ICYMI: Ellen from The Ask

Much of February and this first week of March have been dedicated to launching the second cohort of Authority Letters.

This time, we are running it on Maven (the platform built specifically for professional cohort-based courses). A small milestone I felt proud of this week; we are trending in the founder category! Top four at the time of writing.

Over the past few years, long-form writing like this has generated hundreds of thousands of pounds in client work for my own business and helped many of my clients do the same.

This programme distils that process, and Authority Letters sits close to my heart for other reasons, too.

The vision for the programme came to me in a flash of inspiration in September 2025. A month that was significant for personal reasons, too. The kind of month where a lot fell into place, and my 2026 and beyond started forming.

Everything inside Authority Letters feels like the accumulation of work I care about most:

• When an idea sharpens into something clear and ownable, the market begins to respond.

• Running this inside a five-week sprint creates the conditions for real progress.

• The moment an idea becomes clear, and the market begins to respond.

The momentum that builds when these two align reminds me how much impact this work can have. And the five-week sprint creates real progress.

The first cohort of Authority Letters had eleven incredible thinkers inside. Founders, consultants and coaches who wanted their ideas to be understood, not buried across scattered posts and client documents. This second cohort is shaping up in a similarly exciting way.

If you have been circling this idea for a while, consider this one of your final nudges. Authority Letters is a five-week sprint to clarify your One Big Idea and publish the Hero Piece that represents your thinking properly. The kind of piece you send when someone asks what you do.

Doors close Sunday 8th March and we start Monday.

You can secure one of the remaining seats here.

Or, begin with the workshop replay here if you want to understand the thinking first.

The replay has been getting a lot of love since the live session.

February’s Newsletter Round Up

^{Everything I shared last month to catch up on ICYMI}

1/ So many smart founders continue to survive without creating any assets with long-lasting leverage. But the sooner you do, you’ll find that people start spending real time with your thinking before they ever speak to you and arrive pre-aligned, primed and ready for you.

READ: Converting Without Being In The Room

2/ If you sell judgment, pattern recognition, or strategic perspective as a coach or consultant, then showing up with fragmented posts flattens authority. I share my story of creating a ‘weighty’ piece of work and generating me $100k in sales revenue.

READ: Authority needs a centre of gravity.

3/ Consultants and coaches have depth and years of client insights at their fingertips. But their thinking doesn’t automatically translate to the online arena and secure the attention it deserves. The first step required? Creating coherence.

READ: The first step to building authority.

4/ From January, the most popular post on this newsletter was about aligning the stars ahem I mean conditions that you need in place to make your best work happen in 2026.

READ:  How to do your best work this year

Community Conversations

Highlights from The Ask friends & clients

• The highly talented Lauren Currie has a new book Be UPFRONT, out tomorrow. Drawing on over a decade of work with thousands of women, Lauren writes to help women speak up and trust themselves. If you’re ready to take up more space, here’s a powerful and practical guide to practising confidence in real life. Pre-order your copy here. 

• London journos unite! Freelance Journalist Isabel Woodford is hosting a candid masterclass on tackling your freelance media career from her own experiences landing pitches for The Atlantic, FT, The Times and more. On 16th March in Angel this is an off-the-record discussion tackling the most challenging - often taboo - parts of this industry. (I’ll be there to support!). Grab a ticket. 

• Danielle Silvestro has worked with founding teams for over ten years, her powerful Hero Piece about Organisational Ghosts (the imprint founders leave on startups) is now out in the world. Here’s what she had to say about her experience inside Authority Letters: “Having just finished a year of PhD research, I joined Authority Letters to build my commercial framing of it. It ended up being better than I expected! Ellen's feedback really sharpened and helped develop my Hero Piece. Defining my OBI gave me confidence that what I had to say would truly resonate. I loved the group aspect, too. Being in a space with thoughtful, creative, values led people who you think are amazing and then realising they have the same doubts you do, was actually very grounding for me. I have a block about putting myself out there online, and Authority Letters gave me both the accountability and the confidence to actually do it.”

Work with Ellen

Support with your Authority led business

I work with founders whose ideas, judgement, and thinking are the product.

If you have been considering support but feel unsure where to begin, I created a short enquiry form to simplify the process.

How it works: Share a few details about your business and what you are working toward. I’ll reply with the support options and investment levels I believe will suit you best. If that feels aligned, we’ll schedule a 45 min chemistry call to explore working together.

If Authority Letters feels like the right starting point, timing is tighter as doors close this Sunday. Email me if you’d like arrange a 15-minute fit-check conversation before the weekend.