Limelight

“Hire BEFORE you need to.” I disagree ❌ In 2020, it was cool to have 100+ people teams. Today? Nobody cares 🤣 It’s more IMPRESSIVE to have: → Low burn rate → High % profitability → Lean and flexible teams Fiverr, Gumroad and BrewDog made $10M revenue (with less than 10 employees each). Now all 3 are giants in their industries. Early stage startups don’t need a high headcount. More people ≠ more output Tight teams help you hit $10M revenue - faster! ✅ You make quicker decisions ✅ You solve problems more quickly ✅ You eliminate bureaucracy and admin ✅ You have a stronger sense of camaraderie ✅ You cull hierarchy and bloated management The focus is on your user, product and sales. Not managing people problems. → Hire b̶e̶f̶o̶r̶e̶ WHEN you need to! Do you agree?

If you’re a B2B brand NOT doing this... You are already 3 steps behind your competitors. → Partnering with B2B influencers What does the data say? CPM for LI paid ads is 2.7x higher than influencer marketing. 71% of CMOs increased budget for this in 2024 (Ogilvy). Brands report a 420% ROI ($5.20 for every $1 spent). Why is it so effective? 📢 Unlock access to highly engaged niche audiences 📝 Get social first content from expert B2B creators 🗣️ Hijack the trust of credible industry voices 💰 Put brand awareness & sales on steroids Look at brands like Hubspot, Clay, Webflow and Instantly. (their growth is skyrocketing right now 🔥🔥) What’s the process? Discover → Match with relevant creators in your niche Activate → book ad slots with many creators all at once Measure → set goals, view analytics and track results P.S. I’ve put together an in-depth guide for you. 📌 6-Step B2B Influencer Blueprint: How to grow revenue with B2B creators! Want a FREE copy? Comment: Limelight I’ll ping it to you in a DM 🙏

In 2019, I built a 100+ person business. But I made a MAJOR mistake… 🚨 I didn't post about it on LinkedIn 🚨 But this year, I built a 4 person business. I post about it 5 TIMES A WEEK! Guess which is growing faster? → The 4-person business. Since "building in public" I’ve… - Secured $1.1M investment - Reached 10,438,303 people - Generated 22,851 website clicks All through my LinkedIn posts and DMs. (90% of our growth is inbound). My only regret is not starting sooner! Thanks to Byron Grealy for the great conversation on his podcast! P.S. Last month, I got 3.3M views on ONE 72-second video 🤯 Don't sleep on posting content.

4 years ago, I was so scared to post online. Now? I let my mouth run freely on podcasts 😂 As a 1st time Founder, I was scared. "What if people steal my ideas?" So I kept my cards close to my chest. I built my business behind closed doors. I kept “David the dad” and “David the Founder’ separate. Now I do the opposite. I’m an open, unfiltered book. I meet competitors and share ideas with them. I post my story online (even the scary, WTF parts). People can steal ideas. But they can’t steal your execution. 4 years ago in my last business… If I saw a competitor launch a product → I’d panic. If I saw them hiring fast → I’d feel inferior. If I saw them raise funding → I’d worry. That was stupid. In the end? All boats rise with the tide. Now all I care about is building something people want. More startups die of suicide (self-inflicted death) Than of murder (competitors killing them off) So in this podcast episode with Shoaib Ahmed, I didn’t hold back. I was brutally honest. → About how to raise investment. → About getting fired in past roles. → About emotional turmoil Founders face. → About mistakes I made in previous startups. → About how fatherhood affects entrepreneurship. And of course, about Limelight. Watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ed_fy7WP Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eqUm_Fr5 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/e79VBHnZ P.S. Anything from this trailer peak your interest? 👀

I spent 6 months searching for my dream partner. But 90% of "matches" were duds 😩 Here's how I eventually found ‘the one’ 🙌 It was 5th January, 2024. I'd just had a week from hell. Honestly? I was ready to give up hope. I'd spent MONTHS searching. Asked friends and colleagues for intros. Scoured LinkedIn. DM-ed around 650 people. I used a co-founder matching platform and got 150 matches. (Shout out Y-combinator!) But nothing felt right. Then, I stumbled on a profile that stood out. His name was Youngjae J.. A top 1% engineer at Uber (nice 😉). A super impressive portfolio and resume. He even had a glowing review from their CTO. So I asked him out on a date. We went to downtown LA and drank coffee. It was meant to be 30 mins. We spoke for 3 hours... We shared our biggest fears We discussed what made us tick We laughed more than I thought possible That's when I knew. He was the one. So I went home to my wife and said... "I've found my co-founder." One week later he joined as CTO of Limelight. I am not joking… within 48 hours had built our MVP. The prototype was alive and kicking! CRAZY!! YoungJae is a coding machine. He ships products faster than the team of 25 engineers I worked with before. — He cares about the what and the why — He gets the hustle of startup life — He iterates + improves rapidly — He gets in the weeds daily — He listens to customers Honestly? I couldn't ask for a better co-founder. Limelight is a team of only 4 people. But every single person is exceptional in their field. That's how we're growing so fast. P.S. How did I know he was "the one"? My 3-year-old son Cooper loved him when they first met 😂

