Founder of StrategyBreakdowns.com

TLDR: Worked in strategy consulting → Joined strategy team at Atlassian → Started writing strategy case studies → People liked them, so I left my job and went full-time

Tom Alder

8 things I've learned while living in Valencia for the past month:

1/ The "slow" culture made me realise how much day-to-day urgency you experience everywhere else.

2/ Europe is the best timezone - 4 hours of deep work before US Eastern gets online.

3/ The city is easy-going and beautiful, but not efficient. Restaurants with lines out the door and empty tables, busses show up 15 mins late (or not at all), 'the system is down' is almost a daily occurence.

4/ I love a siesta but find it nearly impossible to refocus afterwards. Better for marking the transition from work → life.

5/ Meeting people as a digital nomad requires more intentionality than I thought. 

6/ Everywhere you look, you see someone's creative touch. Tiles, balconies, door handles. Everything is decorative, even if in a small way. 

7/ I didn't see a single person on a laptop in a cafe. 

8/ Paella is more than just a regional dish. Everyone is quick to recommend their favourite spot, share tips and rules for ordering it correctly, and tell their Paella-based memories. People worship it here (rightly so!)

—

👉 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my newsletter - a 3-minute breakdown of the strategy playbooks and growth hacks behind the world’s greatest companies.

Join 100,000+ strategy nerds from companies like Google, Meta, Atlassian, and Netflix: https://lnkd.in/g2FWfXGR

The team at beehiiv just showed me what they're launching next week.

I've analysed hundreds of product releases.

This one I'm gonna join live.

Most companies make tweaks and add tiny features.

beehiiv have been quietly building something that got me absolutely hyped.

Tyler Denk 🐝 and team have cracked something fundamental about how creators grow and monetise.

I can't share specifics (NDA), but here's what I can say:
If you're building a creator/media business in 2025, you should join us at the launch event!

Register here → https://lnkd.in/gh3tKmCZ

People always ask "How did you decide when to quit your job and go all-in?"

3 months after launching Strategy Breakdowns I told my boss I was leaving.

This was my napkin math:

The business was making just under $3k/mo.
~$2.2k from newsletter sponsorship, rest from affiliate revenue.

→ I was publishing 1 newsletter every 2 weeks
→ If I ran them weekly, that'd 2x sponsorship + 1.5x affiliate revenue

→ I had 1 sponsor per newsletter
→ If I had 2, that'd 2x sponsorship revenue again

→ I had 20k subscribers
→ If I grew to 50k, that'd 2x sponsorship + 1.5x affiliate revenue again

Q: If I quit my job, would the extra 40hrs per week be enough to publish 1 extra newsletter every 2wks, sell 4x as many ads, and speed-run an extra 30k subs by reinvesting all revenue into subscriber growth?

Once I laid out all the inputs, it became an easy 'yes'.

I could probably hit $10k/mo within a month or 2, even factoring some contingency if I couldn't sell 100% of my ad inventory.

Then if I kept growing the newsletter, and added new ways to monetise, I figured it wouldn't be too much drama to get to $20k/mo.

Quitting a high-paying tech job for a $3k/mo newsletter = crazy, risky, scary
Quitting a high-paying tech job for a (soon-to-be) $20k/mo newsletter = makes sense

Same business. 
Different frame.

Don't be afraid to math it out.
Goes a long way in building up conviction.

—

👉 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my newsletter - a 3-minute breakdown of the strategy playbooks and growth hacks behind the world’s greatest companies.

Join 100,000+ strategy nerds from companies like Google, Meta, Atlassian, and Netflix: https://lnkd.in/g2FWfXGR

Valve makes $50 million per employee.

Microsoft? $18 million.
Apple? $2.4 million.
Meta? $1.9 million.

How does a 350-person gaming company eclipse every tech giant on the planet?

→ They built a 30% tax on PC gaming.

Every game sold on Steam. Every microtransaction. Every indie hit and AAA blockbuster. If it's sold on their platform, Valve takes 30%.

They do develop games themselves, but vast majority of their revenue comes from infrastructure, maintenance, and collecting.

What makes it even more remarkable:

Zero traditional management mechanisms.

Valve operates with a completely flat hierarchy. No managers assigning work. No executives approving projects.

Instead they pioneered several radical workplace practices like choose-your-own team, and peer-reviewed bonuses.

Your colleagues (not your boss) determine your compensation based on your contributions. The entire company votes on your impact.

The result:
336 employees shared $444 million in total compensation in 2021. That's an average of $1.3 million per person.

And the company is on track for $17 billion in revenue in 2025.

They proved something most large corporations forget:
You don't need more people. You need the right structure (business model + organisational model).

—

📖 If you liked this post, you’ll definitely enjoy my newsletter article Why Valve has no managers!

Take a look here: https://lnkd.in/gyDPxJQ5

Imagine you are a marketing manager working for Coca Cola in 1971.

