Sign in to view Chris’ full profile
or
Already on LinkedIn? Sign in
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
Sign in to view Chris’ full profile
or
Already on LinkedIn? Sign in
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
London Area, United Kingdom
Sign in to view Chris’ full profile
Chris can introduce you to 10+ people at Searchable
Join with email
or
Already on LinkedIn? Sign in
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
1M followers
500+ connections
Sign in to view Chris’ full profile
or
Already on LinkedIn? Sign in
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
View mutual connections with Chris
Chris can introduce you to 10+ people at Searchable
Join with email
or
Already on LinkedIn? Sign in
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
View mutual connections with Chris
or
Already on LinkedIn? Sign in
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
Sign in to view Chris’ full profile
or
Already on LinkedIn? Sign in
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
About
An Autonomous SEO & AEO Growth Engineer
Analyse…
Welcome back
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
New to LinkedIn? Join now
Articles by Chris
-
We’re entering a new era of AI - and here’s why it’s important.
We’re entering a new era of AI - and here’s why it’s important.
People have a perception of entrepreneurs, that they are these ultra-productive machines that are incredibly organised…
297
219 Comments -
8 Years To Build, 8 Weeks To Fall Apart - VERB Through Covid.Jul 16, 2020
8 Years To Build, 8 Weeks To Fall Apart - VERB Through Covid.
It took eight years to build and eight weeks to almost collapse. I left uni in 2013 and took an office to work full…
259
34 Comments -
How To Empower Your Team To Become Star EmployeesMay 29, 2019
How To Empower Your Team To Become Star Employees
Within most businesses, there will be a small number of people who are considered ‘Star Employees’. These are the ones…
57
5 Comments -
How AI Is Changing The Luxury Sector And Why Brands Need To Invest In ItNov 28, 2018
How AI Is Changing The Luxury Sector And Why Brands Need To Invest In It
The luxury sector has historically been a human-to-human business, and luxury - on the whole - is one of the slowest…
37
1 Comment -
Join Our Agency - Verb Brands Current OpeningsJun 16, 2016
Join Our Agency - Verb Brands Current Openings
We're a Luxury Digital Agency who produce industry leading websites and SEO campaigns. We love what we do and we think…
3
1 Comment -
Digital Luxury Leaders Event – Upper ClashMay 25, 2016
Digital Luxury Leaders Event – Upper Clash
Verb Brands were very excited to have hosted and chaired UpperClash alongside our partner Cranberry Panda. Upper Clash…
9
-
How Can Brands Bring Luxury to the Digital Retail Experience?Nov 10, 2015
How Can Brands Bring Luxury to the Digital Retail Experience?
For luxury brands, the Internet is a paradox. On the one hand, marketing and product quality are what allows brands to…
18
3 Comments -
My team has only one KPI: ‘Do one favour a day’Sep 30, 2015
My team has only one KPI: ‘Do one favour a day’
Four years ago I founded my company - I was naive, over excited and full of ambition - and I set out to build a digital…
107
22 Comments -
How to Write the Perfect Brief for Your Digital ProjectSep 15, 2015
How to Write the Perfect Brief for Your Digital Project
As a fast-growing digital agency, we’ve seen all shapes and sizes of brief sent over for us to examine and investigate.…
31
6 Comments -
Digital Brand Fatigue - Is Your Brand Presence Too Overwhelming?Aug 24, 2015
Digital Brand Fatigue - Is Your Brand Presence Too Overwhelming?
Is there such a thing as brand fatigue? The 100s of emails I get a day from countless people and brands would say yes -…
27
1 Comment
Activity
1M followers
-
Chris Donnelly shared thisAfter 3 years of testing, The Lead Gen Blueprint is ready. We've used it to generate millions, and it's yours for FREE ↓ Comment "LEADS", and I'll personally send it to you. You can post content daily and still have an empty inbox. Followers don't automatically translate into leads. That's why I've built this lead gen machine for all my businesses. It turns attention into paying clients. It's the exact system we've used to generate millions in revenue. And we've packaged the entire thing into one FREE playbook: Inside the playbook, you'll find: ✅ A 7-day quick-start to get this live fast. ✅ Landing page structures converting at 60%+. ✅ Newsletter strategies that turn readers into buyers over time. ✅ The 5 post types that bring qualified prospects, not vanity metrics. ✅ The ICP research framework to build something people want to download. ✅ How to choose the right lead magnet format for your offer and audience. ✅ A simple funnel architecture that moves every opt-in towards your offer. ✅ A warm DM system for starting real conversations without sounding salesy. Posting to increase followers is one way to approach LinkedIn. But it won’t have any impact on your business outcomes. It’s very simple: To make money, you need a system that converts attention into revenue. This blueprint gives you that very system. And sets you up for insane long-term success on LinkedIn. And as a bonus, everyone who grabs the playbook will be invited to a free live masterclass on 22nd April at 5.30pm BST. It's called How To Generate Consistent Leads Using Powerful Lead Magnets, Run by my business partner Josh S.. In 90 minutes, you'll walk away with: The ICP Research Framework: ↳ How to identify who you're trying to reach and build something they want. The Lead Magnet Match System: ↳ How to choose the right format so people actually download it. The Funnel Architecture Blueprint: ↳ How to build a funnel that moves opt-ins towards your offer automatically. The Build Process Breakdown: ↳ How to create lead magnets quickly and at a quality that builds credibility. The Distribution and Virality System: ↳ How to get your lead magnet in front of the right people at scale. Plus a live Q&A where Josh will answer every question about lead magnets, funnels, and list building. Save this post so you don't lose the Playbook. And don't forget to comment "LEADS”, so I can send the link. ♻️ Repost to help founders turn content into customers. Follow Chris Donnelly for more on building systems that scale.
