Grow Your Career 1% Daily - I’ll Show You How | Follow for Tips on Learning, Professional Development, and Productivity | Professor | MBA + JD

Is this the part where I talk about brand voice, distribution, and storytelling across the funnel? Or say we “help companies scale content that converts”?

𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁.

But what we really do is write content your team doesn’t have to worry about, so you can stay focused on strategy, not sentence structure.

𝗛𝗲𝘆, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻. 👋

And my path here hasn’t exactly followed a playbook:
Banking → Law School → Teaching → L&D → Content

(Yeah… it’s been a ride.)

Today, I run a B2B content agency with my wife. We keep it lean and personal — just the two of us, plus our kids and a couple barky mini schnauzers. 

At Damn Smart Marketing, we give marketers writing they can trust and results they can stand behind.

✓ Content that sounds like you (not a template, not bland AI)
✓ Full support from idea to publication
✓ A partner who gets content
✓ Zero fluff, zero hand-holding
✓ More time to focus on what matters

In other words: you get to 🚀 while we handle the ✍️.

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿? 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸:

1️⃣ 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝗳𝗼𝗿-𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.
Blogs, LinkedIn posts, newsletters, case studies. If it’s got words, we’ll write it. You get to run the show without sweating every sentence.

2️⃣ 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀.
We’ve built an AI-assisted workflow that makes posting easy, effective, and actually worth reading.

If you're curious, DM me. 

No cold, hard pitch, I promise. Just a real convo about where you’re headed and whether some damn smart content can help.

Stephen 😀

Stephen Mostrom

See you later, LinkedIn…

Donna and I are headed to Florence! 

It’s been a crazy busy year — energizing, exhausting, meaningful, relentless — and we made it through together.

Now it’s time to unplug.

We’re swapping client deadlines for slow mornings in Santo Spirito.

Zoom calls for Chianti pours.

Content calendars for Tuscan sunsets.

And yes, I fully plan to come back with a few extra pounds…
kilos, if you will.

See you soon!
Arrivederci!

Writer for B2B Tech & Finance ✍️ | Running a content agency with my wife (and yes, still married) | Human words, AI workflows | JD & MBA

No alternative text description for this image

LinkedIn organic reach is ☠️... right?

I synced up with my favorite career coach, Julia Korn, to share 5 pro tips from the 1000+ LinkedIn posts I wrote for execs this year. 

And the 10M+ impressions and 20K+ followers they drove. 
... Organically. 

1. Write like you talk
2. Get real
3. Subtract
4. Where's the proof?
5. Post, adapt, repeat

The article is LIVE (!)

If you're looking to grow on LinkedIn, don't miss this.
→ https://lnkd.in/eZj-25AS

Donna (extrovert): Let's be room hosts at MarketingProfs B2B Forum!
Me (introvert): ahahaha cool cool cool 😅 😱 ☠️

But where else can you hang with hundreds of B2B diehards?

Where else can you get a front-row seat to the sharpest voices in marketing and walk away with a dozen lines you wish you’d written?

Where else can you see Ann Handley dance alongside a marching band?

So yeah… 
This guy’s a room host. 

If you need me, I’ll be by the door acting like I didn’t rehearse my “welcome everyone!” a dozen or more times. 

And apparently I’m doing it again tomorrow. 🤷

LinkedIn Growth Engine

Building profitable audiences for established recruitment firms ($1M-20M revenue).

Founder & CEO

Longevity Life

Helping people live measurably longer, healthier lives. Our mission is to add 1B healthy years to humanity.

Founder OS

Hired as first Founder Success Manager (FSM) to:

- Build out backend continuity program (OS+) from 0-1
- Build & deliver upsell motion from OS → OS+
- FSM to 30+ founders. Player-coach to newly hired FSMs

Results:
- Helped grow OS+ ($25K offer) to 200+ members
- Closed $250K in cash collected upsell revenue
- Collected 20+ 5-star testimonials on TrustPilot
- Developed 10+ SOPs, playbooks and frameworks that comprise core curriculum

Founder Success & LinkedIn Growth Instructor

KarmaCheck

Head of Customer Success

Blueshift

Head of Customer Success, EMEA (2019 to 2021)

Director of Customer Success

Mixpanel

Enterprise Customer Success

Optimizely

Onboarding Specialist

Ashraya Initiative for Children (AIC)

Supported the development of AIC's Education Outreach Program

Dada

Follow for daily Insights to live a longer, healthier life

Over the past decade, I’ve scaled revenue and client success at three SaaS companies from $5M to $30M+ ARR, delivering 110%+ net revenue retention and top 10% NPS scores (65+).

