Justin Welsh: The Story Behind LinkedIn's #1 Creator

Justin Welsh: The Story Behind LinkedIn's #1 Creator

Justin Welsh: The Story Behind LinkedIn's #1 Creator

By Jake Ward

Sep 15, 2024

Justin Welsh has made $8.3M+ online with 0 employees.

All in less than 5 years.

He works just 3 hours a day.

He travels whenever he wants.

And it’s all because he started posting regularly on LinkedIn.

But let’s rewind for a second.

Because initially, Justin was… 

Kinda hopeless.

By 28, he’d been fired from 3 sales jobs.

For years, he never hit a sales quota.

Things looked bleak.

But, with 30 just around the corner, Justin knew he had to tighten his bootstraps. So he began to study. He inhaled blogs, podcasts, and webinars.

Then in 2009, his hard work was rewarded. He got a job at an exciting new start-up called ZocDoc.

Finally, he’d landed a gig at a great company, working with great people, in NYC.

ZocDoc was a fast-paced, high-pressure environment. People got fired left and right. But that didn’t faze  Justin.

He hustled HARD for 5 years, got promoted 5 times, won every award, and went from junior salesman to the CEO’s right-hand man.

Justin was instrumental in taking ZocDoc from a plucky start-up to doing over $50M in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

By 2015, Justin was ready for a new challenge. 

He became VP of Sales at another tech start-up – PatientPop.

In less than 5 years, Justin built a team of 150 salespeople and helped grow PatientPop from 0 to nearly $60M in ARR.

For over a decade, Justin was almost entirely career-focused.

All while his health and home life took a back seat. During that time…

He postponed vacations with his wife and regularly slept 4 hours a night. His work responsibilities continued to grow as business problems multiplied. His day was quickly chock-full of tasks that were both urgent AND important.

Justin was exhausted, overwhelmed.

Right up until…

December 16th, 2018.

Justin was 36.

He was at home when it happened.

Things quickly went from confusion to sheer terror. 

He collapsed, began to hallucinate, and started shouting for help.

He felt like he was dying

In desperation, his wife called 911. An ambulance came to his aid. It took 6-8 hours before things fully settled down.

Justin had been caught in the clutches of a severe panic attack.

The 10+ years of building sales teams and growing fast-paced start-ups had taken their toll.

Justin handed in his notice. But, being such an integral team member couldn’t leave for several months.

Instead, he began to figure out his exit.

He didn’t actually plan to start a “one-person business.” Nor did he plan to be a “creator.” 

He just knew he needed to do something different

Upon leaving, Justin’s intention was to do something for himself for 6 months. Then return to the workforce.

It was 2019, and he’d never made so much as a bean online. So rather than waste time buying 10 books, 5 courses, and reading 100 blogs… Justin read 1 book and took immediate action.

He picked LinkedIn to get started on. And began sharing what he knew.

He wrote about small-medium sized SaaS companies in the Health tech space. Super specific.

His LinkedIn account began to pick up steam.

That’s when he started getting questions:

“How are you growing on LinkedIn?”

“When’s the best time to post?”

“Where did you learn to write?”

“What tools do you use?”

Justin was taken off-guard. It wasn’t what he expected.

He had no aspirations to be a LinkedIn expert

But he recognised this feedback as a signal.

So in 2019, he ran an experiment. He created a 60-minute video on how to use LinkedIn (“The LinkedIn Playbook”). It was his first digital product.

It sold $75,000 worth in 18 months.

Justin had unlocked the ability to make money in his sleep.

Fast-forward 5 years later, and he’s earned:

  • $8.3M+ in online income (at a 90% profit margin)

  • 600M+ impressions (with zero paid ads)

  • 215K+ newsletter subscribers

  • 632K+ followers on LinkedIn

  • And 498K+ followers on Twitter

Even Snoop Dogg follows him.

Justin has designed a life that enables him to spend more time doing the things he loves, and less of the things he hates.

