The views expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
LinkedIn is a crazy place. Alongside business news from the world’s biggest firms, you’ll find posts like “I proposed to my fiancée today. Here’s what it taught me about B2B sales.” Perceptive industry conference summaries are juxtaposed with general AI-generated thought leadership, augmented by engagement groups. And that’s not to mention the limitless barrage of irrelevant, cold proposals.
Regardless, if you’re an entrepreneur, LinkedIn is the place for you. Its unique, business-oriented nature sets it apart from other social media platforms, offering an unparalleled opportunity to connect with customers, business partners, and potential team members.
What’s not so unique, nevertheless, is the curation that seems to be inherent to all social media. On LinkedIn, as on Instagram, people and firms tend to share only the best parts of themselves—landing a job, closing a funding round, announcing a recent partnership, listing the suggestions that helped them succeed, etc. Posts detailing the less glamorous facets of entrepreneurship are few and far between, creating an incomplete picture of the realities of running a business.
I decided to go a different route, namely the path of brutal transparency.
Here’s why I share my startup’s business data on LinkedIn, what specific data I share, and the way it benefited my startup — and the way it may benefit your business, too.
Why Sharing is Worth It: Standing Out with Authenticity
Few startups share their true stories because the very nature of the startup ecosystem encourages overselling to attract investor attention. Those competing for a critical investment may feel they will’t afford to air their challenges for fear of devaluing themselves.
As a result, transparency becomes a way not only to stand out but also to display confidence in the fundamentals of the business. This is where any profitable company—whether a startup or a traditional company—has a strong advantage over a cash-guzzling startup because it has the numbers to show that its business model works.
Additionally, for some firms, like my startup Supliful, transparency is a way to build direct loyalty from our customers. Our CPG platform empowers other entrepreneurs to start their businesses. As such, they have a vested interest in our current situation because their very own revenue streams depend on it. Seeing our entrepreneurial journey through hard data makes our business more credible to the individuals who use it, and offers refreshing and interesting insights to our broader community of followers and supporters. Everyone loves to see how others are doing in the face of adversity.
But it’s not all adversity. In fact, adversity is the exception. We’re growing rapidly, and the overwhelming majority of updates show the regular progress our company is making. This has been invaluable in capturing the attention of investors, whether it’s demonstrating our potential to prospective partners or showing how far we’ve come to those that’ve left us before.
What to share: No beating around the bush
In addition to regular content, I share business updates, reminiscent of moving to a recent facility or attending a conference, or personal observations, reminiscent of what it’s like to run a startup as a father of three. I also share monthly update consisting of three foremost elements: key indicators, the most significant events of the previous month and plans for the next month.
Metrics include unadulterated, industry-relevant data on our business performance, including Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV), Net Revenue Rate, variety of Shopify stores connected to our platform, variety of items sold, and MoM growth results. These are compared directly to the previous month, revealing any changes in performance – positive or negative.
The highlights from the previous month include specific achievements and milestones, reminiscent of overall business wins, i.e. team growth, or perhaps paying off a loan or solving a specific challenge. The plans for next month section reveals our current priorities and the obstacles we are currently trying to overcome.
All of this together provides a quick but detailed overview of the current state of the company, which incorporates vital information for investors, interesting insights for followers and transparent communication with our clients. For us, this last aspect is one of the most significant.
I’m often asked if I’m concerned that the information I share might be used against the company, reminiscent of an investor pointing to a bad month to undervalue an investment. The easy answer is no. My team and I aren’t concerned because our primary goal is to make sure that entrepreneurs who build on Supliful succeed – when they win, we win. Prioritizing our customers’ experiences over self-aggrandizement has proven to be a winning strategy to date.
A giant, unexpected profit
We’ve already mentioned some of the advantages, like getting investors’ attention, building stronger relationships with our customers, and gaining organic followers by being a breath of fresh air on a platform centered around bragging rights. Of course, that translates into recent partners and more business.
But for the company, one of the biggest and most surprising advantages has been the acquisition of talented employees.
The business we are building is very demanding because every thing has to run like clockwork, from delivery to customer support. Any inefficiency is a waste of time and a decrease in customer satisfaction. That is why we put a lot of effort into delivering a reliable, world-class operation, and that requires a high level of talent – something every startup struggles with.
Not great. When a position opens up, we are flooded with applications from experienced talent, in addition to recommendations from well-connected industry insiders.
Unlike other startups where you typically don’t know what you’re getting into, my company’s transparency exposes its current challenges, performance, and priorities in a way that has proven to resonate with experienced hands and subject material experts. Through our LinkedIn efforts, people are engaging with our story and wanting to be a a part of it.