Raised $30 MM in capital for real estate through LinkedIn and Guest Podcasting | Posts about Real Estate, Writing, and Audience Building

Most fund managers treat visibility like a campaign.

Raise.
Deploy.
Go quiet.
Raise again.

And every cycle starts from zero.

That model caps scale.

I work with growth stage real estate and private equity sponsors ($50M–$150M AUM) to build durable investor visibility so capital conversations don’t start cold and raises compound over time.

This isn’t about going viral.

It’s about building signal, credibility, and allocator familiarity before you need the capital.

If you're a $50M–$150M sponsor ready to build the visibility that compounds into your next raise, apply below.

Matthew Baltzell 🌴

Most people think AI is replacing jobs.

But that’s not the real shift.


Look at this photo.

In the 1940s, a “computer” wasn’t a machine.

It was a person.

Rooms full of people doing calculations by hand.

Then machines replaced that work.

Humans started using computers.

Now something strange is happening again.

Computers are starting to use other computers.

AI tools.
Agents.
Automation.
Software running software.

Work that used to require departments can now be handled by one operator with the right systems.

And it’s creating a new divide.

Not...

People vs AI.

But...

Operators with leverage
vs
Operators doing everything manually.

In real estate and private equity this is becoming very obvious.

The sponsors raising capital the fastest aren’t necessarily the smartest.

They’re the ones building distribution systems.

Content.
Investor pipelines.
Automated outreach.
Deal narratives.
Investor updates.

Things that used to take a team of analysts and marketers can now be done by one operator with the right tools.

Which means the next generation of sponsors won’t just raise capital with relationships.

They’ll raise it with leverage.

Matthew Baltzell

$20M+ Raised | Investor Visibility for $50M–$150M Real Estate & PE Sponsors | Capital Raising Systems for Serious Sponsors

I saw this chart and immediately thought of my mom.

She never paid full price. Ever.

Coupons. Sales. Negotiating at the register.

If she got a deal — it was a good day.
If something was expensive — it was a ripoff.

She wasn’t wrong.

She was playing the game she was taught. Perfectly.

I remember her driving 25 minutes to Costco to save $4.
Arguing over a $7 coupon.
Skipping the better option because it “felt expensive.”

And sometimes that worked.

Until it didn’t.

The cheapest option saved money.

It didn’t always save reputation.

Cheap isn’t a flaw.

It’s a survival skill.

It just stops working above a certain altitude.

This chart doesn’t show good people vs bad people.

It shows different rules for different environments.

My mom mastered hers.

What rules are you still playing by?

I drove home after visiting my grandma and felt sad. She's 92. I don't see her enough.

This Christmas my wife and I went to her assisted living home for their holiday party. 

Nothing fancy. Just showing up. Sitting with her. Talking to her friends.

When we walked in, she looked at us like we were the whole world. Her friends did too.

She still gets her nails done every week. 
Still wants to look pretty. 

92 years old and young at heart in every way that matters.

What makes her eyes light up isn't much. Just family walking through the door.

And I keep thinking about how many of those moments I've let slip by. 

Too busy. 
Too distracted. 
Too much in my own head.

I don't have a big lesson here.

Just a reminder to myself...

Show up. Not just physically — but in the moment.

Jeff Bezos: $500,000,000+ in real estate
Grant Cardone: $4,000,000,000+ in real estate
Tyler Perry: $300,000,000+ in real estate
Oprah: $200,000,000+ in real estate

The wealthiest people and brands don't just own real estate.

They obsess over where they put their money.

All in on one asset class...

Spread across 5 different types.
Diversified across 15 markets.
Every allocation decision compounds (or kills you) over 20 years.

What's your allocation strategy?

P.S. What's your biggest capital allocation move in 2026?

Mine...

1. Double down on raising capital (my least natural skill, honestly).
2. Learning guitar.

What about you?

Matt Damon said Netflix has to repeat the plot 3–4 times because people are on their phones (Now apply that to investors.)



