Helping small businesses gain traction through brand, model and operations optimization. 

A young Steve Jobs predicting the future.

Bill Kerr

🌎 Helping companies hire global talent at Athyna 📚 110,042 founders, investor and leaders in tech read my newsletter Open Source CEO 🦄 Investor in interesting & important things

Why is one of the most famous companies in the world is going through an extended period of brand decline right now?

Good news: Tracksuit know why. 

Last week I collaborated with Elly Strang and the team at Tracksuit to map the decline (and some what recovery) of Nike. 

Nike's brand was hit so hard recently that they had to fire their CEO. 

We break it all down from where they went wrong and how they are trying to fix it. 

Read the full piece at the link below:

https://lnkd.in/ef_6asmF

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Creative thinking isn't a 'nice to have' anymore.


The World Economic Forum just dropped a bomb.

It's now one of the fastest-growing core skills companies are desperate for.

Why? Because AI can handle the routine. 
But it can't replicate human creativity.

Here's what's fascinating
• 92M jobs will disappear
• 170M new ones will emerge
• 39% of current skills will be obsolete by 2030

But here's the real kicker...

Most founders are still hiring like it's 2019:
- Technical skills first
- Creative thinking as a bonus
- Innovation as an afterthought

This is backwards.

When AI can code, write, and design at 90% perfection, what separates winners isn't execution.

It's creative problem-solving.
It's innovative thinking.
It's seeing patterns others miss.

The companies winning right now?
They're not just hiring talent.

They're hiring creative minds who can reinvent their business model every 6 months.

Because when everyone has access to the same AI tools, your competitive edge isn't in the execution.
It's in the ideas.

The question isn't "Can they do the job?"
It's "Can they reimagine what the job could be?"

How are you adapting your hiring strategy for this shift?
Let's discuss in the comments 👇

Steve Jobs had a simple rule for hiring: only bring in A-players.

Why? Because he knew something most leaders miss:
Your company is only as strong as your weakest hire.

Here's the magic of A-players:
They attract other A-players
They raise standards naturally
They execute flawlessly

They solve problems before they become issues
They push boundaries without being asked
They make everyone around them better

But here's the uncomfortable truth:
B-players hire C-players.
C-players hire D-players.

Before you know it,
Your company culture becomes a shadow of what it could have been.

Founders, your company's future isn't shaped by your products or services.
It's shaped by the people you hire today.

Think about it:
Google, Meta, AWS, what do they have in common?
They're relentless about hiring the best.

Because when you compromise on talent,
You compromise on everything.

At Athyna, we source talent from these companies in Latam Hubs.

Ready to build your A-team?
Let's connect. 

https://lnkd.in/eRzQsAHV

These companies understand that talent has no zip code.

Meaning they’re crushing it with remote teams.

Wiz was the fastest company ever to hit $100M ARR— all while being remote-friendly (and now acquired by Google at $32B).

Automattic scaling to 1,900+ employees across 97 countries while hitting a $7.5B valuation.

sync. building an $8.6B cybersecurity powerhouse with a flexible remote model.

Airbnb letting their people work from literally anywhere (and seeing their long-term stays skyrocket).

Wise spreading across 17 countries with 3,000+ remote-capable employees.

Jasper scaling to 50,000+ customers with their distributed team.

Coinbase Wallet going full remote-first and shutting down their SF office.

Shopify CEO declaring "office centricity is over" and then becoming Canada's most valuable company.

Deel showing us how global hiring should work.


Want to build your own world-class remote team? 


Athyna helps you access A-talent from companies like Google, Meta, AWS at 60% of US costs from Latam, Philippines, South Africa and Australia.


Let's talk about scaling your team the smart way.

https://lnkd.in/eRzQsAHV

Ben Lamm and his team at Colossal Biosciences have brought back the Dire Wolf. You’re hearing the first howl of one in over 10,000 years.

Top creative talent isn't just about pretty designs. They're your revenue drivers.

Here’s the truth: Creative professionals are seeing a 2% salary increase in 2024, with equity packages becoming standard. 

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
(thanks mate Peter Walker at Carta)

What really matters?
Companies investing in creative talent are outperforming those who are still stuck in the old ways.

We’re seeing this firsthand with our partners in e-commerce, edtech, and fintech, strong creative teams are driving higher conversion rates, better engagement, and faster product iteration cycles.

To compete, you need to pay for creativity. The best creative minds won’t work for peanuts.

Founders need to rethink their approach to
- Compensation (competitive packages that reflect real market value)
- Location (embracing remote-first to access global talent pools)
- Technology (leveraging AI to find perfect matches faster)

This shift is why companies are partnering with platforms like Athyna to access top-tier creative talent from global hubs like Latam, Philippines, South Africa, and Australia.

Here’s the deal: you can hire AWS, Google, and Meta-level talent at 60% of U.S. costs, without sacrificing quality.

