Dave Kellogg is a consultant, startup advisor, and founder of Kellblog.com. He built one of the most senior audiences I’ve ever seen, which is why I’ve been wanting to have him on the show for a loooong time (thanks for the intro Tom Wentworth).
Before starting his consulting career in 2019, Dave spent over 30 years in various executive roles at enterprise software companies: CEO at Planful (then Host Analytics), SVP / GM of the $500m Service Cloud business at Salesforce, CEO of MarkLogic, and CMO at Business Objects as they grew from $30M to over $1B in revenues. He’s currently an EIR at Balderton Capital and sits on the board of various tech startups
Throughout all of this, Dave built one of the most respected executive brands in B2B software, which is what we talk about in this episode: the lessons, mistakes, and stories.
---
We discuss:
* The story of Kellblog: how it started, how it’s going
* The meeting with Ben Horowitz that made Dave never “write for the algorithm” ever again
* How to build an audience of very senior executives
* Why most thought leadership isn’t
* Dave’s definition of branding (as it applies to executive/founder branding)
* How he writes: note files, outlines, AI
* Lessons on voice using Jack Daniel’s “Postcards from Lynchburg” as an example
* How to get the word out in a world of “walled gardens”: blog vs LinkedIn vs X vs newsletter
* Why chasing 100k followers would cost him the audience he has (quality vs quantity)
---
SaaS & AI Founders: Want to grow faster on LinkedIn?
Thormeier.co is my LinkedIn & Founder Brand advisory where I’ve helped 30+ SaaS and AI founders grow faster on LinkedIn, build a stronger founder brand, and drive more pipeline from it.
If you want to get unblocked, book a workshop here.
---
Show Notes:
Connect with Dave Kellogg:
Dave Kellogg’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelloggdave/
Kellblog: https://www.kellblog.com/
The Metrics Brothers podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-metrics-brothers/id1687214133
Balderton Capital: https://www.balderton.com/
Connect with Finn:
Finn’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finnthormeier
Founder Brand & LinkedIn Advisory: https://thormeier.co/
Mentioned in the episode:
Obviously Awesome by April Dunford: https://www.aprildunford.com/books
The Men That Don’t Fit In by Robert Service: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/58012/the-men-that-dont-fit-in
The GitLab Handbook: https://handbook.gitlab.com/
Planful: https://planful.com/
MarkLogic: https://www.progress.com/marklogic
Pigment: https://www.pigment.com/
Ghost: https://ghost.org/
The Diary of a CEO: https://stevenbartlett.com/doac/
---
Get full access to The Founder Brand at blog.thormeier.co/subscribe
