Head-to-head breakdown

Jesse Geul vs Noah Kagan: Contrarian Dutch recruiter beats American founder on engagement

Jesse Geul (104K followers, 345 avg engagement) wins on conversation depth and contrarian positioning within a tight niche. Noah Kagan (107K followers, 367 avg engagement) scales through vulnerability + credential flip and posts 4x more frequently. Jesse's strategy: own one debate and dominate it. Noah's strategy: own many debates and win through volume.

Jesse Geul

Van moordzaken naar sollicitatiegesprekken I Ex-rechercheur nu recruitment trainer, spreker en LinkedIn Top Voice❗️

Recruitment Strategies for Attracting Young Talent105K followers· 39 posts analyzed

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Noah Kagan

Chief Sumo at AppSumo.com | Helping entrepreneurs get started at noahkagan.com

Entrepreneurship108K followers· 170 posts analyzed

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TL;DR

Jesse's 16.3% conversation index beats Noah's 17.1% despite 4x lower posting frequency.
Noah posts 13.1/week; Jesse posts 3/week. Noah wins on reach, Jesse on depth per post.
Jesse's top hook (2019 engagements) outpaces Noah's (3350) because niche density beats broad appeal.
Jesse speaks Dutch to Dutch audience; Noah speaks English to global. Language focus = tighter community.

Side by side

Dimension	Jesse Geul	Noah Kagan
Voice	Direct, slightly irreverent peer calling out office hypocrisy in casual Dutch ('Tamelijk geniaal'); admits uncertainty and invites debate.	Self-deprecating, conversational friend-over-coffee tone; leads with painful credential ('fired from Facebook') then flips to earned authority ('$100M CEO').
Content mix	80% recruitment myth-busting + workplace culture + corporate hypocrisy callouts; 20% personal stories and event promotion.	60% career failure lessons + high-profile mentor insights; 30% counterintuitive productivity truths; 10% networking stories.
Hook style	Bold accusation with emoji ('LinkedIn heeft Jutta verpest❗') or contrarian list ('5 redenen waarom recruiters wel fantastisch zijn❗'); provokes debate.	Vulnerability + flip ('I was employee #30 at Facebook. Then I got fired.') or statistic shock; disarms skepticism with earned credibility.
Engagement pattern	16.3% conversation index on 345 avg engagement; top post hits 2019 engagements; repost rate 0.8% (original content dominates).	17.1% conversation index on 367 avg engagement; top post hits 3350 engagements; repost rate 2.5% (some recycled formats).
Posting cadence	3 posts/week, best day Friday; focused strategy allows deeper audience relationship per post.	13.1 posts/week, best day Sunday; volume strategy trades depth for reach; 2.5% repost rate suggests some format repetition.

Who wins what

Reach→ Noah Kagan

107K followers vs 104K is marginal, but 13.1 posts/week vs 3 posts/week means Noah's content appears 4x more in feeds; top post (3350 engagements) beats Jesse's (2019).

Conversation→ Jesse Geul

16.3% conversation index on 345 avg engagement means Jesse's posts spark debate; his contrarian framing ('Dus vandaag draaien we de rollen om') invites argument, not just likes.

Saveability→ Noah Kagan

Numbered lessons ('Here are [number] pieces of brutally honest advice') are inherently bookmarkable; Jesse's debate-focused posts are read-once, not reference-able.

Consistency→ Jesse Geul

0.8% repost rate vs Noah's 2.5% means Jesse writes original takes every time; Noah recycles credential flips and numbered formats across 170 posts analyzed.

Pick Jesse Geul if…

You operate in a tight niche (recruitment, HR, workplace culture) and want to own the debate within it; Jesse's 16.3% conversation rate proves niche depth beats broad reach.
You write in a non-English language and want to build a hyper-local community; Jesse's Dutch-first approach creates tighter audience bonds than English's global noise.
You prefer quality-over-quantity posting (3/week vs 13/week) and want each post to spark genuine discussion, not just accumulate likes.

Steal from Jesse Geul

Open with a bold accusation + emoji that names a specific person or platform ('LinkedIn heeft Jutta verpest❗'). This breaks the scroll because it feels like gossip, not advice. Jesse's top post (2019 engagements) proves this works.
Use the 'flip the narrative' structure: 'Everyone says [X] about [group]. But here's why [group] is actually right.' Jesse's '5 redenen waarom recruiters wel fantastisch zijn' flips the default criticism and generates 772 engagements.
Admit uncertainty in your own position ('Ik heb geen moeite met hoge bonussen, maar wel met de redenatie'). This disarms defensiveness and invites genuine debate instead of preaching.

Pick Noah Kagan if…

You're building personal brand across multiple topics (career, entrepreneurship, productivity) and need volume to stay visible; Noah's 13.1/week cadence and 107K followers prove scale works.
You have high-stakes credentials (worked at famous company, built $100M business) and want to weaponize vulnerability as a trust-builder; Noah's 'fired from Facebook' flip is his signature move.
You want posts that are inherently saveable and shareable (numbered lists, tactical advice); Noah's format outperforms Jesse's debate-driven approach for bookmarks and reposts.

Steal from Noah Kagan

Lead with a painful credential, then immediately flip it to earned authority ('I was employee #30 at Facebook. Then I got fired. Now I'm CEO of a $100M company'). This pattern hits 2000+ engagements consistently because it disarms skepticism.
Number your lessons and make them tactical ('Here are [number] pieces of brutally honest [topic] advice I wish I knew earlier'). Noah's numbered-list format is inherently saveable and outperforms Jesse's narrative-driven posts on bookmarks.
Post 13+ times per week on a consistent day (Noah's best day is Sunday). Volume compounds reach; even if individual posts underperform, frequency keeps you visible in feeds and builds algorithmic momentum.

The real lesson

Jesse and Noah prove that LinkedIn rewards two opposite strategies equally well. Jesse owns depth: 3 posts/week in one niche (recruitment) with 16.3% conversation rate means every post sparks genuine debate. Noah owns breadth: 13.1 posts/week across multiple topics with 367 avg engagement means he stays visible through sheer volume. The choice isn't who's better—it's which fits your constraints. If you have one deep expertise and time to craft contrarian arguments, copy Jesse's niche-domination play. If you have multiple credentials and can post daily, copy Noah's vulnerability-flip-and-scale play. Most creators fail because they try to do both poorly instead of choosing one and executing it relentlessly.