discount events.  

But ROAS lacks incentives to drive incremental revenue—what actually grows the business—and says nothing about the cost to generate it. And for new customers acquired, there is no notion of customer quality. A massive sale drives high ROAS but attracts discount hunters who won't buy at full price unless we run bigger sales. Both of these metrics lack context on quality and long term profit, which is ultimately the fundamental goal of business. 

VP Growth: Ok, I'll buy that, but how can I be responsible for overall contribution dollars? 

New CMO: As a singular individual, you can't. That's why half of your budget will now be based on team performance. For you though, it'll drive you to make better decisions with how you spend our marketing dollars

VP Growth: What do you mean? 

New CMO: You're free from short-term ROAS pressure to pad stats and can focus on incremental profitable growth. You can step back and do the things you know are right to drive net new incremental demand (meaning: you would not have gotten that revenue if you didn't spend that ad dollar) even if it's low ROAS.

VP Growth: And the mythical purse string holders are bought in? 

New CMO: Yup - the CFO and board now understand that the real goal for our marketing investments is both short and long term incremental contribution dollar generation at the highest possible contribution margin. That was my one condition for agreeing to accept the offer to join

VP Growth: Well butter my biscuits, let's do this.  

New CMO: Please never say that again

3 minutes and 3 seconds. That's all it takes to learn from the best investor on why Brand is the most important driver of business value. If you're debating if, why or how investing in Brand building is right for your company, look no further than this compilation of Warren Buffett quotes from interviews over the last 50 years on why investing in Brand is the single most important thing you can do.

While in the day-to-day of operating a company, it can seem foolish to invest in this mythical, hard-to-define thing called "Brand".

However, if we listen to the most successful judge of fundamental business asset value over the last century, it's clear that a strong Brand is the most important thing.

Here are the 5 topics, the 5 takeaways and the best quotes from the video


5 Topics:

1. Why Brand is the most important moat 
2. Why Brand is the most important driver of business value, 
3. The tangible benefits of a strong Brand in terms of pricing power, 
4. Maintaining margin and shelf space in retailers, and 
5. How a strong Brand is the only thing that can fend of inevitable competition.


5 Takeaways:

1. Brands are Moats
2. Single Most important thing he looks for are defensible Moats
3. The main Moat is Owning a Position in the consumer's Mind
4. A durable moat, driven by a strong Brand enables 
 a) sustainable Pricing Power (AKA the ability to not need to discount)
 b) the best defense against competition 
 c) leverage in the Brand <> retailer relationship 
5. Ultimately, Brand is the best driver of durable Profits


The Best Quotes:

On Brand:
1. "Brands are moats" 
2. "A strong Brand is really potent stuff."
3. "[The Moat] can be because...of its position in the consumer's mind...that it has this moat around it."
4. "So you've got to protect a Brand, you've got to enhance it in every way. You've got to get a promise in people's minds that gets delivered that way."

On the Importance of Moats: 
1. "What we're trying to do is we're trying to find a business with a wide and long lasting moat around it, protecting a terrific economic castle." 
2. "In essence, that's what business is all about."

On Brand and Pricing Power:
1. "The single-most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power. If you've got the power to raise prices without losing business to a competitor, you've got a very good business." 
2. “You can measure the strength of a business over time by the agony they go through in determining whether a price increase can be sustained.”
3. "It's not a great business when you have to have a prayer session before you raise your prices a penny."

On Brand as defense against competition from other Brands and retailers:
1. "The Brand has to stand for something in the consumer's mind because, in the end, the retailer may want to shift to a house Brand."
2. "I remember when Sam Walton sent me the first six-pack of Sam's Cola 20 years ago. And believe me, Walmart has plenty of power, but so does Coca Cola and the Brand."

Chubbies has done over $100M so far this year, increasing EBITDA margin > 50% YoY. Your classic overnight success that took 14 years. One of the many things they do so well to continually drive balanced, profitable growth where margins can * increase * over time is follow the 95/5 rule as well as any brand I’ve seen. 


However, for the first 5 years, I basically did the exact opposite of what the rule says. My loss is your gain, so here are:


1) Three things I learned about the 95/5 rule
2) Three ways you can update your thinking on the topic
3) Three things you can do about this right now


let's do it.