-
Chris Donnelly shared thisGetting cited by AI isn't luck. It depends on 3 critical signals: And most businesses have no idea what they are. Before we dive into it, I have a free AEO Content Playbook for you. It's a step-by-step guide to creating content that gets cited every time: https://lnkd.in/g7r3x-5h Here are the 3 signals and how to make them work for you: ☑️ Signal 1: Authority AI cross-references your content against all other info about your brand. Focus on: → Backlinks → Directory listings → Third-party mentions → Earned media If the broader web doesn't validate you, AI won't cite you. ☑️ Signal 2: Relevance Your content needs to match the exact query intent, not just the general topic. Focus on: → Question-format headings → Specific answers → Current statistics → Strong topical coverage Provide the most accurate and up-to-date information in your niche. ☑️ Signal 3: Extractability AI parses content in chunks using semantic structure. Focus on: → Proper heading hierarchy → FAQ schema → Short paragraphs → Crawable, machine-readable pages Poorly structured content gets skipped regardless of quality. Most brands fall into one of 3 traps: 🚫 Trusted, But Invisible Expert ↳ Strong authority and relevant content, but poorly structured. ↳ AI recognises the credibility but can't extract a clean answer. 🚫 Visible But Unverified ↳ Well-structured and on-topic, but no off-site authority signals. ↳ AI can read it, but doesn't trust it enough to cite it. 🚫 Credible But Off-Topic ↳ Strong technical setup and brand authority. ↳ Content doesn't match what AI is actually searching for. Here are 5 rules to ensure that doesn't happen to you: 1. Prioritise third-party validation. AI trusts what others say about you more than what you say about yourself. 2. Be specific Precise answers get cited. General overviews get skipped. 3. Structure for machines. Dense prose gets ignored regardless of quality. 4. Stay current. 76.4% of ChatGPT's top-cited pages were updated in the last 30 days. 5. Track your citations. You can't improve what you don't measure. If your business isn't getting cited, start with these signals. Miss one, and your business will remain invisible until it's too late. Our free AEO Content Playbook walks you through exactly how to fix it. It covers content structure, citation signals, intent mapping, and more. Grab it here: https://lnkd.in/g7r3x-5h Save this post to come back to it ! And comment below if you're struggling to get cited. I'll offer my two cents on what might be the problem... ♻️ Repost to help founders in your network understand AI citations. And follow Chris Donnelly for more on AI search.