I've just added 935 new B2B creators to Limelight 🎉 We spent 520 HOURS verifying them. That's 2 of my team… Working 9-5pm on this... For 6 weeks straight!! Why? 👇🏼 So brands can access the best B2B creators! (Our 3,000+ database has INSANE talent). The #1 priority? Engagement rate. We went through every LinkedIn profile with a fine tooth comb. The creators we hand-selected: → Have 20k - 250k followers → Are experiencing fast growth → And have niche cult-like communities We also added 20 new categories (47 in total) So Limelight now caters to brands looking for creators in... Product, Engineering, Data Science, Business Intelligence, EdTech, Social Selling, Legal Tech, SEO, Supply Chain & Logistics, Account-based Selling, Blockchain, Procurement, Product Design, Startups, Video Production & more. Our mission? To build the world's best B2B creator partnership platform. We're a lean and agile team of 4. But we’re doing BIG things. There’s a reason why the world’s fastest-growing B2B companies (like 11x, Webflow, Clay and Intercom) are using Limelight. P.S. I’ve just written a FREE comprehensive guide. 📌 6-Step B2B Influencer Blueprint: How to grow revenue with B2B creators! Use it to put your growth on steroids 🚀 Want a free copy? Comment: Limelight I’ll ping it to you in a DM 🙏

Building awareness is more important than building product. Getting users should be your #1 priority! 🚨 Remember, you can nail all these… Innovative software Advanced products Specialist features Seamless UX Slick design … and still achieve NOTHING! In B2B, 99% of businesses buy only when: → There's a specific problem to solve → Their current solution fails → They have the budget You need to be ready. The biggest mistake B2B brands make? ❌ They waste time and budget on ‘perfecting’ a technical product ❌ They only invest in marketing when sales slump or a feature launches At this point - it’s too late! In a crowded market, familiarity breeds confidence. Trust building should be a 24/7 exercise! Don’t sleep on your content strategy 💻 Loved being a guest on Brianna Doe’s podcast. We spoke about B2B influencer marketing, the creator economy and Limelight. Link in the comments for the full episode!

My plan? Hit $10M ARR with < 10 people. By following these 6 basic steps ↓ 1. Ruthless time-blocking: I'll guard the first hour of my day for deep work - no meetings, no emails, no phone. High-impact tasks only. 2. Next-level documentation: I'll record Loom videos for key tasks and use AI to convert them into step-by-step guides = maintain high service quality! 3. AI mastery: I'll identify repetitive tasks and use tools to automate all of them. Our tech stack will do the work of 15 people for 5% of the cost. 4. Laser-focused action: I'll use Notion to organise tasks, set deadlines and measure everything! Everyone will be held accountable - no room for error. 5. Easy knowledge access: I'll create a centralized base with vid tutorials, templates, FAQs and checklists. My team will be highly self-sufficient. 6. Delegating: I've already outsourced outbound messaging, content marketing, bookkeeping, and everything in between. My focus will be growth strategy and finding PMF. Currently? We're a team of 4, and in 7 months in business: 470 brand sign-ups. 378 creator sign-ups. Next step? Nail Limelight’s long term pricing models. ARR per employee is the most important metric I will track. And a $10M target is SUPER aggressive. But doable IMO! The ultimate hack? You need to trust AND empower people around you. P.S. Any other tips for building a lean, high-value business?

Big news! We’ve launched a gamechanging NEW feature... Limelight's "Brand Campaign Analytics" 📊🔎 I always get asked... "Can we track ROI from creator partnerships? "How do I measure the impact of influencer campaigns?" "What tools do you have to measure key metrics?" Valid questions! Now, all 3,000+ creators on Limelight can track their LinkedIn post analytics and share this data with brand partners. We've spent the last 3 months in R&D... To ensure we built this product safely and securely. So brands can: → See and track all their influencer partnerships at once → Have comprehensive real-time data reporting → Track what campaigns are delivering results → Boost high-performing content with ads → Make more data-driven decisions All in one dashboard! 💻 Non-trackable marketing isn't good enough in 2024. Metrics MATTER. And we are shipping new features FAST! Today we unleash this to the 480+ brands using Limelight. Major product launches coming soon... P.S. Halloween costumes for me 3 year old on my desk. Should he be Spider-Man or a Fireman? 🤣

“Hire for experience”. I ignored that advice! Instead, I hired a 22 year old fresh out of college. I was right. Me: “Demir, we need a website.” 24 hours later: “Here you go, it’s done.” CRAZY! In startups, speed and budget matter. The problem with very experienced hires? They demand high salaries → a budget burden Have narrow specialisations → limits versatility Are often risk-averse → less willing to pivot fast I bet on Demir because he had a good attitude and unlimited potential. There is too much snobbery in startups over: → Where people last worked → What big brand is on your resume → How many years you’ve been in the game This means you lose out on awesome talent… like Demir. Founders should give driven, ambitious people a shot. Not just those with the flashiest resumes. Who agrees?