make people feel seen

Hey there, it’s Yash and Andrea!

Welcome to the very first issue of the founder/mode newsletter!

In each issue, we break down successful Linkedin posts so you can reverse engineer them for your own content.

This week, we’re tackling this post by founder/mode user Karl Hughes:

Here’s why this post works—and what other founders can learn from it.

1. Strong emotional hook

“Every custom project you say ‘yes’ to is a hidden tax on your agency’s time, margins, and sanity.”

This is a killer first line. It’s specific and visceral. Words like hidden tax and sanity hit both the logical and emotional levers. You immediately know who this is for—and why it matters.

2. Pain before prescription
Instead of jumping into advice, the post lingers on the consequences of bad decisions: rewriting proposals, late deliveries, broken ops. It makes the reader feel the cost before offering a way out. That sequencing is key to high-converting content.

3. Clear structure
It follows a classic arc:

• Define the problem

• Show how it manifests

• Offer a better alternative

• End with a tradeoff worth making

That flow makes the post both readable and resonant.

4. Strong formatting
→ Bullets for the framework
→ Short, punchy paragraphs
→ Strategic line breaks for pacing
These subtle things increase “skimmability” which is huge for a platform like LinkedIn.

1. Add social proof or a real example
The post would hit even harder if it included a quick example:

“One founder I worked with turned down a $25K custom project—and ended up growing faster by saying no.”

That kind of moment reinforces credibility and helps the idea feel lived-in, not theoretical.

2. Slightly overused phrasing
Phrases like “operate from a place of clarity” are clean but a bit abstract. Swapping in more grounded language—“protect your team’s bandwidth” or “guardrails, not guesswork” could make the ending land harder.

3. CTA opportunity missed
The post delivers value but doesn’t tell the reader what to do next. Even a soft call-to-action like “Audit your current offers. Where’s the chaos hiding?” would leave the reader with a next step.

takeaways for other founders:
→ always lead with pain. Readers act when they feel understood, not when they’re told what to do.
→ structure = conversion. A clear arc and sharp formatting make posts perform better, every time.

Yash & Andrea

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If you’re looking to build your founder brand on X and linkedin and generate leads for your business, you’d like what we’re building at founder/mode—we turn your messy thoughts into content that grows your business.