Today we will cover:

1) The curious case of Noemi Kis

2) What is Anti-VC

3) Worst of LinkedIn

4) Email-back guarantee

1) The curious case of Noemi Kis

It's no secret that LinkedIn is overrun by bots, shills, engagement pods, and AI-generated content.

Now I don't make a habit of fighting with these people. It is a thankless, full time job with very little upside. Ask me how I know.

But sometimes a particularly unique case stands out that deserves a deeper look.

Meet Noemi Kis:

You’ll never guess what happened when Jack Kuveke dared to parody her post
(hint: she went on a hate-fueled blocking rampage)

Let’s find out what pushes a ‘thought leader’ like Noemi over the edge.

Who is Noemi Kis?

Favikon ranks Noemi as the 4th best female business content creator worldwide.

She must be really special to earn that title, right?

RIGHT?

Actually… Noemi is special, but a different kind.

Noemi is part of the LinkedIn Mafia.

For those who are new here, the LinkedIn Mafia is a closed circle of growth hacking goons with large cult followings.

They roam LinkedIn in rabid packs, spreading good vibes and canceling anyone daring to question the goodness of the vibes they purport to be spreading.

These goons dedicate their time to gaming social media algorithms to inflate their engagement and create the illusion of credibility. They then use this social clout as cover to sell their services (mostly around how to game social media algorithms).

They are very good at engineering social perception at scale.

In Noemi’s case, she positions herself as a startup thought leader.

She never makes any direct claims, but her implication is if you follow her advice you’ll build a 7-figure business also.

Now there’s nothing wrong with sharing your knowledge if your content is accurate and useful.

The problem comes in when your content is simply trashbait algorithm-optimized drivel designed solely to grow your following.

People are gullible. Especially people on LinkedIn. Especially underrepresented founders.

They see the inflated follower counts. The airbrushed images. The authoritative language.

And they would assume that what Noemi is saying is accurate and useful.

Because no one could be that big of a narcissist to mislead others about their credentials for personal gain, right?

It might all just be a popularity contest to the goons, but to their readers it’s their business and livelihood that’s on the line.

Defense mechanism

The LinkedIn Mafia know exactly what they’re doing.

They also know the majority of their growth-hacking trashbait doesn’t stand up to the most basic scrutiny.

It doesn’t need to. For every person to question it, ten will blindly accept it.

But since their carefully-curated image is their most valuable resource, they can’t allow anyone to poke holes in their narrative.

You can disagree as long as you keep it to yourself. But the minute you’re vocal with your criticism, they take real issue.

They know how fragile their house of cards is and how quickly public perception can snowball.

So when someone calls them out for their tactics, what rational defense do they have when they actually do the things they’re being accused of?

They have to resort to throwing their weight around to try to quickly cancel detractors. Usually they have the leverage and clout to pull it off.

Sometimes they don’t, and they get desperate.

But when the strategy fails, they can’t back down and lose face. They also can’t win a losing argument. So what do they do?

In highschool, if you didn’t get along with someone you still had to see them in the cafeteria everyday. On LinkedIn, you can simply pretend they don’t exist.

They block anyone who disagrees with them and retreat to their bubbles where only their sycophants are allowed access.

These socially maladjusted goons develop a warped sense of reality from the cognitive dissonance they experience whenever someone challenges their paradigm.

Now you know the context.

Back to Noemi

Noemi is relatively low in the mafia’s hierarchy. But even low ranking members enjoy certain privileges.

Like social cover when their credibility is called into question.

And where they go one, they go all.

Because when Jack parodies the emptiness of Noemi’s post, it’s an attack on all of them and what they stand for.

Luke is a front line enforcer. He has years of experience bulldozing his detractors.

Time and time again, I’ve seen him open with his tried and true safe bet: the gender card.

This defense works because, to unscrupulous observers, it comes across as the moral high ground and is seemingly convincing enough to earn quick support.

In Noemi’s case, he probably thought he could one-and-done it.

Luke went on a commenting blitz, accusing Jack and anyone who found the post funny of misogyny and “not being a man” for “targeting a female content creator”.

But I don’t think he read Jack or his followers very well.

Because his position was so far off the mark and efforts so futile, it backfired and Luke just turned himself into a new target for criticism.

And so he quickly cut his losses, deleted all his comments and exited.

He enacted the fail-safe: just pretend it didn’t happen, withdraw back to the bubble, and mark Jack’s comment section as Not Safe for Goons.

I don’t think we’ll see him loitering there again anytime soon.

Noemi, however, wasn’t done. In fact she was just warming up.

Instead of taking the opportunity to reflect on her own content creation insecurities, she went full armageddon on her perceived attackers.

One by one, Noemi tracked down anyone who appeared to share positive sentiment towards Jack’s post, threatening them with legal action, before AND after blocking them.

Like poor Ben here who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time:

When you perceive a slight against you, any innocent person would panic and act like a criminal who’s just been exposed, right?

