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🥒 I Got 97,000 Views on LinkedIn in 2 Weeks

🥒 I Got 97,000 Views on LinkedIn in 2 Weeks

2 weeks...97,000 views

Robert Benson-May
September 09, 2024

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Hey Pickle Gang, it’s Rob.

Here's what's in today's issue:

Why Everyone in Silicon Valley Is Talking About ‘Founder Mode’
From the NFL to…Porta-Potties? Russell Shep
How I Got 97,000 Views on LinkedIn in 2 Weeks
And more…

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This Weeks Favourites

Article: Tesla is planning to launch self-driving cars in Europe and China next year (link)
Video: David Rusenko - How To Find Product Market Fit (link)
Podcast: All-In Podcast - In conversation with Reid Hoffman, the Co-Founder of LinkedIn (link)
Fun Stuff: Slide Bean - John McAfee: The Criminal That Lives in Your Computer (link)

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News

Why Everyone in Silicon Valley Is Talking About ‘Founder Mode’

Credit

Right, so for some reason everyone's talking about “Founder Mode”, because Paul Graham wrote an essay on it.

You might be asking, “What is Founder Mode, and who the heck is this dude Paul Graham?” Well, I’ll tell you.

Paul Graham is the co-founder of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator known for launching companies like Airbnb, Dropbox, and Reddit.

And, now to answer “What is Founder Mode?”…well, Founder Mode is a leadership style where startup founders stay hands-on, involved in the details of their company, rather than delegating tasks and stepping back like traditional managers. It emphasizes direct engagement and personal decision-making.

Now, everyone seems to be going nuts over it, mainly because it challenges the traditional "delegate and step back" advice for CEOs. Paul Graham argues that staying hands-on keeps founders connected to their vision, and big names like Elon Musk and Brian Chesky agree, saying it’s crucial for startup success.

Do you agree with him?

Here’s Paul’s actual essay for reference

Story

From the NFL to…Porta-Potties? Russell Shep

Credit

"The Smell of Money" isn't just a saying for Russell Shep - it's his business model. 💰

In an unlikely turn of events, Russell Shep, a former NFL player has founded Shep Boys Waste Management...a porta-potty business.

Starting with porta-potties, he's now leading a portable sanitation empire with 1,500 rentable items, including luxury units and water supply solutions.

Shep proves even the dirtiest jobs, sometimes have the cleanest profits.

Here’s the full story

Funding

Drip Capital Grabs $113M to Fund SMBs

News: Drip Capital is a fintech that provides working capital to small & medium businesses. Essentially, “buy now, pay later” services for businesses".

It’s raised $23 million in equity from Japanese institutional investors GMO Payment Gateway and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation; and $90 million in debt financing led by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and East West Bank.

The company has raised about $640 million in equity and debt funding so far, with Accel, Peak XV Partners and Y Combinator among its other investors.

The debt will be used to expand the number of working-capital loans it provides to SMBs, while the equity will be used for company and product expansion. It uses AI to automate and digitize processes and plans to also use it for risk analysis.

Growth

How I Got 97,000 Views on LinkedIn in 2 Weeks

Guys, I’ve had a good couple of weeks. I started posting on LinkedIn, and your boy has smashed it. 97,000 views.

Not quite as good as when I got 474,000 views on Reddit, but I really can’t complain…

Now, I know what you're thinking, “how the heck did Rob manage that?”

With black magic of course, what else? I jest, I jest.

Essentially I was sharing reports & videos, things like this. Whilst there is definitely nuance within it, that was essentially the main thing. The nuance generally was making sure that the first line hooked the reader, and making sure the cover page of the report was good, or the first 3 seconds of the video. Copywriting also did play a big part - if my first line didn’t open a curiosity loop, there was a dud for the day.

I scheduled a post once a day for the two weeks, and somehow….it worked out!

For the extended edition, sharing a lot more info, read this.