What's your creative talent strategy for 2024?

Let’s talk about how we can help you scale the right way.
https://lnkd.in/dW7ggbSb 

credit: The State of startup compensation H2 2024 report from Carta

Building a thriving company culture goes far beyond the superficial perks.

It's not about water cooler conversations, ping pong tables, or Friday happy hours, those are just window dressing.

Culture is actually a carefully crafted product that you build specifically for your employees, requiring the same attention and care as any other product in your portfolio.

At Athyna, we've developed something special: a culture that delivers 91% engagement—and it didn’t happen by accident.

What's the secret? It's all about how you treat people, from the top down.

When you show respect, empathy, and support, it ripple effects across the entire team. It’s not just about policies; it’s about how you lead.

We measure our culture constantly:
• Post-onboarding surveys to get feedback fast
• Quarterly engagement assessments to see where we’re thriving and where we need work.
• Manager effectiveness reviews—because leadership matters.
• Wellness check-ins to see how the team is really doing.
• Exit interviews to learn why people leave and how we can improve.

But measuring is just the start. You need to iterate and improve constantly.

When you genuinely take care of your people, they’ll take care of the business. Word will spread, and the best talent will come knocking. Your culture becomes a self-sustaining force that everyone protects and nurtures.

Who's up to dive deeper into building a culture that truly matters?

Satya Nadella dropped a truth bomb about leadership that's living rent-free in my head.

"If the place falls apart after you leave, you've built nothing."

His wisdom perfectly relates to talent acquisition and remote workforce management.

True talent leadership isn't about
- Being the only one who knows how to recruit effectively
- Maintaining exclusive control over hiring processes
- Making your remote teams dependent on constant supervision

It’s about
- Creating scalable recruitment systems and processes
- Training hiring managers who can independently build great teams
- Developing self-sufficient remote teams with strong culture and comms

Your success in talent management isn't about how many people you personally hired, but how well the hiring system works when you're not involved.

Are you building a recruitment process that depends on you, or one that empowers others to do it right?

P.S. Future hiring managers are watching you. Make sure you're setting the right standards for sustainable talent acquisition.

A startup without the right talent has a growth problem.

A startup with the wrong talent has an extinction problem.

Building a dream team isn't about filling seats anymore.
It's about finding those rare gems who can transform your vision into reality.

What I've learned leading remote teams is that the tools you choose matter as much as the talent you hire.

Here are 3 game-changing tools we love at Athyna 

1. Recruit CRM
Because great talent management starts before day one
Tracks every candidate touchpoint
Makes follow-ups seamless

2. Lattice 
Turns feedback into growth
Makes performance reviews meaningful
Keeps 1:1s focused and productive

3. Pulley 
Brings clarity to equity conversations
Makes cap tables transparent
Simplifies valuation discussions

The wrong hiring tools can sink your ship faster than bad hires.

Remote work isn't the future.
It's the now.

And in this new reality, your tools aren't just tools.
They're your competitive advantage.

Want to build a world-class remote team?
Start with world-class systems.
Let's connect.

Yesterday I met with the mad scientists at Attio to talk about how they build incredible product.

Today they launched their Call Intelligence feature inside of their CRM. 

Gone are our days of manual note taking.

Every note, highlight and action item is already pre-loaded into the system for me.

It's a thing of beauty. 

I told Brendan, the Head of Design at Attio, that for me to spend time learning from them feels like I am learning from the best product builders in the world. 

It's kinda like magic. 

If you haven't tried Attio you are missing out. Trust me. 

https://lnkd.in/ehDwb9-6

You know the economy, health, education, and AI are in good hands in the Trump administration. 

Here is the Secretary of Education talking about having A1 as part of the education system in the U.S. 

She's literally calling it “A One.”

Ever notice how great leaders think alike? 🤔

I just watched Kat Cole (CEO of AG1 valued at $1.2B) drop some serious wisdom about team building that perfectly echoes what I've been seeing in the field.

Here's the golden thread that connects high-performing teams

1/ Know your people deeply
Not just their roles. Their journey, their dreams, their superpowers.

2/ Future-proof your team
Map where they need to be in three, six, twelve months. Then build the bridge to get there.

3/ Make recognition a system
Create a structured way to acknowledge wins, big and small. Your praise as a leader It's career rocket fuel.

4/ Lead with empathy
Understanding what makes your people tick isn't soft skills It's strategic leadership.

Fun fact Kat even developed the "Hot Shot Rule", imagining someone you admire in your role and acting on their potential insights within twenty-four hours.

Building world-class teams isn't about finding unicorns, it's about creating an environment where ordinary people achieve extraordinary things.

Agree? Disagree? Let's discuss in the comments.
Kat Cole would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Want to scale your team with these principles in mind?

Let's connect.
https://lnkd.in/dW7ggbSb

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