Katelyn Bourgoin

Monday motivation:
8 years ago I went bankrupt…

Within 5 years, I was a multimillionaire.

There was no “dead-simple 6 step plan to 7-figures”.

No growth hacks you can steal.

I made tonnes of mistakes, a few very smart moves, and got lucky along the way.

Buisness is hard.

(Despite what the gurus say).

If you’re slogging through the muck right now, I’ve been there. And I promise it can get better.

And if you’re flying high, enjoy it. But keep your whits about you. The winning won’t last forever.

Above all, here’s a reminder that it’s worth it.

Because growing a business is a shortcut for self-growth.

You’ll be amazed by who you become.

Keep going! 💪

My husband left this note in my journal 😭

He’s the bestest!

Single friends: Who you marry is one of the greatest predictors of career success. Choose wisely.

I went bankrupt building a “dream” business (a VC-backed tech startup). I was wayy too far in when I realized...

It wasn’t even *my* dream.

Then years later, I nearly built the wrong business again—this time with my media and education company, Why We Buy.

I bought into the solopreneur hype and hustled to grow Why We Buy past $1M a year. On paper everything looked great. In reality I felt... alone. And very confused.

I thought this is what I was *supposed* to want. Why did it feel so hollow?

Then in 2024 I read Luke Burgis’ first book, Wanting.

It finally gave me a name for what I’d been doing: memetic desire.

We unconsciously absorb other people’s wants and mistake them for our own. That’s why we can achieve big things that leave us feeling empty. Oof.

I found this book at the exact right time.

It took me a few years to finally commit, but I’m winding Why We Buy down and going all-in on the next version of Unignorable—this time with a new business model and a co-founder (still tbd). Because I don’t want to do this alone anymore.

Luke’s first book genuinely changed my life.

Today he’s releasing a new book: The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in an Age of Social Contagion.

It promises to help you find your tribe without losing yourself in it.

Given where I’m standing, I can’t wait to read it.

What are you chasing right now—and are you sure it’s actually what *you* want?

I hate that every social platform is switching to an interest algo.

I haven’t really noticed a big change in my own post performance.

But my user experience is considerably worse lately.

My feed is full of AI overhypers, obituaries, rage bait, and brain rot.

These interest algos assume that the things people pay attention to are what they WANT to pay attention to.

But that’s not how attention works.

Of course we notice the obituaries.

Of course we stop scrolling for the post trauma dumping or rage baiting.

But we usually don’t *want* more of that in our feeds.

We followed people on social because of who we want to *become*—huge emphasis there.

We followed them because their content was useful to us.

It’s frustratingly autocratic that all the social networks are like, “oh you intentionally chose to get business content from this person? Too bad. Here’s a fear-mongering post from an AI grifter and a hot girl sharing her childhood trauma instead. Enjoy!”

I spend less and less time here lately.

How ‘bout you?

—
P.S. I’m posting over on Substack now. Let’s connect there.

PSA: You cannot—I repeat, cannot—build your personal brand in “just one hour per week”.

None of the people selling you this fantasy actually built their own personal brands that way.

They all hustled. Hard. Especially in the beginning.

Think time.
Writing.
Editing.
Graphics.
Engagement.

Yet they’d like you to believe that you can basically fully outsource it because that’s a beautiful promise that drives sales for whatever thingamabob they want to sell you—AI tool, course, community, etc.

Like most things in business, outlier results come from outlier effort.

#sorrynotsorry

This is especially true in the beginning when you’re still following figuring out what the heck you’re doing.

So if you’re holding yourself to this impossible standard and consistently coming up short… *you* are not the problem. Nope.

The advice is.

It’s time to change who you listen to.

Deal?

I've built an audience of 300K+ across LinkedIn, X, and email.
My advantage? I had a few, actually.

Most people growing fast followings had an edge of some sort. No shade. We all have one or two. The winners just spot theirs early and lean in.

5 Audience Growth Advantages

// Proof Advantage
When you've already done the thing at a high level, you don't have to fight for your credibility. Your track record does it for you.

Codie Sanchez spent 15 years on Wall Street and owned a stack of laundromats and car washes before posted her first video. When she talks about buying boring businesses, she’s got receipts.