To make your most important decisions, you might have access to things like:
• Sales info
• Customer surveys
• Financial metrics

IF you spend a few days (possibly weeks) digging around the company for them. Remember, no computers back then.

Now, imagine you had instant access to:

→ The 5x highest performing newspaper/billboard/bus-stop ads out of the 10,000’s of ads Pepsi Co are running globally.

→ Real-time dashboards showing the number of daily, weekly, and monthly walk-ins for a McDonalds store that you’re doing a deal with.

→ A system that tracks every soft drink consumer in the world, showing you exactly what magazine they are most likely to get their beverage news from, and accurate trend data showing you a spike in conversations about “sugar-free”.

All entirely for free, fully self-serve, without ever needing to contact any Pepsi staff, McDonalds partners, or magazine analysts.

That is the world we live in.

But most people don't fully appreciate this. 

Every internet user and interaction leaves digital footprints. These footprints (if you know where to find them) reveal insights that make traditional ‘strategy theory’ feel like guesswork.

Not leveraging an 'information advantage' for your most important decisions, projects, products etc today is like voluntarily boxing yourself into a cubicle at Coca Cola HQ in 1971.

My vote: let’s use the tools available to us!

That's why I created 'Websites & Traffic' - a training that transforms you into a modern data-driven strategist.

If you want to skyrocket your persuasiveness, impact, and progression (but you’re looking for a modern-day approach that doesn’t involve slugging through more abstract ‘strategy theory’), this is for you! 

→ https://lnkd.in/gcWA7dyd

POV: You launched something and 1500+ people show up at once.

No paid ads. 
No viral post. 
Just an organic launch email.

Here's what the hype is all about:

Yesterday I launched 'Websites & Traffic'.

It's a training bundle for strategic professionals who need to back up their ideas with persuasive data. 

In just 5 days, you'll master 28 specific tactical skills that let you reverse-engineer any company's digital strategy - whether that's:
- Your #1 competitor
- A potential customer you're trying to close
- The market leader in your space
- Your highest-risk vendor
- Or simply a company whose strategy you want to learn from.

This isn't old school 'competitive analysis'.

These data-driven strategy skills are must-haves in today's age for just about any strategic use case:
- Preparing for customer interviews
- Increasing your own company's reach
- Analysing any player in your market
- Evaluating partnership opportunities
- Researching prospects before sales calls
- Investigating a trend you want to capitalise on

It works even if you've never heard of SimilarWeb, don't know what a UTM parameter is, and think "organic traffic" just means the line at the farmers market.

If you want to walk into your next big meeting as 'the person who always has the data', check it out → https://lnkd.in/gcWA7dyd

Why change fails. Brilliant. 

Source: Lippitt-Knoster Model - The 5 Components of Organisational Change.

Amazon website from every year since 1997, in chronological order.

—

👉 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my newsletter - a 3-minute breakdown of the strategy playbooks and growth hacks behind the world’s greatest companies.

Join 100,000+ strategy nerds from companies like Google, Meta, Atlassian, and Netflix: https://lnkd.in/g2FWfXGR

The Amazon website every year since 1998

AI NEWS: Fyxer AI ($1→25m ARR in 12mo) just dropped the biggest upgrade to their core product since launch.

Here's everything you need to know:

Fyxer's core product "Drafts" lives inside Gmail/Outlook, and it auto-drafts email replies in your voice for you to review, edit (if needed), and send.

They just released "Drafts 2.0" with a wall-to-wall revamp of product improvements:
→ better context searching (remembers past conversations to reply how you would)
→ dynamic tone detection (adapts to who you're emailing - client, manager, colleague etc)
→ smarter call scheduling (handles time zones automatically and finds times that suit everyone)

The result: users are now sending *twice* as many email drafts without edits.

Check out the draft it wrote below.

For anyone spending an hour+ on email: this is one of the apps that actually saves me tangible time + focus on a daily basis. 


For the product-led-growth nerds - onboarding is slick too. Starts working in 30 seconds with Gmail or Outlook signup. Automatically learns your voice. Zero setup or learning curve.

I love startups like this - simple idea with perfect execution.


Oh and I convinced the Fyxer team to give my readers a special signup offer https://lnkd.in/gsuYEPQP (Partner link)

This is how you print $$$ by running ads in newsletters:

(And no, it's not generic copy + CTA to 'sign up now')

I've run 100s of ads in my 100k reader newsletter.

Worked with the best growth marketers in the world at companies like Atlassian, Clay, Vanta etc and I think I might have the highest renewal rate in the industry.

Here is the no-fluff playbook for getting results from newsletter ads:

1/ Less is more.
Longer ad copy (and longer sentences) ALWAYS perform worse. This may seem counterintuitive, I know it's tempting to write paragraphs about your product, but the quicker readers can internalise your message the more likely they'll read it in full. Aim for ~3 sentences / bullets total.

