notus

2 days ago, I watched a clip of a B2B founder asking Alex Hormozi for help with content. He was burning out trying to come up with new things to say. It's a common problem that I've spoken with 1000s of people about. This was his advice: "You have to reverse-engineer you. Either you like the stuff you make, or you capture yourself doing the things you already like.... Find the format you like, and THEN figure out all the algorithm bs around it." I agree with this. But after building 200+ content engines for founders & execs, I think there's a layer underneath that matters even more. Gary Vee has been saying it for years: document, don't create. Your content already exists. It's sitting in: • the sales calls you're already having • the Slack messages where you explain your product • the questions customers ask you every week • the internal meetings where you debate strategy Instead of forcing new insights, just document the ones you're already sharing. The format that works for me is Content Calls. A casual 1-hour conversation with a notus Content Strategist where I share what's on my mind, what happened that week, what I'm seeing in the market, where the business is heading. I've been vlogging for 8+ years, so talking through what's in my head comes naturally. I enjoy it. But the format is only half the problem. The second thing founders struggle with is thinking that each piece of content has to be new and unique. In Hormozi's words, "that their content needs to be as novel for them as it is for the audience." It doesn't. People need to be reminded more than they need to be taught. I've posted about our Content Archetype framework, profile revamp checklist, and warm outreach strategy dozens of times. Different angles, new stories, new contexts. It performs because the audience isn't the same every time, the nuance shifts, and even returning readers benefit from the reinforcement. The biggest lever I pulled to stay consistent was building a system that made it easy and enjoyable to document what was already happening around me. That's exactly why I built notus. If you're burning out on content, the problem usually isn't ideas. It's the absence of a system that captures them without adding to your plate.

Last week, I needed to figure out who I could reach on LinkedIn from a new target market (Fin & Wealthtech companies in Switzerland). I built a hyper-specific 857-person target list in 20 minutes. Here's how: I wanted clarity on the companies I was trying to reach: • How much of the market was on LinkedIn? • How did they spent time on the platform? • How could I get more touch points with decision makers through content, ads, network expansion, and DMs?    I opened LinkedIn Sales Nav and ran this process: 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 → Opened the Account Search in Sales Navigator → Filtered by industry, location, and company headcount I searched for Fintech companies in Switzerland region with 51-200 employees+ LinkedIn gave me roughly ±250 companies. I saved them to an account list. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 Then I filtered that list for companies that showed buying indicators. We look for things like: • Recently raised funding • Hired new leadership • Expanded headcount    This narrowed my list to companies that are actively growing/evolving and more likely to buy 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 I took my saved company list, went back to Lead Search, and filtered for people working at those accounts. 3000+ people appeared. I added one more filter: "Posted on LinkedIn" in the last 30 days, which put me at around ±1700 people (it's the only filter we have to get closer to active users). I'd rather have a smaller list than a bunch of inactive accounts. I can always expand from there if needed. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗦𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 I wanted to focus on decision-makers, so I ran a last set of filters based on job titles: I ended with 857 decision-making ICPs. → ~200 were C-Level/founder → ~600 were other people who could influence buying decisions (i.e.: Department Heads) This helped me know exactly who I was writing for. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱: 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 My next step is the actual outreach. I can do this manually or with a tool. As the campaigns run and my network grows with these target personas, I'll sprinkle in some niche-relevant content such as fintech case studies with previous clients. Still tied to my core service, but showing I’ve operated in their world. The goal is to make sure they know I exist and start building the relationship. Let's see how it goes. P.S. Want a vid walkthrough? Comment "TAM" and we’ll DM it to you. P.P.S. This is the quick, no-headaches, no-credits version of scoping a TAM on LinkedIn. It’s a good way to get you from 0 to 1 when understanding whether your ICP is on LinkedIn. To create a bulletproof list, we take our research further by leaning on other intelligence tools and data sources to enrich our lists and cross-reference data.

