Yannick Khayati

Founder / Validation Lead

Say ‘hi’ to Cosmos Collective, where experimentation meets innovation. We help innovation teams tackling all their assumptions via rapid experimentation. 

We developed an approach that allows us to test any business idea or concept within a period of 3 months. 

The 🔑 is finding the right sequence of experiments in order to test (read: tackle) all your riskiest assumptions asap. 

In our track, the user / customer is centralized. We take your idea outside of the corporate walls & turn it into real-market data asap. 

Are you ready to jump on the validation train? 🚄

AI in marketing is growing up. 
So is AI for Marketers Day. 

In less than 67 hours, we open early bird tickets for AI for Marketers Day 2026.

Last year was a first edition. Strong talks, a great location, a packed room.
But let’s be honest. AI has matured. And so have we.

We learned a lot from the first edition. What worked. What didn’t. What deserved more depth.

That’s why this year we’re going bigger where it matters.
32+ talks instead of 14.
Across 4 stages.
More perspectives. 

We’re still curating a few final stories for this edition, specifically around:
- AI & marketing in heavily regulated industries
- The marketing org chart of the future. Humans, teams, agents
- AI-powered GTM that actually drives pipeline
- Fully autonomous marketing engines. What’s real, what breaks, what’s next
- ...

If you’re building in one of these areas. Or know someone who is a great speaker on one of these topics. My DMs are open.

Early birds go live Thursday at 9 in the morning.

Yannick  Khayati

Organizing the biggest AI conference for marketers in Belgium.

Average-skilled marketers are about to get stuck in the dead-zone.

Here’s the cold reality:

If you can only do what everyone else does (but slightly better), AI is coming for your paycheck.

The top 1% are leveraging AI to become  growth generating machines.
The bottom 35% are only using ChatGPT to write generic emails.

The middle? That’s the danger zone.

To survive, you need to extend your skillset vertically. You need to become an AI marketer.

I’ve made a list of 18 ways to escape the dead-zone and build your own AI stack.

Most marketers look at this list and see "too much tech."
Smart marketers see 18 ways to increase their value.

Stop waiting for permission to upgrade your marketing activities.

If you want the shortcut, I’m teaching exactly how to build these workflows.

Next week I’ll be hosting a free webinar, let’s see if I can win over your trust. 

We skip the theory. We build systems.

Sign up via this link: https://lnkd.in/evPnyPni

I tested 100+ AI tools in 2025. 

The marketing playbook has changed. In 2026, I’m using tools to help me build, automate, and scale.

I’m currently going all-in on these 8 tools to run my own business.

The gap between "using AI" and "building an AI-native business" is widening. This stack is how we bridge it. 

PS: hosting a webinar on the 10 most asked questions during my AI trainings. You can join via this link ➡️ https://lnkd.in/evPnyPni

One of my 2026 resolutions:

Share more short, practical marketing thoughts I actually believe in.

Starting with these 12.

PS: I've built a webinar around the 10 FAQs marketers ask me all the time during my AI masterclasses. You can sign up for free via this link: https://lnkd.in/evPnyPni

Stop trying to outsource your creativity to a machine.

It’s lazy. And frankly, it shows.

I see it every day: marketers treating ChatGPT like a magic vending machine. Insert prompt, get strategy, copy-paste, publish. 

The result? 

A tsunami of average. 

Here is the hard truth I tell everyone in my trainings:

AI is an incredible thought partner. It is a terrible taste-maker.

It can give you 50 variations of a headline in 10 seconds. It can summarize a 30-page report in a blink. It can structure your messy thoughts into a cohesive outline.

But it cannot tell you which idea will actually make a human being feel something.

That is your job.

In a world where content is commoditized, "taste" is the only moat you have left. 

Taste is knowing when the AI is hallucinating a "best practice" that is actually a cliche.
Taste is deleting the three paragraphs that sound "professional" but mean nothing.
Taste is injecting the personal story that a model trained on 2021 data simply doesn’t have.

Use AI to do the heavy lifting. Use your brain to do the heavy thinking.

If you treat AI as a replacement for your own intellect, you are racing to the bottom.