Why did Luke delete his comments? Why did Noemi feel the need to block everyone and threaten them with legal action? Why is Lara still starting fights she can’t finish?

All over a parody that didn’t even reference Noemi by name?

If they feel that threatened, it goes to show how fragile their operation truly is.

Anyone who consumes your content has a right to question its integrity and be made aware of any potential conflicts of interest.

Here are some simple questions I have for Noemi:

• Is she a bot or a real human?

• What engagement pods is she apart of?

• Does someone ghostwrite her posts?

• Which paid creator communities is she a member of?

• What 7-figure business has she built and what role did she play in it?

• What does “redefining leadership & entrepreneurship” mean?

• What financial ties do her and Luke Matthews have?

• Can she pass a Turing test?

Surely it’s not too much to ask.

Because here’s the kicker: Noemi ripped her original post off Hanna
(the other mark of a true LinkedIn influencer)

I believe where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

And this chick is smoldering hot.

Even without getting answers to my questions, I think Noemi’s fake guru-ness is a foregone conclusion.

Your content can be bad. It can even be downright stupid. But if you present yourself as something you’re not, you will eventually get exposed, no matter how much social clout you think you’ve engineered.

And remember: if you see something, say something. LinkedIn is only as good as you make it.

To the LinkedIn Mafia: get over yourselves. Public figures are fair game for parody. Your insecurities are your own issues.

And to those who disagree with everything above: show solidarity with Noemi by adding a sparkly emoji ✨ to your name so we know who else to avoid in the future.

2) What is Anti-VC

If you recently asked me how we can work together, I probably mumbled something about:

• How I’m redoing my website

• How my new cohort will launch soon

• How I’ll get back to you as soon as I figure things out

The truth is my fundraising program was overcapacity and I simply didn’t have more hours in the day.

But I’m fixing that today.

When I started Anti-VC, my mission was simple: to ensure no founder was left behind.

My first order of business was attacking the massive gap between expectation and results in pre-seed funding.

So I came up with an idea: mission-aligned angel investors have the mentorship and capital required for founders break the catch-22.

The problem is finding them.

Instead of relying on my network for investor intros, I wanted to teach founders network building as a skill so they could find their own angels across any stage, sector or geography.

So I built a program that leveraged LinkedIn to deliver exactly this. And it worked.

Every founder I worked with got at least a $25K check within 30 days.

The problem is the coaching was labor intensive on my end and I could only handle a few founders at a time.

So I did what any sane person would do.

I spent 1000 hours testing and repurposing the curriculum into a self-paced course.

With unlimited capacity.

As of today it’s finally done.

This course is nothing short of a spectacular masterpiece a work in progress that I will endlessly refine. But even in its current form it does what it says on the tin.

And the launch of this course brings me one step closer to making a meaningful impact in leveling the playing field for underrepresented founders globally.

I’m looking for hard working, mission-driven founders who are trying to fundraise. That’s the only pre-req. I cover everything else.

This fundraising course is a steal at $250, considering on average it yields founders $25K.

However, at this point I’m so deep in this, I’d rather get quicker feedback and more testimonials.

So here’s what I’m gonna do.

Before my public launch and only for my mailing list, as a thank you to those who have put up with me and supported me throughout this process:

Today I will give 80% off to anyone who refers a founder to the course, whether or not they sign up.

Just forward this email to another founder.

CC me ([email protected]) and I’ll send you both a coupon code for 80% off.

It’s that easy. What are you waiting for?

Still on the fence? If you sign up today and you’re not thrilled with the course I’ll give you your money back.

Because credibility is demonstrated through results, not vanity metrics 😉

3) Worst of LinkedIn

My top 3 picks this week.

1) Bryan makes a startling admission.

2) I met Alex Cohen and later found out he had me blocked on LinkedIn.

3) A plant-based Karen created a fake vegan version of my profile to spread low-quality propaganda from.

What the hell is this 😂

Their ringleader even tried to accuse me of being behind the pathetic effort.

I come on LinkedIn to work and this is the kinda stuff I end up spending my time on 🤦🏽‍♂️

4) My Email-Back Guarantee

Most emails you get suck.

It’s a fact.

So I’m going to make newsletters great again.

If this isn’t the best email you’ve received all week:

Forward me a better one. And I’ll give you a free 30 min fundraising strategy session as a thank you.

(If you forward me Noemi’s I will blacklist you)

But I know what the competition is like. So I’m not too worried about having to free up spots on my calendar anytime soon.

That’s all for today.

Tune in next week as we cover:

• How becoming a LinkedIn Top Voice changed my life (hint: it did not)

• The aftermath of my run-in with the Vegan Cartel (I consoled myself with a plate of ribs)

• Fundraising tips for founders

Sub to this newsletter (if you’re not already) so you don’t miss out.

Til next time,

Saleem 🤎

PS. if you want 80% off my new fundraising course, share this email with another founder (and cc me) TODAY ONLY