-
Chris Donnelly shared thisYou don't NEED to juggle dozens of AI tools. Claude can theoretically run your entire business... But you have to know which Connectors to employ and when. There is not a lot wrong with using multiple tools. You'll learn a range of skills and have dedicated workflows. But if you want the leanest and most efficient option, Using Claude is by far your best option. Claude Connectors remove any friction when moving between tools. You just connect your tools once, and Claude acts across them from one chat. Here is every connector worth using right now: 1. Google Drive Claude searches and reads your Docs, Sheets, and Slides mid-chat. 2. Gmail Claude searches your inbox, surfaces key threads, and drafts replies. 3. Google Calendar Claude schedules meetings and manages invites based on your availability. 4. Slack Claude sends messages and pulls any thread into the conversation instantly. 5. Notion Claude connects to your workspace to search pages and pull briefs mid-chat. 6. HubSpot Claude reads your CRM data to summarise deals and surface pipeline insights. 7. Canva Claude creates, autofills, and exports Canva designs from a prompt. 8. Apollo.io Claude finds buyers, researches prospects, and books meetings directly. 9. Clay Claude researches accounts, finds prospects, and personalises outreach. 10. Asana Claude creates tasks, tracks projects, and coordinates team goals. 11. Linear Claude manages issues and tracks what's in progress across your team. 12. n8n Claude accesses and runs your n8n automation workflows from the chat. 13. Zapier Claude triggers Zapier automations, triggering action across 1000s of tools. 14. Make Claude runs Make scenarios and manages your automation account directly. 15. Stripe Claude accesses payment data, financial reports, and infrastructure tools. 16. Intercom Claude accesses customer conversations and support data to surface insights. 17. Gamma Claude creates presentations, social posts, and landing pages. 18. Granola Claude accesses your AI meeting notes, so nothing from a call ever gets lost. 19. MailerLite Claude becomes your email marketing assistant, managing your account. 20. Microsoft 365 Claude accesses SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, and Teams context. You might not need all 20 for your business. But anything your business might need is somewhere in this list. Comment below what your favourite connector is ! Would love to see some other use cases ! ---- 📌 If you want a high-res PDF of this guide: 1. Follow Chris Donnelly 2. Save the post. 3. Repost to your network. 4. Subscribe to: https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb
-
Chris Donnelly shared thisYour LinkedIn profile can be your landing page. But only if it has the right structure: LinkedIn is still the best social platform for growing an audience, And simultaneously generating high-quality leads... But only if your profile is optimised properly. When a client discovers your content, they will click over to your profile. Once there, you have at best 60 seconds to make your expertise clear. If you miss that window, you will lose their attention and business. I've optimised my profile to achieve three goals: 🖥️ Customers for my AI business, Searchable. 📧 Subscriptions to my Step by Step newsletter. 👤 Sign-ups to the waitlist for The Creator Accelerator. The results speak for themselves: 📈 250,000+ subscribers to my email list. ✅ ~$2m ARR for Searchable since launching. 📊 6 fully sold out Creator Accelerator cohorts. None of that would have happened if my profile wasn't doing the work. I've broken down my entire process in this YouTube video: https://lnkd.in/gqe-JhAs It's just over 16 minutes, but contains $1000s of information. Here is a breakdown of the steps I cover: (More details in the sheet below 👇) 👤 Profile Picture ↳ Make it clear, high-quality, and on-brand (400x400px works best). 🔲 Banner ↳ State your offer and direct people where you want them to go. ⛓️💥 Headline & Link ↳ Share what you do, what makes you different, and why people should trust you. 🖱️ Featured Section ↳ Highlight your main offer. Make it visual, clear, and actionable. ✍🏻 Content ↳ Lead with value to push people towards your profile. 👴🏻 Experience ↳ Include your formative roles and a description to build credibility. ☄️ Skills ↳ Prioritise the top 2 skills you want to be known (or hired) for. ✅ Call to Action ↳ There's no point upgrading your profile if people aren't directed towards it. Yes, it will take a few hours to do this work. But the long-term payoff could be worth millions. And that's not an exaggeration. So, you have 2 options: Leave your profile unoptimised and lose potential clients. Or, create a profitable one that pays you back for years. For me, it's no longer a choice. Check out the video to fix your profile now: https://lnkd.in/gqe-JhAs What part of your profile needs the most work? Drop a comment below. ♻️ Save and repost this to help others in your network land more clients. And follow Chris Donnelly for more on building your personal brand.
-
Chris Donnelly shared thisLast chance to join the AI Search Accelerator. Applications close for good tomorrow... Sign up before it's too late: https://lnkd.in/gfUXZeWr We've run 2 sold-out cohorts so far, and the results have been phenomenal. The AI Search Accelerator is designed to prepare you for AI search. And we've already helped 100s of businesses stay ahead of the curve. The way businesses get found is changing faster than most people realise. And the ones moving now are already pulling ahead. Google is no longer the only place your customers are searching. - ChatGPT processes 2.5 billion searches every day. - Perplexity is growing 40% month on month. - 7 billion Google searches now return AI Overviews. The businesses showing up in those answers have built systems for it. Here's what some of our students have already achieved: ✅ Marissa Buckley, Founder at RevUp: ↳ AI visibility jumped from 12.4% to 23.9% in 14 days across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google. Zero ad spend. ✅ Yash Lad, Marketing Lead at Kiin: ↳ 2 to 3x multiplication of inbound leads from AI search, driven by targeting a focused keyword subsection. ✅ Sean Moffatt, Founder at 43NORTH Studio: ↳ His client, a small women's health clinic in Orlando, ended up outranking the Cleveland Clinic in AI search results. ✅ Jessica Lohmann, Founder at Ethical Brand Marketing: ↳ 34 years of marketing experience, and she still found things she didn't know she was missing. She rebuilt her entire website based on what she learned. ✅ Christian Dion, Growth Leader at B2B Unscripted: ↳ Went from understanding AEO in theory to a practical, repeatable system for tracking AI share of voice and knowing exactly what to optimise. ✅ Angela Kim, CSO at Rise Moment Co.: ↳ Was running three separate workflows to cover what the Accelerator now handles in one unified system. And for Cohort 3, we've made it even better for your business. After 2 rounds of feedback, we rebuilt the programme. We now have 3 dedicated tracks designed around your business model: E-Commerce Track: ↳ Get your products recommended by AI. ↳ 250% average increase in AI product citations within 90 days. Agency Track: ↳ Build AI search as a premium service. ↳ $47K average new annual revenue added within 90 days. Professional Services Track: ↳ Own your category in AI search. ↳ 250% average increase in AI citations within 90 days. They are all 6 weeks long with live workshops and Q&A sessions. If you own or lead a business, this is a matter of urgency. The businesses that wait will be playing catch-up to those acting now. There's only one more day to get your application in. Then they're closed for good. Spots are genuinely limited, and the last cohort filled quickly. If you've been thinking about it, today is the day to move: https://lnkd.in/gfUXZeWr ♻️ Repost to help founders and marketers in your network get ahead of the shift. And follow Chris Donnelly for more on AI search and building with AI.
