Alec Paul is the CEO and Founder of SalesBrand, and behind some of the most successful CEO brands on LinkedIn.

He’s helped founders like Adam Robinson (Retention.com), Gal Aga (Aligned), and Sam Jacobs (Pavilion) generate millions of views, without sounding like everyone else.

In this episode, Alec shares his full playbook for building a breakout founder brand: from narrative structure and viral storytelling to POV development, content systems, and how to win on LinkedIn in 2025.

If you want to build your founder's brand presence on LinkedIn this is required.

Topics we cover in this episode:

- What makes a founder’s POV stand out

- How to build trust without “sounding like LinkedIn”

- The frameworks Alec uses to structure posts that perform

- Why most ghostwriting sounds like AI (and how to fix it)

- The 3 post types every CEO brand needs

- How to balance virality with long-term positioning

- Why story + structure are more important than hooks + hacks

- What Gal Aga, Adam Robinson, and Sam Jacobs are doing differently

- Why most CEOs fail to commit to content (and how to change that)

- The truth about engagement drops and why LinkedIn still works

Perfect for:

- Heads of Brand and Coms trying to grow their CEO's brand

- Ghostwriters building POV-led content systems

- Content marketers helping executives show up authentically

- Anyone who wants to scale founder-led marketing the right way

Connect with Alec:

- Alec’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alecjpaul/

- SalesBrand: https://forms.gle/2SgtaT31pHDgccDM8

Connect with me:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finnthormeier/

Website: https://www.project33.io/

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/03CXzsZp7wdqIRVDcqPTFH

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/03CXzsZp7wdqIRVDcqPTFH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finnthormeier/

Website: https://www.project33.io/

Chapters:

00:00 Alec’s background and the rise of Arch Public

02:00 What makes a CEO brand break out on LinkedIn

04:45 The difference between viral content and thought leadership

06:30 Why Gal Aga’s content strategy works

08:30 Narrative design vs. “just write a hook”

11:10 Storytelling frameworks that actually perform

14:20 Why “pillar content” isn’t enough to scale a brand

17:15 The problem with AI-generated posts

19:40 How Alec thinks about trust, tone, and differentiation

22:30 When founders should outsource (and when they shouldn’t)

25:20 Helping execs find their voice without sounding forced

28:10 The 3 formats that every executive brand needs

30:45 What LinkedIn is rewarding right now

34:00 What most ghostwriters miss about long-term POV

36:30 Building content systems vs. chasing engagement

38:15 Why LinkedIn reach is down but still worth it

40:10 The power of comment DMs and mid-funnel plays

42:00 Measuring success beyond vanity metrics

44:15 Final advice for founders and ghostwriters in 2025

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