- Fresh Salmon
- Posts
- Personal Brand is The New Funnel
In partnership with
Hello and welcome to the 180th edition of Fresh Salmon.
If you're new here, welcome aboard! 🧡
And if you’d like to catch up on past issues, click here.
Meet our primary partner for today’s edition: Delve. Check them out 👇
Time to change compliance forever.
We’re thrilled to announce our $32M Series A at a $300M valuation, led by Insight Partners!
Delve is shaping the future of GRC with an AI-native approach that cuts busywork and saves teams hundreds of hours. Startups like Lovable, Bland, and Browser trust our AI to get compliant—fast.
To celebrate, we’re giving back with 3 limited-time offers:
$15,000 referral bonus if you refer a founding engineer we hire
$2,000 off compliance setup for new customers – claim here
A custom Delve doormat for anyone who reposts + comments on our LinkedIn post (while supplies last!)
Thank you for your support—this is just the beginning.
👉️ Get started with Delve
I just finished digging into a talk that shook me - not because it was hype, but because it’s the kind of “technology is undefeated” reality check I can’t un-hear.
Here’s the punchline:
In the next 24 months, the funnels we’ve obsessed over - Google Ads, landing page tweaks, keyword arbitrage - collapse.
Why?
Because we’re already replacing Google with ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and whatever’s next. I bet you’ve caught yourself asking an AI tool for something you would have Googled a year ago. I have.
That trend doesn’t reverse.
And when AI agents become our default interface with the world, the game changes again. You won’t be Googled. You won’t be searched. You’ll be chosen for me by an AI assistant.
Unless…
The Only Funnel Left: Brand
Every funnel hack is getting commoditized. Ads get more expensive. Funnels get copied. Keywords get crushed by AI filters.
But there’s one moat left.
Personal brand.
If someone says:
“Order pizza” — the AI will send Domino’s.
But if I’ve spent years saying:
“I only want Joe’s Pizza,”
then Joe’s Pizza still wins.
The same will be true for plumbers, wellness coaches, SaaS founders, everyone.
If people prefer you by name, AI won’t erase you.
It will reward you.
That means your real funnel isn’t a funnel at all. It’s the cumulative weight of every video, post, podcast, interview, or email where people get to know your voice and your work.
Meet our secondary partner for today’s edition: Fellow. Check them out 👇👇
This guide could help keep your whole organization safe.
You wouldn’t allow unmanaged devices on your network, so why allow unmanaged AI into your meetings?
Shadow IT is becoming one of the biggest blind spots in cybersecurity.
Employees are adopting AI notetakers without oversight, creating ungoverned data trails that can include confidential conversations and sensitive IP.
Don't wait until it's too late.
This Shadow IT prevention guide from Fellow.ai gives Security and IT leaders a playbook to prevent shadow AI, reduce data exposure, and enforce safe AI adoption, without slowing down innovation.
It includes a checklist, policy templates, and internal comms examples you can use today.
Meritocracy in Attention
Here’s the part I find thrilling.
We’ve entered a rare window where reach is decided by content, not follower count.
On TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Reels, LinkedIn - the algorithm doesn’t care if you have 20 followers or 20 million. If your post hits, it flies.
That is a level of meritocracy we’ve never seen before in media.
It’s why a single organic video could outperform 2 years of “perfect” funnel execution.
And yes, I mean that literally.
What You Might Be Doing
Post every day across as many platforms. TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube Shorts, Facebook, X/Twitter, Snapchat. We’re living in a world wherecreating content gives you asymmetrical returns, you never know who’s watching on the other end.
It could be a potential client or someone who can open doors for your business. As content creators and entrepreneurs, we can’t predict who will watch or how far our message will spread, but what we can control is how often we show up.
The more content we put out, the better our chances of creating new connections and opportunities. It’s not about luck, it’s about increasing your chances for luck to happen!
Mix it up. Don’t only post “business” takes. Let people see your quirks, your cereal preferences, your side passions. Humans connect with humans, not niches.
AI = scale. What was impossible for a team of 40 is now doable by a solopreneur. Stop treating AI like a gimmick - treat it like a second brain.
Brand-first funnels. Keep running ads if they work. But invest double in your own name, your voice, your face.
Because the ultimate funnel is you.
Meet our secondary partner for today’s edition: AdQuick. Check them out 👇👇
Modernize Out Of Home with AdQuick
AdQuick unlocks the benefits of Out Of Home (OOH) advertising in a way no one else has. Approaching the problem with eyes to performance, created for marketers and creatives with the engineering excellence you’ve come to expect for the internet.
You can learn more at www.AdQuick.com
Final Thought
Technology never goes backward. Yellow Pages died. Google Search is next. Voice-first AI and IoT are coming fast.
The entrepreneurs who win won’t be the ones with the best hacks.
They’ll be the ones with the clearest brand…
The deepest trust…
And the most content footprint.
So here’s my challenge to you (and to me):
One hour a day, post on 3-5 platforms, every day.
Your future self will thank you.
Interesting Thing That I Wrote This Week
That’s it for this week! If you found this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend.
See you next time!
Do what is good for your soul ❤️
All the best,
Vivek
PS. Whenever you are ready, here are 3 ways in which I can help you and your business:
#1: B2B Marketing Consulting and Go-To-Market Advisory for your business.
#2: 1-on-1 Personal Coaching and Mentoring on anything related to Marketing and Go-To-Market Strategies for you.
#3: Promoting you or your brand via this newsletter.
For any of these things just shoot me a reply, and we will arrange a time to chat.