Adam Robinson's $22M LinkedIn hook formula

Adam Robinson scaled RB2B from $0 to $1M ARR in 16 weeks and grew Retention.com to around $21M ARR. LinkedIn posts were a major driver of both.

Here's the 6-part hook formula he uses in almost every post.

Let me break down his hooks and turn them into a checklist you can use on your next post.

Why Adam's hooks actually matter

Adam Robinson is a SaaS founder who knows how to write hooks that perform. His posts consistently drive engagement, bring in new prospects, and generate pipeline.

We're not here to study Adam Robinson the person. We're here to steal his hook structure.

Because here's the thing—when a post goes viral on LinkedIn, most of the people seeing it don't know who you are. The hook has to do two jobs fast: establish credibility and create enough curiosity to earn the click.

If your hook fails, nothing else matters. The rest of your brilliant post sits behind the "see more" button where nobody will ever read it.

The 6 hook levers Adam stacks into every post

Look at any of Adam's top posts and you'll see the same patterns over and over in the first 2–3 lines.

Most founders use one of these tactics. Adam uses 3–6 at the same time. That density is what makes his hooks work.

Social proof

This is the "why should I listen to you" line.

Adam opens with quick credibility statements like "I bootstrapped [product] from $0 to $1M in 16 weeks" or "Over the past 10 years, I've bootstrapped startups from $0–$1M three times."

When new people discover you via virality, they don't know your background. Social proof answers that gap instantly. It builds trust before you ask them to invest attention.

Story-based framing

Hooks written as stories perform better than hooks written as statements.

Instead of "How to get to $1M ARR," Adam opens with "I bootstrapped X from $0–$1M in 16 weeks" and then introduces a new challenge—like scaling from $1M to $10M.

Stories stop the scroll. They create narrative tension. There's a past, a present, and a future problem to solve. Your brain wants to know what happens next.

Specific numbers

Concrete figures make everything feel more real and more impressive.

Adam constantly drops numbers: "$0–$1M," "16 weeks," "10 years," "3 times," "$10M ARR," "7-step playbook."

Specificity increases credibility. When you say "I've done this three times" instead of "I've done this multiple times," people believe you. Big monetary figures and exact counts create intrigue.

Bold stance or prediction

Taking a clear, confident position polarizes people.

"Here's how I'm going to scale this to $10M ARR with a tiny team." "Each time was twice as fast with half the resources." "I don't disagree, but I think their reasoning is wrong."

Bold stances do two things: they signal expertise and confidence, and they drive comments. Some people nod in agreement. Others disagree and jump into the comments to say so. Either way, the algorithm wins.

Lists and frameworks

Promising a structured breakdown makes posts feel practical and save-worthy.

"Here's my 7-step playbook to scale to $10M." "Here's the breakdown of what I did, how long it took, and how many FTEs we had." "Here are 5 things B2C nailed that are inevitable in B2B."

When you promise a list or framework, you're telling people this post has clear takeaways. That makes them click "see more" and save the post for later.

Open loops

Creating unanswered questions forces curiosity.

Adam ends hooks with colons that lead into the body of the post. He poses implicit questions: What's the playbook? How did he do it so fast? What are the 5 things? How many people did it take?

Open loops trigger the "see more" click, which is a key engagement signal for LinkedIn's algorithm.

Hook density is the real differentiator

Here's what separates average hooks from great ones.

Bad writers ignore the hook entirely. Average writers use one lever—maybe they include a list, or they drop a mild opinion.

Great writers like Adam cram 3–6 levers into 2–3 sentences.

Let's say Adam writes a hook like this (paraphrased):

"I bootstrapped [product] from $0 to $1M ARR in 16 weeks. Now I'm scaling it to $10M with a team of 3. Here's my 7-step playbook:"

That hook includes:

• Social proof (bootstrapped result)

• Story (past success, new challenge)

• Specific numbers ($0–$1M, 16 weeks, $10M, team of 3, 7 steps)

• Bold stance (confident prediction about scaling)

• List promise (7-step playbook)

• Open loop (colon forces you to "see more")

Six levers. Three lines.

That's hook density. Every line pulls at least one lever, and most lines pull multiple levers at once.

The checklist you can use before you post

Before you hit publish on your next LinkedIn post, run your hook through this checklist. Aim for at least 3 levers per hook.

The 6-lever hook checklist:

1. Did I include social proof—even one line that establishes credibility?

2. Did I frame this as a story or narrative, not just an abstract tip?

3. Did I use specific numbers (money, time, volume, counts)?

4. Did I take a clear stance or make a bold prediction?

5. Did I promise a list or framework (X steps, Y principles, Z mistakes)?

6. Did I create at least one open loop (questions, a colon, "I'll show you...")?

Let me show you what this looks like in practice.

Weak hook: "Content marketing is important for SaaS companies. Here are some tips."

That's generic. No credibility. No curiosity. No reason to click.

Dense hook: "I've helped 8 SaaS companies build content engines that generate $500K+ in pipeline per quarter. The playbook is simpler than you think—but most founders skip the first step. Here are the 5 moves that actually work:"

That hook includes:

• Social proof (helped 8 companies)

• Specific numbers ($500K, 8 companies, 5 moves)

• Story element (most founders skip something)

• List promise (5 moves)

• Open loop (colon, what are the moves?)

Five levers. Three sentences. Way better.

How to apply this to your next 10 posts

If you're a founder trying to build pipeline through LinkedIn, this is the highest-ROI copywriting skill you can develop.

You don't need more time to post. You need 5 extra minutes focused on the first 2–3 lines.

Here's the process:

For your next 10 LinkedIn posts:

1. Write your post as you normally would

2. Spend 5 extra minutes only on the hook

3. Use the 6-lever checklist to revise the first 2–3 lines

4. Aim for at least 3 levers per hook

5. Track which posts perform best and reverse-engineer which levers you used

Most founders already have good ideas. They just bury them under weak hooks.

When you start designing dense hooks, your existing ideas will suddenly start performing better—without changing what you talk about.

Start with one post

You don't need to overhaul your entire LinkedIn strategy. Just rewrite the hook on your next post using this checklist.

Add one line of social proof. Swap a vague claim for a specific number. End with a colon instead of a period. See what happens.

If you want help building a founder-led content engine that uses this kind of copy under the hood, that's exactly what we do at Catalyst.

Hit reply and send me a hook you're working on. I'll show you how to make it denser.

— Will