** Three things I learned about the 95/5 rule **


1. Only 5% of the people who see your content on a daily basis (AKA your potential buyers) are in-market to buy right now. That means 95% of the buyers you reach are out-of-market and won’t buy for months or even years. 


2. And, nope, no matter how awesome your direct response offer is, you cannot persuade the buyer to go in-market because they already have what you’re selling and won’t need a newer version any time soon. We don’t move buyers in-market – buyers move themselves in-market based on their needs.


3. All the direct-response conversion-focused dollars we spend are only relevant to the 5% of folks. This was especially humbling when realizing that ~95% of our spend allocation went to direct response (see reference above re: doing the exact opposite). 






** Three ways you can update your thinking on the topic ** 


1. Our goal is to increase the probability that the brand comes to mind when the buyer goes in-market, NOT to persuade the buyer to go in market. You can’t push buyers down a funnel, but you can, to quote Professor Jenni Romaniuk, “catch buyers as they fall”.


2. ""People largely use their memories when buying, rather than searching. Simply put, the brand that gets remembered is the brand that gets bought."" - John Dawes of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute


3. Since marketing works by influencing future buyers, think about developing creative that gets noticed and gets remembered -- gives you permission to be bold, put on a show and have a little fun.




** Three things you can do about it right now ** 


1. Since we've all been so focused on optimizing the hell out of how we convert the 5%, we need to reacquaint ourselves with the 95%. Walk a day in the shoes of the 95% to develop the empathy needed to effectively speak to that person. 


2. Put together a plan to gradually shift your marketing investments to match the reality of the 95/5 rule. It could take all of 2024. No need to rush.


3. Take a day with your team. Remove all meetings. From a blank slate, think about what it means to do things that get remembered, that get noticed. What does it mean for your brand to be bold, to put on a show, and to have a little bit of fun? 


enjoy

CMO: we need to do a brand reset in 2026

CEO: wtf does that mean? like a new logo?

CMO: no. that'd be a rebrand. not what i'm talking about

CEO: then what?

CMO: first, let's define terms: the strength of our brand is ultimately measured in two ways: first, the customer acquisition we get when we turn everything off (e.g., ads, discounts, etc). second, our ability to raise prices (or reduce discounts) faster than the rate of inflation and not lose customers 

CEO: never thought about it that way. go on

CMO: the fundamentals of our business are weakening, even though we're growing revenue

CEO: well, we need growth

CMO: i know we don't like to talk about it, but if we turned off our facebook ads and our promos, our revenue would fall through the floor. it's been getting progressively worse over the last 6 years, and we're not acknowledging how big of an issue it is

CEO: i acknowledge that's an issue. i'm not as close to the marketing numbers, so what exactly do you mean?

CMO: over the last 6 years, the revenue coming from branded organic search traffic (removing spikes and short term influences) on our online store have actually been steadily declining

CEO: but we've been growing

CMO: yes, we've only been growing the revenue coming from paid channels. we've been spending ad dollars to fuel our growth. that's fine if the revenue coming from organic sources is also keeping up, but it's not

CEO: i don't follow

CMO: we've been chasing these topline revenue growth numbers that i've allocated all of our resources (ad spend, creative budgets, etc) to driving highly-measurable short term revenue growth. this became a red flag for me last week when our facebook ads stopped delivering for 2 days and we had the worst August week 3 in the history of the company

CEO: oh that's what happened?! i thought we had a bug blocking checkout or something. site was working fine?

CMO: site was fine

CEO: yikes. so do you now think our Q4 revenue number is in jeopardy?

CMO: we can hit the revenue number

CEO: great!

CMO: but we'll just be kicking the can down the road

CEO: what do you mean?

CMO: you know how i've been doing those P&L deep dives with fred (CFO) to isolate why our contribution margin has been going down?

CEO: yes, but we've got big COGS improvements coming in '26 that will take that number up

CMO: unfortunately, my latest rev of the forecast has our marketing costs more than canceling out gains from COGS improvements. we can only lean on existing customers for so long. we've already been over-emailing and sms-ing our list, especially existing customers. i don't know how much longer that can last

CEO: so what do we do?