If you think...

- “I already explained the deal”

- “They saw the deck”

- “We covered this on the last call”

You’re overestimating attention.

Investors are scanning, not studying.

They’re comparing you to 5 other deals this week.

They remember patterns, not paragraphs.

That’s why the best sponsors:

- Repeat the thesis

- Reinforce the why now

- Reanchor the risk story

- Restate the downside protection

Same message.
Different format.
Every touchpoint.

Call.
 Deck.
 Email.
 Podcast.
 Follow-up.

If Netflix needs repetition to keep viewers…
...You need it to move capital.

If your deal feels “obvious” to you,

it’s probably still unclear to them.

After 25+ conversations with real estate sponsors about raising capital, one pattern kept repeating.

When it came to capital…

It was feast or famine.

There was almost no middle ground.

Sponsors fell into two groups.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱

Their LP pipeline was already full.

Deals oversubscribed.
Investors waiting for allocations.
Capital ready when a deal appeared.

Blah, Blah, buttttt....

They were still looking for more investors.

Because experienced sponsors understand something most people miss:

The best time to raise capital isn't when you need capital. 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗭𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲

Dry LP pipeline.

No consistent investor flow.
Starting from zero every raise.
Scrambling for investor conversations in hubspot at midnight. 

Every deal becomes a fire drill.

The stress.
The pressure. 
The cursor blinking at you waiting for your next email blast!

No bueno. 

The takeaway...

There were very few sponsors in the middle.

You either have:

A machine that attracts investors

or

You start from zero every time you raise and are left holding the empty bag. 

The sponsors in the oversubscribed category all had something in common.

They were building investor relationships long before they NEEDED capital.

The most common pattern I saw..

A podcast.
A strong LinkedIn presence.
A newsletter.
Consistent content documenting their deals, their thinking, and their process.

Not selling.

Just showing up.

By the time an investor discovered them, through a post, an episode, or a piece of content, they already felt like they knew the sponsor.

That's the difference between a cold ask and a warm conversation.

Raising capital isn’t something you switch on.

It’s something you build.

Alex Rodriguez made $441,000,000 playing baseball.

He parlayed it into $300M+ in real estate.

Here’s how he did it:

He LEARNED from the BEST.

• A-Rod didn’t just spend. He studied.
• Sat in rooms most athletes never see.
• Treated investing like a second career NOT a hobby.
• Learned underwriting, capital stacks, deal structure.
• Built a relationship with Barry Sternlicht (Starwood Capital).

That became the foundation.

He TOOK ACTION.

• Started investing in multifamily while still playing.
• Focused on cash-flowing assets, not headlines.
• Built A-Rod Corp as an investment platform.
• Partnered with experienced operators.

He transitioned from athlete…

To operator.

To allocator.

Most of us won’t sign a $275M contract.

But anyone can:

• Study capital allocation.
• Learn from serious operators.
• Binge watch Landman on the treadmill. 
• Build relationships above their weight class.

The shift isn’t talent.

It’s identity.

Income is temporary.

Ownership compounds.

P.S. The real question everyone wants to know?

Was the $252M Yankees contract…

Or the first apartment deal…

The better investment?

"When we had a deal."

That was their entire investor relations strategy.

They were raising $15M.

I audited 12 operators last month. This wasn't the only one.

Good deals. 
Credible sponsors. 
Empty pipelines.

The raises weren't broken. The systems were.

Here's what I saw:

→ No investor CRM (pipeline = inbox + memory)
→ No nurture engine (deal email → silence for 6 months)
→ Two had zero post close reporting cadence
→ Raising in 60 day sprints instead of building a 12 month engine

The real problem:

Raising $5M isn't about finding investors.

It's about becoming investable.

Operators at the $5M–$25M level don't struggle because deals are bad.

They struggle because LPs wire on:

→ They've seen you before
→ They trust your process
→ They respect your reporting
→ They've been hearing from you for months

Not excitement.

If you're raising $5M+ and have $25M+ AUM…

I'll audit your capital system.