notus crossed $180K MRR in 2025. 90% of deals driven by LinkedIn. If I were a founder starting from 0 in 2026, this is the exact 7-step playbook I'd follow: 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 First, I'd turn my profile into a landing page. Everyone who visits should know exactly: • Who I am • What I do • Who I’ve worked with • Where they should go next This means: → Investing in a clean banner → Taking a high-quality profile picture → Crafting a clear, personalized slogan  → Linking the next funnel step in my featured section 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 Without consistency, nothing else matters. I'd commit to posting minimum 3x per week. To ensure a good content mix, I'd use the notus Content Archetype framework. It's made up of 4 pillars: • Tactical: Immediately actionable information (like this post) • Aspirational: Case Studies & Success Story Breakdowns • Insightful: Insights & opinions on industry trends • Personal: Telling my story & building in public 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 I'd use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to build a list of my dream customers and send out 100 connection requests per week. I would not add a message to the connection request for these. Unless it's hyper-personalized, it reads like a generic copy-paste, which decreases acceptance rates. When they accept, I’d start a light conversation. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 I'd take 30 minutes every day to: → Scan profile viewers → Check connection requests → Look at who liked or commented If any of these fit my Ideal Customer Profile, I’d send them a quick message. Feel free to steal my script: "Hey [name], thanks for connecting - curious to know why you reached out? :)" That's it. From there I can: • find out more about their situation • provide value upfront • and book a meeting 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱: 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 I'd commit to commenting on 10 posts per day, focusing on two types of accounts: 1. My ideal customer 2. Creators who attract my ideal customer The key is commenting for the reader, not just the author. That means: → Sharing my own take on the topic  → Expanding on something with a personal story  → Adding insights that go beyond what the post already says A good comment should read like a mini content piece. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟲: 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 & 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 I'd run this strategy for a minimum of 6 months. Consistency is everything. • Every piece of content • Every conversation • Every comment …gives me more data to improve my strategy. The longer I run it, the more everything compounds. This is the playbook we've been running at notus to get to where we are today. But it doesn't stop there. Check Step 7 in the comments.

Marty Kausas built Pylon to 780+ customers, raised from a16z, and grew to 54K followers on LinkedIn. After spending 6 hours studying his content, here are 3 things he does better than almost any founder on this platform: For context, Pylon is an AI-powered B2B customer support platform. Marty is a YC alum who's been building in public since day one. I first came across his content when a notus member sent me one of his posts. Here's what stood out: 𝟭. 𝗛𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 He's posted about paying himself $8.75/hr. About living in the office. About raising a seed round with no pitch deck. And that's exactly what earns him credibility. He doesn't tell you he's all in. He shows you the price tag of being all in. 𝟮. 𝗛𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Pylon rang the Nasdaq closing bell. Most founders would post the photo and call it a day. Marty opened with his immigrant parents. His Series A announcement didn't start with the round size. It started with how emotionally difficult fundraising was. He never lets a company milestone stand alone. There's always a human story wrapped around it. And that's what gets people invested. 𝟯. 𝗛𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 His headline literally reads: "Building the Zendesk+Gainsight killer." He doesn't hedge. He doesn't say "legacy tools." He says Zendesk was built for B2C. He calls Gainsight out by name and offers to personally run demos for anyone paying them $100k+ who's unhappy. This is deliberate. Every post that mentions a competitor is a post that gets found by exactly the buyer he wants. Most founders on LinkedIn are either too vague or too salesy. Marty found the sweet spot: specific enough to attract the right buyer, human enough to earn their trust before they ever book a call. This is what founder-led content looks like when it's done right. The product doesn't lead. The person does. And the business follows.

All 555 pieces of content I've posted in the last 3 years have been mapped to a single document. It's the strategic backbone of everything we do at notus. We call it the Content Archetype, and we've created one for the 200+ founders and executives we've worked with. And yet, most founders I talk to don't have one. They post when inspiration strikes. They follow trends. They copy what worked for someone else. Then they wonder why their content feels scattered and their audience isn't growing. Here's what I've learned after 7 years of building content engines: The difference between founders who generate leads from LinkedIn and founders who don't isn't talent or creativity. It's structure. A Content Archetype is a structured content plan that splits your content into 4 pillars: • Tactical: actionable advice your audience can implement today • Aspirational: case studies and success stories that build credibility • Insightful: your perspective on industry trends and what's coming next • Personal: your story, your journey, building in public Each pillar serves a different purpose. Together, they create a content mix that builds trust, attracts the right people, and compounds over time. Without it, you end up in one of three traps: 1. You only post tactical content and become a "tips account" with no personal connection. 2. You only post personal stories and never demonstrate expertise. 3. You post whatever feels right that week, which means your audience never knows what to expect from you.     The Archetype solves all three. This framework has been a consistent driver of results across every client we've worked with. From bootstrapped founders, Series B CEOs, to corporate executives. In this week's issue of Content Founder Newsletter, I'm sharing a breakdown of my personal Content Archetype. The exact categories, subtopics, and thinking I follow for my own LinkedIn Content. I also included post examples & a downloadable template so you can build your own. Link is in the comments.