CMO: two words...brand reset. 4 parts: 1) data deep dive to understand the true state of our revenue, 2) right-size cost structure to match the reality, 3) build our content machine, 4) systematically hack away at ways to build that resilient revenue base

CEO: sounds horrible. gonna be the best worst thing ever

CMO: yup

CFO: Brand building is just burning money. Prove me wrong.

CMO: Five landmark studies about to wreck that theory.

CFO: Pics or it didn't happen.

CMO: The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute analyzed thousands of brands over decades. Found something wild. *slacks link* https://lnkd.in/gzCGDYcr

CFO: In the words of my good friend Ron Burgundy, "you know I don't speak Spanish."

CMO: Well, let me translate: Only 5% of potential customers are shopping right now. We're fighting everyone for that same 5%.

CFO: But those 5% convert.

CMO: At 3x the cost and much lower margin than organic buyers.

CFO: What about the other 95%?

CMO: Les Binet and Peter Field studied 50 years of financial data across 500+ brands. Here's the research https://lnkd.in/g7zEiXzN and a vid that breaks it down https://lnkd.in/gE_jnrEu

CFO: You keep using this word 'brand building.' I do not think it means what you think it means.

CMO: The fastest-growing brands all do the same thing: 60% brand building, 40% conversion tactics.

CFO: I'm gonna need to see more proof.

CMO: UCLA's Dominique Hanssens and Prof. dr. Koen Pauwels analyzed 10 years of data from 150 global brands. Here's the research https://lnkd.in/guRrkkvw and a vid breakdown https://lnkd.in/gmG6KuEG

CFO: Explain it to me like I'm five.

CMO: Direct link between brand building and future revenue growth. The data hits different.

CFO: Keep going...

CMO: Byron Sharp studied every major category globally. Found two things predict growth. Here's the research paper https://lnkd.in/gJgB5rYn and a quick vid recap https://lnkd.in/giEPYWuY

CFO: Hit me with the TL;DR.

CMO: Being remembered when people are ready to buy, and being available where they want to shop.

CFO: But how do we measure that?

CMO: James Hankins and Binet cracked that code analyzing digital behavior from 30,000 brands. Check the research https://lnkd.in/g5mevQyb and the whitepaper https://lnkd.in/gqihiqfp

CFO: Numbers or it didn't happen.

CMO: Digital behaviors predict future sales. When someone searches for our brand by name, the revenue per session is 2x higher and margin is much higher than direct purchases from ads.

CFO: Now that's the kind of data I like.

CMO: The numbers understood the assignment.

CFO: What's step one?

CMO: Track our key digital behaviors. Create content that drives those metrics.

CFO: The data hath spoken.

CMO: Welcome to the Brand side. We have statistically significant cookies.

CFO: As long as there's a 95% chance they're delicious.

LinkedIn Top Voice 2024 | Building LinkedIn (content+outreach) engines that make founders visible, credible & booked, every week | Ghostwriter | Personal Branding Strategist

Let’s make your LinkedIn a flex, and your most profitable GTM channel. 

Drop a line, and we’ll build something worth talking about. 

Best part, it shouldn't take more than 30 mins/week.

Reach out via DMs or connectdiksha99@gmail.com! 

Diksha Burnwal

I see so many people introducing their best hire. I wanna introduce mine… 



I’m my best hire, why? 

- Writes great 

- High emotional intelligence (both eq and iq) 

- Works like electricity bill is due

- Asks questions that can make million dollar company founders eye twitch 

- Does not believe in radical agreement to client (that’s how you know you’ve hired an expert) 

- Doesn’t shy away from a challenge 

- Goes above and beyond for clients 

- Clients love working w her (easy to work with) 

- Beast at work 

- Makes everyone around her eat protein rich stuff 

- Does everything on time.

She sounds dope right? That’s coz she is lol. 

Drop a line for yourself you deserve it too!?

No alternative text description for this image

If I wasn’t worried about hurting your feelings, here’s the personal branding advice I’d actually give you:

10. If someone can’t tell what you do and who you serve in the first 3 seconds of viewing your profile, you’re losing leads.

9. Your banner is prime real estate. Use it to signal authority, with a clear value prop, a result, or social proof. 

 8. “Founder | Dreamer | Innovator” tells me nothing. “Helping D2C brands 3x retention via lifecycle emails” tells me everything.

