I co-host a monthly virtual meetup for B2B creators to talk through what's working on LinkedIn.
As we were wrapping up, a guy joined with just a few minutes to spare.
He gave off the vibes of a tech founder who'd been deep in the build, checked his watch, said, “oh shit!” and hopped on the call anyway.
He introduced himself as Jake and pointed to his chest, HeyJake.com emblazoned across his t-shirt. He said he does B2B sales and runs lead gen with his AI voice agent for real estate operators.
He was apologetic for arriving late and said, "I'm used to just coding all day. That's all I do."
He was proud he coded HeyJake completely from scratch. Jake showed up to the call because his pipeline was starting to dry up.
He said he had six paying customers, but each of them was someone he already knew. So he decided to try YouTube and TikTok to find more. He ended his intro by saying, "I don't know if LinkedIn will help."
I jumped in with a live diagnosis, right there on the call. I told him that while lead gen is crowded on LinkedIn, there’s always a place for an innovative solution like his. Besides, that’s where his buyers already are. He even said he'd sign up that day.
We've all seen LinkedIn's endless supply of founders in name only. Jake never called himself a tech or SaaS founder. His humility was quite refreshing. He's built more than many AI founders and never once claimed the title.
So I ran my own diagnostic
After the call had wrapped, his story of what he was building stayed with me. The next morning I pulled up his content and was impressed.
Most early SaaS founders are too buried in the product to make time to publish anything.
Jake was the complete opposite. He was pumping out videos on YouTube and TikTok at a prolific rate. So I decided to run my own diagnostic.
What struck me more than his skit-based content was how realistic his AI voice agent sounded.
He built it so that the voice trips over the occasional word and throws in an ah or an um at a natural rhythm. The average person would have no idea they’re talking to an AI clone.
In just over a month he put out 70+ videos and he starred in every one of them. He had somewhere around 45,000 views and a few clips had gone mini-viral.
As I was compiling this information, I decided to make a LinkedIn post about HeyJake.com. Right before I hit publish, I thought to myself, “why don’t I put together a quick deck that breaks down where his growth is leaking?”
So I did.
Here are a few of the leaks I flagged for him.
His videos that show how his AI voice works are very engaging and drive views and comments. But his bios don’t tell the viewer how to buy his product. So an interested viewer who taps through and finds there’s no way to take the next step simply scrolls away. That type of leak adds up quick.
Jake said he wants bigger clients, but most of the DMs he gets are from tiny businesses.
Serious buyers want to know you're the real deal
The bigger or more serious buyers he's after check you out before they buy. They look at your LinkedIn profile, your Company page, and your website. Trust is something you earn with that presence, and Jake hasn't built it yet. He isn't on LinkedIn, and his website has no about section or any mention of him. Without that, the trust never gets a chance to form.
Once I was ready to send the presentation, the last point became very apparent. I couldn't even email the guy. So I called the number on his webpage.
When the voice on the other end said, “Hi, this is Jake,” I couldn’t tell if I was talking to the real guy or not. I asked for his email and he gave it to me, so I think it was him.
But here’s the thing. His AI clone is more real and more visible than he is.
And sure, Jake's leak is easy to spot from the outside. But when it's your own business, you're too close to see what's leaking.
I sent Jake the whole diagnosis for free. I framed each leak around what he's already doing well. What I held back was the execution.
Give away the value, sell the implementation
Dickie Bush describes this approach as giving away the value and selling the implementation.
The easy fixes are Jake's to make this weekend. The system that turns his content into pipeline is what I’d build.
His AI can't be the only human in his business. Neither can yours.
Antonio
P.S. If you enjoyed Jake's story and want a fresh set of eyes on your business, hit reply. I'll tell you what I'd fix first.