-
Chris Donnelly shared thisAgencies are sitting on a 6-figure revenue opportunity. That's why we put together this insane free resource. ↓ It's genuinely the key to unlocking $1000s in revenue. Comment "AGENCY", and I'll send the full AEO Agency Playbook to you. AEO is the service your clients need, and almost nobody is offering it yet. And the conversations with SEO clients are getting harder. Traffic is down, and AI Overviews are absorbing clicks. The fees haven't moved, and the traditional model is under pressure. But the same trend creating that problem is opening up a bigger opportunity. Those same clients are asking why they're not appearing in ChatGPT, etc. That question could be yours to answer. Because right now, almost no agency can. Here's what the AEO Agency Playbook covers: ✅ Why AEO is becoming the next agency revenue stream: ↳ The market signals showing client demand is already there. ✅ Service models that actually make money: ↳ Monthly retainer, project-based, and performance-based models. ✅ How to sell AEO to sceptical clients: ↳ The pitch that works starts with visibility, not rankings. ✅ Delivery workflow and tooling: ↳ A monthly plan, what to automate, and how to structure your team. ✅ How to avoid the margin trap: ↳ The most common pricing mistakes and how to protect profitability. You'll also get: - A pricing model you can adapt to your agency's cost structure. - Scope of work examples for different client types and budgets. - A 90-day delivery roadmap covering exactly what to do in the first 3 months. - A positioning template for pitching AEO to existing and prospective clients. The window to be an early mover in this space is open right now. In 6 months, the agencies that moved will have case studies, Refined delivery models and clients on retainer. The ones that waited will be starting from scratch in a very crowded market. Comment "AGENCY" below, and I'll send the full playbook for free. ♻️ Repost to help agency owners in your network find their next revenue stream.
-
Chris Donnelly shared thisThe day we relaunched Searchable, our Slack channel broke. I fixed it in 10 minutes with this tool: That day could have been extremely chaotic. We had 100s of inbound leads coming in and no system to handle them. Our sales team started to lose track of follow-ups quite quickly. But we didn't panic. I hopped on Zapier, and in 10 minutes, their new Copilot had solved it. Here's exactly what I did (it's easier than you think): First, I jumped into Zapier and described what I wanted in plain English. There's no coding involved. You just write a prompt like in Claude or ChatGPT. Then, Copilot broke down every part of it. It pulled from its database of 8,000+ apps and built the automation. Where it needed more detail, it asked, and I replied in the chat. (Which was so simple !) Now every inbound lead that hits our Slack channel gets: ↳ Automatically logged and categorised in Notion. ↳ Assigned to the right person on the sales team. ↳ Tracked so nothing ever falls through the cracks. What used to be a manual process that cost us leads is now completely hands-off. It genuinely requires very little technical knowledge or time. Zapier has now processed over 300 million AI tasks across the platform. The scale of what you can automate with this is genuinely hard to overstate. If you're still managing repetitive ops processes manually in 2026... This is worth 10 minutes of your time. Here’s the link to try the automation for free: https://bit.ly/4tPpnGd And save this post so you can refresh your memory any time ! Zapier #ad #ZapierPartner #sponsored
-
Chris Donnelly shared thisI created a vault with 15 proven LinkedIn DM templates. It can make you $$$ and it's yours for FREE: Comment "FOUNDER", and I'll send it straight to you. You are currently sitting on 1000s of potential leads. None of whom will become clients unless you know what they need to hear. A connection request and half-hearted follow-up aren't cutting it. That's exactly why I've created the Founder's Outreach Vault. These are not generic messages that every other founder uses. I've used these 15 templates myself to generate millions in revenue. Choose the ones you need and personalise them in 30 seconds. Here's what's inside: ✅ Qualification templates that surface real opportunities ✅ Opening messages for warm and cold prospects that earn replies ✅ Call transition messages that get meetings booked without any pressure ✅ Follow-up templates for every scenario, including re-engagement and exits ✅ Objection response frameworks for the two hesitations founders encounter most Closing on LinkedIn doesn't require you to be a great salesperson. In fact, that's the beauty of generating leads online. You can close the deal every time, as long as you're prepared. This vault gives you a library of templates to reach for at every stage. Grab yours now, and you'll also be invited to a free live masterclass. It's called: "How To Sell on LinkedIn and Social Media.” In 90 minutes, I'll walk through the complete system: ↳ How to sell and build your brand at the same