The Opportunities You Never Knew Existed

LinkedIn offers us a remarkable picture of the structure and composition of industries. Not everyone or everything is on the platform, but a lot of what matters is.

For emerging companies, LinkedIn represents this open visual into potential paths to growth. Investors, customers, partners, competitors, media, experts, etc. They are all there. But what has been fascinating in my journey from LinkedIn novice to advanced search expert is uncovering market dynamics, roles and interests. A key personal insight is that companies developing and focusing on broad/generic lists of prospects will ignore the subtle distinctions between those prospects (again, revealed by LinkedIn data) that result in wide variation in likelihood to endorse, partner or purchase.

Similarly, there are fascinating market participants that can be instrumental to business growth that are different than your typical sales prospect. What about a highly networked investor and expert? A large technology supplier with an accelerator program? A leading employment search firm that also happens to be a major industry voice? (see Mullings Group in MedTech). New relationships with any of these could be potential catalysts.

And then there is the constant content. Are you prepared for when a major customer in your industry asks for input on the most innovative technology? Will you even notice? Or similarly, when an influential journalist is seeking feedback on AI startups that are really driving ROI?

While identifying these opportunities requires some analytical sophistication, there is a beautiful simplicity to how a platform like LinkedIn levels the playing field for startups. Struggling to rise above the market noise? Find the people who have already essentially signaled their interest, connect and tell your story. You may be surprised by the reaction.