Today, we help recruitment firm owners & Principals ($1M–$20M billings, 5–20 recruiters) turn LinkedIn into their #1 revenue channel by building trusted authority in their market.

Our clients don’t want to be “content creators.” They want visibility that converts into qualified pipeline and high-intent retained searches. That’s what we do.

In the past 12 months, we’ve generated $5M+ in client revenue from LinkedIn by positioning their firms as the go-to authorities in their markets.

Our methodology:
→ Revenue Growth Engine - a 3-step system perfected with 40+ founders
→ Content strategy that generates demand for retained executive searches (not just likes)
→ Strategic outreach to initiate conversations with your ideal clients and candidates
→ All requiring just 1.5 hours per week from busy Principals and founders

Our results:
→ 40+ founders and Principals served
→ $5M+ in client revenue generated from inbound leads via LinkedIn
→ 4+ qualified inquiries per month within 90 days (average client result)
→ Doubling client pipelines in under 6 months
→ Clients include 7 and 8-figure retained search firms commanding $50K+ fees and securing multi-search mandates

And we're just getting started!

We help recruitment founders who are:
→ Tired of building trust from scratch and ready for clients who arrive pre-sold
→ Reliant on a referral pipeline that has plateaued and feels unpredictable
→ Ready to turn decades of expertise into an inbound client pipeline

Ready to turn LinkedIn into your #1 growth channel?
→ Book a 15-minute strategy call: 

https://calendly.com/rohan-karunakaran-mbww/1-1-15-min-consult

Rohan Karunakaran

The talent landscape is shifting in real time.

Mass layoffs. Hiring freezes. Leaner teams:

I sat down with Gina Hadley to unpack what top CHROs and hiring leaders are doing to stay ahead.

Her company The Second Shift was just acquired by Sinecure, Inc.  — and is shifting from “flexible talent for women” → a total talent solution built for leaders designing teams that are adaptive, resilient, and capital-efficient:

• On-demand senior talent for mission-critical work
• Retained search when the role should become full-time
• Scalable recruiting for team build-outs

For CHROs and hiring managers, that means:

• Solve critical work fast without waiting on headcount
• Validate culture fit before committing full-time
• Reduce hiring risk without slowing execution

And this isn’t “send a contractor and hope it works.” 🤞

Sinecure is rolling out training, documentation, and tailored enablement to help HR leaders deploy on-demand talent successfully — KPIs, milestones, onboarding playbooks, culture integration, and more.

This is the evolution of flexible work — applied to high-complexity knowledge work.

Full clip below 👇

CEO at LinkedIn Growth Engine | Podcast host at Founder-Led 🎙️

I didn’t start posting content because I was “trying to build a personal brand.”

I posted because I was obsessed with longevity — epigenetic age tests, biomarkers, health experiments.

That was it.

Then something unexpected happened:

People started reaching out.

Even Bryan Johnson slid into my DMs after I tagged him.

That’s when I realized something most founders still miss:

• You don't need a massive audience
• You just need consistency + a POV worth sharing

Because unlike ads and referrals, content compounds.

One great piece of content can:

 • Spark conversations with dream customers
 • Position you as the trusted expert before the first call
 • Generate leads months — sometimes years — later

A founder-led content strategy isn’t about “being an influencer.”

It’s about controlling your destiny and attracting your perfect-fit clients. 

Full clip below 👇

B2B lags B2C by ~10 years.

Had a great conversation with Will Leatherman and he said it perfectly:

"If B2C’s creator era kicked off in 2014… B2B is right on schedule"

And the playbook is already written:

2016 → B2C social goes mainstream
2019 → Personal brands disproportionately outperform corporate brands
2020s → Distribution > product

Now the same shift is hitting B2B.

Founders & CEOs are becoming the face of their products & services.

Those who start now will be 2–3 years ahead by the time everyone else catches on.

If you're still relying on cold email to grow your business in 2025… you're already behind.

Just wrapped a pod with Kelly Brown — multi 7-figure business owner, published author, speaker, and one of the most trusted recruiters in Logistics, Aviation, Construction, and Supply Chain.

Kelly summed it up perfectly:

“When we launched, everyone was doing cold email. Those days are gone.  LinkedIn is key. You have to brand yourself.”

She shows up with authenticity... sharing who she is as an Air Force wife, recruiter, speaker, and author. And it shows in her business:

🔥 Inbound leads from content
🔥 Big deals from simple DMs
🔥 Clients who trust her before the first call
🔥 Candidates who feel seen

As she put it:

“This industry is relationship-driven. The best opportunities come from people who feel connected to you.”