time. ↳ How to combine strategic outbound with brand-building content. ↳ The social selling mindset shift adopted by founders who close. ↳ How to use Sales Navigator to find and reach the right people. ↳ The exact funnel setup to move your audience onto a list you actually own. Plus a live Q&A where I'll answer every question about selling on social media. If you want to grow and monetise your audience this year, Join us on Thursday, 16th April at 5.30 pm BST. Don't forget to comment "FOUNDER" below for the full template library ! And save this post so you can come back to it. What's your biggest struggle with outreach on LinkedIn? Share your thoughts in the comments. ♻️ Repost to help founders in your network close more deals on LinkedIn. And follow Chris Donnelly for more on building a lucrative personal brand.
-
Chris Donnelly shared thisAEO could be your agency’s next cash cow. That's why we put together the AEO Service Playbook. ↓ It's worth $1000s, but we're giving it away for free. Comment "AGENCY", and I'll personally send it to you. SEO retainers are getting harder to sell. Clients are paying the same fees but seeing declining traffic. And AI Overviews are eating into click-through rates more than ever. Almost no agency is equipped to address AEO properly yet. So the gap in the market is genuinely huge. Here's what the AEO Service Playbook covers: (Save it and apply the lessons to pull ahead of competing agencies...) ✅ Why AEO is becoming the next agency revenue stream: ↳ The market signals showing client demand is already there. ✅ Service models that actually make money: ↳ Monthly retainer, project-based, and performance-based models. ✅ How to sell AEO to sceptical clients: ↳ The pitch that works starts with visibility, not rankings. ✅ Delivery workflow and tooling: ↳ A monthly plan, what to automate, and how to structure your team. ✅ How to avoid the margin trap: ↳ The most common pricing mistakes and how to protect profitability. You'll also get: ↳ A positioning template for pitching AEO to existing and prospective clients. ↳ A pricing model you can adapt to your agency's cost structure. ↳ Scope of work examples for different client types and budgets. ↳ A 90-day delivery roadmap covering exactly what to do in the first 3 months. The agencies that move into this space now will own it before it gets crowded. The ones that wait will be playing catch-up in a few months time. Comment "AGENCY" below, and I'll send the full playbook straight to you. ♻️ Repost to help agency owners in your network find their next revenue stream.
Experience & Education
-
Searchable
********** * ***
-
*** ******* *********** ** ***** ********
*******
-
*******
********** ******
-
********** ** *******
********** ****** ******** 2.1
-
********** *******
********** ********* ******* *** undefined
View Chris’s full experience
See their title, tenure and more.
Welcome back
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
New to LinkedIn? Join now
or
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
Recommendations received
59 people have recommended Chris
Join now to viewView Chris’ full profile
-
See who you know in common
-
Get introduced
-
Contact Chris directly
Other similar profiles
Explore more posts
-
Jesse Heasman
Soapbox • 5K followers
740 UK startups announced funding rounds in 2025. Where are they based? 🔎 It comes as no surprise that London dominates UK tech 📌 but it's great to see that over a third of firms were based outside the M25 last year. Which VC funds and angels are backing startups outside the capital? We keep seeing... Mercia Ventures The FSE Group Maven Capital Partners PXN Group BGF Foresight Group SFC Capital Scottish Enterprise Northern Gritstone Fuel Ventures 🚀 Parkwalk ACF Investors Haatch ...who have I missed? Soapbox insights brought to you with K&L Gates | Venture Comet LTD | Sage
84
15 Comments -
Edward Upton
Littledata • 11K followers
I chatted with a VC last night who's had 18,000 investment pitches uploaded to his website since 2022. How many has he invested in? One. Not because they don't invest. This is one of London's most active seed funds, with 70+ companies backed since 2022. But their online Submit a Pitch form isn’t there to boost deal flow .. .. it’s to LOOK inclusive, so they can’t be accused of only backing the old boys’ network. Founders, a word to the wise: Don’t bother cold-pitching venture capital funds! This investor went on to share that one of the key founder traits they look for is tenacity. And if you can’t find a way to a warm intro to the fund, or even connect with the investor on LinkedIn, then it’s unlikely you’re going to hustle your first sales. You’re not tenacious enough. The ideal signal the VC is watching for is that people who know you and your market well have already invested. Ideally you've already got small angel investments from: ✅️ Your early customers' founders ✅️ Your suppliers ✅️ Your former boss ✅️ Your friends I’ve been guilty in the past of filling in the 'Apply for Funding' form on a VC website, but it’s never come to anything. Don’t be tempted.