Direct feedback.

DM me "AUDIT."

𝗣.𝗦. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵?

Started learning guitar 6 months ago. Turns out being bad at something is good for business. Here’s why…

I decided to post proof.

This video confirms I’m still not good.

And that’s the point.

No leverage.
No shortcuts.
No AI saving my rhythm.

Just reps.

Most adults won’t start something new because they don’t want to look average.

In business it’s the same.

They over plan.
Over edit.
Overthink.

All to protect their ego.

Protecting your ego is the most expensive habit in business.

You focus on fundamentals.
You get fast feedback.
You improve.

Six months in, I’m not great.

But I’m better.

Sidenote: Background audio courtesy of two tiny humans who also don’t care that I’m a beginner.

What are you learning right now that you’re not good at yet?

An 18% IRR deal fell apart in 60 seconds.

All I did was paste the OM into ChatGPT.

It rewrote the deal in plain English.

That’s when the cracks showed.

• 18% IRR… assuming exit cap compression
• Rent growth projected at 2x the submarket
• “Value-add” mostly cosmetic upgrades

Nothing dishonest.

Just optimistic.

There’s a difference.

AI doesn’t get impressed by glossy decks.

It asks one question:

“What has to go perfectly for this to work?”

Great decks sell.

Great underwriting survives.

Big difference.

Most people say they want freedom.

But very few want the discipline required to get it.

That’s why most people stay employees.

Half of your LPs might never invest with you again.

And it probably has nothing to do with your returns.

Two operators.
Same market.
Similar returns.

One has 47% LP reinvestment.
The other averages 84%.

The difference isn’t the deal.

It’s discipline.

Low reinvestment operators:

• Update LPs when they need something
• Late reports
• Silence between raises
• Investor relations = reactive

High reinvestment operators:

• Monthly updates
• Proactive communication
• Clear forward narrative
• Investor relations = compounding system

The math:

50% re-invest = rebuild half your book every raise.
85% re-invest = replace 15% and scale.

Most sponsors don’t have a deal problem.

They have a relationship infrastructure problem.

If you don’t know your LP reinvestment rate, that’s the first red flag.

I’m running a Capital Raising Infrastructure Audit for sponsors actively raising $5M+.

We look at LP retention, communication cadence, visibility, and raise velocity.

Comment “AUDIT” and I’ll send details.

Everyone’s arguing about housing.

But almost nobody is talking about the real driver..

Capital.

Young buyers want cheaper homes.

Homeowners want prices to keep rising.

Politicians promise affordability.

But the housing market isn’t driven by hopes or politics.

It’s driven by capital flows.

Demographics.
Interest rates.
Credit availability.
Institutional money.
Government incentives.

When capital is cheap, assets inflate.

When capital tightens, deals stop penciling.

And right now we’re watching the system try to do something impossible:

Make housing cheaper...

...while protecting the trillions of dollars already sitting in residential real estate.

That’s not how capital markets work.

Asset values don’t reset politely.

They reprice when capital conditions change.

So if you’re under 40 and waiting for someone to “fix housing”…

Good luck.

Because the housing market isn’t a fairness system.

It’s a capital market.

The real move?

Understand how capital flows into assets.

Build skills that compound.

Create income that scales.

And get ownership exposure as early as you can, even if it’s uncomfortable.

Because the people who win aren’t the ones complaining about the system.

They’re the ones who understand how money moves inside it.

Agree or disagree?

I spoke with a 30 year operator managing $50,000,000 in assets who realized he couldn’t scale without visibility.

Great track record.
Strong returns.
Solid local reputation.

But he hit the Friends & Family ceiling.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Most $50M sponsors aren’t stuck because of performance.

They’re stuck because no one outside their zip code knows they exist.

He knew he needed RIAs and Family Offices.

That requires trust at scale.

Not another lunch meeting.

We mapped the strategy.

Then it stalled.

Why?

Infrastructure.

