My first $30,000 commercial
How I went from writing LinkedIn posts to making films
Shapeshift started as a founder brand business. I had just shut down a failed podcast software startup and needed cash — so I knew I had to sell services.
In 2023, I didn’t have a clear vision of what I wanted to build. I was great at interviewing people, I wanted to work with domain experts, and I definitely didn’t want to get a job.
After trying a few different things, the business that had the strongest magnetism was LinkedIn. As unsexy as it was, I followed the current and began interviewing CEOs and co-authoring their LinkedIn posts.
It felt magical for awhile. LinkedIn really rewarded you for structured writing and good storytelling. I was cashflow positive for the first time in years.
When short-form video caught up to B2B, I adapted to that too — helping CEOs like Ethan Aaron and Matt Schulman film talking head content.
It was rough at first, because I didn’t know what I was doing, but over time, we created videos that would consistently go viral on the new video feed.
In 2025, I felt like I had figured out the formula — we were hitting 500K impressions, even for niche compensation content, and turning LinkedIn videos into customer acquisition flywheels.
We were printing leads.
It’s not your quest
As good as it was, part of me always knew that I didn’t love this business. I felt like there were competing incentives to “drive pipeline” vs “create valuable content” and I saw many low-cost ghostwriting services enter the market.
Most of all, I felt trapped and unfulfilled, the same feelings that I’d felt as a burnt out corporate worker. But this time, I’d built a prison of my own making.
As the LinkedIn algorithm started to change and AI content began infiltrating the platform, I knew it was time to gradually pivot the business.
In January 2026, after hiring Jamie from Legendary (Dune Part Two), I decided to go all-in on video.
Enter Clint Dunn
Clint was a friend that I’d met over LinkedIn but took years for us to finally work together. I’d always believed in playing the long game, but I could’ve never guessed an innocent DM would lead to a five-figure deal and my first on-set filmmaking experience.
Hazel, an AI co-worker for marketers
Clint and his co-founder Patrik hired Shapeshift to create a launch video for their startup Hazel.
They had just raised $2M dollars and were looking to both make a big brand play and build pipeline from this video.
In addition to the commercial goals, l had strong creative opinions about the concept:
Hazel should feel more like a human rather than a robot, and more like a coworker rather than a replacement
The plot needed to feel like a real, relatable customer experience. Hazel serves marketers, and marketers sniff out bad marketing. I wanted the video to ooze with IYKYK so marketers would say “they get it”
The video needed to feel timeless. I didn’t want another founders-on-the-couch-humble-bragging-their-raise.mp4. You only launch once — make it something future founders will look up on YouTube
Here is the final launch announcement.
It turned out pretty well :)
Hazel will return
I’m out of space for this email, but subscribe for Part 2, where I’ll share the BTS leading up to the shoot and what I learned about filmmaking.
Cast & Crew
Founders: Clint Dunn and Patrik Devlin
Marketer: Rachel Newman
Hazel: Brooke Brazer
Cashier: Clint Dunn
Director: Hailey Choi
Producer: Jamie McNeill
Producer: Ira Ko
DP: Chiao Chen
Gaffer: Alexander Fischetti
Props: Hailey Choi
Production Assistant: Joohee Park
Post Production: Hailey Choi
VFX: Liam Walsh & Max Retik
Post Sound: Reid Andersen
Art Assistant: AJ Serrano
BTS Video: Anthony Hull