If you treat it as a sparring partner to sharpen your own point of view? That is where the leverage lives.

I’ve spent the last year training 1000+ marketers on exactly this nuance. And I noticed the same roadblocks coming up over and over again.

So I decided to compile them.

Next week, I’m hosting a webinar covering the 10 most asked questions from my AI trainings.

You can grab a free spot here => https://lnkd.in/evPnyPni

Questions, struggles, confusions, misconceptions, ... 

Nailing AI in marketing can be pretty hard. 

I've helped 1,000+ marketers to extend their skillset with AI tools / skills. 

In my first 12 months as an AI trainer, the same questions kept coming back. 

1️⃣ Where do I start? 
2️⃣ What's your favorite workflow?
3️⃣ Why are there so many tools, how do you pick the right ones? 
....

I decided to build a webinar around the 10 most asked questions during my masterclasses.

If AI still feels confusing, let me change that in an hour. 

Save your seat => https://lnkd.in/evPnyPni

I just mapped out my 2026 plan and let's be honest ...

The current tool stack is broken... It's too much.

Most marketers are drowning in "AI slop." They are subscribing to 25 different tools to do 3 things. It’s inefficient & expensive.

I’m obsessed with high-margin, calm businesses. To get there, the tech needs to grow up.

Here is my "AI Wishlist for 2026", the 14 specific things I need to see exist to make marketing human-scale again. 

The future of marketing isn't about working harder. It's about building systems that let you be creative while the AI do the repetitive work.

I’m teaching exactly how to leverage these shifts in my AI Masterclass for Marketers.

Tickets for February 12 online & new dates coming soon: https://aiformarketers.eu/ 

P.S. Which tool on this list would save you the most time? Let me know below.

My 2026 AI wishlist as a marketer

AI skills are becoming a baseline expectation in every marketing role.

Generalist does not mean average by default. 

That's what I told 144 marketers during my webinar about the 10 most asked questions during my AI trainings. 

Next week, I'm hosting another free session where we build 3 workflows together. 

Not signed up yet? Here's the link. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eJuMHyuc

Helping people and organizations find clarity in order to reach their full potential.

I am all about helping people and organisations find clarity in order to reach their full potential.
Currently trying to give this personal narrative shape with Nemesis, which I co-founded in 2020.

We’re not your typical branding agency and we never mean to be. We are at the intersection between agency and team members.

We believe in branding done differently. It's about aligning, inspiring, and federating people around a shared vision, not just slapping on a new logo.

We work side-by-side with our clients to unlock the power of their brand. We dig deep to unearth purpose and make it visible.

Reaching your full potential is scary, but liberating. For yourself and everyone around you.  



Marianne Williamson said it best:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, 
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. 
Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were all meant to shine as children do. 
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, 
we consciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fear, 
our presence automatically liberates others.

Johan Wouters

All brands have logos.
But not all logos have brands.

A logo is a marker.
A brand is meaning.

You can design something beautiful and still be forgettable if you do not stand for anything clear, if you are not consistent, if there is no substance behind the style.

Brands are built through clarity, behaviour, and repetition over time.
The logo simply becomes the shortcut people use to remember that story.

#branding #logo #meaning

Helping brands find clarity - Strategy & Growth

Something is coming.

We have been working on this one for a while.

Quietly. Carefully.

This image is your first hint.

More soon.

#branding #emea #nemesis

Haters will say it's AI 

Others will congratulate us on a first successful year since opening our UAE office, getting to know local clients and their unique needs linked to the region's demographic and buying persona's. 

Very proud of the work we've done, and eager to share the cases in the coming months!

#branding #marketing #uae

You do not need to use Pantone’s colour of the year in your brand communication. Even if everyone around you does.

Trends come and go. Brands are not shaped by trends. They are built from meaning.

If Cloud Dancer supports your strategy and reinforces what you stand for, use it.
If it does not, forcing it in will only dilute your identity.

Design is not a playground for what is fashionable.
It is the interface to your strategy.

#Branding #Strategy #Design #Clarity

Last night, I witnessed something remarkable at a local tea house near Brussels.