No real investor relations support.
No systemized follow-up.
No capital discipline.

And the quiet fear:

“If this works… can we even handle it?”

Marketing feels risky when your backend is fragile.

Fragile doesn’t scale.

Visibility compounds.

But only if the machine behind it can absorb demand.

Otherwise, you don’t have a marketing problem.

You have an operator problem.

What’s harder:

Finding investors?

Or becoming the firm that can handle them?

I reviewed a 92 unit apartment deal this week.

On paper it looked great...

Nice looking property.
Good market.
Classic value add play.

The story was simple:

Buy the property.
Renovate units.
Push rents.

On paper, it all works.

But after looking at a lot of deals lately, I keep coming back to the same three things.

3 things I always look at now:

𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

• The plan here was roughly $150–$200 rent increases
• That’s where most of the investor returns come from

But the real question is simple:

Will tenants actually pay those rents?

𝟮. 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘁

• Interest rates matter more than people want to admit
• Refinance timing can change the entire outcome of a deal

A property can perform well…

…and still struggle if the debt is wrong.

𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿

This one matters more than anything.

• Leasing strategy
• Tenant quality
• Renovation execution

A good operator can fix a mediocre deal.

A bad operator can wreck a good one.

The more deals I look at, the more I realize something:

Most deals don’t fail because of the property.

They fail because of assumptions.

TLDR, 

When you look at a real estate deal…

What's the first thing you check for?

I’ve audited 3 capital raises last week.

The pattern is consistent.

Operators who close don’t rely on better decks.

They build better infrastructure.

Here are the 3 things that separate operators who close from operators who stall:

𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹

Sponsors who close fast started conversations 6–12 months before the deal.

Sponsors who stall?
First touchpoint is the deal email.

LPs don’t wire on excitement.
They wire on familiarity.

𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱

Average check size.
Re-investment rate.
Time from first conversation to close.

If you can’t answer those in 10 seconds, you’re guessing.

Guessing doesn’t scale past $10M.

𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Monthly updates.
Documented process.
CRM with real pipeline visibility.

Most operators treat IR like an afterthought until they need to raise again.

The best ones treat it like asset management.

Across every raise I’ve looked at, the pattern holds:

Infrastructure beats pitch.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 $5𝘔+ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩.

I thought the whole world was using AI already.

Then I zoomed out.

And noticed something nuts about this chart.

Do you see it?

Almost the entire thing is grey.

That grey represents billions of people who have never used AI.

Not once. Zip. Nada.

No ChatGPT.
No image generation.
No automation.

Nothing.

Meanwhile online it feels like the opposite.

Every day you see:

• a new AI model launch
• someone automating their company
• a teenager building a startup that tracks calories from photos

It creates the illusion that everyone is already miles ahead.

They’re not.

(Sorry, Aunt Debbie.)

Most people still think AI is:

“that thing that makes weird pictures”

or

“the robot that writes comments on LinkedIn.”

They’ve never seen what it looks like when AI becomes leverage.

The tiny corner of this chart?

That’s the group experimenting with it every day.

The builders.
The operators.
The people quietly compressing 10 hours of work into one.

Just out there making it happen.

And that’s where the real shift is happening.

Not in hype.

In workflow.

AI doesn’t have a competition problem yet.

It has an awareness problem.

Most of the world hasn’t even stepped onto the field.

Which means the edge right now isn’t technical brilliance.

It’s curiosity.

Open the tools.
Use them daily.
Experiment.

You don’t need to understand neural networks.

(Trust me… I don’t.)

You just need to be slightly earlier than the crowd.

And right now, the crowd is still figuring out what AI even is.

So the real question is…

Are you experimenting with AI in your work yet…

or still watching it happen from the sidelines?

Everyone’s debating whether this coffee shop’s AI surveillance is ethical...


Anna: 20 cups.
Olga: 3 cups.
John: Where is he?

Coffee. Customers. Company.  

Everything tracked by the minute. 

3.7 million people have opinions.

