Jay Yang

Head of Content to Noah Kagan

Deciding to drop out of college to join Acquisition.com changed my life.

But that's not where the story starts...

When I was 16, I cold-emailed Tyler Denk, the CEO of beehiiv, with a list of ideas on how I could help. That email turned into an internship where I built beehiiv 101 - a course that’s helped hundreds of users unlock the platform’s potential.

At 17, I sent Noah Kagan, founder of AppSumo, a 19-page pitch deck breaking down gaps in his social media and email marketing - and how to fix them. That landed me a role as Head of Content, where I led campaigns (like the one that made Million Dollar Weekend a New York Times bestseller).

At 18, I decided to try my hand at the game of business and scaled a boutique ghostwriting and creative studio to six-figures within its first year.

At 19, I dropped out of college to work at Acquisition.com on Alex & Leila Hormozi’s media team where I led the written content engine. I was their first and only internal copywriter and wrote across every major format including social, email, ads, VSLs, and YouTube.

I also helped run the marketing campaign that broke a Guinness World Record for most nonfiction books sold in 24 hours and generated $106M in three days. 

It's been a ride.

Today, I focus on three things:

First, I write books about building a career without waiting for permission. My first book, You Can Just Do Things, became an Amazon #1 bestseller.

Second, I publish The Spark, a weekly newsletter on marketing and strategy read by more than 10,000 people. It's where I test ideas before they turn into books, frameworks, or client work.

Third, I work directly with a small number of founders and CEOs on developing their brand positioning and creative strategy. If you're looking to elevate your brand, feel free to reach out :)

When I’m not working, you’ll usually find me lifting heavy things (roughly 10-12 times), playing pickup basketball, or working on my next book.

Content Strategist

I landed a $150,000 head of content role at 17.
How?


I sent a pitch deck.

It was 19 slides - that broke down Noah’s social and email funnel… and how it could be improved.

On top of that, I sent 9 ready to be published pieces of content.

Why does creating pitch decks work?

Because it eliminates the two most common friction points employers have:

1. Who are you?
2. Can you help me?

By doing the work upfront, you show:

1. You want the job
2. You can do the job

I call this “The Permissionless Approach”.

Wanna see the pitch deck I sent?

Comment “PITCH” and I’ll DM you!

(Make sure to send me a connection request so I can message you)

No alternative text description for this image

I want to be rich.
I’ll admit it.


But not so I can buy a Rolex or Lamborghini.

I want to be rich so I can control my time and go to the gym at 3pm on a Tuesday.

So I can sit at a cafe and order breakfast without looking at the prices.

So my wife and parents don’t have to worry about money or getting a job.

So I can travel freely and show my kids the world.

So I can take my friends out to dinner and say “don’t worry, it’s on me”.

That’s my idea of a rich life.

Money isn’t the goal. It’s a tool to live a deeper, more fulfilling, adventurous life.

I was born in 2005.

Do you feel old now?

Author of You Can Just Do Things

I'm in a Panda Express
in a foreign city
eating orange chicken alone.

I left home to chase what I wanted.
Turns out I already had it.

I told myself the distance was temporary.
That sacrifice meant something.

That I'd come back with proof:

More money
A name worth remembering
Stories that made me sound like I'd lived.

But no one asked for proof.
They asked when I was coming home.

They didn’t care about the money, the fame, or the glory.

They just wanted me home.

It took me a year of chasing wealth to realize:

Real wealth is having a home you want to return to and people who miss you.

I'm excited to announce that...

You can just do things! 😉

Hi, I’m Jay Yang. 👋 
Got a bunch of new connections, so wanted to reintroduce myself.

A hill I'm willing to die on:
I believe you don’t need permission to create your own opportunities. 

When I was 16, I cold-emailed Tyler Denk, the CEO of beehiiv, with a list of ideas on how I could help. That email turned into an internship where I built beehiiv 101—a course that’s helped hundreds of users unlock the platform’s potential. 