48
24 Comments -
Troy Wood
EHE Venture Studio • 3K followers
2 Year Fhunded Snapshot: 💰£21M+ early-stage equity raised through the Fhunded VC community 🧑💼 Around 40 new, high-skilled jobs created across Lancashire 🌹 19 leading VC's engaged with Lancashire-based deals via Fhunded events 🪽 Launch of the Fhunded Angel network 💻 Roll-out of Lancashire's bespoke Dealroom platform Read more: https://lnkd.in/eCX353jb
61
3 Comments -
Richard Price
Academia.edu • 4K followers
There were lots of fascinating points in the recent Dwarkesh interview with Sholto Douglas and Trenton Bricken. Some quotes: RL in the last year “Okay, so I think the biggest thing that's changed is that RL in language models has finally worked. We finally have proof of an algorithm that can give us expert human reliability and performance, given the right feedback loop.” The importance of model size “All of the interpretability work on superposition states that the models are always under-parametrized, and they're being forced to cram as much information in as they possibly can. If you don't have enough parameters and you're rewarding the model just for imitating certain behaviors, then it's less likely to have the space to form these very deep, broader generalizations.” Analysis of circuits “I think people are still sleeping on the circuits work that came out, if anything, because it's just kind of hard to wrap your head around." Automated white collar worker in 2-5 years “There is this whole spectrum of crazy futures. But the one that I feel we're almost guaranteed to get - this is a strong statement to make - is one where at the very least, you get a drop-in white collar worker at some point in the next five years. I think it's very likely in two, but it seems almost overdetermined in five. On the grand scheme of things, those are kind of irrelevant timeframes. It's the same either way. That completely changes the world over the next decade…" https://lnkd.in/guc8AzGj
5
-
Aziz Ben Allala
Syrena • 8K followers
In the past two weeks, hundreds of startups worked with experts from our ecosystem to address the BIGGEST challenges they face - head on. Here’s what I learned: US expansion is front of mind for UK startups at the moment - incorporating as a Delaware C-corp is becoming a really popular route for them to raise and expand into the biggest market in the world. I was also struck by how startups are using AI agents to go-to-market with lighting speed - emerging standards (MCP, knowledge graphs) are being leveraged to achieve scale without endless custom builds. And on the fundraising side, revenue growth is the no. 1 thing to show investors - and it has to be recurring and repeatable - not a one-off. The market may have shifted - but selling is the same. Now more than ever, framing sales around solving urgent business pain in cost, risk, and revenue terms is KEY. We've got one more session coming up in September and I'm super excited for it! Denys Prysukhin from Corewide LLP will be sharing how to build fast -without making expensive mistakes. If you’re looking to build your first production-ready cloud infrastructure, or you have a live product and are facing scaling and performance issues - this session is for you. Link to sign up in the comments. 👇
14
2 Comments -
1st Choice Incorporations Ltd
57 followers
💡 Navigating Startup Funding? Explore Your Options Securing growth capital is one of the biggest challenges early-stage businesses face. Our latest guide breaks down the major funding routes for UK startups: 💰 Bootstrapping & personal savings—perfect for full control and minimal complexity 🧩 Angel investors & crowdfunding—ideal for validation and early traction 🏦 Business loans & UK government grants—great for scaling without diluting equity 📈 Venture capital & equity funding—unlock high-growth potential (requires strong traction) 🔁 Convertible loans & revenue-based finance—flexible hybrid funding tools 📘 Dive deeper into each option here: https://lnkd.in/eVmQsSrQ 💬 Founders—what funding path worked best for you, or which one intrigues you most? Share your story or question below. #StartupFunding #UKBusiness #SmallBusinessSupport
-
Semyon Germanovich
METRIX Events • 1K followers
The UK’s brightest founders and professionals are quietly packing their bags. And it’s not just because of the weather. Or politics. A growing number of UK entrepreneurs are rethinking not if they’ll leave, but when. In our 2025 Relocation Report, we surveyed 500+ UK business owners and professionals. The findings were eye-opening: ➡️ 38% are already planning to relocate within 12 months ➡️ 62% within two years ➡️ Over half are looking to Iberia - Portugal and Spain - for a new start This isn’t escapism. It’s a response to deeper shifts in how people define success: flexibility, wellbeing and belonging now rank alongside profit and growth. I break down what’s driving this exodus, and why Southern Europe has become the new frontier for British talent. Read the full report on the Touchdown blog (see link in the comments)
24
1 Comment -
Robert Harary
Raisi • 10K followers
An underrated way to get in touch with VCs - get in touch with their portfolio company founders first. If there's a VC you believe is a strong fit for your business, odds are you'll have a much easier time getting in touch with a founder they invested in than the VC themselves. You can reach out saying you're considering reaching out to the VC, and want to hear about the founder's experience working with that investor over a 10-minute call. If you hit it off, you now have: - A potential intro from someone the investor trusts - Real insight into what that investor cares about - A connection who's likely connected with a number of VCs in your space And lastly, you can also do this after you've already reached out to the VC. If they haven't responded, this can be a more effective way to follow up. #startups #venture #VC #tech #entrepreneurship #fundriasing
27
13 Comments -
Yee Mun T.