7. Your ‘About’ section isn’t for you. It’s for the reader. Write like you’re answering: Why should someone trust me, follow me, or reach out?

6. One post a month won’t move the needle. If you’re serious about inbound and oppurtunities, show up at least twice a week, with intention. 

5. People don’t buy from the loudest voice. They buy from the clearest one. Show your thinking, your process, your results.

4. Thoughtful comments build visibility and reputation faster than cold DMs. Most people ignore this. You shouldn’t.

3. You don’t need to go “viral.” You need the right 100 people to trust you. 

2. Even a simple text post can convert. If it sounds like you, and carries a point of view. 

1. LinkedIn is a leadership channel. If you're not shaping perception here, someone else will do it for you, with less context and more assumptions. 

There you go! Peace out :)

I turn 26 next month, and here are 26 things I wish someone had slapped into my head earlier.

Firstly gosh, the second half of the decade begins and it’s daunting to think about it but okay! 

- Give more fucks about something. Indifference is cool but enthusiasm will take you places. 

- Be intense. And people who like you will continue to do so and people who don’t would slowly leave and make place for better. 

- Building a business is like building yourself. You can’t be a trainwreck and build a million dollar business. Become someone who can build a million dollar business. 

- Get a blood work done (even though however scary it feels, check your vitamin levels especially D and B 12) 

- Trauma driven motivation doesn’t let you breathe at ease. Operate from a healed place. It’s a game changer. 

- You will go through things you didn’t think you would. And come out of it. And it’s going to be okay. 

- So much about building a business is about controlling your emotions. Too excited..too sad… both are bad. Stay neutral. 

- There will be people who speak to the winner in you even before you become one. Keep them close. 

- Build a personal brand before you need it.

- Hangout with more high functioning individuals. You start emulating their energy. 

- With so much of AI around, it might feel like it’s not a great time to be a writer. STOP!! Most if it is slop. Writing is a meta skill. 

- Have a taste. 

- Understand at the core of every business, you have to be good at selling aka talking. 

- Spending money is cool and all but save and invest so you have the power to say NO, pivot, or do whatever you like more often. 

- When you meet your heros, you realise they aren’t heros at all. They are people who just keep showing up every single day. 

- Not everyone who looks like a friend is a friend. 

- Eat more protein. 

- You can’t build a business if your energy sucks. Money follows energy, show up better and rest aligns. 

- Move out (life changing) 

- Have a “fun money” fund. And don’t put more than 5-10% of your monthly income here and once you have something you wanna splurge on, use this. 

- Build systems!!! 

- Go to an expensive gym, where you like the people, the vibe, the equipments. Shows you like yourself. 

- Keep shooting your shot. No one else is doing it for you. 

- If you’re travelling, communicate and work in advance. So you can chill tf out. Also don’t forget to block your Calendly (I forgot lol) 

- When you see LinkedIn reducing the reach don’t panic, they are rolling out ads in full swing. Or I could just be a conspiracy theorist. 

- Be easy to work with. 

Wait did I write 26 of these… yes :)) 

Which one is your favourite? Let’s talk in the comments below 👇

A prospect asked me last week, “do you use AI to write content?” 
Yes, we do! 

But not in the way that floods your feed with recycled one-liners, generic threads, or these💡🚀🔥 

We use AI to get sharper, faster, and most importantly to not start from zero every time. 

It helps us dig into niche-specific ideas, find what’s actually resonating, map whitespace, build thought-starter prompts, and train bots that understand each client’s voice and industry before we ever write the first draft.

So when people say “AI can’t do voice,” I agree, but I’ll add, most people don’t even try to train it right. We do.

For every new client, we build a sandbox, an internal bot that knows their tone, topics, backstory, product, point of view.

It doesn’t write the final post. But it gives us a running start. 

Full disclosure I'm a cruel editor so nothing AI-y goes out from your profile. 

That said, we’re not afraid to use tools, if they’re trained with care and intention.

I’m a serial gifter. If I like you, I’ll send you stuff before you even ask.

Christmas is in 30 days, so here’s a gift from me.  

I’m launching The Writing Moat, my weekly newsletter for people building a name for themselves online. 

Think...writing that doesn’t sound like everyone else, linkedIn as your loudest sales channel, and a personal brand that drives actual interest, sales, impressions.  
     