I went to watch the Africa Cup final between Senegal and Morocco. The room was packed (80% Moroccan supporters, 20% Senegalese.) Both flags hung proudly on the walls.

What struck me wasn't just the electric atmosphere. It was the complete absence of animosity. Instead, there was joy, mutual respect, and what I can only describe as brotherly love. Two sets of fans, cheering for different teams, celebrating African excellence together.

As someone who works in branding, where identity is at the core of everything we do, this experience hit differently. These supporters were fiercely proud of their individual nations, yes. But their shared African identity was stronger still. It united rather than divided.

It made me reflect: as Europeans, why don't we feel this same sense of continental identity? Why does our shared European identity often feel more administrative than emotional?

Perhaps there's something to learn here about the power of cultural pride that transcends borders, about celebrating collective achievement while honouring individual heritage.

Sometimes the most valuable branding lessons come from outside the workplace.

#branding #identity #africacup

Nemesis' branding work for Enky has been recognised as part of the 
TOP 10 Best brandings of 2025 by Punch®

Working with Enky | Furniture Solutions was a wonderful experience from beginning to end, and that fruitful work really translated into the final results, which we (obviously) are really proud about. 

In case you want to read the full article, you'll find it hidden in the engaging comment section just below. 

While you're there, let us know what you thought was the best branding of 2025 ?

#branding #rebranding #award

Time for another 2025 case that had a huge impact: Abyssale.

Abyssale is built around a simple promise: creativity at scale. They help marketing and communication teams eliminate repetitive design work through automation. Less monkey tasks. More focus on what actually matters.

When we met them, the product was top tier. The brand was not keeping up. Messaging and identity were lagging behind the level of innovation, which made it harder to communicate clearly with stakeholders.

We worked closely with the team to understand their day to day and uncover the philosophy behind the platform. From there, we clarified the messaging and rebuilt a cleaner identity system that aligns with the product and supports global ambition.

The outcome is a brand that feels as sharp as the tool. And a team that can now lead with confidence, internally and externally.

#rebranding #creativity #software

Last week I mentioned I would be sharing eight cases of 2025 over eight weeks.

Here is the second one.

This project is a good reflection of how we work at Nemesis. We start by creating clarity. We align the team around what the brand truly stands for. Then we translate that into strategy, messaging, and an identity system that can actually scale.

Six more coming next.

#rebranding #student #genz

Copywriting is compression.

The shorter it is to read, the longer it usually took to write.

Because clarity is not natural. You earn it by cutting what is unnecessary, choosing the right words, and making one idea land without explanation.

Good copy looks simple.
That simplicity is work.

#copywriting #clarity #branding

Progress, not perfection.

Perfection feels like a high standard, but most of the time it is just fear in disguise. It slows decisions, delays launches, and turns momentum into hesitation.

That said, progress is not an excuse to ship low quality work. The bar still needs to be high. You should aim for good, and when it matters, aim for the best.

The point is to move forward with standards, not to freeze in search of flawless.

Progress creates learning. Learning creates quality.

#growth #progress #entrepreneurship

Design should be judged by results, not just looks.

A beautiful layout that does not clarify the message is decoration.
A stylish identity that does not resonate with the right audience is noise.

Good design makes things easier to understand, easier to trust, and easier to choose.
It turns strategy into something people can feel in seconds.

Looks matter. Outcomes matter more.

#branding #results #growth

Another case that marked 2025: Karman Consulting.

Karman helps Swiss and international companies secure funding, accelerate growth, and scale operations. Over time, their work expanded across sectors and the brand started to feel fragmented. They needed one clear story to unify it all.

We ran workshops in Switzerland to understand how they operate and to clarify the core of what they actually do. From there, we shaped the rebrand.

The new name, Karman, is inspired by the Karman Line, the boundary where space begins. A simple metaphor for what they bring to clients: momentum, lift off, and moving forward.

We refined the tone of voice and built a visual identity system that brings clarity and consistency to the brand.

This is how it turned out 👇

#rebranding #switzerland #branding

Resharing another award winning2025 case: Enky.