Her Way Forward • 4K followers
Investing in female founders just makes good business sense. 🚀 To quote our EIS Fund investor memorandum - studies by Boston Consulting Group and the Kauffman Foundation have shown that women-run businesses are more capital efficient and can deliver higher return on investment (ROI) than male-founded startups (!!!) – sometimes as much as twice per dollar invested. I'm pretty proud of our founders, and can't wait to back even more! 💪🏼 #EISFund #femalefounders #UKstartups
14
1 Comment -
Kelsey Lindsay 🔵
Vercept Digital • 7K followers
clear positioning attracts serious capital but investment firms lose hnw investors by overcomplicating because their platform doesn’t clearly communicate what they do, who they serve, or why they’re different in simple terms add a poorly designed user experience into the mix and you’ve got what feels like a weekend side project asking for 250 grand of your hard earned wealth.. HNW and UHNW investors don’t take chances on firms that feel unclear confusion reads as risk In this world, as you know, perceived risk kills deals in a heartbeat The firms winning capital right now say exactly who they serve, what returns they target, and what makes their approach different from every other firm competing for the same allocation and they package that positioning in an elite feeling presence but most use the same copy & paste vague descriptors that mean absolutely nothing they then bundle all that into a DIY website and call it a day If a prospective investor can’t understand your edge in 30 seconds on your platform, they won’t request a call clear positioning signals competence Competence builds trust & trust is what makes a $250,000 check feel like a no brainer to write Is your platform doing that job?
-
Sandy Willis
16K followers
Steven Bartlett calls it "professional flirting" in this clip - founders spending time persuading exceptional people to join their business. I'm on a mission to help every startup build a board that gives them the best chance of success. Right now, UK startups are barely scratching the surface of what great boards can do - the pattern recognition, the doors they open, the expensive mistakes they help you avoid. But finding these people takes time most founders don't have. You're meant to be networking constantly, taking exploratory meetings, trying to figure out who's qualified versus who just presents well in a 30-minute coffee chat. Meanwhile, you're building product, talking to customers, managing your team, and putting out fires. The networking falls to the bottom of the list pretty quickly. That's why I built Boardly. It's the platform I wished existed years ago when I was connecting founders with the leaders after watching them struggle through the same painful process. We're curating the best community of startup board leaders and fractional executives in the UK. Our AI handles the filtering and matching work - understanding your stage, your sector, the specific problems you're solving - and introduces you to people who actually fit. No spray and pray networking. No wasted meetings with people who sound impressive but can't help with what you're building. You spend less time searching and more time having real conversations with people who can help. AI removes the admin friction so you can focus on the human part - building relationships with experienced leaders who've already solved your problems at other companies.