If your 2026 goal is to become someone the internet recognizes and rewards: https://lnkd.in/g_n9dgmu   

And because giving doesn’t mean not wanting, here’s my wishlist for Santa too. My list: 

> a 3-month stock of my protein powder because I go through it like oxygen

> more clients who gets that human writing > AI slop

> Apple Watch second-latest because I am a humble queen

> 20 SQLs with a ~35–50% conversion rate 

> stationery that isn’t baby pink and glittery, trying to add more whimsy lol

> invoices paid on time 

> Coaches who want more booked calls… find me.

> Throw in some high-protein snacks in there.

Thanks Santa!!

Jasmin Alić. Katelyn Bourgoin. Leila Hormozi. Dickie Bush.
Four people the internet never confuses with anyone else.

Why, you ask? 
It’s not because they post more.
It’s not the niche.
It’s not the frameworks.

It’s identity.

You could remove their headshots and still know who’s speaking. That’s the goal.

If 2026 is the year you want your LinkedIn presence to actually mean something, not just rack up impressions that disappear in 48 hours, you’ll want to read this.

Issue goes live in less than 30 minutes. 

Subscribe: https://lnkd.in/g_n9dgmu 

And reply with your favorite question from the list, I’ll help you refine your answer.

You measure the ROI of your actions, but what about the cost of inaction?

Most founders are head down in the building phase. (all the time) 

Completely focused on product development or sales, which leaves almost no time to build founder-led distribution to begin with. 

In the past, the product was built, and then a viable market was found for it. 

Today, you have a viable market first, and then build what they need. 

You are missing out if building distribution and finding ‘your market’ is ‘not a priority’ right now. 

You are forgoing visibility for your company, reputation for yourself as a founder, and a network that could bring in your next 10 customers. 

All you need to do to start is: 

1. Think about your personal story, the company’s execution, and your take on where the industry is going. 

2. Hop on a 90-minute call with us at Repute per week and share everything in real time. 

3. Let us turn your experiences into words that position you uniquely in your industry. 

The returns are tenfold. 

But this is just 1%, the real compounding happens when your stories and our strategy come together week by week, month by month to build an unforgettable brand.

I scrolled 800+ Instagram reels just to write this post. 

Just like most of y’all, I scroll Instagram too (a lot) and I go one reel onto the next without a care in the world. 

Well what prompts that is great fuckin hooks that do their job.

So now I have started to maintain an excel sheet of all those reels where the hooks really get me on a chokehold. 

A few examples- 

- I’m going to get a lot of hate but (break a uncommon phenomenon) 

- Let me hold your hand when I say this but (break a common notion that’s not working anymore) 

- What if I told you format 

- Normalise being/doing something in your niche that’s looked down upon and why. 

- 9 years of (niche experience) in 90 seconds. 

- Nothing makes me want to commit a felony more than a (funny low stake activity you abhor) 

- Everytime I do (x) I am waging a silent war against (y) 

- I don’t know who needs to hear this but 

- Give me your most unhinged hack to growing on LinkedIn. 

- Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday but writing  my LinkedIn posts for the week in 30 minutes in right up there. 

- I bet you don’t know atleast two of these. 4th got me shocked. 

If I build a sheet with 100+ reels and hooks, would you be interested? Let me know in the comments below!

Zohran Mamdani just became the youngest Mayor of New York City, and honestly, his Instagram made that win look inevitable. 

If you’ve seen his Instagram lately, you know what I’m talking about. C'mon dude has over 5M followers lol.

Every reel crosses millions of views. Every collaboration feels like it belongs in the cultural bloodstream of NYC, Subway Takes By Kareem, Are You Ready To Be Judged, and other pages that define what the city sounds and feels like online.

He knows exactly where his audience lives, what they consume, and who they already trust. And instead of trying to “market” to them, he joined their world.

Formats he used: 

1) Authentic storytelling: He went all in on video, the most trust-inducing medium online. He differentiates himself with his origin and stories, really makes people reel in and feel interested.  

2) Fire POVs: Showing parts of his speeches where he speaks clear as day what he stands for, what he likes and doesn't. Reels where he’s clapping back at critics with wit and calm confidence. 

