TIL: justice, Socrates & Harvard

What I’m about to share with you in this month’s The Influence Letter (TIL) isn’t just a reflection on strategy or another case study. It’s a zoom-out moment, the kind of letter I wish someone had written to me five years ago when I was still figuring out how to turn scattered wins into systems, and connections into leverage.

This edition of The Influence Letter is split into two parts: one shaped by timeless ideas from philosophy, and another grounded in real-world experience, a behind-the-scenes look at how a two times Harvard-trained on Executive Leadership ended up partnering with me for digital strategy.

If you’ve been following my work for a while, you already know I draw as much from ancient thinkers as I do from modern marketing frameworks.

That’s because I believe in strategy that stands the test of time whether it’s Plato or paid ads, it has to be relevant and replicable.

I also believe that we build businesses in direct proportion to how much order we create internally. It’s why I spend just as much time on clarity, identity, and values as I do on funnels, ads, or conversions. If the inside’s messy, the outside will always feel stuck.

You’ll see that thread woven through today’s letter. In the first half, I’ll walk you through some personal reflections I had after reading The Replubic by Plato not as abstract quotes, but as working tools I apply in life and business.

In the second half, I’ll take you behind the curtain of a partnership with two respected professionals: one, a Harvard graduate with two MBAs and two decades of experience running a software agency in the U.S. & the other, a brilliant creative who’s helped shape major entertainment scripts and campaigns.

They reached out to me not because I’m the most decorated academically but because of one thing, execution.

The story isn’t about “me vs. Harvard”, it’s about how you can apply that exact model to grow your own business, your platform, or your influence.

If you’re a founder, marketer, or creator trying to navigate growth in 2025, you’ve probably noticed the same pattern: what used to work doesn’t anymore, and what works now often isn’t taught in books or schools, it’s learned on the front lines.

My goal with this issue is to give you a map. A way to think about business development, offer creation, traffic, monetization, and marketing, using a real case to show how the pieces fit together, and how to move faster with fewer mistakes.

Whether you’re working solo or managing a team, whether you’re scaling your brand or helping others do it, the questions are the same: What’s your offer? What’s your funnel? What’s your growth engine? And most importantly, are you the kind of person who can hold it all together?

If that sounds like the kind of clarity you’ve been looking for, keep reading. This one’s for builders. For thinkers. And for those who want to scale their influence without losing their identity.

In the second half I’m sharing “Why a 2X Harvard Business Grad Partnered with Me for Digital Marketing?” so hang on until the end for some worth-knowing marketing insights.

THINGS I’VE LEARNED
1.
Socrates’ contribution.
Socrates is one of the few individuals whom one could say has so-shaped the cultural and intellectual development of the world that, without him, societies would be profoundly different.

2.
Justice Starts Within.
After reading Plato’s Republic, I realised that I can stop thinking of “justice” as this abstract legal term. For Plato, justice starts from the inside.

Before you can lead a team, grow a brand, or fix anything out there, you have to bring order within yourself.

It’s the same reason why chaotic founders build chaotic businesses.

Inner discipline, clarity of purpose, and alignment between your thoughts, words, and actions => that’s what creates the foundation for external structure.
Plato calls this a “just soul,” I’d call it your Identity.

Without that, you’re just reacting to life, not creating it.

3.
Pythagorean Theorem was one of Pythagoras’ sidequests.
The Pythagorean Theorem was never Pythagoras’ main legacy, it was a sidequest in his pursuit of a deeper, almost mystical order in the universe rooted in numbers and harmony.

While the theorem became his most famous contribution, his core focus was on numerology, ethics, and the metaphysical significance of mathematics.

From what I understand Pythagoras, triangles were just the doorway, not the destination..

GROW YOUR INFLUENCE
Getting the chance to collaborate with an individual who holds two master’s degrees from Harvard in marketing, has been running a successful custom software development agency in the U.S. for over 15 years, and is well-respected in both the METAL and WITI communities, well, that was something I definitely didn’t expect.