2/ Scannable format
Our best performing ads have the following characteristics:
- Start with a catchy, intriguing, spicy headline in *bold*
- Short punchy lines/lists with line breaks for breathing room
- Button with unique CTA ("Show me my security score", "I want the free playbook")

3/ Specific objectives.
Don't assume the newsletter knows what you want. People default to impressions/clicks, but every time I dig deeper there's a more important goal: "I want our founding story going viral", "I want a pretty report with data and community screenshots to share with my boss (my promotion is coming up)", "I want to run an isolated test to see if a waitlist/free trial/free plan works for us". 

4/ Don't just run 1 ad. 
I'm not saying this because more ads = more spend. There are 3 reasons you NEED to test with multiple ads: a) it takes multiple touchpoints for decision-makers to take action (when was the last time you saw a brand for the first time and 30s later you're on a $99/mo plan?), b) you test multiple angles to learn what resonates, c) most newsletters do bundle discounts so its cheaper per ad/open/click. 1 ad = throwing money away.

5/ Keep a swipe-file.
Seems obvious but not enough people do this. Collate your highest-performing social posts. Your competitors' best FB ads. Your best-converting landing page. Leverage these for your ad copy - don't ever start from scratch.

6/ You want partnership, not just sponsorship.
If your 'partner' isn't actively helping you tighten your copy, learn from the data, leverage their high-performing assets, investing their own money + time + resources into ensuring you win, you need to run.

7/ Backend funnels are magic.
This might be the most important alpha of all. The sponsors that are ripping right now do some variation of: run ads to a lead magnet/webinar → capture email → survey to segment (optional) → email nurture with education + social proof + objection-handling → sales handoff to book a demo/whiteglove/welcome offer. 1 person can build this in 1 day with AI, and it gets >10x better results per ad.

I have just 3 ad slots in my newsletter left this year, then I'm increasing prices for '26. 

If you're targeting strategy nerds (founders, PMs, devs), DM me!

5 unconventional tactics I learned at Atlassian (your company should copy these):

1. Everyone reads customer feedback (literally everyone)

Every week, every employee gets an automated email with 3 randomly selected verbatim quotes from customers. Bug reports, success stories, feature requests.

Over time you start spotting patterns. You develop intuition for customer sentiment. When you're proposing something, you can back it up with qualitative data you rememeber reading.

2. No PowerPoint allowed, only memos

Good writing is good thinking. You can disguise terrible ideas with pretty slides.

Every idea, every meeting, every project, every roadmap lives as a Confluence page. Writing out your ideas forces you to get specific about what you actually want to say (and why it matters). 

3. Every team has visible KPIs

Based on your team and role, you always knew exactly what metric mattered most. OKRs aren't perfect, but they create MASSIVE clarity of direction.

You also always knew what your KPI was driving at the division or company level (ie. what it "rolled up" to). Month commentary from owners explaining movements makes it easy to tell what matters to teams across the whole company. 

4. Open by default

Jira boards and Confluence pages have full organisational sharing permissions toggled on by default. This is a small but hugely significant product design choice.

Unless you actively close it off, everyone in the company can find, read, and comment on your work. Google Docs and Word don't do this – which means every new doc feels "yours" instead of "ours." 

5. Roll out to employees first

When I worked there, Atlassian had over 10,000 employees. That's a pretty sizable testing ground, and every mature product team would roll out changes to Atlassians first (who were using these tools every day).

This lets you catch bugs and bulletproofs ideas before paying customers see them, and creates a friendly space for candid feedback.

The pattern: make transparency and feedback the default (not the exception) for every product, decision, and idea.

Happy building.

—

👉 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you'll love my newsletter - a 3-minute breakdown of the strategy playbooks and growth hacks behind the world’s greatest companies.

Join 100,000+ strategy nerds from companies like Google, Meta, Atlassian, and Netflix: https://lnkd.in/g2FWfXGR

Jack Dyer🕺

JOIN US NEXT WEDNESDAY IN CARDIFF: My team and I are running an interactive workshop!



We’ve seen time and again how
important your LinkedIn profile is.

But we’ve seen so many Leaders
with neglected LinkedIn profiles…
leave thousands ££$$ on the table.

(or more accurately, their keyboard)
So why don’t we change that?

We’ve grown unknown leaders from
total obscurity to thought leadership
on LinkedIn during 2025.

We’ve worked with 11 clients from
the USA…  to the UK…  to the UAE.

Now it’s time we showed you
how to do it FOR YOURSELF!


So we’re launching our interactive
LinkedIn Optimisation Workshop next
Wednesday at Studio Halo Cardiff!

This workshop is an investment
in the future of your business.

