The Situation
Early-stage fundraising is fundamentally a trust problem: VCs need to believe in the founder before the product. Cold outreach rarely builds trust. Content that demonstrates thinking, knowledge, and character over time does. Max had genuine insight into the future of HR — but it was trapped in pitch decks and calls with the few investors who would meet him.
The Turning Point
A post on 'Why 80% of AI HR tools will fail in 18 months' went viral in the European HR tech community — 8,200 likes, 640 comments, and 12 direct messages from senior HR directors and 2 from VCs. Max saw what his thinking was worth when it was publicly visible.
What We Did — And Why
We built a content engine around Max's genuine perspectives on HR technology: original research posts (surveying 200 HR directors on AI adoption challenges), controversial takes on market assumptions, and honest founder journey content. Three posts per week, each designed to demonstrate a specific dimension of credibility: industry expertise, analytical rigour, and character. Strategic commenting on posts from target VCs and CHROs built a warm network without the cringe of cold outreach.
Our Approach
- 1.Founder personal brand programme: 3 LinkedIn posts per week covering HR trends, AI in talent, and startup building
- 2.Data-driven content: original research posts and industry surveys shared exclusively on LinkedIn first
- 3.Strategic engagement: commenting and contributing to VC and HR director conversations
The Results
In 7 months, LinkedIn following grew from 800 to 24,000. Six inbound investor enquiries came directly from LinkedIn content. The Series A of €4.2M was led by a Berlin VC who had followed Max's content for 3 months before reaching out. Enterprise demo requests tripled.
In Their Own Words
“Building in public is fundraising by another name. By the time an investor calls you, they've already decided they're interested.”