// Beauty Advantage
Uncomfortable? Yes. But the research is blunt: we pay more attention and trust attractive faces more. The halo effect is real.

Sahil Bloom is creates banging content. He’s also an ex-athlete who could pass for a model—that helps. First, he built a huge audience. Now he's leaning into his biological advantage with his new men's skincare line. Smart.

// Time Advantage
The more time you have to create content, comment, and hone your craft, the faster you grow. Some people simply have more hours in the day than others.

Lara Acosta admits that she started building her audience from her dorm room, grinding 4–5 hours a day just commenting. Having more free time is a real edge. (And near impossible to copy when you've got a business to run and a family.)

*Timing* is the other half of it. People like me who got on platforms early—before the AI slop-fest when growth was easier—got luckier than later entrants.

// Money Advantage
Then there's an enviable one: you’re rich. Money allows you to hire an all-star content team. You still need to bring killer ideas and charisma, but having a team is leverage.

When Alex Hormozi launched Acquisition, he'd already built and sold his first group of companies. Rumor is he had a $50k/month content team within the first 6 months of building his personal brand. Big investment. Big results.

These are 4 real advantages, right?

And if you've got one, use it. The people winning use theirs.

The 5th advantage is a bit different...

// Insight Advantage
Do you approach your work differently? Are you willing to think in public—even if it means people will scrutinize and disagree with you? Having fresh insights *and* guts to show your raw thinking is a real advantage.

Smart folks like Amanda Natividad, Alex M H Smith, and Rob and Anthony from FletchPMM are great examples. They share their best thinking publicly. Even when it invites backlash or inspires copycats.

And I do the same. I’ve made millions from my online courses, and every framework I teach was sharpened by posting about it first.

Luckily for big-brained experts like you, the Insight Advantage is the one nobody's born with and nobody can buy. You just need the guts to think in public.

So what’s holding you back?

—
P.S. pic felt cute. I’m no Sahil, but girl can try, right? Haha

Sales bro: I hope my email finds you well

*how the email finds me*

That giant dirt pile is where my new deck was supposed to go. Then we found a problem with our French drain and need to reinstall a new system.

The business lesson?

If you want someone’s attention… follow up.

They may not be ignoring you. They might just be gazing into a giant hole around their house and softly crying.

Most of the big-brained experts I work with don’t struggle with content ideas...

Ideas come easy.

They struggle with the courage to say what they *really* think, and the conviction to repeat themselves once the novelty wears off.

Ideas are easy.
Commitment is rare.

Repetition isn't lazy.

It's strategic…

The more someone hears the same idea expressed consistently, the more familiar it feels, and the more true it becomes.

Politicians have known this for decades.

Many marketers could use a reminder.

Wanna be the go-to expert?

(and get paid like one)

Breakthrough authority requires 3 things:

> Something revelatory to say
> Craft to make your idea stick & spread
> Commitment to keep repeating it

Most people fail the first step.
Do all 3 to get rich.

Original ideas aren’t rare.

Here’s what is:

👉 Having CLARITY on what you actually believe—that’s rare.

👉 Having CONVICTION in your approach even when others may disagree—that’s rare.

👉 Having the COURAGE to share your idea publicly before it feels “perfect”—that’s rare.

👉 Having the CRAFT to express it in a way that makes it travel—that’s rare.

👉 Having the COMMITMENT to repeat it until you’re known for it—that’s rare.

—
So do what’s rare.

Because the world doesn’t remember the people who *almost* shared something.

Consistency < Repetition


It’s better to show up less often with the same core message than to post new ideas daily

We trust a message more when we’ve heard it on repeat

“Taste is the new moat”

Sounds good, huh? But it’s off…

This narrative travels because it’s reassuring. When faced with mass disruption and AI fear mongering, believing that “good taste” is your advantage reduces anxiety.

But no one thinks they have *bad* taste, right? But clearly, people do.

The true moat is *craft*.

Someone can see a beautiful chair and know it’s beautiful (aka taste) but a craftsperson could build that chair (before AI).

It’s the craftspeople who can get disproportionate gains from AI.

Never stop honing your craft.

Craft > Taste