We’ll show you how
to get your Storytold™

5 hours that will change everything,
Discounts on remaining tickets,
Link in the comments below,
Only a few places left,
Come and join us,
In Cardiff Bay,
19th Nov,
❤️🕺

https://lnkd.in/e2eN9qn6

Stop posting in the dark. We turn your LinkedIn into a business asset, with almost ZERO effort from you. | Top 1% LinkedIn Storyteller | CEO of Storytold.

Well, that was a success!



This week, my team and I went
to The Business Show London 
and saw 25,000 businesses!

And only a few stood out to us.

We'll be promoting you next week.
Today I'm sharing the adventures 
of our newest team member... 

Jeff Von Duckington!

He's been giving out discounts like
he doesn't give a duck, and only 
a select few people were lucky
enough to meet him this week!

We met many who 
weren't duck-worthy. 

But if we gave you a duck, it means
you made a big impression on us
and we'd love to work with you!

Watch this space. Good things are coming next week.

Natasha, Gabrielle and
I will get your Storytold™
Trust me on this one.

🕺



Some fantastic people:

David Francis, Gemma Kavanagh and Richard Collins

Amie Crews and Paddy Keogh Weller

Katie Shaw and Jessica Hart

Nicola Lyle and Stella Chaplin,

Simon P. and Erina Singh Ellis,

Mike Strange and Clare Bungey

Russell Schaller and Kevin F.

And of course Katerina Christou, Jonathan Russell, Stephanie Henwood, Blair Fiander, Nicole Bachmann, Lewis Sweeting, Amy Parry, Michelle Scott, Alina Khardina

I don’t like my employees.



I love them!
Ok, sorry for the bait and switch.
But it was important for this next part:

I never thought I’d actually
achieve my lifelong dream of
running my own company.


But I have.


And even then, I never thought
I’d get myself a team (I thought I’d
run a freelance solo consultancy)


But I have.


And then, I never expected that
other people would believe in me
and my vision as much as I do.


But they do.


And now, it just feels the most
natural thing in the world to have
become friends with my team.


Because we have.


My team mean the world to me.
I’m not a father. I don’t know if I’ll
ever choose to have kids, and that’s
okay. Everyone does life differently.

But I feel like a proud father of my
team. They’re weird. They’re brilliant.
They make me smile on an hourly basis.

Oh yeah, and they’re gonna think I’m
drunk writing this because why am I
spewing such sentimental nonsense?

Because, quite frankly, it’s true.

Now I’m off to tell them I hate them and
they’re fired. It’s how I show affection.

Don’t worry, they fire me too.
It’s the culture we’ve built, and
often they threaten to overthrow me
and burn Storytold™ to the ground.

Then in the same hour, they create
something outstanding for our clients.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Come and work with us as a client!
https://lnkd.in/ea2qz8vX

Spaces are limited, because there’s
so much awesome flowing from our
team that if you joined us as well….

The universe might explode.
🕺🏻

I worry that I’m never going to be rich.



When I was a freelancer in 2019,
I designed a campaign to the Maldives…

And every day I worked on the project,
I was constantly jealous that this was
a once-in-a-lifetime, luxury holiday,
I’d never have the chance to go on.

It was for the top Citroen salespeople.
The top dealers across the UK could
win a trip to LITERAL paradise.

And I got to design all the
collateral for the whole trip:

→ The itinerary
→ The brochures
→ The web banners
→ The branded menus
→ The personalised boxes
→ The excursions and events
→ Even the damn luggage tags


And I’d never get to go.

Except…. I was dead wrong.

6 years ago I designed this.


But last month,
with my proven Storytold system...
I finally got to go to the Maldives!


This is the power of hard work,
combined with having a dream
that you keep working towards.

For 5 days, my girlfriend and I
experienced what the super-rich
experience about 6 times a year.

So keep working,
keep building something,
and know that anything can
happen if you put your mind to it.

If you’re not where you want
to be right now, I hear you.

But you can be.

If your LinkedIn is neglected
That’s the best place to start.

I grew from 740 to 46K followers
with my proven Storytold system.

And you can too.


Let’s get you to the Maldives!

Burnout isn’t sexy. 




For the last 4 weekends, I’ve been:

- attending business shows in London
- going to public speaking events
- travelling across the UK for work
- running workshops to help others

On top of that, I’ve been working
12 hour days for 5 days a week. 

Which means I haven’t had a 
day off to rest in over a month. 


And y’know what? 


I’m an idiot. 


Because if I want to perform at my best
during the week, I need some downtime!

Humans aren’t designed to run on empty.
We need days off.


So today, I’m not travelling, I’m sat at home 
with my feet up and actually letting my brain 
recover by playing a mindless PC game! 

That photo is from Cardiff on Thursday
(one of many, many, many trips recently)


I’m not getting anyone’s #storytold today! 


Have a great weekend all, and remember:
High achievers like you can only achieve
if you give yourself permission to rest.

No alternative text description for this image

We’re both good and bad:



Isn’t it interesting how ‘good’ and ‘bad’
in politics swings like a pendulum?

