Seven years ago, I was just a kid with a hunch.

Brands didn't understand Gen Z. 

I saw the gap and knew it had to be fixed.

But the thing about being an 18 y/o dropout with no experience, clients, or money?

No one gives a shit.

I had to go prove it.

I scratched. Clawed. Worked like hell to just get a chance.

I got a shot and took it.

Trndsttrs was born. 

The idea became a team.

A team that would prove our thesis brick by brick. 

The stakes grew and so did the team.

We helped McDonald's navigate COVID. 

We launched your favorite brands on TikTok and hacked the algorithm.

We changed the vertical content game forever. 

We helped brands break through the noise. Built creator partnerships that mattered. And ran campaigns that didn't sell into culture, but shaped it.

We built, pound for pound, the best Gen Z team in the world.

But here's what they don't tell you about building something from scratch:

You don't just learn how to solve problems. 

You learn to spot the ones that keep coming back.

For years, we solved the same problem over and over again.

Every campaign, every deal, every strategy—it all pointed to the same gap.

The brand <> creator ecosystem is broken.

We worked around it. We filled the gaps ourselves.

Until one day, we realized we weren’t just filling the gaps.

We were building the solution.

Now I find myself building RoC (return on creators).

Not a new idea—it’s the culmination of everything we’ve built, everything we’ve learned, and every challenge we’ve solved along the way.

This is our moonshot. Beaten and battered grapes forming our magnum opus.

I'll continue to operate with Trndsttrs as the premier social commerce agency—partnering with a select group of brands to drive results on the fastest-growing commerce platforms in the world.

Jake Bjorseth

My brother sends me 2-3 business ideas a week. 

Today’s was a portable gym brought in a u-haul like truck to your house… 

The other day it was a social media app exclusively for bodybuilders. 

I think AI was included somewhere in there…

On a totally unrelated note, is anyone hiring?

Social Commerce + Creator Marketing | Mom's Favorite Son

If you’re pushing content on LinkedIn to get likes and comments, you’re missing the bigger picture. 

98% of your content viewers will never engage. 

And the “big dogs” don’t ever do anything public here. 

Play for likes and followers all you want. 

But the true value here is the lurkers that are keen to do business and won’t ever comment “strategy” for you to send them a PDF. 

Ignore the “seen” audience, that’s just a drop in the bucket. 

Play for the unseen market

The older I get, the smaller my world feels.

And I'm questioning whether that's wisdom or weakness.

I haven't a clue what is going on in Iran.
Didn't watch a second of the State of the Union.
Not following the market or any news channels.

It bothers me, because I used to care deeply about it all.

I felt a greater burden of the world's problems were my direct responsibility to at least follow and have perspective on. 

Now?

My attention is entirely on my direct world view.

The team I lead.
The brands trusting us.
The technology and platform we're building.
My close friends, brothers, immediate family.
My fiancee I'll marry in 86 days.

My world has narrowed greatly, and with it, so has my bandwidth for what penetrates my skull of, for lack of better term:

Giving a shit.

The closer I get to a family of my own, the greater concern I have for my immediate perimeter. 

Build well.
Lead well.
Provide well.
Protect what's in my care.

Is this clarity tied to wisdom, maturity, and having real stakes in my own life for the first time?

Or is this unempathetic convenience? The death of my own altruism?

I tell myself it is focus... prioritization of what matters.

I just hope greatly it's that and not indifference.

PepsiCo just tested something way bigger than a TikTok campaign. 

Frito-lay launched “Flavor Swap” exclusives directly on TikTok shop. 

• Cool Ranch Dorito flavored Ruffles
• Cheddar Sour Cream Ruffles flavored Doritos
• Lays BBQ Chip flavored Cheeto 

Influencer collabs featured on the package for each:

• Dude Perfect
• Speed (streamer)
• Madison Beer

Since launching Feb 13, the results are pretty wild:

$850k in direct Revenue
1,000 active creators promoting
$18 per unit price 

Now even $1M/mo means absolutely nothing to Pepsi. 

But what matters is generating a buzz and signal ahead of their retail rollout. 

These new flavor swaps officially hit the stores Mar 1 now launching with 20M+ conversion intent impressions already established. 

Could this be the new CPG retail rollout?

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In the AI arms race, every brand needs to figure out how this will impact the creator economy.

Who are the 5, 10, or 100 creators that your brand can consistently work with across product collabs, UGC, ad-content, and affiliate marketing?

AI will ruin creator outreach forever, with any halfway decent creator receiving invites to collaborate in all of their DMs and inboxes with hundreds of opportunities.

AI creators and AI-generated content will become such a large percentage of content online that truly authentic content will be prized like Art. The value will only go up. 

You do not need more content creators. You need the right handful that actually matter.

Chief Executive officer at Talawa Industries Limited.

Chilungamo Phiri is the Chief Executive Officer of Talawa industries a social enterprise company in Mchinji , working with small holder farmers and value addition of raw materials from Sunflower, groundnuts and soya beans, Talawa industries vision is be leading manufacturer of food products in Malawi by empowering small holder farmers.

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The Battle

Jake Bjorseth

Chilungamo Phiri

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The Battle

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Chilungamo Phiri

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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);}Jake Bjorseth's LinkedIn Performance

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