Leila Hormozi ran a portfolio doing $200M+ in annual revenue and was one of the most respected female operators in private equity. 1 month ago, she stepped down as CEO of Acquisition(dot)com to do something more impactful. Leila moved to the role of Executive Chairwoman to focus on long-term strategy, vision, and what she calls "building the Disney of Business." A major part of her work is media. In a recent Forbes interview, Leila said, "Media isn't marketing. It's infrastructure." Most companies treat media as a marketing expense that can be delegated to a junior hire. Acquisition(dot)com treats it as a new source of leverage & competitive moat. In traditional PE, trust is earned over months: • In-person meetings • Consultant reports • Management workshops    At Acquisition(dot)com, a founder can spend 10 hours consuming content on YouTube and know exactly how they think. By the time there's a deal on the table, alignment is already there. That changes everything during diligence and onboarding. Most PE firms bring two things: capital and governance. Acquisition(dot)com brings brand and distribution on top of that, powered by massive audience reach across multiple personal brands. And they've been very intentional about expanding those voices: • Alex: business fundamentals, the main spokesman • Leila: reaches a larger female audience • Sharran (new CEO) : business advice rooted in his own immigrant story and executive career    Three personal brands. Three distinct audiences. One company benefiting from all of it. This is employee-generated content at a structural level. And Acquisition(dot)com isn't alone. • UBS has its CEO filming LinkedIn videos for quarterly announcements • HubSpot has 1,000+ employees active on LinkedIn with millions of combined followers • Lovable has 15 leaders actively posting on LinkedIn with 500K+ combined followers between them    The smartest companies in the world are making content a C-level function. At this point, the conversation has moved past "should I build a personal brand to get some followers." The real question companies are answering now is: Where do your customers’ attention live, and are you positioned to capture it? The companies that understand this are restructuring their leadership around it.

3 years ago, Vicktoria Klich had 400 LinkedIn followers. Today, she has 23,000+ followers, is a LinkedIn Top Voice, and co-founded a web3 VC fund. Here is how notus helped her: In 2021, Vicky was starting to grow her business in Web3 with 2 uni friends. They quickly realized their target audience lived on LinkedIn, but had no idea where to start. That’s when Vicky & Henrik Bredenbals (her biz partner) reached out to me. The goal: position Vicky as a trusted voice in Web3 to attract investors and consulting gigs. I took her through our signature notus personal branding process: First, we fleshed out her content strategy and positioning. This gave us a solid foundation to build on top of. There are 3 levels to Vicky’s success as a personal brand: 𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 She published 3 LinkedIn posts per week where she broke down Web3 trends, shared founder updates, and told the story of how she became obsessed with web3. Her first 3 posts instantly blew up and reached 100k+ impressions. 𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 To source input for her content, we hosted weekly 1h content calls. After a few of them, we realized these conversations were too good not to publish. So we turned them into a podcast, the w3talk (now rebranded to Onchain Culture). Hearing and seeing Vicky speak about Web3 built an extra level of trust with her audience. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 Vicky had a loyal audience, but she was still fully dependent on the LinkedIn algorithm. So we launched "w3 catch of the week" to give her direct distribution through email. That list is now 10,000+ subscribers strong. But the most interesting part of this story happened after our official engagement ended. Vicky didn't go back to posting sporadically. She evolved into a content founder. She made content creation a core part of her role, expanded beyond her own profile, and started running the company newsletter herself. She went from outsourcing her brand to owning it completely. Over time, she could funnel her audience's attention to every new venture and portfolio company she touched. She went from client to friend to collaborator. And I genuinely couldn't be more excited. Big shoutout to Vicky and everything she's built. Looking forward to crushing it together 💪

This content format is the most effective at generating ICP engagement. It drove 50% of my LinkedIn growth over the past 6 months, grew my email list by 2K+ subs, and booked 20% more demos for notus each week: The format: lead magnets. Lead magnets are high-value resources that solve a specific problem for a target audience. My top lead magnet on LinkedIn got 1,376 comments and 117k impressions. I've published 20+ and every single one outperforms my average post. Here's how I create and deploy one in under 24 hours: 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: Define audience Before creating anything, I answer three questions: • Who am I trying to help? • What problem does this solve for them? • What outcome will they walk away with?    𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: Break down their problems into micro problems I can solve For example, I help B2B founders generate demand through personal branding. I could break that down into: • How to write a LinkedIn post • How to set up a content engine • How to do signal based outbound 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: Choose format I think about what the best format would be for the topic I’m going to cover. I think about how the audience will likely engage with the lead magnet. Then I try to choose a format that makes it easiest for them to digest and use. • Miro board → These are great to visualize processes or to reverse engineer and analyze funnels of other people. • Notion templates → Great to help people set up workflows, CRMs, or mini courses • Presentations & Slide Decks → Step-by-step process guides or workshops.    𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: Build the funnel This is how I take my audience from rented to owned. I set up a landing page where people enter their email to access it. I like Gumroad or Kit. When they put in their email, it gets added to my newsletter list and they get the lead magnet sent straight to their inbox. I also set up a thank you page where people can book a demo with my team. Step 5: Deploy and distribute 1. Write a post that sells the outcome of the lead magnet, close with: "Comment [keyword] and I'll send it your way." 2. Monitor comments and respond quickly → Engagement drives visibility. 3. Manage the DMs → Make sure the resource goes out to every person who commented. Use each DM as an opportunity to qualify prospects. Not every lead magnet is a hit. But they consistently drive relevant ICP signals and sales calls. For me, they've become a non-negotiable part of my content mix.