80 years ago, fascism was the villain.

After the war, everyone put up national
security barrier (understandable) and
communism/socialism was the enemy.

Then came the Reagan era, when
conservative values were celebrated,
and all the “hippies” were the outcasts.

Then in the 2000s, the conservative
right held the “bad guy” label, while
liberalism felt like the moral compass.

And now, thanks to Hollywood’s campaign
to obliterate and destroy anything male
in favour of the ultra powerful ‘girlboss’
that nobody, not even women, enjoy…

Now things are starting to change
again. Now it’s “go woke, go broke”.


Throughout history, the social and
political narrative always changes.

Left is good. Right is bad.
Right is good. Left is bad.
Round and round it goes.


But neither side is inherently ‘good’
or ‘bad.’ Each represents context,
culture, and perspective, and our
often strong opinions change as we
go through different stages of life.


So why the hell am I talking about this?

Because we’re at a crucial moment.


A moment to recognise that AI, and
AI content generated by people with
agendas, is pushing us further and
further into polarisation. And worse,
pushing us AWAY from each other.

What we need, now more than ever,
is real human connection. Not more AI.

Not algorithms. But real conversations
where we seek to understand the other
points of view, not argue against them.

Because the moment we open ourselves
up to why others think the way they do,
we don’t just find common ground.
We find empathy and understanding.


And the easiest way to create empath
for you and your business, is to start
getting your story told. That’s why
I named my company #Storytold.

Stories stay true to your mission
without alienating anyone. Without
flip-flopping on your core values.

They help you attract your audience,
rather than pushing them away. Stories
help you build a community of loyal fans.

Every business owner deserves to get
their story told. And for that, there’s
only one team to choose:

Tash,
Gabby,
Anneka,
+ Jack at
Storytold™

Stories connect us.

So connect with us to tell yours.
(DM me for a 3 month discount)

🕺

From invisible to influential | Top 1% LinkedIn Storyteller & Leader | CEO of Storytold. | 15+ years empowering CEOs with integrity and authentic, visual storytelling. | Architect of the Unseen

How I feel like I’ve “made it”:



I was relaxing on Saturday
(for a change) and I opened
LinkedIn, to new notifications.


I though… On a Saturday? Sure, ok!


Clicked it…


And totally out of the blue,
a company I’ve never heard of
"Featured" me in a LinkedIn post!


→ They wrote about my experience
(all found from my profile information)

→ They complimented me on my
“outstanding performance & growth”

→ They even found a photo of me from
an old site, retouched it with photoshop
and AI, added different shoulders, arms
and hands (they aren’t mine, they’re AI)
and added an on-brand headline !!!


Essentially, this was a Press Release
that appeared out of the blue, that I
wasn’t contacted about beforehand,
from a company I’ve never heard of.

And what I find most fascinating of all:
they did it without my consent or even
asking me if I’d like to be featured.

If they’d have asked, I’d have said yes!
but they went ahead and did it anyway!

It made me smile that this happened.
Because it means that “I’ve made it”.

Someone, somewhere, saw my profile
and based on that alone, decided I
was worth their time to write about.


And that’s the power of a great profile.


Your profile should work while you sleep.
If it doesn’t, let’s do something about it.


If yours isn’t getting you opportunities,
we’ll conduct a Storytold LinkedIn Audit
(the same system I use on my profile).

Worth £850, I’m doing a Black Friday
sale so you pay just £212.50 (75% off!)
DM to claim yours before we book up.

I’ll see you "featured" in my DMs!


Jack 🕺

The loudest leaders are losing their voices.



Sometime in the last 20 years,
leadership became about showing off.

Every post was carefully crafted to say:

“Look how brilliant I am.”
“Look how many things I know.”
“Look how successful I’ve become.”


But thankfully, things have changed.


There’s so much ‘perfect’ AI content,
that those ‘perfect’ leaders are DONE.
We don’t believe them, and switch off.

The ones who ACTUALLY get attention
are the leaders who admit when they
falter, fail, or even duck things up.


Because it makes them HUMAN!


We pay attention to Leaders who:

→ Admit when “I made a mistake.”
→ Say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”
→ Share the lessons they’re learning,
not just the ones they’ve mastered.


Your flaws don't make you weak.

They makes you RELATABLE.


So next time you want to share
something, don’t make it perfect.

Tell us about a time you got it wrong,
and we’ll all respect you a hell of a lot
more than all those ‘look at me’ leaders.

THAT’s how you get your Storytold™ 🕺
Join us for a limited time offer:

https://lnkd.in/e633ifJr

9 things I've never told anyone (on LinkedIn):



Storytold™ is officially 9 months old!
So I wanted to mark the occasion
by sharing some not-so-secrets:


1:  You all know I’m an introvert.
But I LOVE meeting new people.