And it all stems from doing something different and generously sharing everything he’s learnt along the way.

Justin Welsh has made $8.3M+ online with 0 employees.

All in less than 5 years.

He works just 3 hours a day.

He travels whenever he wants.

And it’s all because he started posting regularly on LinkedIn.

But let’s rewind for a second.

Because initially, Justin was… 

Kinda hopeless.

By 28, he’d been fired from 3 sales jobs.

For years, he never hit a sales quota.

Things looked bleak.

But, with 30 just around the corner, Justin knew he had to tighten his bootstraps. So he began to study. He inhaled blogs, podcasts, and webinars.

Then in 2009, his hard work was rewarded. He got a job at an exciting new start-up called ZocDoc.

Finally, he’d landed a gig at a great company, working with great people, in NYC.

ZocDoc was a fast-paced, high-pressure environment. People got fired left and right. But that didn’t faze  Justin.

He hustled HARD for 5 years, got promoted 5 times, won every award, and went from junior salesman to the CEO’s right-hand man.

Justin was instrumental in taking ZocDoc from a plucky start-up to doing over $50M in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

By 2015, Justin was ready for a new challenge. 

He became VP of Sales at another tech start-up – PatientPop.

In less than 5 years, Justin built a team of 150 salespeople and helped grow PatientPop from 0 to nearly $60M in ARR.

For over a decade, Justin was almost entirely career-focused.

All while his health and home life took a back seat. During that time…

He postponed vacations with his wife and regularly slept 4 hours a night. His work responsibilities continued to grow as business problems multiplied. His day was quickly chock-full of tasks that were both urgent AND important.

Justin was exhausted, overwhelmed.

Right up until…

December 16th, 2018.

Justin was 36.

He was at home when it happened.

Things quickly went from confusion to sheer terror. 

He collapsed, began to hallucinate, and started shouting for help.

He felt like he was dying

In desperation, his wife called 911. An ambulance came to his aid. It took 6-8 hours before things fully settled down.

Justin had been caught in the clutches of a severe panic attack.

The 10+ years of building sales teams and growing fast-paced start-ups had taken their toll.

Justin handed in his notice. But, being such an integral team member couldn’t leave for several months.

Instead, he began to figure out his exit.

He didn’t actually plan to start a “one-person business.” Nor did he plan to be a “creator.” 

He just knew he needed to do something different

Upon leaving, Justin’s intention was to do something for himself for 6 months. Then return to the workforce.

It was 2019, and he’d never made so much as a bean online. So rather than waste time buying 10 books, 5 courses, and reading 100 blogs… Justin read 1 book and took immediate action.

He picked LinkedIn to get started on. And began sharing what he knew.

He wrote about small-medium sized SaaS companies in the Health tech space. Super specific.

His LinkedIn account began to pick up steam.

That’s when he started getting questions:

“How are you growing on LinkedIn?”

“When’s the best time to post?”

“Where did you learn to write?”

“What tools do you use?”

Justin was taken off-guard. It wasn’t what he expected.

He had no aspirations to be a LinkedIn expert

But he recognised this feedback as a signal.

So in 2019, he ran an experiment. He created a 60-minute video on how to use LinkedIn (“The LinkedIn Playbook”). It was his first digital product.

It sold $75,000 worth in 18 months.

Justin had unlocked the ability to make money in his sleep.

Fast-forward 5 years later, and he’s earned:

  • $8.3M+ in online income (at a 90% profit margin)

  • 600M+ impressions (with zero paid ads)

  • 215K+ newsletter subscribers

  • 632K+ followers on LinkedIn

  • And 498K+ followers on Twitter

Even Snoop Dogg follows him.

Justin has designed a life that enables him to spend more time doing the things he loves, and less of the things he hates.

And it all stems from doing something different and generously sharing everything he’s learnt along the way.

Justin Welsh has made $8.3M+ online with 0 employees.