Let me take you back to the beginning. When you spend time in online communities like the ones I just mentioned, cool opportunities often come along.

One of those opportunities came when the businessman I told you about Sani Abdul-Jabbar, along with an extremely charismatic storyteller, screenwriter, and leader in AI, Brad Rochefort, wanted to start a brand-new venture to help coaches effectively utilize AI.

The idea was simple: Create a scalable and automated business that would serve coaches by helping them leverage AI to solve their problems.

What were the steps from a business development standpoint?

(Step 1) Create an offer that addresses the key pain points coaches face and offers solutions powered by AI. The goal was to turn this into an offering with zero marginal cost for fulfillment.
How would we achieve this?
By making all the components of the main offer digital. Templates, tools, resources, challenges, guides, roadmaps, infographics, SOPs, frameworks even voice recordings or videos have almost zero costs to be provided to another customer, but the value that the customer gets from a great digital is immense.

(Step 2) Create a one-time offer that would be another “no-brainer” for coaches. This offer would solve the next major pain point in their journey (Just like The Student Life has done for example).
How would we achieve this?
By finding the next pain point of the coaches journey. In a previous business I developed from scratch, the main offer was a subscription service that would:
(a) establish the first collaboration between the influencer and a clothing brand
(b) give them the resources, tools & challenges they needed to get started
(c) show them how to grow their digital presence.
What was any influencer’s next pain point?
Learning how to monetize their platform.

That’s why the one-time offer in my digital marketing funnel gave a massive discount on my monetization guide, exclusively for new members of the program.

(Step 3) In this case, this digital marketing funnel would be the leading source of lead generation for Sani’s and Brad’s businesses for their main businesses. Their main source of income comes from developing software and providing services like consulting, scriptwriting, and other creative work respectively.

By scaling their traffic sources, they could drastically grow their respective businesses.

(The final step) in the business development process was to make this entire automated and scalable system profitable. The key was powering the business with scalable, automated and proven marketing methods.

This last step is often the most challenging for business owners without a digital marketing background. That’s why many of them reach out to digital marketing agencies with expertise to turn a scalable, automated structure into a professional asset.

Marketing strategies may shift over time, from newspapers, to radio, TV , SEO, email marketing, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and content marketing.

However, the core principles remain constant.

That’s why partnering with individuals who bring different skill sets to the table offers invaluable benefits.

But how do you grow your influence from within?

About Networking – Seven weeks ago, I had dinner with the CEO of a diverse portfolio of companies. His portfolio ranges from an gin company, to the best co-working space I’ve ever visited, to an aviation company.

His #1 piece of advice for growing my business? “Grow your network as much as possible.” This one activity has brought him the biggest results. That’s why he keeps meeting new people and nurturing relationships, even at the level he’s at.

Having at your network talented screenwriters and Harvard grads can lead to promising ventures.

About Minimizing Chances To Fail – Marketing is evolving at record speed, and what worked 10 years ago will most likely fail miserably today. That’s why studying what the most successful competitors are doing is an essential step. It’s one that can save you from really expensive mistakes along the way.

Whether you’re scaling a business or helping others do so, the combination of strategic partnerships, leveraging AI, and continuously learning from competitors can give you the edge in business.

to your growth and influence,
>> Chris Fountoulis
Founder – Growth Of Influence
chris@growthofinfluence.com

Are you interested in our ventures?
Digital Marketing Agency: >> ChrisFountoulis.com
Are you an influencer? >> GrowthOfInfluence.com
Clothing Brand: >> Elcune.com

Join +6,000 influencers getting mindf*cked while reading The Influence Letter
(you may learn a bit about life & business too)

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• [Insight] Why an MBA Harvard Grad Partnered with me for Digital Marketing
• [Case Study] What happens when you message over 10,000 strangers
• [Training] How to manage your time when you’re paying for ads
• [Anti-Training] How I got scammed for $8.5K by marketers
• [Case Study] I spent 1 year in a €1K per month Mastermind

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