2:  I’m not just a CEO and Designer.
I can also play the Steel Drums!

3:  I’m legitimately scared of death.
I have so much to give, so much
life to live, I’m scared it’ll all end.

4:  I had a manager who bullied
and threatened to fire me because
I wasn’t “happy enough” at the tills.

5:  I left a job in 2017 to go freelance
and replaced my salary in year one!

6:  I never kill spiders. I catch them
in a glass and release them outside!

7:  I once got scammed out of £250
buying a Macbook on Facebook that
never got delivered by the scammers.

8: My birthday is the 8th, my dad’s
is the 8th, and my mum’s is the 8th…
But we’re all born in different months!

9:  I didn’t create Storytold because
I was running away from a bad job.
I did it because I knew it could help
millions of business owners like you.




Since 9 is a weird number, here’s a bonus secret:


10:  I vowed, one day, to make enough
money to buy my parents a house
when they retire. I’d better hurry up…


I’m Jack, the introvert who started
his own business out of nothing and
suddenly has international clientele,
a team of 7, and a totally different
life than I had even just a year ago.

I created a system that truly works,
and my primary goal is to help you
(whether we work together or not)

Pop into my calendar for a chat.
And we’ll get your Storytold

“I want him to do well, but not better than me.”



I overheard this in the gym the
other day (well, the locker room).

And I thought to myself…
I used to think this way.

No need to comment or tell us.
Have you ever thought this too?


This is a very limiting belief.
A mindset winners DON’T have.


For context, here’s the full story:

I was changing after going swimming.
Two other guys were in the locker room.

One guy was talking about his friend.
He got him a job at the same company,
and watched as his friend climbed the
ranks quicker than the guy talking did.

Eventually, his friend became his boss.
And he completed his story by saying:

“Like, I wanted him to be successful…
Just not more successful than me! 😂”

And I get it.
When I was young,
I thought this way too.
(to my shame, looking back)

But if someone is truly your friend,
And if you have an infinite mindset,

You don’t let your own jealousy
begrudge them their success.

You’re happy for them!
You want them to win!
You cheer them on!
You support them!

THEIR success is NOT a reflection of
your own inadequacy. But thinking that
you’re only successful if they’re not, IS.

Leaders know we can all be successful.
And: That comparison keeps you small.

The friend who did well was focused
on being the best version of himself.
By not comparing, he succeeded.

The jealous friend was constantly
comparing. And he got left behind.

Focus on your own journey.
Do the work. Make it happen.
And support others to join you.

There’s enough success for us all.

Jack 🕺

How I hit 46k followers (without using AI)



“AI really pulled through for me”

Someone said when I was freelancing.

No, really. Let me set the scene for you:

Hey Turnipheads, it’s Natasha here.
Where’s Jack? Don't worry about it.

Recently Jack and I spoke about the
hot topic of AI, live on Radio Cardiff.

We’re not against using AI as a tool.
But people become too reliant on it.
It can’t do what people really need.

For example, last year I designed
a little logo for a castle coffee shop.

Showed the guy the logo, and he said
“Nah, we used AI & it pulled through!”


Hint, it didn't.


The logo was badly drawn, low pixels,
not adaptable, no colours, not unique.
A coffee cup with a castle thrown in.

And they liked it….. For 3 days.
Then they just stopped using it.


AI didn't understand the nuances,
or their personality, or their SOUL…
so nobody connected with the logo
emotionally. They deserved BETTER.


👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

Connecting with an audience (and
growing to over 46k followers means
understanding personality and nuance.

This is something AI cannot replicate.

AI skips the ‘why’ and “gives outcome”
Worse, everyone can tell when you get
ChatGPT or Claude to write your posts.

I used to have 740 LinkedIn followers.
Now my team and I have +46,000…
Because we connect with EMOTIONS.
We tell authentic stories. AI doesn’t.

AI cannot get your story told.
No matter how fast/easy it is.


For brands that want to build trust.

For those who connect with people,

And for those who have a story to tell:

Thats where real design pulls through.

I’m Natasha, the designer at Storytold.


And our dedicated little team has helped
global CEOs grow on LinkedIn & beyond
with more genuine connections.

Let us help you get your story told:
https://lnkd.in/e2e-4UVa

🕺

AI cant design proper good like

SAVE THE DATE. 19TH NOVEMBER.



My little team and I are running an
interactive workshop…  in Cardiff!

We’ve seen time and again how
important your LinkedIn profile is.

But we’ve seen so many Leaders
leave thousands ££$$ on the table.
Or, more accurately, their keyboard.


So why don’t we change that?


We’ve grown unknown leaders from
total obscurity to thought leadership
on LinkedIn during 2025.

Now it’s time we showed you
how to do it FOR YOURSELF.

It’s taken months of planning…
But we’re finally launching our
new Interactive Workshop at
Studio Halo on 19th November!