Founder-led brand > outbound.
Visibility > volume.
Connection > automation.

If you’re still hiding behind your company logo or posting twice a month… you’re missing the easiest growth lever you have.

Kelly is the proof.

🎙️ Full podcast episode dropping soon. Stay tuned.

Let's be honest about HR.

People are your most valuable asset — especially as AI gives small teams more leverage than ever.

Yet most leaders treat HR as an afterthought.

It's the thing you deal with when something goes wrong. And by then, it's expensive:

• A wrongful termination claim that costs $50K
• Turnover bleeding cash because no one's managing culture
• A compliance gap that leads to an expensive audit

But almost no company under 200–300 employees can afford a:

• Recruiter
• Benefits / leave expert
• An AI-literate HR leader who understands compliance

So HR stays “good enough” — until it isn’t.

I sat down with Heather MacKay-Mencheski, Founder of HM Pinnacle Consulting : People & HR Solutions, who built something for exactly this gap:

A team of HR specialists you access on-demand:

→ Workers' comp & safety 
→ HR + AI (yes, that's a degree now) 
→ Recruitment, benefits, leave

The wild part: her team programs AI to answer employee questions using your handbook and state laws.

Your rules. 24/7.

Heather calls it "HR in your pocket."

Full clip below 👇

Most execs say they want "A-players."

Very few define the environment those A-players are walking into:

Case in point: 5 people failed in the same executive role.

The 6th succeeded — not because they were more talented.

But because the company finally understood who they actually needed.

I sat down with George Randle, Managing Partner at Randall Partners, LLC, to unpack how elite search firms diagnose fit before making a hire.

He defines culture as "The sum total or lack thereof of the leadership behaviors of the C-suite."

And his approach is simple but effective:

• Ask: "If you could wave a magic wand, what will this person have accomplished in one year?"

• Understand the growth thesis — is this a rebuild or a maintenance role?

• Learn why previous people failed — what trait were they missing?

That cybersecurity firm kept hiring maintainers. What they actually needed was a builder.

A-players don't fail because they lack talent.

They fail when they're dropped into the wrong environment.

Full clip with George below 👇

Most CEOs think pipeline is built in their CRM.

It’s not.

Right now, somewhere, your future buyer is listening to a podcast where your competitor gets mentioned. Another is reading a LinkedIn post that positions someone else as the category leader. A third is in a Slack community asking for recommendations — and your name isn’t coming up.

None of this shows up in your attribution dashboard.

This is what Chris Walker and others call the 'dark funnel' — the invisible network of conversations, content, and word-of-mouth that actually drives 60–80% of B2B buying decisions.

Here’s what few people understand 👇

B2B buyers don’t discover you through:

 • Gated eBooks
 • Paid search
 • SDR outreach

They discover you in places attribution software can’t see:

 • Podcasts
 • Founder content on LinkedIn
 • Niche industry communities
 • Private group chats
 • Word-of-mouth between peers
 • “Here’s how we use XYZ tool” Zoom conversations

Buyers are learning from your content and from each other.

They already know:
 • How your product works
 • Where it fits in their stack
 • The aha-moment use cases
 • The lift you deliver

Before they ever speak to you.

The dark funnel isn’t small — it’s where 70–90% of the buying journey now happens.

And because founders can’t measure it… they don’t invest in it.

78% of executive buying decisions now involve online research before the first sales call.

Companies leaning into dark-funnel channels are seeing 50–67% shorter sales cycles.

But most executives hold back because:

 • It can’t be measured like traditional channels
 • It requires creativity — more art than science
 • It feels risky because it's a new paradigm

And that’s the opportunity.

You’re not competing on product anymore. You’re competing on who educated the buyer first.

The dark funnel isn’t new — it’s how consumers have been buying for decades.

What’s new is that it’s now where the majority of B2B buying decisions start.

And if you’re not showing up where it counts, you’re not in the consideration set.

--

If this resonates and you want to start winning inside this new paradigm, DM me and I’ll send you the playbook we’ve developed after working with 40+ businesses.

It takes 2 hours per week and compounds faster than any other marketing channel when done right.

Helping recruiting agency owners get new clients with done-for-you LinkedIn content | Podcast host at Founder-Led

taplio

The Battle

Stephen Mostrom

Rohan Karunakaran

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreStephen Mostrom's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreRohan Karunakaran's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Stephen Mostrom

Rohan Karunakaran

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);}Stephen Mostrom's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreRohan Karunakaran's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreStephen Mostrom's LinkedIn Performance