Your founder POV isn't a POV until it passes these 4 tests

I see founders pushing out generic industry summaries all the time.

These posts may inform your audience, but they give people zero reason to associate the idea with you. Your competition could post the same thing tomorrow. So could any chatbot.

Everything that goes out from your profile should be something only you could have written.

The 4-part POV test

Here's the test I run every draft through.

1. Lived experience

What have you built, observed or learned yourself?

• What did you do firsthand?
• What did you observe?
• What changed your mind?

2. A clear belief

What is the story behind the beliefs you carry?

• What do you believe?
• Where do you disagree?
• Why does it matter now?

3. Visible proof

What have you achieved that backs up the belief?

• Data, results or receipts
• Specific beats polished
• Show it. Don't claim it.

4. Buyer relevance

What decision can the post help the reader make?

• Who needs this insight?
• What decision can it shape?
• What risk does it remove?

A practical 80/20 mix

Around 80% of a strong founder post is lived evidence:

• Real experience, decisions and results
• Market patterns you've personally seen
• Proof your audience can verify

The other 20% is original judgement:

• The conclusion only you can draw
• A stance your competitors can't copy

This isn't about picking fights

I'm not asking you to start arguments or manufacture controversial opinions.

All I'm asking is that you add everything that makes an insight yours: your experience, your judgement, the challenges you faced, anything that's unique to you.

Before you publish

Run the draft through these checks. If the answer to any of them is no, the post is still generic.

• Could a competitor post this unchanged?
• Does it contain a lesson from lived experience?
• Is there a clear opinion, not just a summary?
• Have I shown proof instead of making a claim?
• Does the right buyer see their problem in it?
• Does it reveal how I think or decide?
• Will people remember what I stand for?
• Does it connect to a commercial outcome?
• Would I defend this on a sales call?

(For the first question, the answer you want is no.)

From insight to authority

• Lived experience: a result, decision or lesson you earned
• Clear belief: the conclusion you genuinely believe
• Visible proof: evidence the audience can verify
• Buyer value: a business decision the idea can shape

One thing to always remember: information will always be copied. Your lived experience can't be, because it's only yours.

This is the same test we use when we write for founders. How our LinkedIn ghostwriting works →