This workshop is an investment
in the future of your business.

We’ll show you how
to get your Storytold™

5 hours that will change everything.
Link in the comments below.
Come and join us:

https://lnkd.in/eZQeDqnv

🕺

I realised most CEOs are failing at LinkedIn, and here’s why:



Last week at the 
The Business Show London
a CEO told me difficult to hear:

“Jack… I think LinkedIn just isn’t
for people like me anymore.”

He sounded almost embarrassed
to admit it, and realised he meant:

“I’m posting into the void and
it’s making me doubt myself.”


I get it.


LinkedIn makes smart leaders feel invisible.
Especially when see competitors post the
same recycled ideas, and somehow get
200 likes and three inbound leads from it.


Meanwhile, their own content, the stuff they
spent 20 hours a week sweating over, gets
70 impressions, 2 likes, and duck-all else.
No clicks on their website, no calls booked.


I’ve learned this issue hides a very real fear:
He also said: “Maybe the problem is me.”


It’s not.


The problem is that today, CEOs are
expected to run a business AND magically
become world-class Content Strategists too.


That same CEO told me: “I’ve got a writer.
I’ve got a marketing person. But none of
it is landing us any new clients.”


And ‘cos I want to help him, I told him the truth.


A copywriter can write. A marketer can post.
But neither can build influence if the strategy,
psychology, and story aren’t connecting on
an emotional level with your audience.


–  It’s not about posting more often.
–  Or designing prettier photos.
–  Or being “more creative.”


It’s about having a message that
cuts through, CONSISTENTLY, without
draining the CEO’s time or brainpower.


So we ran a Brand Discovery session.
We rebuilt his message. We stopped
guessing. We created a strategy that
matched his buyers’ behaviour.


And within 3 weeks, his posts were
doing what they were supposed to:

Getting attention. Building authority.
Starting conversations. Attracting leads.

Not because he changed.
But because his strategy did.


You don’t need to post more.
You need a team that posts SMARTER,
and turns your expertise into demand.


That same CEO who used to spend
20 hours of worry, now spends one
hour a week laughing on a call with us.

And his LinkedIn has become a real
business asset, not just a time sink.


And if you’ve been spending 20 hours
a week writing LinkedIn posts that take
all your energy and give nothing back…


Then it’s time for a change.


It’s time to make LinkedIn work for YOU,
without you doing all the work. DM me.


We’ll help you get your story told.
https://lnkd.in/ecCVYZhK

“If I want something done properly, I have to do it myself”.



I used to think this way.
And it held me back more
than anything else as a CEO.

That belief is exactly why I sucked
at LinkedIn every day for 6 months.

I was carrying EVERYTHING alone:
strategy, writing, posting, planning,
coming up with new content ideas,
messaging, positioning, branding…
while also running a company.


And I was exhausted.


It’s no wonder my posts all flopped.
I’d get 2 likes and do a happy dance
'cos that was a 100% improvement
on yesterday, but still no clients.

That was January to June 2024.
In July last year, I sought help.

→ I hired a VA.
→ Then a Writer.
→ Then a Designer.
→ Then a Junior Writer.


And now, I’ve got a question I wish
someone had asked me last year:

“What if all my content was written by
people who genuinely care about my
business and enjoy working together?”

✔️ Your audience grows faster.
✔️ Your message becomes clearer.
✔️ Your authority becomes undeniable.
✔️ And LinkedIn stops feeling like a
lonely, thankless job that’s all on you.


I used to spend 10 hours a week writing
content that did nothing for my growth.


So I know your pain.
Then I created Storytold,
to solve that pain for myself.
And I created a system where we
solve that pain, every day, for you too.

So if you’re tired of carrying LinkedIn by
yourself, and you want a team who cares
about your business as much as you do,


You can finally stop doing everything alone.

Let’s make LinkedIn finally work for you.

Let’s get your story told. Properly.

DM me.

What’s most important to your business?



Most would say ‘getting new clients’.
That’s the whole point of networking.

But in many leaders, the thought of
“networking” brings us out in hives.

What if there was a way to attract
more clients, organically, without
chasing down the leads yourself?


There is.


Storytelling.


It’s like magic.


And when you combine the two,
you become simply unstoppable.

For every 10 exhibitors at
The Business Show London,
there was 1 who told their story.
THEY’re the ones who got noticed.

When you turn your LinkedIn profile
into an optimised, story-driven page,

And when you tell #authentic stories
that provide raw value to an audience

That’s when you’ve transcended just
networking, and when your business
hits a higher level of real engagement.


If your LinkedIn page could make sales
while you slept… would you invest in it?


'course you would.


I did. And I went from a nobody,
to 45,000+ followers, a team of 5,
and #CEO of a flourishing business.

And to replicate this for yourself, join
the other Storytold™ partners here ↓
https://lnkd.in/ewa_-z-Z

What's a success story?