Enky | Furniture Solutions is on a mission to build the future of furniture. A real alternative to fast furniture, built on one simple belief: being more circular should not feel like settling for less. If anything, it should feel better.

When we met the team, the traction was there. The client base was solid. But the offering had become cluttered and the story was hard to hold. After four years of iterations, their identity and communications were going in too many directions. They were also preparing to add second hand furniture to the catalogue and needed focus before expanding.

We worked closely with the team to understand their ambitions and their day to day reality. Then we helped them clarify priorities, sharpen the offering, and put strategy back at the centre of decision making.

The result is a clearer brand and an identity built to stand out, while staying true to what Enky has been trying to do from day one.

#rebranding #award #circular

Positioning starts with clarity.

When you know exactly what you stand for, the message becomes simpler. Strong copy doesn’t try to explain everything. It makes the point unmistakable.

Good copywriting isn’t decoration.
It’s one of the sharpest tools you have to express positioning clearly.

#clarity #positioning #copywriting

Branding is not the final layer you add once everything is built.
It is the foundation.

Brand strategy shapes how you position, how you sell, how you hire, what you build, and what you say no to. It gives direction to marketing, coherence to culture, and clarity to decision making.

Without it, you can still do a lot of things. They just will not connect.

With it, everything you do reinforces the same story.

#branding #strategy #foundation

There are two moments when rebranding makes the most sense.

The first is growth.
When the team expands, when you go international, when you widen your market, when you add new offers. Growth creates complexity. A rebrand brings clarity so the company can scale without losing itself.

The second is stalling.
When things plateau, when the story feels blurred, when you have pivoted too many times, when the message no longer lands, when what you sell no longer matches what clients expect. That is usually a signal to rethink the foundations.

Rebranding is what you do when the company is evolving and needs clarity to move forward again.

#rebranding #branding #growth

Most brands misunderstand what it means to “punch above your weight”.

They think it means acting bigger, spending more, shouting louder.
It doesn’t.

It means finding the one position no competitor can credibly take from you, then owning it completely.

We just published a short article on this, using examples like Avis (“We try harder”), Liquid Death, and Patagonia to show how smaller brands win without playing the giants’ game.

If you’re competing in a crowded category, this one’s for you. Link in the comments.

#branding #positioning #strategy

As companies grow, teams split.
And that’s where the gap often appears.

Between the founder’s vision and day to day execution.

Strategy alone doesn’t close that gap. Activation does.
When every key player becomes a relay of the vision, it stops living in decks and starts shaping habits, behaviours, and decisions across the company.

That’s how vision scales with the team.

#vision #scaling #branding

Resharing another 2025 case that made some waves: Qlyr.

Qlyr’s ambition is simple to say and hard to deliver: making life’s big decisions feel smaller.

We worked closely with the founder to put her vision into words. Words she could use with confidence and share with pride. Words that sharpened her investor pitch and made her perspective stand out in a world of half truths, jargon, and fine print.

From there, we built an identity designed to cut through a landscape of bland insurers and financiers. The system is built around one idea: highlight what matters most. It can show up corporate and precise for experts, and lively and human for everyday people looking for guidance.

A collaboration that turned a strong vision into a clear, compelling brand, ready to grow.

#branding #insurance #founders

A pivot is often the right moment to rethink your foundations. Sometimes even to rebrand.

When market forces change or you discover a bigger opportunity, direction matters. The pivot has to come from your DNA. Who you are, what you do, and what you are trying to achieve.

If the pivot is anchored in your core reason for existing, the market accepts it. It feels like continuity, not a random left turn.

Apple moving from computers to phones to headphones made sense. It stayed true to the same underlying belief.
Dell Technologies launching a smartphone would feel strange. Not because it is impossible, but because it would not feel legitimate.

Pivots only work when they are meaningful by design.

#branding #pivot #growth

taplio

The Battle

Yannick Khayati

Johan Wouters

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreYannick Khayati's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJohan Wouters's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Yannick Khayati

Johan Wouters

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);}Yannick Khayati's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJohan Wouters's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreYannick Khayati's LinkedIn Performance