After 9 conversations with entrepreneurs and business leaders, three patterns emerged about scaling successfully.

In this Season 5 recap, I share the key lessons from conversations with founders like Mark Shepherd (Gathr), George Sullivan (Sole Supplier), and Gaurav Bhattacharya (Jeeva AI), plus insights from Darcy Martin (Outward VC) and Steve Duncan (C Studios).

The 3 patterns:

Pattern 1: Vulnerability is the unlock, not the weakness Mark launched a 10,000-member community with a LinkedIn post about mental health. Asim went from contemplating suicide to building mental health platform Plumm. Kate lost passion until she invested in personal development. The insight? Successful founders admit "I'm struggling" instead of projecting false certainty.

Pattern 2: Strategic resource allocation beats grinding George turned down VC investment knowing it would break him. Gaurav walked away from $2.5M ARR to pivot (now 300 customers in 9 months). Steve's Monday WIN list connects weekly tasks to annual goals. The insight? Real resilience is saying no strategically.

Pattern 3: Peer learning accelerates growth Mark built his business around genuine peer connections. Darcy helped one founder get their first US enterprise client through a single introduction. The insight? No one scaled alone - everyone mentioned coaches, mentors, or peer groups.

Here's the thing: These patterns work together. You can't access peer learning without vulnerability. You can't allocate resources without outside perspective. You can't be vulnerable without psychological safety.

Your challenge: Pick one pattern and do one thing this week - have one honest conversation, create your Monday WIN list, or make three specific asks to your network.

Season 6 launches in 2026. Subscribe so you don't miss it.

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LinkedIn feels noisier than ever. AI posts, surface-level expertise, endless scroll. So is it still worth your time as a founder?

James Johnson and Freddie Birley tackle the question: should you still be posting on LinkedIn in 2025, or is there a better way to build your personal brand?

The honest answer: It depends on what you're trying to achieve.

Are you building for speaking opportunities? Attracting clients? Hiring talent? Or just holding yourself accountable to write? The strategy changes completely based on intention - and most founders skip this step.

What you'll learn:

• Why the more you use LinkedIn, the worse it feels
• The exact question to ask before spending another hour on social media
• How to know if LinkedIn is right for your goals (or if you're wasting time)
• The 80/90% delegation model that cuts your time from 10 hours to 1 hour/week
• Alternative ways to build personal brand without LinkedIn
• Why committing to one strategy beats trying 500 things at once

Key insight: Personal brand ≠ LinkedIn. If you've decided it's right, commit fully. But if you're doing it because "everyone says you should" - pause.

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Your VCs have hidden value beyond capital. Most founders never ask for it.

D'Arcy Martin has been Head of Platform at Outward VC for six years. She's watched hundreds of funding rounds close. And there's one pattern she sees: founders who treat VCs like a bank account versus founders who extract every ounce of value.

The difference? They ask.

In today's episode, I'm joined by D'Arcy Martin, who sits at the intersection of founders, LPs, and portfolio companies at Outward VC. Her job is connecting dots most founders don't even know exist. LP introductions that become your biggest clients. Portfolio partnerships that unlock new markets. Co-investor networks that solve your hardest problems.

But here's the thing: if you don't ask, you don't get.

The hidden benefits we unpack:

• Why you should reference-check your VCs before signing (and how to do it)
• What value adds beyond capital: sector expertise, LP networks, portfolio ecosystems
• Why VCs are startups too (and what their fundraising journey means for you)
• How to build your dream funding round (and which specialisms to prioritise)
• Why some founders get way more attention than others
• The "Christmas list" strategy: What to ask for right now

D'Arcy shares the story of one founder who sat down for a catch-up, shared they were selling to similar customers as another portfolio company, and D'Arcy connected them. Today they're doing a joint partnership and it's one of their first enterprise clients in the US.

👆 If you've raised capital (or you're about to), and you want to know how to extract way more than just money from your investors, this conversation shows you exactly what to ask for.

About D'Arcy Martin

D'Arcy Martin is Head of Platform at Outward VC, where she's been for six years – almost from the fund's first close. Starting during a graduate rotation programme at a bank that was a founding LP, Darcy convinced the team to let her stay beyond the three-month rotation. She's tried every role in the fund and built what "platform" means at Outward from the ground up.

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Connect with James on LinkedIn or at peer-effect.com