Meanwhile…

LPs writing $250K–$5M checks into $50M–$150M funds still get:

• Quarterly PDFs
• Retroactive performance
• Carefully worded updates

No real time visibility...
...No capital level transparency.

We can track barista productivity down to every Oatmilk Shaken Espresso.

But not investor capital down to the dollar?

Hmmmm...

The tech exists.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.

And the sponsors who close Fund II effortlessly?

They understand that visibility compounds trust.

P.S. Would you walk into a coffee shop that hides how it operates?

If I were a $50M+ sponsor using LinkedIn DMs to connect with investors, here's how I'd approach it.

𝟭. 𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁. 

A connection is a doorway, not a closing argument.

Most sponsors burn their first impression trying to explain the opportunity in 300 characters.

Serious operators build familiarity first.

𝟮. 𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲.

I'd start with positioning.

"Appreciate the connect. We're active in [strategy] and expanding relationships with investors aligned with that thesis. Are you currently allocating into opportunities like that, or mostly observing this cycle?"

That does three things:

• Establishes what you're building
• Signals growth (not need)
• Qualifies without begging

Positioning first. Question second.

Not the other way around.

𝟯. 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁.

If every DM is tied to a live raise, you're negotiating from urgency.

Serious sponsors build repeat touch points:

• Thoughtful content
• Market commentary
• Occasional investor updates

So when a deal is live, the conversation isn't cold.

𝟰. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿.

Not: "Just checking in."

Instead, I'd add signal.

An update. A shift in thinking. A market observation. A closed deal. A deal we passed on.

Investors don't respond to pressure.

They respond to thoughtful operators.

Because capital doesn't move toward need.

It moves toward clarity, consistency, and conviction.

And here's the filter:

If you're uncomfortable reaching out to investors without a live deal…

You don't have a capital strategy.

You have a dependency.

The sponsors who scale capital treat outreach like a system.

Not an event.

If you're building that system and want a second set of eyes on your outreach DM me.

No pitch. Just a real conversation.

I went looking for a dive bar in Prague and ended up here...


Back in 2015 my brother got married in London.

After the wedding my family decided to extend the trip and visit Prague.

The group:

My grandma
My mom and dad
My Aunt Deb
And me, the young buck in his 20s

Day one we did the usual tourist stuff...

Charles Bridge.
Cinnamon strudel.
Cobblestone streets.

Then around 7 PM everyone went to bed.

Trip over.

I thought… there’s no way this is how Prague ends.

So like any guy in his 20s, I went searching for the coolest dive bar I could find.

After about an hour of digging through Yelp I found a place called Anonymous Bar.

The name alone hooked me.

Hidden.
Exclusive.
Mysterious.

(I’m game.)

I screenshotted the location on my iPhone 4 and headed out.

Started asking people.

Liquor store owner?
No idea.

Random locals?
Never heard of it.

Finally a hotel doorman pointed down a street and said in a thick Eastern European accent:

“Milstroff Street.”

Three minutes later I was walking down a dark alley under a massive stone arch between two dilapidated buildings.

No people.

Just a faint fluorescent streetlight on its last flicker.

At this point my gut instincts were saying…

This might be a bad idea.

But curiosity won.

Then I saw a guy wrestling wooden crates out of a rusted red hatchback.

I pointed and asked:

“Anonymous?”

He nodded.

Behind him were seven tea lights leading to a hidden door.

Inside?

A full 1920s speakeasy frozen in time.

Bartenders with waxed mustaches twisted to sharp points.
Candlelight flickering off copper fixtures.
Bossa Nova bleeding softly through the room.

The bartender handed me a DVD case.

Inside was a drink menu written entirely in code.

So, I pointed to something that looked like whiskey.

He made the drink with flames, smoke, and a full show.

Then he placed it in front of me…

Put a V for Vendetta mask on my face…
Pulled out a Polaroid camera…
And took this photo.

That photo exists because I went looking.

That’s it.
That’s the lesson.

Go looking.

