In a recent LinkedIn post, Dan Sherrard-Smith delves into the distinct approaches founders take on the platform and the vastly different outcomes they achieve. Sherrard-Smith addresses a common question he receives: “Dan, will LinkedIn work for me?” He posits that this query often masks a deeper anxiety about the inherent risks of entrepreneurship.
According to Sherrard-Smith, the question is less about the efficacy of LinkedIn itself and more about a founder’s willingness to embrace uncertainty. “What you’re actually asking is: ‘If I bet on myself and put myself out there, can I be 100% sure I won’t fail?'” he writes. Sherrard-Smith emphasizes that the entrepreneurial journey inherently involves risk, defining it as the acceptance of uncertainty.
The Entrepreneurial Dilemma: Risk vs. Security
Sherrard-Smith outlines two primary choices founders face when contemplating their presence and strategy on platforms like LinkedIn. The first option, he explains, is to prioritize security and maintain the status quo.
The most common question in my DMs right now is: “Dan, will LinkedIn work for me?”
This path, while seemingly safe, involves its own form of risk. “You either stay where you are and protect what you have. This feels safe. But you’re still making a bet that what you currently do will get you to where you want to go,” Sherrard-Smith observes. He argues that clinging to the familiar is also a gamble, albeit one that bets on the continued efficacy of existing methods.
Betting on Yourself: The Compounding Power of Visibility and Systems
The alternative path, championed by Sherrard-Smith, is to embrace risk and invest in oneself. This involves actively building visibility, honing skills, and establishing systems that generate consistent demand.
Or, you take the risk and bet on yourself. You build your visibility, your skills and a system that creates consistent demand for your work. Over time that bet compounds.
Sherrard-Smith illustrates the tangible results of this proactive approach with several compelling case studies from founders he has worked with:
- Nerea secured €350,000 in business and built over €1 million in her pipeline within six months.
- Gilad, facing the brink of closing his business, attracted both the NHS and a Premier League club in eight months.
- Guillaume generated over 200 sales calls in a single year solely through LinkedIn.
- Jim achieved triple-digit year-on-year growth and planted 1.6 million trees.
The Cost of Inaction
These examples, according to Sherrard-Smith, highlight a shared decision-making principle among successful founders: they recognized that the cost of remaining stagnant outweighed the uncertainty of moving forward. This calculation extends beyond financial considerations to encompass the broader impact founders can create.
These founders made one decision: the cost of staying still was higher than the uncertainty of moving forward. Not just financially, but in the impact they went on to create.
Ultimately, Sherrard-Smith frames the choice as one between protecting one’s present circumstances and actively building for the future. “One bet protects your ‘now.’ The other builds your ‘next.’ Which bet are you making?” he concludes, prompting a self-reflection on the fundamental choices that shape entrepreneurial success.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Dan Sherrard-Smith on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on May 21, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →