LinkedIn Voices: Chris Donnelly
Discover Chris Donnelly’s journey from agency founder to AI entrepreneur, and explore how he uses search, personal branding, and automation to help businesses
Chris Donnelly has built his career around turning digital expertise into scalable businesses. From growing and exiting an 8-figure agency to co-founding a VC-backed healthtech platform and building AI-powered search technology, his work reflects a strong focus on growth, automation, and digital distribution. As Co-Founder and CEO of Searchable.com, serial entrepreneur, and creator, he helps founders and marketing teams improve search visibility, develop personal brands, and build systems that support sustainable growth.
Who is Chris Donnelly?
Chris Donnelly is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and digital strategist who built and exited an 8-figure agency, co-founded a $35M VC-backed healthtech platform, and later moved into autonomous AI search technology.
Niche & Specialization
Autonomous Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
Personal brand architecture, audience monetization, and lead generation systems.
Agency scaling, M&A strategy, and premium brand positioning.
Early-stage founder mentorship, growth acceleration, and media development.
Operational efficiency, corporate culture, and venture execution.
A defining part of Chris’s approach is his focus on automated growth rather than manual service delivery. Instead of depending on traditional headcount-driven agency models, he promotes software-led automation and structured content systems that support organic discovery and commercial growth at scale.
Personal distribution and transparency are also central to his work. Through ventures such as Searchable.com, The Creator Accelerator, and his weekly newsletter Step By Step, Chris shares practical frameworks for brand building, audience growth, and AI search visibility. His content speaks to high-growth founders, enterprise marketers, and agency owners looking for more leverage in an AI-driven market.
Target Audience
Chris’s audience mainly includes entrepreneurs, corporate executives, agency owners, and growth marketers who want to expand revenue and organic distribution. His content is particularly relevant to:
Enterprise marketing directors and growth leads looking to capture market share across emerging AI answer engines and search algorithms.
Founders and agency leaders seeking to move from time-based service models toward scalable, recurring retainer structures.
Ambitious entrepreneurs and creators looking to establish an authoritative personal brand that generates inbound commercial opportunities.
Profitable business owners ($1M+ EBITDA) seeking strategic investment, growth advisory, and scaling expertise.
Aspiring operators interested in practical lessons on resilience, bootstrapped growth, and venture building.
Career Journey & Achievements
Chris Donnelly started his entrepreneurial journey at 21 by bootstrapping Adjust Media while at university, which later became Verb Brands. He grew the performance and luxury marketing agency through strategic acquisitions, including DBD Media, and worked with clients such as Bugatti, Aston Martin, and LVMH. At 30, he exited Verb Brands through an 8-figure acquisition by Croud Inc and LDC.
In 2021, Donnelly co-founded Lottie, a SaaS-enabled marketplace for care homes. As CEO, he grew the platform to 8 figures in revenue, raised $35M in venture funding from General Catalyst and Accel, and helped the company reach a 9-figure valuation before stepping down to pursue new ventures.
He later expanded into media and education, launching his media investment firm and The Creator Accelerator to help entrepreneurs learn how to monetize their personal brands. In late 2025, he co-founded Searchable.com, an autonomous SEO and AEO growth engine that reached $5M ARR within its first nine months.
Content Strategy & Teaching Approach
Donnelly’s teaching style combines transparent career breakdowns, practical frameworks, and lessons around the mindset behind building successful companies. Through his podcast Wake Up, social platforms, and Step By Step newsletter, he turns complex growth topics into visual cheat sheets and actionable steps.
His content also focuses heavily on persistence and adapting to technological change. By examining shifts such as the move from traditional SEO toward AI Search Optimization (AEO), he encourages founders to use AI tools, develop owned media channels, and build businesses that can remain resilient as the digital landscape evolves.
Posts on LinkedIn
Metrics & Impact
Over 1,250,000 followers on LinkedIn, reaching a global audience of founders, marketers, and executives.
Co-Founder & CEO of Searchable.com, reaching $5M ARR within 9 months of launch.
Co-Founder of Lottie, raising $35M in VC funding and scaling to a 9-figure valuation.
Founder of Verb Brands, successfully exiting through an 8-figure acquisition by Croud & LDC.
Over 250,000 subscribers across his business and personal growth newsletter network.
Media Appearance
Why He Matters
Chris Donnelly offers a practical perspective on modern venture building, showing how media distribution, operational discipline, and technology can work together to create enterprise value. His experience across different sectors highlights the importance of distribution, adaptability, and efficient systems when building and scaling companies. By making topics such as AEO, personal branding, and agency growth easier to understand, he gives founders and operators practical ideas for building high-margin businesses with long-term potential.
Profile Summary
Followers:
1,257,527 on LinkedIn
Ventures & Organizations:
Searchable.com, Lottie, Verb Brands, The Creator Accelerator, Wake Up Podcast
Mission:
To help founders scale traffic on autopilot using autonomous AI search technology and empower entrepreneurs to build category-defining personal brands