P.S. What's the last thing you did just because curiosity won?

Getting financial advisors millions of dollars & impressions | $20+ million in capital & AUM raised from LinkedIn | 100+ million client impressions | 400+ meetings booked | $1+ million in client courses sold

If you work in finance or real estate and want to add clients or capital through LinkedIn, send me a DM.

If you want to write a memoir or lead-gen book, send me a DM.

Adam Knorr

LinkedIn 2022: "I miss the 2021 algorithm."
LinkedIn 2023: "I miss the 2022 algorithm."
LinkedIn 2024: "I miss the 2023 algorithm."
LinkedIn 2025: "I miss the 2024 algorithm."
LinkedIn 2026: "I miss the 2025 algorithm.

Please, shut up, all of you. 

Posts about how people "miss the old algorithm" are the only thing you can actually guarantee will persist on LinkedIn day-to-day.

Do you want to know the secret to success here?

Post good content people want to read. Make a bunch of friends. Do this consistently for a long time.

I used to dread Monday mornings. Now I go to bed early so they get here faster. I don't think I'll ever get used to loving work.

I get out of bed between 3-4 AM most days. Within 15 minutes, my laptop is open.

I used to think I did this because I was anxious — about work, about clients, about hitting 10,000 steps before 8:00.

But over the past few weeks, I've come to realize I start work so early because... I want to? Because it's fun? Because I love it?

Now, yeah, it's stressful. More stressful than any W-2 job I ever had.

But even on the (many) days where I have to remind myself that my lungs can take breaths deeper than the kiddie pool, it's invigorating.

I get to solve problems for myself. If I solve them properly, I reap the rewards. I am not accomplishing something so someone above me on the ladder gets a better bonus, and I am certainly not relying on someone else on the corporate food chain to make sure a project gets done right.

I just get to do it all. My brain vs. my brain.

Every week is this chaotic collage of testing new offers, figuring out the right pricing, threatening Claude, designing marketing materials, sending DMs, getting on sales calls, building new products, apologizing to Claude, managing clients, and — yeah — shipping over 50 pieces of content. Every week. 

It is playing Shell Game against yourself.

You know the prize is under there, somewhere, but can you really trust yourself not to sabotage it? 

It is constant uncertainty.

I sometimes hate it.

But man, do I love it.

I was walking through the Grand Rapids airport at 4:31 AM today when I stumbled across The Holy Grail. 

A 304-page book about "unleashing the power of LinkedIn." 

My favorite part is the "praise" from the Definitely-Read-This-Whole-Thing beta readers on the back cover:

"This book empowers you to create opportunities, build trust, and grow your business in tactical, practical, and methodical ways."

"Finally, a book that solves the real problem every salesperson faces."

And my favorite:

"This isn't just another LinkedIn book."

Phew.  I just finished  "Wuthering Hooks," "Love in the Time of Connection Requests," and "The Sales Navigator," and I simply cannot handle another epilogue about the most effective DM campaigns.

I see the irony here. I know I teach this stuff for a living.

But I can't stop picturing somebody waiting to board their red-eye to Topeka, taking diligent notes on "How to give genuine compliments via inMail."

It may be the funniest thing I have ever seen. I am buying 10 copies.

Almost no one knows this, but you can sort your LinkedIn posts to find ideal clients to reach out to.

Step 1. Go to your post.

Step 2: Click "View Analytics"

Step 3: Scroll to "Social Engagement"

Step 4: Sort by Reactions or Comments

Step 5: Sort by Industry or Job Title (or both)

Step 6: See all ICPs who engaged with your post.

Step 7: Send them a DM and start a conversation.

Happy hunting.

I downloaded one of those lead magnets that promises to "replace your $3,000/month LinkedIn ghostwriter" last week. 

The "ghostwriter" was a 192-word Claude prompt built on such gems as:

"Short paragraphs."
"End with a clear takeaway"

And my favorite:

"Hook must stop the scroll in the first 2 lines."

If your ghostwriter's strategy is, "Write short paragraphs, give readers a takeaway, and write good hooks lol" — you deserve to lose the $3,000 you're paying them and I do not feel bad for you.

My Hook Generator Skill alone is 7,100 characters.

Just an example of one facet of it: 

While that lead magnet prompts an LLM for "attention-grabbing hooks," my system runs a mandatory Source Verification Gate. It categorizes every single syllable into three buckets:

[SOURCE]: Real data, real client stories, and real Roth conversion trauma.

[CONCEPTUAL]:  Metaphors and hot takes based on established patterns.

[FABRICATED]: Anything the AI tried to "hallucinate" to make the hook sound sexier.

If a hook contains a single [FABRICATED] element, my system triggers an Automatic Rejection that forces the AI to start over until the hook is grounded in reality.

If your hook prompt is: 

"Hook must stop the scroll in the first 2 lines."

You're going to end up lying to people with hallucinated hooks quite often. And even the hooks that are true are going to make you blend into the crowd because you are literally prompting them to match generic LinkedIn hooks. 

That Hook Skill is the 3rd step in a 9-step Claude Skill workflow I've been tweaking and improving every day since Skills dropped in October 2025. 

It's built on real results from big data sets of content written for real financial advisors.

So, yeah.

You get what you pay for.

And if you don't pay anything — in money, time, or skill development — you're going to end up with nothing.

And btw: I charge quite a bit more than $3,000/month.

My AI tool will hurt your feelings. 

"This is generic advisor slop," it often points out. 

Here are 7 notes from our beta testers who have been using InfluenceLab.io for a couple of months now:

1. "It gives brutal feedback sometimes, which is what you need to hear, not what you want to hear."

2. "I love the harshness. I'm a former athlete — I need to be yelled at sometimes."

3. "I also enjoy the shots it takes at my writing."

4. "My favorite thing about the tool is the blunt feedback" 

5. "It can be a bit harsh at times."

6. "Sometimes it makes me feel like a really bad writer."

7. "Your tool has given me major insecurities but has totally helped my writing become so much better."

This wasn't intentional. It's not like we were like, "Take on the personality of literary Gordon Ramsay."

It was just trained directly on tens of thousands of words of writing feedback I've given clients, and I am... not one to beat around the bush. 

InfluenceLab is already yelling at 42 users.

See how harsh it can be with a 7-day free trial here:

influencelab.io

--

(Some user feedback in the screenshot below.)

If you're a financial advisor who wants to get more reach on LinkedIn, the algorithm is showing you this post for a reason.

And I built something that will do that for you. 

In February 2025, I started editing posts for financial advisor clients. I charged $900/mo to edit 3 posts a week.

After I edited each post, I would leave 200-400 words of feedback on why I made the edits I did.

• Here's why we changed the hook
• Here's how we rewrote the body
• Here's where we added specificity
• Here's how we write a better CTA 
• Here's how we made this good 

I did this a lot. Hundreds of posts.

Then, one day, I got on a call with Ben A. Wise.

And Ben — who has been ghostwriting longer than I've been on LinkedIn — said:

"You should turn that feedback into an AI coaching tool."

"I don't know how to do that," I said. 

"I do," he said.

So he did.

And now, it exists.

An AI coaching tool specifically designed for financial advisors who want to get more reach and sign more clients on LinkedIn.

How it works:

• Paste your draft
• Get detailed coaching in seconds
• How to fix your hook
• How to fix your story
• How to fix your CTA

And a clear pass/fail so you know when it's ready to publish.

This works. Idk what else to tell you. It works.

Here's what our beta testers said:

Chris Brindle: "My business has genuinely grown on LinkedIn and that's at least partially due to my posts getting better with this tool."

Luke McElhenie, CFP®: "The workflow from taking the coaching feedback and putting it back into Claude has been awesome. Posts have been crushing it — 261,335 impressions in past 14 days."

Evan Wohl, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, RICP®: "It understands the overall message I'm trying to get across and drops the unnecessary parts or common LinkedIn AI 'fortune cookie' BS."