8
1 Comment -
Alexander Chikunov
Founding Partner at Verb… • 3K followers
Great to chat with TechRound about how startups can use AI in a more grounded, sustainable way — and when it’s better not to. We’re seeing more founders think carefully about where AI actually moves the needle versus where it just adds noise. It’s less about using AI everywhere, and more about using it where it actually matters. Thanks Gina Marrs, Zee Yende for this opportunity! Link to a full article in comments👇
32
2 Comments -
Aarish Shah
EmergeOne • 22K followers
𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲. This week on Nothing Ventured, I sat down with Timothy Armoo who went from a council estate in South London to an 8-figure exit and a portfolio doing £47m+ annually. He's now building Billion Pound Exits to help founders think through and execute on exiting their businesses. This podcast had no sugar coating, just frameworks that move the needle. Here are 5 takeaways that stayed with me: 𝟭. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 The gap between what you know and what your customer knows = value. That gap is shrinking fast in old markets… and exploding in AI. 𝟮. 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 School trains you to get your “paper marked.” Too many founders carry that into business — chasing VC approval instead of building for their own outcome. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 “𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀” — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 “But my case is different” is how founders waste years. Supply, demand, pricing, value… the rules don’t change just because you think they do. 𝟰. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 They’re obsessed with being excellent at their craft. Your business is just the vehicle. 𝟱. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 Processes > people. You don’t sell a business — you sell a machine that runs without you. Bonus: 👉 Hard work is overrated. What you work on matters more. 👉 Date your buyers early. Don’t wait until you’re desperate. This one’s a reality check for any founder still caught in the hype cycle. 🎧 Episode live now - links in comments.
11
3 Comments -
Mark Lissaman
30gram6 • 926 followers
My AI and Automation driven 30gram6 news and data platform is releasing a UK focused M&A tool. As always we are following a "release early, release often" philosophy so there will be a few rough edges but hopefully some useful content for anyone interested in the UK M&A landscape. You can filter by Trade vs Financial Backer (PE/VC) content as well as by Sector, etc. Also a directory of Investors and a directory of Advisors. NB Humans not involved in the content creation. Next on the roadmap is to sort out the user login to drive personalisation and to allow people and firms to curate their own public profiles...
15
1 Comment -
Bradley Jones
ThatRound • 8K followers
Economic stability was the main message of Tuesday’s Spring Statement. But for founders, "stable" shouldn't be confused with "accessible." The OBR has now downgraded UK growth projections to 1.1%. And in a slow-growth economy, the efficiency of how capital flows into innovation becomes even more important. Meanwhile, founders continue to face a tough funding environment: 🚀 A record 2,489 companies secured their first-ever round last year (up 23%). 📉 Yet total deal counts fell by 8%. Investors are backing fewer, "safer" bets. 💰 Seed-stage valuations hit a 4-year low. ⌛ 1 in 5 founders now spend 50%+ of their week in the fundraising maze. So it’s no surprise founder confidence is being tested. According to The Entrepreneurs Network’s November report, only 3% of founders believe the Government truly understands their needs. ⚠️ If that’s the case, the infrastructure founders rely on becomes even more critical. If the UK wants to unlock more innovation and growth, we don’t just need stability. We need a fundraising process that is transparent, structured, and fast. Because if we want more capital flowing into innovation, we have to fix how founders access it. #UKInnovation #UKStartup #SpringBudget
12
-
Bridget Greenwood FRSA
The 200Bn Club • 10K followers
DEADLINE FOR APPLICANTS AT IDEA STAGE IS 23RD OCTOBER Delighted to be leading this programme along with our fantastic partners. It’s about changing the success rates for underrepresented founders by improving how they and the investor ecosystem connect, prepare, and collaborate. Through the Breakthrough Founders programme, founders receive tailored investor readiness support designed to lead to real investment outcomes — from angels, VCs, and other funding routes. Alongside their tailored pathway, founders will also have the chance to benefit from: Pre-Investment Boards — giving you strategic guidance while growing a new generation of women angels. Investor Readiness Scorecards and MIT frameworks — data-backed tools to show where you are now and what to focus on next. A shared investor portal — opening doors to VC, angel, and operator networks across the consortium. Access to non-equity funding routes — support to explore alternatives when equity isn’t the right fit. A national community — open to all applicants, with up to 150 founders on pathways, plus wider alumni and peer networks that continue beyond the programme.
15
4 Comments -
Mark Bernstein ACA
Diligentsia Limited • 3K followers
Looking forward to joining Startup 2 Standup® this Friday Over 30+ years as a CFO, founder and investor, I’ve seen one consistent pattern: Well-organised businesses get funded. Chaotic ones don’t. This session will focus on something simple — but critical: Getting organised for investment, growth, and exit. Because structure isn’t bureaucracy. It’s credibility. If you're raising, scaling, or even thinking about an exit one day, this conversation matters. Hope to see some of you there.
6
Explore collaborative articles
We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.
Explore MoreOthers named Chris Donnelly in United Kingdom
-
Chris Donnelly
London Area, United Kingdom -
Chris Donnelly
Belfast Metropolitan Area -
Chris Donnelly
Bradford -
Chris Donnelly
London
160 others named Chris Donnelly in United Kingdom are on LinkedIn
See others named Chris Donnelly