For me, it's more about 
the impact we have on
our clients lives than
just the numbers.

Sure, we grew Justin from
5,300 followers to 10,091
in just over three months.

Sure, we made Cassandra's
Sports Tech brand basically
famous with her audience.

But the most impactful moments
are where we grow a business
and the owner's personal life...

IMPROVES DRAMATICALLY.

That's what happens when
you get your Storytold™

Trust me on this one.

"How do I stop my posts sounding like AI?"



I went to an event last night,
and someone asked me this.

The answer is surprisingly simple.

Don't ask #AI to write your post.

Or if you do, be smart and edit it with 
your own thoughts before you post it.

The greatest source of power and 
imagination on earth isn’t far away.

It’s right between your ears.

And you’re not using it.

People want to hear from YOU,
not a robot writing on your behalf.

Stop damaging your own reputation
by taking the ‘easy’ path with AI.

Trust me on this one.

#Storytold 🕺

Most networking events are designed to drain you.



I’m a paradox. I'm an introvert, but
love meeting new people at events.

And the best way to do that is
*get ready to shudder at the word*…


Networking.


It can make most introverts feel drained
after thirty minutes of “what do you do?”

But Sanjeev’s events are different.
Because of the people he invites!
The energy is genuine, and the
connections we make are real.

I had a genuine, instantly warm smile
when Aneela Rose walked up to me.
She’s one of those rare souls whose
energy charges you within seconds!

Then there’s Tejas Kotecha, a superb
communicator who had Aneela & my
sides hurting with laughter, literally.

And the best bit is, Tejas has decided
to work with Storytold™ (grabbing my
huge Black Friday discount, no less)!

I can’t wait to make his professional
profile as fantastic as he is in person.


I’m so glad I went all the way to London
for Sanjeev’s event. Connecting with
people authentically is beautiful.

Business shouldn't feel transactional;
it should feel like helping a friend out,
because you have skills they need.

And that’s where most people go
wrong on their LinkedIn profiles.
They appear too corporate and
forget that we’re all just people!


→ Be authentic. Be yourself.

→ Ditch the corporate speak.

→ Tell transformational stories.

→ (or ask my team to do it for you)


Just like at Sanjeev’s events:

When you show up as your authentic
self, and with a helpful, clear message,
people notice (in real life and online).

Thanks, Sanjeev, Aneela, and Tejas,
for making the night truly special!



PS. I’m Jack, and I make your LinkedIn
as attractive as you are. DM and say hi!

Most CEOs get 0 leads from LinkedIn for 1 reason:



Because they’re scared to look unprofessional.

LinkedIn creates a strange pressure where
leaders feel they must always be perfect:

Perfect tone, perfect message, perfect ideas.
But really, perfection is damaging their brand.

Humans (y’know the people who buy from us)
connect with other relatable, flawed humans

Not polish, perfect, poetic, professional posts
Stop PEEING everywhere! We need REAL!!

The moment you share something real,
not rehearsed, everything changes:

→  Your authority grows.
→→  Your audience pays attention.
→→→  Your content converts into leads.

Not because you kept being perfect.
but because you start sounding like YOU.


This is exactly what we help CEOs do:
turn your voice into posts that build trust,
cut through AI noise, and bring you leads…

… without you spending hours
writing posts that go nowhere.


We’ve done it for Leaders from New York
to Dubai. Join us to turn your LinkedIn into
consistent authority and new opportunities.

Let’s get your storytold.
Trust me on this one.


P.S. Who spotted the spelling mistakes in this post? They're importnat: They prove I wrote this myself, without AI!

I was writing a description of Storytold today, and there was a little “Generate with AI” button. Curious, I clicked it.

I also wrote my own, from my brain.
Can you guess which one is which?


OPTION A:
We emphasise authentic, real stories, an intimate Brand Discovery process, and help our clients communicate with real, ego-less stories about their past that connect them more authentically to their audience.


OPTION B:
We think creatively to deliver impactful results for our clients. We specialize in crafting and implementing strategies that elevate brand narratives and drive growth.
 
 
Did you guess which was which?
 

Mine was A. While my version isn’t
perfect, it definitely sounds more 
real than B, the AI written version.

The AI impressed me with how 
accurate the description was… 
But something wasn’t right. 

It somehow managed to be factual
correct with the description of our 
services, yet it also reads as hollow 
and soul-less at the same time.


This is why we need to use 
our human brains more often. 

This is why, when it comes 
to something important, 
we CANNOT outsource it to AI.

So if you're using AI to write content, 
you're damaging your reputation.

It doesn't have to be us, but get
a team of humans who write in
YOUR tone of voice instead.


Your business grows when you get your Storytold™

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The Battle

Tom Alder

Jack Dyer🕺

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The Battle

Tom Alder

Jack Dyer🕺

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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);}Tom Alder's LinkedIn Performance

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