Building a company from scratch with LinkedIn recommendations – Sasha Strauss, Innovation Protocol

In our continuing series on LinkedIn users who find professional success with the site, we turn to downtown Los Angeles, where Sasha Strauss, Founder and Managing Director of Innovation Protocol, has built his business on referrals — most of which, he tells us, have come through LinkedIn. Innovation Protocol is a Brand Strategy consulting firm that crafts “relevant, clear and effective expressions of our clients’ groundbreaking ideas.” They define Brand Strategy as “the underlying principle that informs corporate communication, [which] has its place in nearly every element of business.” With a client history that includes Adobe, IBM, Johnson and Johnson, Korn/Ferry International, Microsoft, Pepsi, TiVo and Yahoo!, it’s clear Innovation Protocol is doing something right.

LinkedIn User Snapshot

Who: Sasha Strauss, Managing Director, Innovation Protocol (Los Angeles)

How: Sasha used LinkedIn to grow his new company’s profits exponentially without placing a single advertisement. He describes LinkedIn as “an authenticity protocol”, by which professional contacts come to him pre-qualified by the network and accomplishments they represent on LinkedIn. Conversely, his business has profited from his robust network and profile that features 53 glowing recommendations, one of which informs us, “Sasha is a talent so rare, that if he were an animal, National Geographic specials would be made about him.”

LinkedIn Tip from Sasha

Get pre-qualified for new opportunities

• Represent your accomplishments by having an authentic, accurate depiction of your career
• Grow your network by uploading your contact list and reaching out to former colleagues, clients and employers
• Get recommended by connections who know and respect your work so that you can be pre-qualified for new opportunities

Check out the Learning Center to learn more about using LinkedIn