At 17, I sent Noah Kagan, founder of AppSumo, a 19-page pitch deck breaking down gaps in his social media and email marketing—and how to fix them. That landed me a role as Head of Content, where I helped run campaigns (like the one that made Million Dollar Weekend a New York Times bestseller). 

At 18, I decided to try my hand at the game of business and scaled a ghostwriting and creative agency to six-figures within its first year. 

At 19, I self-published my first book You Can Just Do Things, which became an Amazon best-seller, and dropped out of college to work at Acquisition.com.

It's been a ride.

What I learned:
Most things in life are way more achievable than you think. If you decide what you want, and go after it with full effort and intensity, the world will bend to your will far more easily than you might think. You can just do things!

Today, I focus on two things:

1️⃣ I write books about building a career without waiting for permission. I'm working on my second book right now. 👀 

2️⃣  I publish The Spark, a weekly newsletter on marketing and strategy read by more than 10,000 people. It's where I test ideas before they turn into books, frameworks, or client work.

(You can subscribe free here: https://lnkd.in/gcsRwcSp)

When I’m not working, you’ll usually find me lifting heavy things (roughly 10-12 times), playing pickup basketball, or hanging with my family.

If any of that tickles your fancy, welcome to my corner of the internet. 🤝 
~~
Ps. My story may look like a straight line, but there were countless mistakes, dark moments, and f*ck ups along the way.

I give a TON of credit to the incredible mentors and people who took a chance on an ambitious, naive kid.

And it goes without saying, I wouldn't be who I am without the unwavering support of my parents and brother Max Yang 🫶 

Let's keep getting after it!
- Jay

Almost a year ago, I dropped out of college, moved across the country, and slept on a mattress to chase a dream.
Here's the wild story:


A year ago, I was in college at UIUC.
I wasn't unhappy. But I wasn't happy either.

I was running a ghostwriting agency doing ~$25k/mo, playing pickup basketball 3-4x a week, and hanging with my boys at night.

Life was good.
It was a dream environment - work relentlessly, then chill with friends.

But I still felt slightly out of place. Like I could be doing more with my life.

Then I got an opportunity I couldn't ignore. A chance to work with people I'd admired for years, doing work that scared me in the best way.

There was just one problem: it was in Las Vegas. And I was in Illinois.

I wrote a memo to my parents explaining why I should drop out. I was terrified. Honestly, I thought my grandparents would disown me.

Luckily, they didn't. My family was incredibly supportive. My brother Max Yang and parents helped me move across the country.

I left my life in Illinois. Shut down my business. Packed what I could and landed in Vegas knowing literally no one.

Those first few nights, sleeping on a mattress on the floor, I felt a pang of fear.

Did I just blow up a good life and a safe path to live alone in a city where I don't know a single person?

But here's what I've learned since:
It was the best decision I've ever made.

I think I compressed four years of learning into one. I met people who changed how I think. I got exposed to opportunities I never would have seen from my college campus.

The truth is, opportunity isn't evenly distributed.
Certain places, industries, and communities act as amplifiers.
They concentrate talent, energy, and resources in ways that make success more possible.

You can't live big in a small environment.

Stay in the wrong place too long and you start to shrink. You talk like the people around you. Think like them. Want what they want.

If no one around you is building something big, taking risks, or pushing for more - neither will you. Not because you aren't capable, but because you won't even realize you should.

When I was in college, I watched friends who'd arrived with big dreams start talking themselves out of them.

"Maybe I'll start that business after I get some experience."
"Maybe I'll move to New York eventually."
"Maybe" became the most dangerous word on campus.

And I caught myself using it too.

The second you step into a bigger room, everything changes.

You see how small you were thinking.
You feel what real ambition looks like.
You stop making excuses and start making moves.

If you feel stuck right now, look around.
The problem isn't always you. Sometimes it's where you're standing.

Go where the action is. Then make your move.

