Al Leong | CMO & Board Director @iDesignStrategy

I just published Your Marketing Team Says You’re Optimized for AI Search. Here’s How You’d Actually Know. idesignstrategy.medium.com/your-marketing…

I just published Your AI product works. Your buyers don’t believe you. medium.com/p/your-ai-prod…

Last call on this for a while: if you run solo and you're tired of being the whole company by yourself, @scalesolo_co gives you the AI team to run it with you. Waitlist's open, early members lock 30% off 👉 scalesolo.co/waitlist. I advise them, equity and all — and I don't say that about much.

I just published Crypto Thinks the Rules Got Friendlier. The One That Matters Didn’t. medium.com/p/crypto-think…

This is the pitch, and it's the right one. If you run solo, the pain in the first ten seconds is your Tuesday — and the fix is an AI team running the parts you shouldn't be touching. I advise @scalesolo_co, equity and all. - x.com/scalesolo_co/s…

Solo. @scalesolo_co

3 months ago

Most one-person businesses don't stall from lack of skill. They stall because one person can't be the sales team, the marketing department, and the back office all at once. Enter Solo. From Elysium Labs. We built Solo. to carry that weight.

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35 years in GTM and here's the shift that's real: one person can now run like a company of ten. Not with more hours — with AI doing the work a full team used to. Most people haven't reorganized around it yet. That gap is the whole opportunity, and it's why I'm advising @scalesolo_co

I just published Your Web3 CMO isn’t underperforming. You hired for the wrong job. medium.com/p/your-web3-cm…

The most expensive thing a solo operator does is try to be the whole company. Sales, ops, finance, follow-up — all of it by hand, on top of the actual work. You went solo for freedom and ended up running six departments by yourself.

Big week. Drake and the Elysium Labs team are launching Solo early next week and I'm proud to be a small part of what they've built. Solo isn't a chatbot. It's an autonomous operating system that runs the business side of a one-person company — leads, follow-up, admin — so the person at the center can stay in the work they're actually good at. The insight underneath it is real: most solo operators don't stall because they lack skill. They stall because one person genuinely can't be the sales team, the marketing department, and the back office simultaneously. Solo is built for that gap. Visit Solo here: scalesolo.co Waitlist is open now at scalesolo.co. Worth a look if you're running a business by yourself or thinking about it.

Most founders assume capital formation begins when the pitch deck is sent. In reality, it begins much earlier. The strongest capital outcomes are rarely driven by a single meeting, introduction, or investor update. They emerge from a process of consistent narrative reinforcement, visibility, and relationship-building long before a formal raise begins. In our latest Deer Isle Capital article, "Capital Narrative Decay: Why Companies Become Invisible Between Raises," we explore a challenge that many companies underestimate: 📌 Investor memory fades. 📌 Mandates change. 📌 Teams turn over. 📌 Markets evolve. 📌 Narratives decay when left unattended. Many organizations communicate intensely during a raise, then disappear until they need capital again. The result is often a loss of familiarity, trust, and momentum precisely when they need it most. The article examines why narrative continuity matters and how sophisticated organizations maintain visibility and credibility between financing events. If you're a founder, GP, fund manager, investor relations professional, or capital markets executive, I'd be interested in your perspective. Article: 🔗 deerislegroup.com/news/capital-n… #CapitalMarkets #InvestorRelations #Fundraising #PrivateMarkets #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #CapitalFormation #ThoughtLeadership #BrandStrategy #InvestorEngagement #AI #CorporateCommunications

I don’t just write about marketing. I write about strategy, AI, fintech, Web3, capital formation, leadership, ethics, and how markets are changing. If you’re one of my 126K followers here, I’d appreciate it if you also followed my blog: idesignstrategy.medium.com More long-form thinking coming.

I’m pleased to share one of my recent articles published with Deer Isle Group: “AI Is the First Diligence Filter Before Ever Receiving a Response.” This piece sits at the intersection of several areas I’ve worked in for years: capital formation, fintech, AI, investor communications, market structure, and strategic positioning. The core idea is simple: Before an investor replies, before a meeting happens, and before a company gets a serious look, AI-enabled tools and digital research are already shaping perception. That means companies raising capital can no longer treat their website, messaging, public footprint, founder narrative, thought leadership, data room, and outreach as separate pieces. They are all part of the diligence signal. For CEOs, boards, and capital markets teams, the implication is blunt: credibility now has to be engineered before the first conversation. Thank you to Dianna Raedle and Deer Isle Group for publishing the article. Read it here: deerislegroup.com/news/ai-is-the…

I just published The Strategy Delusion: Why Banks Are Mistaking AI Tactics for Survival Strategy medium.com/p/the-strategy…

I just published Your AI Feature Is Not a Moat medium.com/p/your-ai-feat…

I just published Globalization Isn’t Dead. But Global Management Has Changed. medium.com/p/globalizatio…

I just published From SEO to AI Recommendation: Why Zero-Click Discovery Matters Now medium.com/p/from-seo-to-…

I share ideas on AI, fintech, blockchain, marketing, and growth here: idesignstrategy.medium.com

I share my thinking on AI, fintech, blockchain, marketing, and growth here: idesignstrategy.medium.com For founders, executives, and builders navigating change.