# Founder Positioning Brief

A single defensible claim, three supporting themes, an explicit not-list, and a one-question test for whether any given post belongs.

- Version 1.0, updated 18 September 2026
- Works with: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or any capable assistant
- Source: https://www.linkediz.com/prompts/founder-positioning

## Use when

- You post regularly and nobody can say what you are known for.
- You are about to start posting and want a spine before the first one.
- You are briefing a ghostwriter or a content agent and need the position in writing.

## Variables to replace

- `{{ROLE}}` — Your role. Your job title and what you are accountable for.
  Example: Founder, doing my own outbound until the first AE starts
- `{{COMPANY}}` — Your company. Name plus the one line you would use to introduce it.
  Example: Cadence — payroll reconciliation software for multi-entity finance teams
- `{{PRODUCT}}` — What you sell. The thing, the outcome it produces, and who signs for it.
  Example: A reconciliation layer that closes multi-entity payroll in two days instead of nine. Bought by the Finance Director, used by the payroll manager.
- `{{ICP}}` — Ideal customer profile. Firmographics and the trigger, not just an industry.
  Example: Companies of 200–2,000 staff operating in 3+ countries, with an in-house payroll team, that have changed finance system or added an entity in the last 12 months.
- `{{PROOF}}` — Proof you can cite. Named customers, numbers you are allowed to publish, or "none yet" — which is a valid answer.
  Example: Two logistics customers of similar size. One cut close from nine days to three. Named reference available under NDA; numbers publishable without the name.
- `{{OBJECTIVE}}` — Objective. The single outcome this run should produce. One outcome, not three.
  Example: Twelve accepted connections a week from in-ICP finance directors
- `{{TONE}}` — Tone. How you actually write. Name a person or a publication if it helps.
  Example: Plain, short sentences, no exclamation marks, no "hope this finds you well"

## How to use

1. Paste real posts, not a description of them. The gap between what you think you post about and what you actually post about is where the finding is.
2. Take the not-list seriously, especially the entries that perform well. Off-position engagement is why founders with 40,000 followers sell nothing.
3. Put the claim and the belonging test into BRAND-VOICE.md so every content prompt inherits them.

## Context files this expects

- `BRAND-VOICE.md` — https://www.linkediz.com/ai/files/voice
- `COMPANY.md` — https://www.linkediz.com/ai/files/company

---

## The prompt

You are a positioning strategist working with a founder who posts on LinkedIn. Your standard is high: a position that could be held by any competent competitor is not a position.

## The founder
{{ROLE}} at {{COMPANY}}
What we sell: {{PRODUCT}}
ICP: {{ICP}}
Proof available: {{PROOF}}
Objective: {{OBJECTIVE}}
Tone: {{TONE}}

## What I currently talk about
[PASTE 5–10 RECENT POSTS, or a list of the topics you have covered]

## Method
1. Find the claim. It must be: specific to this company's experience, contestable by a reasonable person, and something this founder can defend for twelve months without running out of material. If the honest answer is that no such claim exists yet, say that and say what evidence would create one.
2. Test it: would a serious competitor happily make the same claim? If yes, it is a category truism. Sharpen it or discard it.
3. Derive three themes that each ladder into the claim from a different direction — typically one about the problem, one about the method, one about the evidence.
4. Write the not-list: the adjacent topics that dilute the position. Be specific, including the ones that get engagement. Engagement on an off-position topic is the most expensive kind.
5. Write the belonging test: one question that decides whether a draft post belongs, answerable in five seconds.
6. Map the claim to the profile: the headline and About opening that state it.

## Constraints
- One claim. Not a pillar framework, not a messaging house, not five "content pillars".
- Nothing that requires the founder to have opinions on general business topics, leadership, hiring or AI unless those are literally the product.
- No "thought leadership" as a goal. Name what the position is supposed to cause.

## Output format

### The claim
One sentence. Then: who would disagree with it, and why that is a good sign.

### Why this and not the obvious alternative
Two sentences.

### The three themes
| Theme | The angle it takes on the claim | Example post titles (3 each) |
|---|---|---|

### The not-list
Topics to stop posting about, each with the reason.

### The belonging test
One question.

### Profile alignment
The headline and the About opening that state the claim, with character counts.

### Twelve-month material check
Whether there is enough real experience behind the claim to sustain a year of posting, and where the next material comes from.

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## Notes

Written to a fixed structure and run through Claude and ChatGPT to confirm each one returns the output format it declares. That is not the same as a measured reply-rate benchmark, and nothing here claims one — if you run these at volume and have numbers, we want them.

---

Linkediz LinkedIn AI Toolkit — v1.0, 18 September 2026
Source and updates: https://www.linkediz.com/prompts/founder-positioning
LinkedIn plan limits and prices in this file: https://www.linkediz.com/linkedin-limits