700,000 impressions over the last year?!?
And to think I was afraid of my high school friends making fun of me for writing online.

YOU CAN JUST DO THINGS

2025 was hands down the BEST year of my life.
Why, you ask? ...



I followed through with my goals.

How?

Accountability.

For every single goal that I had:

• Gaining 10 lbs. of lean muscle
• Growing my Instagram to 250,000 followers
• Running a marathon

... I had an accountability buddy (or buddies).

2026 is no different.

I just wrapped up a 2 HOUR Q1 2026 planning session with my friends - and it was AWESOME (!!)

We each wrote down what we wanted to START doing, KEEP doing, and QUIT doing.

Then we wrote down the inputs of how we would measure progress.

• Austin Kennedy's going to be posting content every single day. 👀

• Luna Bitar's focused on scaling her app to $5k mrr. 📈

• Sofia Marin's writing 300 words a day towards her first book! 🔥

• Connor Burd's locked in on scaling his app to the moon 🫡

• Thomas Tsiftilis's goal is to land an internship at an early-stage fin-tech startup ⚒️ 

• And I'm posting 2 reels every day on Instagram + working on my second book 😈 

2026 is gonna be HUGE (!!)

What's one of your 2026 goals? 👇

The Science Behind A Viral Hook:
(FREE MINI COURSE)


Virality = Benefit x Relevance x Credibility / Perceived Effort

Ps. If you want me to send you this presentation:

1. Comment "HOOK" under this post
2. Send me a connection request (so I can DM you)

"Optimize for learning, not earning" is a SCAM.
And here's why:


I used to wholeheartedly believe in optimizing for learning instead of earning.

After all, skills pay the bills, right?

But the more experienced I get, the more I realize it's one of those copout cliches people say to trick young people to take roles for less pay than they deserve.

Why can't it be both? Why can't you earn AND learn?

It's a false dichotomy.

So who benefits from convincing you otherwise?

Companies who want hungry young talent at a discount.

Now - are there times to take less money for a better opportunity? Absolutely.

But that tradeoff should be: access, proximity, or speed you couldn't buy anywhere else.

Not some vague promise of "learning."

Before you accept below-market pay, ask: "What specifically will I learn here that I couldn't learn somewhere that pays fairly?"

If you can't answer that clearly, you're not optimizing for learning.

You're just underpaid.

Small win... got sponsored by Wharton 🤝 

Read this week's newsletter edition:
https://lnkd.in/ghSzyP2Q

Hot take:
One of the best ways to network is in fact NOT to be interested…


But instead to be interesting.

Be valuable. Have a skill set. Be someone worth knowing.

No one wants to hang around someone who's needy.

A piece of advice a mentor told me that's stuck with me:


“Decide what kind of life you actually want. And then say no to everything that isn't that.”

Career hack:
Be easy to work with and hard to compete against.

A hill I’m willing to die on:
The fastest way to accelerate your career is to get in environments where your dream life is their average Thursday.

Had a friend ask what I'd do if I had to start over on X & LinkedIn.
Here's the 3-step playbook I told him:


My friend is a SAVAGE YouTube strategist and has worked with some of the biggest business creators in the space.

Now he wants to share his insights and be known as the "YouTube Growth Guy".

Here's what I told him:

Step 1: Write a reintroduction post

This serves 3 functions:
1. It lets people know to expect more content from you
2. It allows you to share your credibility
3. It kickstarts your momentum (because people often engage and hype you up)

Your reintroduction post should include:
1. Who you are
2. Your story / credibility
3. What you’re going to write about

Step 2a: Write down your avatar's top 30 problems

• Who are you writing to?
• What problems are they facing?
• You can use AI to help you brainstorm

Step 2b: Write down your answers to each of those problems

Your answers become LinkedIn posts.