Anthony Degli Obizzi Jr.:  "My impressions have been through the roof on weekend posts with the tool."

Elijah Duduit, CFP®, CRPS®: "It's as if there's an actual human on the other side completely uninterested in flattering me with fruitcake feedback and is instead completely interested in fixing the mess I give to him."

Justin Pandy: "I love that it doesn't just say, this hook sucks, it goes into why it sucks, then offers ways to improve it."

Ryan Furlong, CFP®: "It's particularly helpful in cases where I feel like "something is off here" with the initial draft but I can't pinpoint it with the amateur eye. The tool lays all that out perfectly... Impressions have been through the roof at least by my standard this week. (154,421)"

Start getting more reach with a 7-day free trial here:

influencelab.io

P.S. My favorite testimonial:

Adrienne G.: "Your tool has given me major insecurities but has totally helped my writing become so much better." 

Adrienne is saying this because the tool can be quite mean. I don't believe in beating around the bush with my coaching, and it's built on my feedback.

So yes, this tool is mean and it will make you feel bad.

That'll be $49!

I'm giving away the 12-page report behind $53MM in qualified AUM pipeline — built by two financial advisors posting on LinkedIn for 12 months.

I broke down the data behind 460 posts that have helped my clients:

• Book 77 meetings across 25 states
• Attract 80%+ of those meetings as inbound leads
• Hire 5 people — including 3 CFPs — for $252 in ad spend

If you're a financial advisor who's posting on LinkedIn and wondering why it's not converting...

Read this report to learn everything that actually moved the needle:

• The exact character range where impressions peak — and where they fall off a cliff

• Which photo format outperform edevery other format by 1.6x 

• The hook type that averaged 10,884 median impressions — more than double everything else

• The two-track system that separates audience-building posts from meeting-booking posts

• The "character count curve" — a full breakdown of 460 posts plotted against reach

• Real LinkedIn analytics from two CFPs who started from ground zero

The report is backed by 460 tracked posts across two accounts, 10.2MM combined impressions, and 77 booked meetings that turned into $53MM+ in AUM and $150K+ in planning fee pipeline.

Want it?

Comment "REPORT" and I'll send you the full thing free (must be connected). 

--

P.S. This is for financial advisors only. Please do not ask for this if you are not a financial advisor.

I mean, you can ask. I'll take the engagement. But I'm not going to send it to you.

Yesterday, a financial services president signed up for my LinkedIn post editing tool at 12:25 PM. At 4:33 PM, he bought another subscription for his team. 

At 6:38 PM, he (Daniel Keever) sent me a DM:

"Hey Adam, a client of mine sent me your InfluenceLab as a research question. I told them I’ll check it out. Ended up signing up for myself and one of our team members. Surprisingly useful feedback. Appreciate appreciate the tool."

He was one (two) of 13 new subscribers yesterday, which brings us to 26 people using InfluenceLab.io. (Beta testers, plus a stealth rollout in the DMs the week leading up to yesterday's launch.)

Here's how advisors who are getting the best results are using it:

• Write your first draft.
• Pop it into the tool.
• READ the feedback
• Copy the feedback 
• Paste the feedback into Claude
• (Or ChatGPT, but you should be using Claude) 
• Have Claude punch up your draft based on the feedback
• Make your manual edits
• See your impressions jump

You can try it with zero risk for 7 days.

Worst-case scenario, you get a ton of free coaching about how to write effective LinkedIn posts.

Claim your free trial here:

influencelab.io

--

P.S. The screenshot below is from another user, not Daniel.

When I work with a client who uses semicolons.

taplio

The Battle

Matthew Baltzell 🌴

Adam Knorr

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreMatthew Baltzell 🌴's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAdam Knorr's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Matthew Baltzell 🌴

Adam Knorr

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);}Matthew Baltzell 🌴's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAdam Knorr's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMatthew Baltzell 🌴's LinkedIn Performance