Hi all,
We are so excited for this one! We first met Kim Chappell and Michelle Blaser at SXSW in Austin this year. We did a panel on trust and personal brand at Soho House. And pretty much immediately said we have to do this again. So here we are.
Kim Chappell is , the mom-founded, mom-led organic infant formula company. She’s also, by pretty universal agreement, the OG LinkedIn mom. Michelle Blaser is a brand marketer (Duolingo, Epic Games) who’s now out on her own, writing The Pollinatr and one of the biggest voices on LinkedIn. She also happens to be a Bobbie mom.
These ladies have not just helped build some of your favorite, most referenced brands, but they’ve also built personal brands that lots of people envy. And we get into how they did all of the above.
We chat trust, cringe, sallying forth, building up your team, having a group of internet besties, and so much more.
If you are building a brand, leading a team, posting on LinkedIn, or are still working up the nerve to, this one is for you.
This month’s episodes are sponsored by The Keva Dine Agency.
Enjoy!
Meet Kim Chappell
Kim Chappell is the Chief Brand Officer of Bobbie. She joined the company in the co-founder's San Francisco basement in 2020 and launched and built the brand into the fastest growing infant formula company in the US since the 80's. Under Kim's leadership, Bobbie has been a 3x recipient of Fast Company's Brands That Matter and a 2024 Shorty Award winner for Best Small Brand. She was named a 2026 Most Innovative CMO by Business Insider, a 2025 Forbes 50 Most Entrepreneurial CMO, a 2025 AdWeek Creative 100, and Shorty's Brand Marketer of the Year. She is a mom of three who lives in Austin, Texas.
Meet Michelle Blaser
Michelle Blaser is the author of The Pollinatr, the newsletter for strategists who want to stay ahead of culture. After 15 years working with culture-first brands like Duolingo, Netflix, and Epic Games, she's built a reputation as your favorite strategist's favorite strategist: spotting the signals, connecting the dots, and translating insights into actionable strategies. Brands and executives hire her directly for culture-first brand and social strategies. She hails from Texas and lives with her husband and two boys in Raleigh, NC.
Hit the links to skip to the bits you fancy
00:00 — THE BAND’S BACK TOGETHER // Internet friends are real friends.
04:20 — A $500 ASK // Kim’s whole LinkedIn thing started with one email to her CFO about shipping breast milk.
07:14 — LEADERS SET THE CULTURE // Why LinkedIn is a fun group of virtual coworkers who have your back, and why leaders should overshare on purpose.
09:11 — THE DAD GAP // It’s not all mom talk. Two-thirds of dads say culture doesn’t see them. Brands should be paying attention.
12:59 — YOUR PERSONAL BRAND IS RECRUITING // Post about the duality and the top talent comes to you. Go do your own PR.
17:56 — TRUST OR LOVE // Both landed on trust. Love follows.
19:17 — THE RECALL WEEKEND // A competitor’s recall, and Bobbie’s no-strings response.
21:34 — HAVING HATERS IS A GOOD SIGN // If you’re not in the arena, so I don’t care what you think.
23:07 — THE TRUST BATTERY // Charge it every single day so it’s there when you actually need it.
25:37 — CLIMB CRINGE MOUNTAIN // Go where it’s uncomfortable.
38:17 — SUBSTACK IS MY LIVING ROOM // LinkedIn is a stage (and a water cooler). Substack is where the real you shows up.
41:35 — WRITE FROM THE HEART // Kim on AI slop, quality over volume, and typos as proof of humanity.
45:38 — DO THE DAMN THING // The final word: share the mess, just start, make what you’d want to read.
Huge thanks to Kim and Michelle for coming on. Follow them. You’ll have some new besties, too.
That’s all, folx.
– Chris
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