All in less than 5 years.

He works just 3 hours a day.

He travels whenever he wants.

And it’s all because he started posting regularly on LinkedIn.

But let’s rewind for a second.

Because initially, Justin was… 

Kinda hopeless.

By 28, he’d been fired from 3 sales jobs.

For years, he never hit a sales quota.

Things looked bleak.

But, with 30 just around the corner, Justin knew he had to tighten his bootstraps. So he began to study. He inhaled blogs, podcasts, and webinars.

Then in 2009, his hard work was rewarded. He got a job at an exciting new start-up called ZocDoc.

Finally, he’d landed a gig at a great company, working with great people, in NYC.

ZocDoc was a fast-paced, high-pressure environment. People got fired left and right. But that didn’t faze  Justin.

He hustled HARD for 5 years, got promoted 5 times, won every award, and went from junior salesman to the CEO’s right-hand man.

Justin was instrumental in taking ZocDoc from a plucky start-up to doing over $50M in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

By 2015, Justin was ready for a new challenge. 

He became VP of Sales at another tech start-up – PatientPop.

In less than 5 years, Justin built a team of 150 salespeople and helped grow PatientPop from 0 to nearly $60M in ARR.

For over a decade, Justin was almost entirely career-focused.

All while his health and home life took a back seat. During that time…

He postponed vacations with his wife and regularly slept 4 hours a night. His work responsibilities continued to grow as business problems multiplied. His day was quickly chock-full of tasks that were both urgent AND important.

Justin was exhausted, overwhelmed.

Right up until…

December 16th, 2018.

Justin was 36.

He was at home when it happened.

Things quickly went from confusion to sheer terror. 

He collapsed, began to hallucinate, and started shouting for help.

He felt like he was dying

In desperation, his wife called 911. An ambulance came to his aid. It took 6-8 hours before things fully settled down.

Justin had been caught in the clutches of a severe panic attack.

The 10+ years of building sales teams and growing fast-paced start-ups had taken their toll.

Justin handed in his notice. But, being such an integral team member couldn’t leave for several months.

Instead, he began to figure out his exit.

He didn’t actually plan to start a “one-person business.” Nor did he plan to be a “creator.” 

He just knew he needed to do something different

Upon leaving, Justin’s intention was to do something for himself for 6 months. Then return to the workforce.

It was 2019, and he’d never made so much as a bean online. So rather than waste time buying 10 books, 5 courses, and reading 100 blogs… Justin read 1 book and took immediate action.

He picked LinkedIn to get started on. And began sharing what he knew.

He wrote about small-medium sized SaaS companies in the Health tech space. Super specific.

His LinkedIn account began to pick up steam.

That’s when he started getting questions:

“How are you growing on LinkedIn?”

“When’s the best time to post?”

“Where did you learn to write?”

“What tools do you use?”

Justin was taken off-guard. It wasn’t what he expected.

He had no aspirations to be a LinkedIn expert

But he recognised this feedback as a signal.

So in 2019, he ran an experiment. He created a 60-minute video on how to use LinkedIn (“The LinkedIn Playbook”). It was his first digital product.

It sold $75,000 worth in 18 months.

Justin had unlocked the ability to make money in his sleep.

Fast-forward 5 years later, and he’s earned:

  • $8.3M+ in online income (at a 90% profit margin)

  • 600M+ impressions (with zero paid ads)

  • 215K+ newsletter subscribers

  • 632K+ followers on LinkedIn

  • And 498K+ followers on Twitter

Even Snoop Dogg follows him.

Justin has designed a life that enables him to spend more time doing the things he loves, and less of the things he hates.

And it all stems from doing something different and generously sharing everything he’s learnt along the way.

Level up your LinkedIn game. Install Kleo for free.

Level up your LinkedIn game. Install Kleo for free.

Level up your LinkedIn game. Install Kleo for free.

© 2023 Kleo

© 2023 Kleo