3) Showing why he's the obvious choice: He didn’t just talk at people. He talked to them. He’s walking through the streets, shaking hands, promising that he’ll work for the people, not the other way around. 

People like "him" as a person, he looks like he would give a damn. 
 
And that’s personal branding at its purest form, not about aesthetics, but about proximity. Showing who you really are and letting people decide if they believe in that version of you.

I didn’t even know he was running until last week, but the moment I saw his feed, I knew he’d win.

It was already happening online before it happened on paper. No wonder he did.

Europol estimates that 90% of online content could be AI-generated by 2026. 

When I first read that, I immediately thought of the fashion industry.

There's fast fashion, cheap, abundant, disposable. And then there's the luxury market, crafted with skill, prized for its artistry, worth the premium.

AI made it stupid easy to create stuff. But here's what's disappearing in the flood, quality. Taste. The human touch that comes from lived experience and refined judgment.

The more we consume AI-produced content, the more our own thinking atrophies. Our execution becomes derivative. Our ideas, echoes of algorithmic patterns.

I see two paths forward:

(1) Content becomes a commodity. The race to the bottom accelerates.

(2) A luxury market emerges. People begin to recognize, and pay for, writing that carries depth, knowledge, and genuine human insight. Mind you this can't be prompted into existence.

Here's what I think... just as people still buy handcrafted goods despite mass production, there will always be demand for writers who continue to develop their craft. 

Writers who read deeply, think critically, and bring something irreplaceable to the table.

What are you seeing in your field? Are we heading toward commodification or a renaissance of craft?

Not trying to ragebait founders, but what's up with you giving your accounts to your VAs or comms teams who are creating content like it's 2019?

You’ll spend six figures on PR that no one reads, approve five layers of “brand-safe” content, and somehow convince yourself that’s safer than showing up as a real person.

Last week, I spoke to a founder with 9,000 followers, a genuinely good product, smart positioning, strong traction.

But his feed was static. Company updates every few months, and nothing! 

When I asked if he planned to write more personally, he said, “Our comms team takes care of that.” I clarified, “I meant you.” He said,“No thanks.”

That response stuck with me. Because it’s not a time issue. It’s an identity issue.

Writing forces you to confront how you think, and that’s uncomfortable when you’ve spent years operating behind a logo.

So founders outsource it.
They delegate their thinking.

And end up with content that sounds like it survived a corporate focus group.

Meanwhile, the same teams are burning tens of thousands on “awareness campaigns,” forgetting that the cheapest way to earn attention is still having something to say.

65% of consumers say a brand’s CEO and employees influence their decision to buy.

In 2025, people don’t care about your company voice. They care about whether you sound like you believe in what you’re building.

If you can’t articulate that, no amount of “strategy” will make your brand feel alive.

Forbes 30 Under 30 just dropped. 600 people will enjoy the congratulations for a week, then disappear until next recognition or milestone comes along.

Don't be one of them. 

+ The spotlight is already on you. People are searching for your name, visiting your profile, and genuinely curious about your story. Start meeting people where their interest already is. 

+ Momentum compounds. Every time you engage, even if it's thanking someone, the algorithm works in your favor. Your next post will reach more people because you're active now. Strike while the iron is hot. 

+ You have something worth saying. You didn't get here by accident. You've learned things, made mistakes, developed perspectives that others would benefit from hearing. 

You've already done the hard part, building something worth recognizing. Talking about it is the easy part. And right now, people are actually listening. 

Hmu if you want to get started :)

Latest issue of The Writing Moat is about the thing everyone thinks they have online, but almost nobody actually does... 

A personality.

I’m talking about what the internet actually responds to...

The 4 dominant identity archetypes that run the timeline.
How they earn attention.
How they build status.
How they print money with words.

And more importantly, how you can pick one, shape it, and own your corner of the internet without pretending to be someone you’re not.

I also included a set of 14 identity-level questions that punch a lot harder than the usual “What are your 3 passions?” nonsense. 

If you want the link, just comment “Moat” and I’ll DM it your way.

Build the moat. Own the room. Let the internet know who just walked in.

taplio

The Battle

Preston 🩳 Rutherford

Diksha Burnwal

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taplio

The Battle

Preston 🩳 Rutherford

Diksha Burnwal

Followers

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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);}Preston 🩳 Rutherford's LinkedIn Performance

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