How to turn your answer into a LinkedIn post:
1. Rewrite the hook (LinkedIn cuts off after your second sentence, so be concise)
2. Break up your sentences & paragraphs into digestible chunks
3. Ask "what the hell do I mean?" and cut anything that doesn't serve your core message

Step 3: Brainstorm stories that fit with your posts

If you write a boring "how to" post with no stories... you will drown in the sea of noise.

People are more likely to listen to people they know, like, and trust.

6 types of stories you can include in your posts:
1. Far past (when I was 15...)
2. Recent past (last week XYZ happened)
3. Current (I woke up this morning...)
4. Future (In 2026, I have a goal of...)
5. Client stories (I had a client ask me...)
6. Hypothetical (Imagine you came to me and asked...)

~~
The overarching lesson to take away from this is:
Don't overcomplicate it.

Writing and growing online is as simple as sharing useful ideas and interesting stories that are happening in your life.

It's like texting your friends an update... only it's with the entire world :)

1. Define how you want to show up and what "success" looks like.
2. Pick a cadence you can stick with
3. Don't break the chain

You got this!
- Jay Yang

A year ago, I blew up my life, dropped out of college and moved across the country to chase a dream. Here's the wild story...

I started a new video series on IG 

And someone said I should stick to writing cuz I’m better at it

It took me 4 years to get somewhat decent at writing

Why would I expect to be great at speaking in 4 weeks?

I’m in this game for decades. This is the tip of the iceberg

This is Frank Lofaro... and he changed my life.
Here's the story:


When I was in high school, I used to binge watch the vlogs the Acquisition.com team put out. One of the recurring characters was Frank ‘the Tank’.

He started as a recruiter, was promoted to director of recruiting (where he hired over half the team), then became director of workshop operations.

So when I joined Acquisition.com... I'll admit I was nervous. I'd been watching these people for years. Now I had to work alongside them.

One of the first people I opened up to was Frank. I told him I was feeling some imposter syndrome being around so many talented people.

He looked at me, smiled, and stopped me mid-sentence.

“Jay, stop. You totally belong here. There’s a reason you were recruited.”

Then he told me a story that’s stuck with me:

→ “Eagles fly high. Pigeons fly low.

If you think you’re a pigeon, take a look around.

If all you see are eagles, chances are… you’re an eagle too.

And if you still doubt that you’re an eagle, just give time time. Pigeons can’t fly at eagle's height for long.”
 
And that’s just one of the many lessons I learned from Frank.

When I joined Acquisition.com, I came in knowing a lot about content and media, but almost nothing about business.

Frank woke up at 3:30 am every morning with me for two months straight and jammed on business and scaling (Yep… you read that right).

And the result?

The other day I was talking to a guy who owns a moving company. He said his business had stalled out and was at the same revenue level for the past few years.

I asked him how he was getting customers, what margins were, and whether he could take more customers.

I realized his margins were getting crushed because his price was too low.

I told him his offer was commoditized and he needed to find ways to increase the perceived value so he could raise prices.

He was shocked I could diagnose it that fast with almost no context.

And it was because of all the pattern recognition I learned with Frank.

Honestly, I feel like such a weapon now. 

Frank, thank you for helping me believe in myself.

Thank you for waking up at 3:30 am to work through business problems with me.

Thank you for being my basketball buddy, and for always being willing to listen.

Most of all, thank you for being a great friend.
~~
Go follow Frank Lofaro to improve your business & people & process acumen!

taplio

Jay Yang's Linkedin Analytics

Jay Yang

Performance ScoreJay Yang's LinkedIn Performance

What is Jay talking about?

Jay Yang's Best Posts (last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

.css-6ytdur{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39, 43, 72, 1) 0%, rgba(33, 47, 183, 1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Jay Yang's Linkedin Analytics

Jay Yang

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);}Jay Yang's LinkedIn Performance

What is Jay talking about?

Jay Yang's Best Posts .css-1emoo84{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:400;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);}(last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Jay Yang's Linkedin Analytics

Performance ScoreJay Yang's LinkedIn Performance

Jay Yang's Best Posts (last 30 days)